What lens should I get for this?

[Daniel Veazey]

I have a Nikon D3000. I want to get a 24mm prime lens with autofocus for street photography. Price is the most important factor for me. I know that the lens has to have the autofocus motor in it because the D3000 doesn't have it. Can someone suggest a lens for me that meets these requirements?

Thanks,
Daniel

[inkista]

Errr.. just a thought: but you could do street photography by stopping down, shooting from the hip, and zone/scale focusing with a manual focus lens, too....

Granted, the DoF markings will be off for a crop, as the DoF scale assumes full-frame/film, but chances are it'll be good enough to ballpark it.

And it would be hecka cheaper to go for an old manual non-CPU lens. You wouldn't have metering, though.

Come to think of it, why not just get the 35/1.8?

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by inkista

Granted, the DoF markings will be off for a crop, as the DoF scale assumes full-frame/film, but chances are it'll be good enough to ballpark it.

If anything, the DoF scale would be tighter than actual: smaller sensor = deeper DoF.

To the OP: why 24mm? Why prime?

[Daniel Veazey]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

If anything, the DoF scale would be tighter than actual: smaller sensor = deeper DoF.

To the OP: why 24mm? Why prime?

I just thought those would be good after reading Eric Kim's blog.

[Jo.T]

Prime are great, but it can change the way you take photos. Try setting your zoom to 24mm and go out for a day and see if you can work with it, or look back at you photos and see what length you use the most. The others worth considering are the 35mm and 50mm, I have a feeling my new 35mm is going to get a lot of use. If you dont mind manual focus look at the slightly older AF-D lenses they are brilliant.

Cheers Jo

[Daniel Veazey]

Originally Posted by Jo.T

Prime are great, but it can change the way you take photos. Try setting your zoom to 24mm and go out for a day and see if you can work with it, or look back at you photos and see what length you use the most. The others worth considering are the 35mm and 50mm, I have a feeling my new 35mm is going to get a lot of use. If you dont mind manual focus look at the slightly older AF-D lenses they are brilliant.

Cheers Jo

Thanks, Jo. I think another reason for getting a prime lens is that they are shorter and present less of a profile sticking out of the camera (is that right?) and look less intrusive to people you're taking pictures of on the street. This is another thing I read about on Eric Kim's blog.

[IABoomer]

If this is the guy you're talking about: Eric Kim Street Photography | Los Angeles Street Photographer, Gallery, and Blog in Black and White

keep in mind that he's shooting a 24mm and 35mm on a 5D, which is a full-frame body. Your D3000 is a crop body, so 24mm is going to give you a 36mm field of view, and a 35mm is going to give you a 54mm field of view. If you want that 24mm "look", you're going to need something closer to 16mm on your camera.

I think a lot of the tradition surrounding primes for street shooting probably comes from the Leica rangefinder users where you had either 35mm film, or the M9 full frame sensor in a somewhat small body. Considering you're slinging an SLR body, I can't say that a 24 or 35 prime will be significantly smaller and less intimidating than the stock 18-55 zoom, especially if you keep a hood on the prime.

[inkista]

Ok, this is probably of no earthly use to the OP, as it's too expensive ($550) and is manual focus only, but fits the bill in being smaller than the kit lens, a prime, and wide.

The Cosina Voigtlander Skopar 20/3.5 SLII:



(I know, it's on a Canon, but the CV SLIIs come in Canon EOS and Nikon F, and they used to do Pentax K). Pancake lenses have always struck me as being ideal for street shooting, and this is where Pentax and micro four-thirds rock.

Examples on a D700 can be found here.

Or you could look for the old Nikon 45mm f/2.8, which is very very similar to the C/Y Zeiss Tessar 45mm f/2.8.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Daniel Veazey

I just thought those would be good after reading Eric Kim's blog.

Just because one guy is doing it doesnt mean you have to. find your own style and technique.

[Daniel Veazey]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Just because one guy is doing it doesnt mean you have to. find your own style and technique.

Thanks for the encouragement to find my own style and technique. Since I don't know much about photography, I wanted to try imitating someone else so I could learn that way.