Equipment I use

I get this question more times than I can count. Nobody believes me when I tell them I the vast majority of the pictures on this site were taken with old Minoltas!

Minolta SRT-202	(all-mechanical, circa 1968)
Minolta XK	(electro-mechanical, circa 1973)
Yashica T4	(modern point-and-shoot)

These cameras are real workhorses; in fact in the case of the SRT-202 you can use it in Siberia in the wintertime (most modern cameras' batteries die at such cold temperatures). The XK is probably my favorite camera; Minolta created it as a knock-off of the then-popular Nikon F2, but decided to go one better: they made an F2 with aperture-priority metering and an electronically-controlled shutter. Like the F2, the XK still enjoys a strong following throughout the world.

The film I used (when I was using film) was almost exclusively Fuji, both slides (Sensia) and negatives (plain old Fujicolor Superia). I was turned onto Fuji back in 1984, when the company donated all the film I could shoot during a documentary assignment in Switzerland (they were the "official film" of the 1984 Olympics, and were giving away film like crazy), and I was so impressed with their vivid colors (especially their beautiful rendering of springtime greens) that I've been a loyal fan ever since.

I also have a published article explaining the technical details about Minolta's wireless flash; an expanded version of the published article appears here.

All of my pictures of China were taken with a Minolta Dimage A1 (5 MP digital), the only camera I brought with me on my six-month journey. I found it to be such an ideal travel camera that I have written a book on it which has been very well received: Click Here for an overview and to order one!

Since then, I've been using every Alpha-mount DSLR that has come out, starting with the 7D from Konica Minolta, and the Sony A100 and A700. (We can all be proud of what Sony has done with the Minolta legacy - they have preserved the Minolta "DNA" while throwing its immense sensor R&D and marketing resources at the platform. They are coming out with a full-frame sensor and accelerating the development of high-end lenses. Happy day!)

Why have I chosen the Minolta / Sony platform? For one thing, Minolta's optics have always been superb (they were supplying optics and camera parts to Leica for many years), they invented the wireless flash and (up until 2004) they were the only company which allowed the pop-up flash to trigger them. Then there's the 'Zeiss' thing. And, until recently, I have never had to worry about other photographers asking to borrow my lenses. :-)

Want to learn more about the secrets of taking great pictures? My new book discusses the "universal truths" of lighting, composition, f/stops, and shutter speeds with the outstanding Konica Minolta and Sony Alpha digital cameras!! Click Here for a complete list!