billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Kodak Brownie. Wide and sharp, you do not have to focus, just point and shoot, you do not even have to look through the camera, just raise it up and shoot. This was a favorite camera for Arthur Sasse.

joseph premanandan

i like Fuji-xT!,it is very versatile,the auto focus is very good,especially in the low light situations and is easy to carry around.good luck.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Panasonic G85... pick your lens:

http://hazeghi.org/mft-lenses.html

A new kit is under a grand. I doubt you would complain after using it for a week.

https://m.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonic-lumix-dmc-g85-g80

CatMarley Loc: North Carolina

See if you can get your hands on a Fuji XT-20. Once you handle it, if you are a lover of fine engineering and elegant handling, you will not get anything else! The little pancake lens 27 mm or the 18 mm that is almost as small would be just what you want. Make no mistake. This is a REAL camera.

davyboy Loc: Anoka Mn.

PANASONIC!!! G7 can be had with a lens for $500

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

I am shooting with a Nikon D810 and have 11 lenses, mostly primes. My wife currently has an Olympus E-M5m2. She recently suggested that I get a mirrorless body for my less intense/casual outings and share her stable of 7 lenses. I was able to buy the last new E-M1 in Toronto for C$999 in March and love the capabilities. It is really good for street, macro and family events. It will not replace my D810 for expansive landscapes.And the "live comp" was fantastic for the Victoria Day fireworks in Ottawa last month, in the rain.

Example using Live Composition - 4" exposures


Canada 150 Tulip after the rain

drbilly

The Olympus em10 moo is a great camera and relatively cheap. I use a Pasonic 20mm when the light gets low. If you are looking for inexpensive, and you have enough light, the 12-50mm kit lens does a fine job

drbilly

I mean Olympus em10 m ii. Damn spell check!

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

I liked the new model number EM10 Moooo....eieio.

Jeffcs Loc: Myrtle Beach South Carolina

Opinion stated like many above everyone likes different stuff
You noted not spending too much
You get what you pay for
So if you go inexpensive you'll have somewhat lesser image quality
I'm a long standing Nikon shooter getting older and not looking to travel heavy
I went with Olympus 4/3 great system at less than 1/2 the weight beening 4/3 IQ very good what I miss was the low light capabilities I'm used to with FF D5
Point is smaller cheeper lighter expect to give up something
There's always trade offs
I was willing for a lesser image trade off for weight and size
Good luck and have fun

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

It is very difficult to give you the right answer, at least it is for me. How big are your hands? Mirrorless tend to be small cameras.
I use Olympus cameras and I am very satisfied with their performance. Mirrorless are great for street photography.
My recommendation is that you go to a camera store and ask to try several of these cameras. If there is one that you really like then renting is a good alternative to know if you will be happy with it.
The equivalent of a full frame 35mm with a mirrorless camera should give you a very decent field of view for street photography.
A used body and lens and a refub could be very good options with your limited budget.

caljr Loc: Indiana

I have been shooting the Fuji X-T20 for about 2 months and love this camera. I shoot the Fuji 18-55 short zoom for street photography and am very pleased with the results. The camera is small and might take some time to get use to it but it's a well thought out camera and worth a look.

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

Hi Rab, my suggestion is to consider the Olympus OMD EM-10 Mkii with either the 14-42mm kit lens or if you are willing to stretch your budget get the Olympus 17mm f 1.8 prime lens which on the camera will approximate 34mm FF equivalent field of view. I have the EM10 Mkii with the 14-42mm kit lens and regularly use the combo for street photograph and find most of my street photography images are taken with the lens set around 17mm to 25mm. At 25mm with the crop factor of 2 on the OMD EM10 Mkii, this would approximate the 52.5mm FF field of view you obtain with your Nikon DX 35mm f1.8 lens.

I have a Nikon D7200 and the 35mm f 1.8 DX lens combo as well and for street photograph prefer the OMD EM10 Mkii with its excellent 5 axis in body image stabilization system. The Olympus kit is smaller, lighter and less conspicuous when shooting street scenes. True, the 14-42mm kit lens is not as sharp as the 17mm f1.8 lens. But, considering you state you want to keep the initial cost as low as possible and still get a good shooter, that is in my opinion the best combination.

I noticed that several others have posted similar suggestions, one suggested the EM10 Mkii with the Panasonic 12-32mm lens which is a great lens too, however, there is one consideration you should be aware of and that is that when you pair a Olympus lens with an Olympus body or a Panasonic lens with a Panasonic body and shoot JPG images you get the full lens correction capability offered by the camera body when a native lens is used. Very often that is not the case when you cross match one manufacturer's lens to another manufacturer's camera. Of course if you always shoot in RAW, then there is no issue.

One last suggestion, as you are very familiar with the feel of the Nikon equipment, it would be prudent to handle the Olympus kit or for that matter any other brand of kit before you lay down your money. I have reasonably large hands and found, and still do find it takes more than a few minutes to get use to the hold and feel when I switch from using my Nikon to using my Em10 Mkii. You may or my not find the transition comfortable.

Good luck with your quest.
Regards,
Garth

Toment Loc: FL, IL

How about a used Sony a7. FF but not as capable as newer ones but good to try. I bought a used Oly Md em 10 and a lens (14-42) for $380. Great little camera except for the menus, ooooh. A6000 I have is great and 16-50 lens is very good. A6500 I have is better because of 5 axis stabilization. Had a Canon 5D iii, too big and heavy..
Don't have but believe the Fujis are also excellent. Have I helped, probably not, but there is no perfect camera yet. If you go mirrorless, you'll like it if you are looking for smaller but just as good. Have fun!

adm

I will also vote for Olympus, Pen or OM-D series. They are lighter and more compact even compared to other mirrorless cameras. Image quality is great with amazing color rendition. There is an almost infinite range of lenses that you can use. I use some Olympus lenses as well as manual focus Nikkor lenses with an adapter. You can also use Panasonic lenses and many third-party lenses designed for micro 4/3. Highly recommended.