Best Camera for "Street Photography"? (Page 5): Olympus Pen F with a 12mm f2.0...

RobertW Loc: Breezy Point, New York

Olympus Pen F with a 12mm f2.0

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

stevefrankel wrote:

I've done street shooting for 50 years and the two... (show quote)

I agree, a Sony RX100 Mk 3 or above is ideal. The advantage of the Mk 3 is the wider aperture.

shelty Loc: Medford, OR

The camera in your hand is the best one.

le boecere

rpavich wrote:

You know..it's not ALWAYS about not being obvious...sometimes it's about the opposite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkIWW6vwrvM&frags=pl%2Cwn

Well, Gilden's brand of street photography is on the opposite side of the planet from mine + there may be a few Gilden wannabees on the streets of the world, but probably not many. I believe most street photographers try to avoid becoming the center of attention.

le boecere

billnikon wrote:

It really comes down to doing what you are comfortable with. For me, I use the POLITE approach. I want something different. If I see someone who I consider unique, I will ask politely if I can capture their likeness. I am rarely turned down and get a wonderful smile INSTEAD of a frown.
Again, you have to be comfortable in your own skin first, then venture out in whatever method fits you best.

I like your last statement, here. It should be quite easy for most any budding "street photographer" (regardless of definition) to grasp and follow.

berchman Loc: South Central PA

burkphoto wrote:

https://www.phototraces.com/creative-photography/famous-street-photographers/

This was written by pseudo-intellectuals, but can lead you to decent sources.

A very useful resource. I'm not sure why you characterize the short straightforward comments as pseudo-intellectual, although the one excerpt from Susan Sontag, although a reasonable characterization of the motives of a street photographer, is rather high end writing, but she actually was an intellectual, not a pseudo one.

le boecere

Apaflo wrote:

Quite honestly you are not describing Street Photography. The example image is a nice example of people photography and might be called environmental portraiture.

All a very reasonable and satisfying genre, but it is not Street Photography.

Agree with your definitions. No way to know whether that example image was taken on "the street", or, maybe, at a family reunion, or the like.

Graham Smith Loc: Cambridgeshire UK

I don't think there is a "best" camera for street photography. I use a Leica M9, a Fujifilm x100T and a Nikon D810. What I am about to say may surprise you, I find the Nikon to be, for me, the best for street photography. The Nikon is quicker and easier to use. The need for a small camera is a fallacy, it's the way in which the photographer behaves that gives him the stealth to obtain candid pictures. Learn to use your camera instinctively, don't fiddle with adjustments just before you take a picture. Hang your camera on a Black Rapid or similar strap so that it is behind you on your hip. Bring your camera to your eye, focus and shoot then lower your camera. I mostly use a wrist strap, holding the camera by my side.

Any lens from (on FF) 24mm to 50mm, depending on your style, would be ideal, if you prefer a zoom for a bit more reach (security) something similar to the Nikon 24-120 f4. I personally don't use anything longer than that because I feel that if I am going to take pictures of strangers I shouldn't be afraid to be close to them.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

berchman wrote:

A very useful resource. I'm not sure why you characterize the short straightforward comments as pseudo-intellectual, although the one excerpt from Susan Sontag, although a reasonable characterization of the motives of a street photographer, is rather high end writing, but she actually was an intellectual, not a pseudo one.

Sontag? She had some nice observations. But her prose is impenetrable. True intellectuals can say something profound to everyone, with complete clarity.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

le boecere wrote:

Well, Gilden's brand of street photography is on the opposite side of the planet from mine + there may be a few Gilden wannabees on the streets of the world, but probably not many. I believe most street photographers try to avoid becoming the center of attention.

Yes, I agree and I think that's what makes his photos stand out and be a cut above the normal street drivel. He said himself that he'd rather not be a clone to any of the other millions of "street" guys taking the same pictures over and over.

That's why I like his stuff and most other stuff that passes as street bores me to tears.

le boecere

burkphoto wrote:

Sontag? She had some nice observations. But her prose is impenetrable. True intellectuals can say something profound to everyone, with complete clarity.

Well stated, Bill. And, thanks for posting the "Famous Street Photographers You Should Know".

berchman Loc: South Central PA

burkphoto wrote:

Sontag? She had some nice observations. But her prose is impenetrable. True intellectuals can say something profound to everyone, with complete clarity.

Obviously, you understood her or you wouldn't say that her prose was "impenetrable." You penetrated it. I lean towards your point of view concerning the kind of writing I prefer, but profundity is to be found even in the thickets of the writing of post modern French intellectuals like Derrida and Lacan and the German Frankfurt School's Adorno and Horkheimer. One of my very few talents has been the ability to translate that kind of prose into clear writing and apply it to everyday life examples.

le boecere

Graham Smith wrote:

I don't think there is a "best" camera f... (show quote)

Thank you for weighing in on this topic, Graham. I'm going to paste this (your) pithy essayette in my personal files, as a ready reference and reminder. _Van

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

le boecere wrote:

I like your last statement, here. It should be quite easy for most any budding "street photographer" (regardless of definition) to grasp and follow.

However what Bill describes is a way pose subjects, and the results may look similar to Street Photography that is emphatically NOT what it is.

DaveC1 Loc: South East US

le boecere wrote:

Agree with your definitions. No way to know whether that example image was taken on "the street", or, maybe, at a family reunion, or the like.

Maybe you guys should look up the definition before waltzing off that pier at the deep end.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_photography