This is my thinking and this us what I would choose...and why ?
I was thinking the other day about my 1951 35 mm, Leica 11f rangefinder with it's even older 50mm Leitz Elmar F 3.5 collapsible lens. I've had this great little combo since 1981 and used it a fair amount over the years. It still works well, no problems ever.
I have some accessories for it, including my old Vivitar 285 HV flash that works well for flash pix...I just plug in the cord camera to flash. The old Leica doesn't have a light meter, but I have three...all Sekonic, and two work well, one doesn't as mercury batteries are no longer available.
I have thought if I had bought a 28mm or 35 mm Leica lens and maybe the 90mm Leica lens...that would give me wide angle, normal 50 and moderate telephoto 90mm. I would need nothing other than this equipment (no super telephoto) for 95% of my photography.
Got me to thinking. I started 'good' photography in 1968, bought a Pentax S1a, 35 mm SLR, with a 55 mm Takumar lens (standard) F2 and a 10 dollar Sekonic light meter. I eventually got a small Honeywell flash and a 135mm F 3.5 Takumar lens. All this by 1972-73.
It's now 2018 and of course like many of you out there, I acquired a lot of camera equipment over the past number of decades.
But did I need to ? Nope, not really, even though I'm a camera/ photo enthusiast. I think I would also add a Takumar 35mm F 2.8 or F 3.5 into the mix and I could of got by quite nicely right up to the digital age....with my old basic Pentax S1a.
If I were going to do the minimalist thing now, I would use as my...one... camera body.... a Pentax K-1, my 4o mm F 2.8 Limited (kind of close to what Eisenstadt and Cartier-Bresson liked as their single lens...a 50mm 'normal' Leitz.) and perhaps my 28-105 or the Pentax 24-70 F 2.8. A Pentax 360 flash, battery grip to house my large hands and extra battery and that would be it.
I do take wildlife photos and use my Sigma 150-500 lens...but wildlife photography requiring a super telephoto.... constitutes maybe 5 % of my output. So I might or not keep the Bigma. If I'm thinking minimalist and being a purist with my question and thread...than the Sigma would go.
Or if I won the lottery, a new Leica rangefinder body, 28mm Leica wide angle, 50mm normal, 90mm moderate telephoto, Metz flash.
That is it, no other photography equipment. I think I could do the overwhelming majority of my photography with one body and 2-3 lenses and a simple flash. Either Pentax K-1 or Leica.
If you went minimalist in photography equipment...what would you choose and why.... for your minimal list ?
* Disclosure: I love using all my old equipment, both film and digital. Like Oliver Twist I always want more. In real life I couldn't bear to rid myself of any of my equipment as it is all valued and I enjoy using it. But for the sake of this thread, just ignore my disclosure.