Recorders

  • Sound Devices 702 recorder – A discontinued pro-level 2-channel recorder with fantastic preamps and lots of pretty lights.
  • Sony PCM D100 – A discontinued handheld 2-channel recorder that I use with the Rycote Windshield and Suspension Kit.

Microphones

  • Line Audio CM3 x 2 – These are fantastic Swedish cardioid microphones. Many compare to a Schoeps MK21. I use them with an ORTF mount.
  • Audio-Technica AT3032 x 2 – These are discontinued omnidirectional low-noise, high-output, underrated condenser mics. I use as an A/B stereo pair.
  • Clippy XLR EM 172 x2 – These are low-now, low-cost, high-output fantastic little mics that I use inside a DIY binaural head who answers to the name of Binaural Bill.
  • Luhd PM-01AB stereo microphone x 2. These are tiny plug-in power (PIP) omnidirectional microphones providing very nice sound for their price and size. I use them in an A/B configuration.
  • Induction coil (telephone pickup) x 2. These are tiny suction cup mics that in their day were used to record old-school telephone conversations.
  • Aquarian Audio Hydrophone H2a-XLR 9 x 2 with 30 feet long cables – Aquarian Audio has been very good to me. These mics have seen some abuse. The company stands by its products.
  • Barcus Berry 4000Pi Piezo Crystal Sensor x 3, with matching Barcus Berry 4000XL preamp – These are fragile mics with thin cables intended for pianos, harpsichords, and alike. They’re not intended for the ways I use and abuse them. With care, they’ve held up well and have produced great results, bringing sounds we would never hear with our naked ears into view.
  • Audio Technica AT841UG Omnidirectional Boundary Microphone x 2
  • Realistic/Radio Shack 33-1070 omnidirectional dynamic microphone – This mic was made by Shure in the 1980s as a competitor to the EV RE50. Its frequency response out performs the RE50.
  • Shure SM58 cardioid dynamic microphone

Playback

  • Sennheiser HD 25-1 II
  • Sony MDR 7506
  • Sony MDRV6
  • Apple iMac 21.5 computer

Measurement

  • Bruel & Kjaer type 2225 sound level meter – This is a pro-level meter that gives accurate A-weighted decibel readings between 25-140 dBA. While it’s as old as the Carter administration, I’d trust it over a cell phone SPL app any day.
  • Bruel & Kjaer 4230 calibrator

Bags

Various Domke and Think Tank Photo bags for different gear configurations. These are what I grew up with as a photojournalist. That said, I also use a myriad of other camera and luggage bags I’ve picked up at thrift stores. I mean, why not?

Cameras

  • Fuji XT2

Lenses

  • Rokinon 12mm F2.0 NCS CS Ultra Wide Angle (18mm full-frame equivalent)
  • Fujinon Lens XF 18-55mm F2.8-4.0 Zoom Lens (27-84mm equivalent)
  • PC-Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 Perspective Control (Shift) Lens (52.5mm equivalent)
  • Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 Lens, a Russian-made lens that works well for portraits on the cropped Fuji sensor (87mm equivalent)
  • Nikon 100mm f2.8 Series E lens (150mm equivalent)
  • Nikkor 200mm f/4 lens (300mm equivalent)

Support

  • Gitzo GT2540T Series 2 Traveler Tripod – I’ve used a dozen tripods over the years. This carbon fiber Gitzo is the only one I’ve never cursed at in the field.
  • VDB boom pole that extends to only four feet or so.
  • Gorillapod flexible tripod and another knock-off that works just as well.
  • Benro MP63 monopod
  • Bolex Paillard aluminum monopod

Various other bits and pieces

  • Over 366 feet of XLR cable, including two 100-footers
  • A variety of female and male XLR, RCA, 1/4 and 18th-inch connectors

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