Some photographers say that equipment doesn’t matter, and it is the artist behind the camera. I take the middle of the road approach and say it does matter in some instances, depending on what you want to accomplish.
Take, for example, you want to shoot at a very high frame rate and in low light. Are you somebody who does it full time, or perhaps you just are an advanced amateur? If you are a full-time Pro, a camera such as a Nikon D6 will be the tool you use. The body cost about 6500 dollars. Most people who have this camera will buy a fast lens that will cost thousands of dollars. However, if you need a camera that can shoot 14 FPS and has a professional build, this is the camera you need.
Let’s say you are happy with 7 FPS. This is still pretty fast, and most people would be satisfied with this speed. You can pick up a Nikon D780 body for about 2300 dollars. This will shoot very well in low light and has excellent focus in low light, although it can’t focus as good as a Nikon D6.
If you want to go even cheaper and still get a good value, you can buy a Nikon D7500, a dx camera. This camera shoots at 8 FPS, and you can pick up a body for 900 dollars. The focusing is about the same as the D780. Since it is a crop body sensor, you will get more noise at higher iso than with a full-frame camera.
All of these cameras can shoot fast and in low light very well. Lots of lenses are available to cover anything you want to do. If you want cheaper, you can buy used.
The last option is to use your smartphone. A convenient option, but it will not perform well since these cameras shoot terrible in low light. Also, they focus slowly, and you will probably get motion blur. Not to mention you don’t have as many manual settings as the other cameras I have mentioned. You can’t change the lens out, and the lens cannot zoom. They do have electronic zooms, but this is just a crop mode.
As you can see, equipment does matter. There are tons of situations where you need the right tool.