The cinematographer famed for his virtuoso treatment of light and his compositions graduated from college as a student of the legendary György Illés. He worked with major directors including István Dárday, Márta Mészáros, Ferenc András, András Kovács, Pál Gábor, and Péter Gothár. He developed a special working relationship with director István Szabó, resulting in the birth of such classics as Bizalom (Confidence) and the Oscar-winning Mephisto. From the mid-1980s onwards he worked in the United States. He did the camera work on Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Legend of 1900 and Malena.