Help with new camera for street and everyday photography

xkaes · Dec 5, 2024

streetlover said:
Hello to the forum. I need your help to choose a film camera for street photography. I like 28 or 35mm since i can zone focus but i also need to have the ability to critical focus if needed. I dont like 38-45mm lenses since they are always in between to my eyes. Id like a small camera to carry with me everywhere with a very good lens and a good viewfinder since i wear glasses. I shoot mostly street and everyday stuff. What would you suggest ? Budget till 800 euro.

800 euro gives you a big net, and as we've seen, there are lots of people that are willing to spend all your money.

Since you want a small camera -- without saying what small means, and if it also means light -- you have a lot of options. Since you say "street photography", I assume that means existing light, so that means a fast aperture.

If you do want something small and light for street photography, your option become fewer since that means one lens. Do you want to stick to one focal length (smallest and lightest) or a zoom (bigger, heavier, more expensive, and more versatile).

Do you want something new or will used suffice?

You say you want to "critical focus" but have trouble with viewfinders due to eyeglasses. Do that mean auto-focus is a good option or out of the question?

For me, there are too many questions to give you advice, but you have lots of options -- until you think more about what you want the camera & lens to do.

streetlover · Dec 5, 2024

xkaes said:
800 euro gives you a big net, and as we've seen, there are lots of people that are willing to spend all your money.

Since you want a small camera -- without saying what small means, and if it also means light -- you have a lot of options. Since you say "street photography", I assume that means existing light, so that means a fast aperture.

If you do want something small and light for street photography, your option become fewer since that means one lens. Do you want to stick to one focal length (smallest and lightest) or a zoom (bigger, heavier, more expensive, and more versatile).

Do you want something new or will used suffice?

You say you want to "critical focus" but have trouble with viewfinders due to eyeglasses. Do that mean auto-focus is a good option or out of the question?

For me, there are too many questions to give you advice, but you have lots of options -- until you think more about what you want the camera & lens to do.

These are very good questions, ill try to answer them all. Small camera is to me Pentax mx, big one is Nikon f3hp, so id say weight is also a parameter that is important since, although i liked the whole experience with the nikon a lot more and my photos were 30% sharper, the pentax size made me take it a lot more often out to photograph. I am a hobbyist so when i go for example a small trip to Amsterdam i take 20-30 photos but i want also to enjoy my walk without carrying a camera that weights more than 800-900gr at its max. That said, i wouldnt be negative with a much smaller camera if it had a great lens and a reliability that wouldnt make me worry( like for example ricoh gr or yashica t4, i love the size but no one repairs them). I like only prime lenses and i want either 28 or 35mm, not some strange focal lengths like 38, 40, 42mm that some cameras have. Used would be fine if it can be properly cla'd and then serve me without problems. I am ok with autofocus, as long as it works properly and doesnt hunt all the time. Thanks for the help with the procedure, your questions helped for sure.

xkaes · Dec 5, 2024

Since you've mentioned SLRs, there are plenty of small & light ones, but you'll need to decide if you want a single lens (ex. 28mm f2 or 35mm f1.8) or a zoom (ex. Tokina 24-40 f2.8). There are SLRs that are strictly manual focus, strictly auto-focus, or both.

streetlover · Dec 5, 2024

xkaes said:
Since you've mentioned SLRs, there are plenty of small & light ones, but you'll need to decide if you want a single lens (ex. 28mm f2 or 35mm f1.8) or a zoom (ex. Tokina 24-40 f2.8). There are SLRs that are strictly manual focus, strictly auto-focus, or both.

I dont want zoom

Sirius Glass · Dec 5, 2024

I would use a 28mm lens for street photography. I find that in general I very rarely use the 35mm lens at all because to me it is too close to the normal 50mm lens. 24mm is about the widest on can go without distorting the shape of heads.

GregY · Dec 5, 2024

streetlover said:
Thank you all for the great answers. I am an amateur who just started getting a little better in Photography. Fully manual is not bad at all since i am used from my pentax mx. The problem is that with glasses i cant see the whole frame and i cant focus accurate, otherwise i would be more than happy with it. I also would like somehow sharper lens since the 28mm 2.8m is to me very very flat. A rangefinder with 28mm would also be nice but i would prefer to be able to focus and frame in the same place, without external viewfinder etc. i.

There are Leicas and Bessas with 28 finders. In my case i have the camera set...i'm not metering and shooting at the same time. I have the camera zone focused....& then point & shoot with the external finder.
Since you mentioned lens quality... I think a Leica minilux (40mm lens) or Nikon 28 ti........will far outshine the XA.

xkaes · Dec 5, 2024

I'd use a 28mm over a 35mm only because you can crop a 28mm, but you can't make the 35mm any wider. And everyone makes great 28mm lenses -- with different features, of course.

