What do you shoot with?

BradleyK · Nov 25, 2013

Changing things up a bit (no real reason to do so), I have, for the last several weeks, been leaving the M6s at home and begun carrying a single F3HP (sans MD4) with a 50mm F1.2 Ais Nikkor to shoot on the street (no camera bag, no other lenses). I stuff a couple of rolls of HP5 or Tri-X into my jacket pocket and go. The feeling is oddly liberating! While the Nikon will never match the Leica for quickness of focus, I am, by my own admission, getting fairly quick with the Type A screen that came with this particular camera (an $85.00 USD evilbay "win").

smithdoor · Nov 25, 2013

Crown Graphic 4x5 with 135 mm lens also as need a 215mm lens it may be the last one ever sold I do know it was the last one sold in Fresno CA. I also have a Pear River I purchase back 1987 and have new put a roll of film in it and digital for computer work. This only way I hunt no bomb bomb Banby lives. I am also a gunsmith and I do not hunt with a gun just a camera.

Dave

lightwisps · Nov 25, 2013

I make it simple on my self. I only have 2 cameras. Both Nikon F5s, one for B/W and one for color, so those are all I shoot with. Don

ToddB · Dec 31, 2013

Rolleiflex TLR's or Nikon FE

Todd

flatulent1 · Jan 2, 2014

I don't do a lot of 'street' but when I do it's usually with one of the following...
Mamiya 645 Pro with wlf and 80mm lens
Yashica Mat 124G
EOS RT with 40mm pancake

More often though I just use whatever I happen to have with me.

Xmas · Jan 18, 2014

at the weekends in street markets I use Canon Ps with 28, 35 and 50mm Canon lenses.
400 ISO /125 prefocused

28@ 5ft
35@ 7ft
50@10ft

instinctive point for the hangunners, from the hip for the rest of you

the P shutter is louder than a Leica's fabric but you have got the shot before they hear it

Helios 1984 · Sep 16, 2016

Maris said:
Curiously, I have found that using a big camera on a tripod makes me "invisible" when doing street photography. I'm "part of the furniture" rather than an annoying pest that buzzes after people with a camera fixed to my face.

I set up by prefocussing and framing on an promising spot, shop window, ticket booth, fountain, and the like, where interesting looking people may do quirky things. I watch the unfolding scene attentively but casually and I never look at anyone through the camera. Sometimes the reflection in the lens filter tells me my "target" is in the right spot. Because I fuss with the camera controls, make meter readings, occasionally press the cable release, wind the film while standing in front of the camera, no one is certain when I have made an exposure or who has been photographed; not even the small, easily bored, transient crowd that gathers to watch what I do!

My most "conspicuous" camera is the Mamiya RB 67, a TLR is even less visible, and the 8x10 view camera may as well not be there at all. I guess the "street" psychology is that when the camera does not "chase" it's not a predator in pursuit of prey

Liked(even if there's no like button)

I imagine you with a book in one hand and the cable release in the other, making an exposure between 2 paragraph.

BradleyK · Sep 16, 2016

I've simplified my gear, for "street shooting" down to a single Leica with a 50mm Summilux ASPH (M4 or M6, depending on whether I feel like shooting color or black and white) for the past while (though a little too busy to be shooting much).

Ko.Fe. · Sep 16, 2016

Very cool thread!
I have nothing special. M3 ELC with Summicron 50 as HCB did. M4-P with 28 Summarit-M 28 III, very close to used by GW and what is Gary Gumanow, Robbie McIntosh are using. And M4-2 with Summarit 35 2.5 as many others great photographers used and using. I'm just nowhere near to them.

You could check the rest at the link bellow.

dugrant153 · Sep 28, 2016

Leica M6 is usually my go to but have been using the Fuji X series as a good digital compliment.

Recently added a Mamiya RB67...which is a complete switch the other way (bigger camera, larger negative, slower lenses) but something about the RB67 feels right...

sodark1828 · Jul 19, 2017

Well, I mostly use Fuji MDL-5 (in case you don't know. its pint and shoot Fuji with 35mm f5.6 fixed). I just got my Olympus Pen ee-2 today. Any issue on the film development? since its a half frame.

