I can always rely on Kirk Tuck for a piece of reassurance. From his piece:-http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2011/11/balance-and-perspective.html
"At the end
of my walk I ran into a fellow photographer friend, named, Todd. He's a
good photographer and a great teacher. He was sitting with a friend
and during the course of our quick, catch up conversation mentioned my
penchant for changing camera systems more often than some people change
their underwear (unfair!!!). I rebutted as follows: If you had an
decent food budget would you eat the same meal at the same restaurant,
night after night? I know I wouldn't. I'd get tired of even the finest
ribeye eventually and want some Chinese food or some pizza. Hell,
maybe even a hamburger....
Same
thing with cameras. Some days I want something light and refreshing.
Other days I want something filling and substantial. I shot with the
V1 yesterday and the 1Ds 2 today. Yin and Yang. Foil versus sabre.
The
important thing was to get out and taste the light. Breathe the air.
Move through time and space. And feel the flow of late afternoon. The
camera was just a motivator."
I think my constant desire to "settle" on one or two cameras is basically rooted in guilt. Guilt that after years of struggling to afford one decent camera, I can now pretty much try whatever I feel like (within reason), have a lot of cameras sitting on my shelf and use whatever I feel like on more a less, a whim. Even if this means some cameras don't get taken out much.
I also think I have some notion about "proper" photographers using one set system and being identified with their particular camera. Cartier-Bresson and his Leica for example. However, musicians don't restrict themselves to one instrument and painters don't just use one paintbrush, so if a camera can offer me something different, no matter how small that difference, then why shouldn't I use it?
Indeed photographers do use a variety of gear, and not always just because it fits a particular job. They do actually use a camera because they just feel like it, or want some different kind of picture taking experience or just simply for the hell of it.
So, I've resolved to stop trying to impose some kind of restraint on myself and go back to do doing what I really enjoy doing, which is trying a whole series of different picture making tools.
So for those of you who enjoy my varied experiences and are getting a bit fed up with this non stop stream of Sony fanboy articles, you can breathe a sigh of relief.
Watch this space!!