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Experienced Street Shooters: Your Gear Advice Needed

Z

ZoranC

New member
One of things I like to do is street photography, and especially what I call "indoor atmosphere/mood". Naturally, I want not to be intrusive about it.

So far I have used EP2 with CV 25/.95 for that but not to my full satisfaction. .95 is fast but rendering at .95 combined with high ISO makes me want for more. Also manual focus at .95 means I need more time to focus which in turns mean longer amount of time to end up intrusive.

So I have been contemplating changing approach to it.

One path I have been thinking of is using my NEX5 with future CV 35/1.2 (whenever it might come). Some drop in speed of lens (not huge) should end up compensated by much better high ISO, and total size of gear in hand should be smaller than EP2+Nokton, making me even less intrusive to enviornment. Cons is loss of in-body IS, meaning need to push ISO even higher. This might improve with future NEX models.

Other path might be going to SLT-55 with something like 50/1.4 or 35/1.8. Pros is having both in-body IS and high ISO, plus fast AF (making me less intrusive overall), and having both viewfinder (for quick and stable shots) and articulated screen. Cons is body is bigger than EP2 but overall size is not significantly bigger. Noise level it creates needs to be checked in hand as not having mirror slap might make it as quiet as EP2 and NEX5 are.

What are your thoughts and advices?
 
Z

ZoranC

New member
Thanks, but I am focusing on small / close quarters / "intimate" indoor placeswhere bigger cameras with mirror are very intrusive. Think small coffee shops for example.
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
ZoranC said:
I have been thinking about Ricoh but at this moment I am passing on it.

Any thoughts on paths I have in my mind?
Click to expand...
I think you're missing a bet on the Ricoh. Forget ultra fast bulky lenses, f2.8 is fast enough. You need the dof and snap focus.

I shoot in cafes, etc, all the time with SLRs .. Just got the GXR. Both do well but the GXR is liberating as it is very quiet and small = unintimidating.

Have to say I'd prefer a slightly longer lens: the A12 28mm is a little too wide. I look forward to the M module and a 25-28 mm (37-42 mm EFL) lens.
 
Z

ZoranC

New member
Godfrey said:
I think you're missing a bet on the Ricoh.
Click to expand...
I likely am but at the moment I have my reasons. They might change in the future but they are here now.

Godfrey said:
I shoot in cafes, etc, all the time with SLRs .. Just got the GXR. Both do well but the GXR is liberating as it is very quiet and small = unintimidating.
Click to expand...
Do you, based on your experience, feel SLT-55 has a good chance of not being found intrusive? I don't know how loud shutter on it really is (I will try it in store) but at least mirror slap is gone and size in hand seems reasonable on photos:



 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
ZoranC said:
I likely am but at the moment I have my reasons. They might change in the future but they are here now.


Do you, based on your experience, feel SLT-55 has a good chance of not being found intrusive? I don't know how loud shutter on it really is (I will try it in store) but at least mirror slap is gone and size in hand seems reasonable on photos:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyslta55/images/inhand2.jpg

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonyslta55/images/inhand1.jpg
Click to expand...
SLT-55: I have zero experience with them. Should be nice and quiet. Looks just a hair less bulky than the Oly E-1, which has a super quiet shutter/mirror for an SLR. Sony has some very good lenses.

What are your reasons for not considering the GXR? It's MUCH smaller than the SLT-55. The only negative on the GXR for me at the moment is the wait for the M lens camera module ... Once that arrives, the lens versatility will be great.

However, being non-intrusive is a state of mind and a manner of behavior, not a camera. I've been able to shoot with the E-5 in an unobtrusive manner, even in very quiet circumstances, and that's a beefy pro-grade SLR. Similarly, I've seen people with a teensy little compact be about as intrusive as you can get.
 
Jorgen Udvang

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I use all kinds of cameras and lenses for street photography, anything from from 14 to 750mm EFL. Although a fast lens and/or IS might come in handy sometimes, the most important thing is the photographer. If I blend in, few people notice or care if or when I take their photo. If I want a smile, I smile. If I want people to continue what they're doing, I wait... 5 minutes, 15 minutes, order lunch, half an hour...

