Street Photography and the Camera

mikepenn · March 15, 2010

I'm curious what cameras other photographers use and their feelings towards it. Walking around NYC I've seen a lot of street/PJ photographers and I don't think I've seen the camera twice. Personally I use a Nikon D300 almost all the time but I really like my little Leica D-Lux 4. It's small, quiet and it's daytime picture quality is fantastic. If it had better quality 800 to 1600 I would most likely use it all the time.

DonRicklin · March 15, 2010

I use the Pentax K7 that is in my Signature, with the 17-70mm and sometime the Zigview R.

Don

lizzard_nyc · March 15, 2010

Olympus E620--
I shoot both with my pancake 25mm f2.8
or my kit lens 40-150mm.

I like the swivel screen-and for a DSLR it's not that big, especially when paired with the pancake.

mud390 · March 15, 2010

I have my Nikon D80 and usually have a 28-105 mounted and usually carry a 55-200.

Kris

Richard · March 15, 2010

Canon 50D. Different lenses depending on my mood.

Contrary to general wisdom here, I use a 70-200 fairly often. I don't find that it makes me more obvious on crowded streets because the people I am shooting are usually too far away and lost in their thoughts to notice.

Kian · March 15, 2010

prefer to use something ard 100mm at least, I feel its easier to get a candid shot from some distance away. Besides, many people are just not comfortable with getting photographed by strangers.

TonyCooper · March 15, 2010

Two entry-level Nikons...a D40 and a D60. Often I'll go out with the 18/55 on one body and the 55/200 on the other. I've been shooting more with the 18/55 lately, but I still use the 55/200 quite a bit.

bdcolen · March 15, 2010

mikepenn wrote:

I'm curious what cameras other photographers use and their feelings towards it. Walking around NYC I've seen a lot of street/PJ photographers and I don't think I've seen the camera twice. Personally I use a Nikon D300 almost all the time but I really like my little Leica D-Lux 4. It's small, quiet and it's daytime picture quality is fantastic. If it had better quality 800 to 1600 I would most likely use it all the time.

It depends when and what for me - I am spending allot of time now with my Panasonic GF1 with the 20 1.7 - which makes it a 40mm. I can either use the live view screen, an add on electronic finder, or an optical 40 mm finder I got. It's tiny, which is nice, though I'm not a believer in the theory that a large camera is a hindrance. I also use an Olympus E-3, with either the 24-120 equivalent zoom, or the 21-44. And then there's the older Oly E-330, with a fully articulated live-view LCD that allows its use like an old TLR. That one is great with the 21-44 set at 21, and with a 21 optical finder.

Wineman · March 15, 2010

And Oly E-P2 with a 17mm f2.8 (it has the field of view of a 34 mm) and and nikon 50mm 1.8, longer lens but the 1.8 aperture is awesome. Love this little camera, like BD's it can be used with the live view or an Electronic View Finder and there are some Optical viewfinders as well. Does great in low light and has Image stabilization on the sensor, so all lens's take advantage of this. The best part is that it fits in my jacket pocket (without the viewfinder attached), so now I take my camera wherever I go...

Its great that there are adapters for just about any lens out there to use with the micro 4/3 system.

ChiShutter · March 15, 2010

I carry a Nikon D90 and a D200, and it depends on any given day whether I'm carrying one or both bodies. I tend to shoot mostly with a run of the mill 50mm f1.8 prime, although recently I've been carrying a friend's 80-200 f2.8 tele, which has been a lot of fun to shoot. I'll be looking for an 85mm prime to sub for the 80-200 when I return it, I think.

Tina Manley · March 15, 2010

mikepenn wrote:

I'm curious what cameras other photographers use and their feelings towards it. Walking around NYC I've seen a lot of street/PJ photographers and I don't think I've seen the camera twice. Personally I use a Nikon D300 almost all the time but I really like my little Leica D-Lux 4. It's small, quiet and it's daytime picture quality is fantastic. If it had better quality 800 to 1600 I would most likely use it all the time.

Leica M9 - the camera I've been waiting for since I switched to digital from the Leica M6 and 7. It's all about the lenses.

Tina

thoth · March 15, 2010

Tina Manley wrote:

Leica M9 - the camera I've been waiting for since I switched to digital from the Leica M6 and 7. It's all about the lenses.

Tina

Wanna trade kits?

I use a pair of D80s for everything. One generally has a Tamron 17-50 2.8 on it while the other has a Nikkor 80-200 2.8 push-pull. It's not much but it does the trick.

damonff · March 15, 2010

5DII with 85 1.2 II...pretty much all the time

bfjr · March 15, 2010

Canon S90 but going 4/3rd's soon I hope

phillybikeboy · March 15, 2010

mikepenn wrote:

Personally I use a Nikon D300 almost all the time

Still have the top secret Nikon glass, or did you give it back?

