Gear does not matter - until it does
As an avid reader of photography articles on many websites, I have many times come across the notion that "gear does not matter", which I hold to be true... within some limits.
When I was starting taking photographs I was drawn by a local theatre where amateur performers allowed photographers to take pictures during shows or dressed rehearsals. I was using a digital camera that came to market 4-5 years before (an Olympus E-410). Needless to say, the low light performance of that camera was quite ugly and I did not dare use the highest ISO numbers because the sensor would superimpose a multitude of horizontal stripes on my picture. It was the consequence of bringing an entry level camera already showing signs of age to a situation where only the newest and shiniest cameras could guarantee good results. But if gear does not matter, what was I supposed to do?
I was quite aware that I should increase the amount of light on the sensor, and as a consequence I replaced my entry level kit zoom lens with a manual focus prime lens. This new lens was surely a step in the right direction, but at the same time it brought a new difficulty: even if many more pictures could be taken in low light, many of them were out of focus because of the lack of feedback from the camera. And to complicate things, manual focus used to give me literal headaches because I was always very attentively staring at a smallish viewfinder and making tiny adjustments to the focus knob, keeping as still as possible and controlling my breathing... often on Friday evening after work.
After that, I finally decided to stop punishing myself and jumped on the ship of high ISO and fast autofocus. I was using a Canon 5D mk ii (formerly used as display sample by a local shop), and suddenly my pictures improved. With the previous camera I could barely keep 10% of the pictures I was shooting. Now after some fiddling with the menus and proper configuration, my new camera allowed me to keep 80% of the pictures I was shooting. My main concerns were completely different from before, my aim was trying to capture relevant moments during the play, an interaction between actors, a choreographed action that lends itself to an interesting composition, a scene with vibrant colours or lights... this was the moment when the camera did not matter (anymore), and I could be free to concentrate on the action before my eyes.
As of today I have no doubt that the content you produce as a photographer is the result of your vision and not the result of your camera having the latest and greatest capabilities because gear does not matter. The whole point of thinking "gear does not matter" is to give emphasis to the idea that you as the photographer should invest your time in learning, experimenting, creating and practicing new techniques with what you already have. Do take photographs as if your results did not depend on the gear you have, but please check once in a while whether your camera is hindering your creative possibilities: stage photography is a technically demanding genre after all.
https://digital-photography-school.com/why-your-camera-gear-doesnt-matter/
Sean Tucker - How I approach Buying Cameras (avoiding the gear traps)
https://www.diyphotography.net/is-does-gear-matter-the-most-pointless-argument-in-photography/