The only thing I wouldn't use is a white lens, which is one of the reasons I don't own a Canon. White lenses spell "Professional", and that changes people's attitude. At the moment, I use a GH1 with an assortment of manual focus lenses, mostly 28, 50 and 85mm, but sometimes the Panasonic 7-14. The flip-out screen is nice for low or high angles, and I would prefer not to buy cameras without that feature anymore.

So my recommendation would be a GH2 with 2-3 lenses. Pana 14 and 20 plus Voigtlander 50/1.1 wouldn't be too far off.
 
Jorgen Udvang

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Godfrey said:
However, being non-intrusive is a state of mind and a manner of behavior, not a camera. I've been able to shoot with the E-5 in an unobtrusive manner, even in very quiet circumstances, and that's a beefy pro-grade SLR. Similarly, I've seen people with a teensy little compact be about as intrusive as you can get.
Click to expand...
Two photographers, one thought... lol

We should get out, being non-intrusive together once. That would make us invisible :ROTFL:
 
Z

ZoranC

New member
Godfrey said:
What are your reasons for not considering the GXR?
Click to expand...
It is tough for me to consider buying "sealed to end user" design that I have seen people say does end up having dust on sensor and thus might need to be sent regularly to manufacturer for cleaning.

Thank you for your help! :)
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
Jorgen Udvang said:
Two photographers, one thought... lol

We should get out, being non-intrusive together once. That would make us invisible ...
Click to expand...
I'd love to. You're almost half a world away however, and when I go traveling later this year I'll be going east and north, not west and south!
 
Z

ZoranC

New member
Jorgen Udvang said:
I use all kinds of cameras and lenses for street photography, anything from from 14 to 750mm EFL. Although a fast lens and/or IS might come in handy sometimes, the most important thing is the photographer. If I blend in, few people notice or care if or when I take their photo. If I want a smile, I smile. If I want people to continue what they're doing, I wait... 5 minutes, 15 minutes, order lunch, half an hour...
Click to expand...
Please notice you and I live and shoot in two different cultural environments, not all are equally welcoming :)
 
L

luznoi

Guest
The Nex 5/3 shutter is loud for such otherwise stealthy camera. The A33/55 is less loud but bigger, of course. However, intrusiveness has much to do with one's behavior than what camera one uses. If you got to have silent, then put up with the high ISO noise with compacts such as LX5, TL500, XZ1 etc...If you want an ultimate non intrusive camera, get a camera phone like, say, the N8. IMO the camera rarely change much, if at all.
 
Godfrey

Godfrey

Well-known member
ZoranC said:
It is tough for me to consider buying "sealed to end user" design that I have seen people say does end up having dust on sensor and thus might need to be sent regularly to manufacturer for cleaning.

Thank you for your help! :)
Click to expand...
I haven't seen anyone complaining about dust in the camera modules, but then I've hardly seen more than a dozen GXR users total and that's only in the past week or so. Who are these people?

If you want ultimate dust protection on an interchangeable lens camera, you want an Olympus E-5 with HG or SHG lenses. Weather and dust proofed, the best dust buster in the business.
 
L

luznoi

Guest
One path I have been thinking of is using my NEX5 with future CV 35/1.2 (whenever it might come). Some drop in speed of lens (not huge) should end up compensated by much better high ISO, and total size of gear in hand should be smaller than EP2+Nokton, making me even less intrusive to enviornment. Cons is loss of in-body IS, meaning need to push ISO even higher. This might improve with future NEX models.

Other path might be going to SLT-55 with something like 50/1.4 or 35/1.8. Pros is having both in-body IS and high ISO, plus fast AF (making me less intrusive overall), and having both viewfinder (for quick and stable shots) and articulated screen. Cons is body is bigger than EP2 but overall size is not significantly bigger. Noise level it creates needs to be checked in hand as not having mirror slap might make it as quiet as EP2 and NEX5 are.

What are your thoughts and advices?

There's no perfect camera. You have to compromise somewhere. Make a list, set your priorities and set a budget. If you really think the camera is such a difference maker, then by all means, find one, get it. AFAIK no mirrorless has very fast AF. DSLRs are too bulky, big. The Fuji X100 might have a fast AF (i don't know) but no IBIS and fixed lens. MF with legacy lenses on the NEX or m43 will be slower than their AF lenses unless you prefocused. Now, if you are going to prefocus then you might as well as prefocused with their lenses as well, so I don't buy MF is always faster than AF. It can be less of a hassle, sure.
 
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