I use whatever is handy. Usually an EOS 40D, or Rebel XTi, though I still love some of the shots that come out of my little Kodak EasyShare P850.

michswiss · March 15, 2010

Edited. I'm happy to answer questions about a shot but my inventory of kit doesn't really matter.

Grainbelt · March 15, 2010

K200D and FA 50 1.4. Really want a DA 35mm 2.8 for a walkaround.

Just bought an LX3 though, so looking forward to using that when the big unit isn't practical.

vintagemxr · March 16, 2010

Nikon D90 with the 18-105 kit lens on it most of the time. I bought a Nikon 35mm f2 not long ago but have not used it much. My back up camera is my old CoolPix 8700 which works surprisingly well as long as nothing is happening fast; you could eat lunch during the shutter lag and in-camera processing.

Doug

Patti · March 16, 2010

Depends on the day and my mood. Usually I carry my D90 with 35-70 2.8 or 30 1.4. Sometimes I carry my M3.

Richard · March 16, 2010

mikepenn wrote:

Walking around NYC I've seen a lot of street/PJ photographers and I don't think I've seen the camera twice.

I think the responses here support your observation. A little of this, a little of that...I'm not surprised.

mikepenn · March 17, 2010

Richard wrote:

I think the responses here support your observation. A little of this, a little of that...I'm not surprised.

The funny thing is in Philadelphia I'll run into a couple people with a Nikon D90 or several with the same Canon.

As for lenses I almost always use a 20mm 2.8 or a 35mm 2.0 on my D300

rutt · March 17, 2010

Got a 5Dmii and all the cool lenses. Since I got the GF1, it's left at home except ballet or when I know it will be really dark and a big camera excused. GF1 isn't perfect, but it's a great camera in a small package with the 20mm f/1.7. All my best shots are with it since I got it. The best camera is the once you've got and this one is easy to have all the time.

ejg1890 · March 19, 2010

I will use either my D90 or D300s.

However, the choise of lens depends on what I want to shot. Lenses in the past have been the Tokina 11-16 and Nikon 24-70. What I use not is an ultra wide, 35mm or 50mm and either 100mm or 70-200mm for candid shots in a city.

mikepenn · May 8, 2010

I was out in NYC a couple of days ago and I came across 3 people with Leica M9's. It made me think about this Daido Moriyama video about being a slave to the camera and using a compact P&S.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXghTaROw9A

DonRicklin · May 8, 2010

mikepenn wrote: »

I was out in NYC a couple of days ago and I came across 3 people with Leica M9's. It made me think about this Daido Moriyama video about being a slave to the camera and using a compact P&S.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXghTaROw9A

THank you for sharing this. Very interesting.

Don

ABCL · May 8, 2010

I'll almost always use a 50mm F1.8 & a MII N. Though my future telephoto would be for condensed cropped shots.

Wil Davis · May 8, 2010

I don't really care about gear…

…it's all about the end result!

- Wil

bdcolen · May 8, 2010

Amen. The best camera is the one in your hands when you see a gorgeous image.

michswiss · May 8, 2010

Watching youtube is painfully difficult behind the "great firewall..." But agree with the sentiment that the best camera is the one you have with you. The question is how to have the best camera / lens combo with you all the time.

There's a guy I've met casually in Shanghai a couple of times. Last time I randomly ran into him he had a D3x with a 70-200 VRII, an M9 with a Noctilux and a Hasselblad around his neck. He went on to complain that his eyesight prevents him from manually focussing. He's also popular on Flickr.

Oh for the money.

mikepenn · May 8, 2010

michswiss wrote: »

Watching youtube is painfully difficult behind the "great firewall..." But agree with the sentiment that the best camera is the one you have with you. The question is how to have the best camera / lens combo with you all the time.

There's a guy I've met casually in Shanghai a couple of times. Last time I randomly ran into him he had a D3x with a 70-200 VRII, an M9 with a Noctilux and a Hasselblad around his neck. He went on to complain that his eyesight prevents him from manually focussing. He's also popular on Flickr.

Oh for the money.

Maybe his poor eyesight is do to the lack of blood flow to his brain from having three cameras around his neck. :ivar

Richard · May 8, 2010

mikepenn wrote: »

Maybe is poor eyesight is do to the lack of blood flow to his brain from having three cameras around his neck. :ivar

rofl

Street Photography and the Camera

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