Compact Cameras and Street Photography

[SwissJon]

Now I know a lot of you are interested in street photography and I also know that a big heavy conspicuous DSLR is not neccesarily the right tool for the job..

I was reading an article today by someone insisting that a lieca Rangefinder, something like an M series film camera is the only tool that's up to the job. They insisted that digital cameras, in whatever format, were just not the right tool.

Now I'm curious about this.. I wonder what you all use and think?

For me, there's several key elements that go into creating a good 'Street' camera, but I've no idea what that narrows the camera down to..
1. Inconspicuousness. For me, the point about street photography is that the subject should not be aware or disturbed by the camera. This puts them at ease and makes it easy to make good candid photos.

2. Shallow depth of field.. Working in a crowded or otherwise busy environment, cutting some of that business from the pictture is fairly essential.

3. Easy to use controls. I don't want to miss a moment because I'm looking down disabling with various tiny buttons to set the camera up. A/S/M are the only modes I need.. Or even just A and M.

4. Shutter lag. I don't want to miss 'that' moment because the camera was having a tizzy and dragging its heels.

5. Shooting in RAW.. So that the less than ideal shooting conditions can be accommodated somewhat after the fact.

6. Inconspicuousness,, ok, I put this first, but I'm also putting it last.. It really is important that the camera doesn't interact with the subjects.

Notice here I've ignored IQ and Mpix. I'm not really interested in them.. A grainy image under these circumstances is an enhancement for me.

So, anyone else got any ideas to add to this wish list? Anyone got any ideas on what camera meets these needs? Any other comments?

[Sweetlifephoto]

I use my iPhone 4 for a lot of street photography, but to meet the requirements you are talking about, I would take my Canon G9 (current version is the G12 but it is the same basic camera). No shutter lag, manual mode av/tv mode, RAW, sharp zoom lens, flash hot shoe. And there is nothing to learn for canon shooters since the controls are the same as the EOS series DSLRs

[sk66]

A wide angle lens.....
And this is why I think compacts are better than a DSLR. To be "inconspicuous" with a DSLR you generally have to shoot from further with a longer lens....it generally doesn't work.

For "moving/emotional" street photography you want to be CLOSE.

I'm not really any good at it..... because (IMO) really good street photography quite often requires you to be close and conspicuous.

BTW, photojournalism (i.e. pictures of "street activity") is not what I think of as "street photography".

If I were buying for this purpose only I would look to one of the APS-C mirrorless with a pancake lens... Nex-5 maybe.

[Elmo]

As most street people are opinionated as am I. so here is my opinion and why I have them.

Range finder type camera yes. Two basic reasons first a rangefinder look more professional and gives a hint you might not be just a voyeur. The second reason is more important its controls are much simpler and easy to preset. Combine this with a fixed focal length lens you can previsualize your shot much better and keep your camera set when the 'decisive moment" arrives.

Digital vs Film many purest have been changing their mind and accepting digital. But keep in mind with digital you need to wait for THE moment and not just click away and hope for the best.

One may need to stake out a single spot for a long time before THE image presents itself. Know what you want and go for it. Other times it just happens right in front of you and you need to be ready.

P.s. Use a wide, get in close do not be a telephoto voyeur.

[RichardTaylor]

You may want to see this thread.

7 Steps to Better Street Photography

[rosserx]

I do a lot of street shooting. I use a Pentax K-x which is a small camera compared to many DSLRs out there. I use a 35 mm prime and a Sigma 10-20 and 90% of the time its the 10-20. I love this lens. Like sk66 says, for the best emotional street shots you have to get up close.

As for compacts, I know several street shooters who use the Ricoh GRD III and swear by them. It has a fixed 28 mm f/1.9 lens and all the IQ you could wish for. And I'll probably be giving one to myself for Christmas!

[ravncat]

Micro Four Thirds cameras are very good at this.
Small, wide lenses, thin dof possible...

My ep-1 does have a bit of shutter lag, (That gets very small when I go to manual focus - and my 24mm equivalent has a great manual focus ring - which also has focus marks for zone focus) But I hear that the newer cameras (ep-3 and the panasonic equiv) are much improved in speed and af performance etc throughout...

[SwissJon]

Interesting answers...

I'm not actually looking to get a camera for street photos, I've watched videos of people taking them, and I really don't have the right personality for it, but I was reading an article and this question posed itself to me so I thought I'd throw it out there. It's quite interesting how different people approach the subject.

Those of you using an iPhone or similar, do you use the built in camera app, or something like Instagram or Hipstermatic?

The world is changing and our choice of cameras is growing.

[sk66]

Man, using a phone camera would be much sneakier/easier...kind of seems like "cheating" (for no valid reason).

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by sk66

Man, using a phone camera would be much sneakier/easier...kind of seems like "cheating" (for no valid reason).

Ha ha.. That's because you're being voyeristic.. Getting a very long lens so that people are unaware they're being photographed is the same thing.. Lulling people into a false sense of security.

The more recent smart phones ith their 8Mpix+ cameras are going to start a new trend I think.