Sirius Glass · Jul 19, 2017

Hasselblad 903 SWC

viridari · Jul 27, 2019

I started with a Mamiya C330 and eventually started trying some other things. The Olympus XA would have been brilliant if the RF patch had been worth anything. I still think the XA was close to the zenith of what a pocket camera should be.

Eventually I hopped over to digital and did quite a lot with the Ricoh GR. But they tended to be less composed, with more effort put on walking up to people and trying to get their photo before they noticed I had a camera pointing at them from a meter away. That’s not the camera’s fault. That was definitely mine, definitely putting my own spin on the Bruce Golden school of street photography.

My more recent stuff has been with a Fuji X100F as well as the X-T2. I’m honestly playing around a bit right now trying to find my voice. I’m definitely past wanting to get in people’s faces at this stage, more about slowing down and waiting for the right person to enter the right scene. So I don’t take so many photos anymore (each one is more work).

Through an amazing act of generosity, I just took ownership of a Leica M2 and Summicron 50mm DR. So now suddenly I’m breaking Tri-X out of the freezer for the first time in a long time, stopping by the camera shop for chemicals, etc. I’m curious to see where this takes me.

guangong · Jul 28, 2019

Usually something not too big. A Leica, either sm or M, Contax IIa, Retina or Contessa folder, Rollei 35. Always carry a Minox 8x11 or Minolta 16 in pocket, just in case. An Olympus XA is sometimes handy.
Most of my “street photography” occurs in coffee shops, cafes and bars. Unfortunately, such venues with unique character are disappearing as local neighborhood spots are owned more and more by chains, and ambiance manufactured by interior designers.
I must applaud those who do street photography with MF and larger. Great pictures and a joy to see.

Ariston · Jul 28, 2019

Maris said:
Curiously, I have found that using a big camera on a tripod makes me "invisible" when doing street photography. I'm "part of the furniture" rather than an annoying pest that buzzes after people with a camera fixed to my face.

I set up by prefocussing and framing on an promising spot, shop window, ticket booth, fountain, and the like, where interesting looking people may do quirky things. I watch the unfolding scene attentively but casually and I never look at anyone through the camera. Sometimes the reflection in the lens filter tells me my "target" is in the right spot. Because I fuss with the camera controls, make meter readings, occasionally press the cable release, wind the film while standing in front of the camera, no one is certain when I have made an exposure or who has been photographed; not even the small, easily bored, transient crowd that gathers to watch what I do!

My most "conspicuous" camera is the Mamiya RB 67, a TLR is even less visible, and the 8x10 view camera may as well not be there at all. I guess the "street" psychology is that when the camera does not "chase" it's not a predator in pursuit of prey

That is one of the most brilliant things I've heard on the subject. I don't do street photography, but when I set up my RB on the beach, I suddenly become invisible. No one even offers to politely stay out of the way of my shot. I never realized how useful that would be for street photography.

Pieter12 · Jul 28, 2019

I guess it depends on your definition of street photography. Some consider it to be anything shot in an urban environment, others differ. (Not photos of the homeless!) For me "street" photography is of interesting individuals, interesting juxtapositions, interesting moments and compositions. Those situations can pop up and disappear very quickly. For that, I prefer a camera with a normal to moderate wide angle lens that I can zone focus. That way I can shoot with having to stop, without raising the camera to my eye if I want to. Auto exposure can be OK, autofocus gets in the way. Manual everything with HP5+ rated at 200 works for me. And digital with the same settings.

logan2z · Jul 28, 2019

I shoot mostly urban landscapes and some 'street photography'. I use a Leica M-A and an M4 with a 35mm Summarit lens (I also have a 75mm Summarit lens but it doesn't get used very much). Typically Tri-X 400, but I occasionally use TMAX 3200 indoors.