George Mann · Dec 5, 2024

xkaes said:
I'd use a 28mm over a 35mm only because you can crop a 28mm, but you can't make the 35mm any wider. And everyone makes great 28mm lenses -- with different features, of course.

I disagree. A 28mm focal length places you too close to your subjects, which is both rude and invasive.

People have no respect for others these days!

Paul Howell · Dec 5, 2024

Just under your budget of 800 Eu is the Nikon Sp, a good used model. It has a additional frame window for 28 and 35mm. Here is link with a pretty good history and review.

Nikon Rangefinder SP

MFstooges · Dec 5, 2024

Have you tried diopter accessories for Pentax MX.
In my opinion the 28mm is the overlooked focal length in both Pentax and Nikon. I've never seen a 28mm prime lens with stellar performance. I think 28-70m zoom is actually sharper but it's heavy.

Dali · Dec 5, 2024

I would go with an aperture priority SLR and a 28mm or 35mm lens (depending on your taste and your habits) and be done. If I were in your situation, I would try a Nikon EM and a E serie lens.

Alex Benjamin · Dec 5, 2024

streetlover said:
Is the viewfinder good for use with glasses ?

I wear glasses and never had problems. That said, I don't know what your expectations are in that regards. I've never had a viewfinder that was well suited for glasses, to a point where I've often thought of switching to contact lenses.

MFstooges · Dec 5, 2024

Dali said:
I would go with an aperture priority SLR and a 28mm or 35mm lens (depending on your taste and your habits) and be done. If I were in your situation, I would try a Nikon EM and a E serie lens.

28mm E Nikon is worse than Pentax M.

GregY · Dec 5, 2024

Dali said:
I would go with an aperture priority SLR and a 28mm or 35mm lens (depending on your taste and your habits) and be done. If I were in your situation, I would try a Nikon EM and a E serie lens.

If you look at post #8, you'll see the OP has a Pentax MX. He can't see the entire viewfinder....& is looking for a sharper lens than his 28mm.... I can't see an EM solving either of those problems.

MattKing · Dec 5, 2024

A good condition Pentax 28mm lens designed for the MX should be an excellent lens. If you are unhappy with your results, it is more likely to be due to either your difficulty with focusing or some problem with the particular copy of the lens you have than with any design deficiencies of the lens. If you like the camera and that focal length otherwise, I would consider trying a diopter adjustment accessory for the viewfinder and another copy of the 28mm lens.

Dali · Dec 5, 2024

MFstooges said:
28mm E Nikon is worse than Pentax M.

For street photography, I doubt you would notice any difference.

MFstooges · Dec 5, 2024

Dali said:
For street photography, I doubt you would notice any difference.

Try read OP post #8

Don_ih · Dec 6, 2024

MattKing said:
A good condition Pentax 28mm lens designed for the MX should be an excellent lens.

Every Pentax prime lens I've seen has been excellent. Basically, every 28mm slr lens I've seen - even third-party branded lenses - has been very good. It's a reliable focal length for every camera, it seems.

I doubt almost anyone would be able to find a significant difference between a Pentax 28mm and a Nikon Series E 28mm, no matter what they were using it for.

pentaxuser · Dec 6, 2024

Streetlover, with 35mm film and a 28mm lens focused at 12 ft the depth of field at f8 has a range of about 2 metres to infinity and with a 400 speed film is likely to give a hand-holdable speed in almost any street photography scene with almost any light conditions

So unless you need to be closer to your subject than 2 metres you have an instant point and shoot camera On many occasions you might not even to have to raise the camera to your eye so you are largely unobtrusive to your subject

OK let's assume now that the site that gave me this information is a little optimistic with its figures then even so the 28mm lens largely avoids the issue of needing to focus the lens so avoiding the problem with glasses

It looks to me that a 28mm lens set manually to the right distance should give you all you need

pentaxuser

Paul Howell · Dec 6, 2024

Don_ih said:
Every Pentax prime lens I've seen has been excellent. Basically, every 28mm slr lens I've seen - even third-party branded lenses - has been very good. It's a reliable focal length for every camera, it seems.

I doubt almost anyone would be able to find a significant difference between a Pentax 28mm and a Nikon Series E 28mm, no matter what they were using it for.

I have both, well all 4, the Pentax M42 28, the K 28, Nikon NonAI converted to AI, and the Nikon E, at 11X14 someone with a good eye might be able to tell the differance in contrast between the M42 and K, the multicoated K does have bit more contrast. Other than that, all are very good performers. I have a Tokina 28mm 2.0 in Konica AR mount that rivals them all.

Help with new camera for street and everyday photography

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