photo equipment
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
The March before last, my brother surprised me with a gift. I'd asked him to see if he could source a cheap used Minolta X-700 because I'd picked up a 20mm lens for the platform* but didn't have any bodies at hand (I'd foolishly left them in storage in Canada). Instead, he bought me:
- the body
- a flash unit
- a 50mm lens
- a 70-200mm third-party zoom lens
Since then, I've retrieved my beloved XD-11 from storage, and primarily use that and my old X-700 as an occasional backup (usually with 400 ISO film that's better suited to the okay-but-not-great meter in the X-700). So what's become of the gear my brother gave me....
First of all is the 50mm lens. For years, I only carried two lenses, a 28mm moderate wide angle and a 55mm normal. I never found the normal aspect terribly moving, but with this 50mm that's all changed. If I'm travelling I find I take at least half of my photos with this versatile lens, the other half being between the costly 20mm and 85mm lenses I've picked up in the past 18 months. I'm really enjoying the results from this rather humble lens (minimum aperature is "only" f/1.7) and find it makes a nice counterpart to the other two.
As for the camera body itself, I've already loaned it to a friend as mentioned in this journal some time back. He inherited a raft of Minolta lenses but the bodies that came with the lenses were the very old Minolta SR-1 that has no meter. The X-700 is a versatile camera that will make the most of his lenses, and I expect to see results from Satoi-san for years to come. No pressure, Satoi-san. No pressure....
Then there's the 70-200mm zoom. I no longer really use zoom lenses, having settled into the habit of using a trio of wide angle, normal and moderate telephoto lenses that suits my style of photography. I have used this 70-200mm a few time, notably for attempting to photograph the crows that plague our neighbourhood (I'm building a file on those birds that I plan to present to the authorities, oh yes).
Last in the list is the flash. It's revolutionized my photography. This is the first decent camera/flash combination I've ever had, and the only one with which I get reliable results. I just can't believe how good a proper camera/flash combination can be. I use my flash unit far more than I do even with the digital SLR -- which has a flash built in.
*I really am a sucker for Minolta's old manual focus gear. In fact, I could never enter a witness-protection program because I'd be found at camera shows and through Ebay bids on obscure bits and pieces. My secondhand (at least) XD-11 body and my lenses are my favourite toy by far.