KenS · Jul 28, 2019

With some 60+ years under the dark-cloth, I have come to taking an extreme dislike to the word "shoot" when it is used to
express the action of depressing the 'shutter release' to activate the shutter mechanism to allow him to expose 'light' to the fiim. My mentor (those many years ago) always referred to that 'action' as 'making' an exposure as a means of "making a photograph". To this day, I still consider "shooting" (as a word to describe exposing the light sensitive emulsion' behind the lens) to be more more of a ''violent' rather than a 'creative act....

Your 'mileage' may vary.

Ken

cuthbert · Jul 28, 2019

I usually prefer small to moderately sized SLRs, Pentax LX, MX, Spotmatics, Fujica AX5 and Praktica B series are my favourite, sometimes I also use my Leica M4P and M5 even if the latter is relatively big.

Everytime I carry a Nikon F2 or a Canon F1 I realise these pro cameras were for other uses...

Pieter12 · Jul 28, 2019

KenS said:
With some 60+ years under the dark-cloth, I have come to taking an extreme dislike to the word "shoot" when it is used to
express the action of depressing the 'shutter release' to activate the shutter mechanism to allow him to expose 'light' to the fiim. My mentor (those many years ago) always referred to that 'action' as 'making' an exposure as a means of "making a photograph". To this day, I still consider "shooting" (as a word to describe exposing the light sensitive emulsion' behind the lens) to be more more of a ''violent' rather than a 'creative act....

Your 'mileage' may vary.

Ken

Degas once said, "A picture is a thing which requires as much knavery, as much malice, and as much vice as the perpetration of a crime."
Of course, my favorite is, "I'm glad to say I haven't found my style yet. I'd be bored to death."

Juan Valdenebro · Jan 7, 2022

Small silent black mechanical rangefinder with a slow 35.

benjiboy · Jan 8, 2022

All my gear is Canon FD ,
2 New F1s with AE heads, 2 F1n's and an EF, plus too many lenses to list here.

RalphLambrecht · Jan 8, 2022

pstake said:
what do seasoned street shooters use for making photographs? What's your primary street-shooting system?

I love to use my Contax SLR with T* lenses but it's not the most inconspicuous nor quiet camera available. I've only used rangefinders a handful of times but enough to know their merits. That said, a rangefinder of the quality of my Contax system is beyond my means right now. And with a few sporadic exceptions in the past, I've only recently had the ability to go out and shoot street with any regularity. I've always admired good street photographers and the images they make. It's the purist form of photography IMHO. Documentary would be a close second.

Please tell me what you use to shoot with and any other ancillary details are welcome as well! Also, links to images are appreciated.

For background:
My roots in photography are documentary. Longer-term projects following a series of subjects about their daily lives, activities, jobs ... very microscopic stuff ... Anyway, the point is: FOR MY DOCUMENTARY WORK, MY SLR WAS / IS PERFECT. At first, subjects are/were a little awkward around the camera but eventually they grow used to it and so do I.

I've always used Contax SLRs. I love them. I love using them and I love the images they produce. If photos don't come out well it's usually because I do something retarded. When images come out right, they can be absolutely stunning even in small format. I prefer fast film. Usually Tri-x at 1600, Tmax 3200 ... have pushed Neopan 400, 800 and 1600. For detailed work, I LOVE Delta 100 in ilfotec HC. Since I rarely print larger than 8x10, this format is not a problem.

Have only recently had the stability and resources to get back into shooting, processing, developing and printing from home. Print mostly 5x7 on a Leitz Valoy II ... process in Rodinal, D-76, and ilfotec-hc (depending on film i'm using), and print using dektol.

I think that a bad / unengaged photographer can not make good photographs even if s/he has the best equipment, but a discerning photographer wants to have precision and quality optics with which to record moments in the most impressive way possible. With my Contax system, "F8 and Be there" works in almost every scenario.

I recently rediscovered my love for a Nikon N70 and a 35mm AF f/2.0 Nikkor.

Sirius Glass · Jan 8, 2022

Different subjects, different situations [occasions, traveling, serious photography] means that different cameras and formats as the needs are varying.

milescl · Jan 17, 2022

These days a Leica M-A or a Contax IIIa with an assortment of LTM, M, and Contax/Nikon RF lenses. Almost always 50mm or 28+50.

What do you shoot with?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency