Every camera type up to and including 5 x 4 has been used for street photography. There was even an American photographer (whose named escapes me) who used an ultra large format (Gandolfi?) camera. Camera choice is the easiest part of SP. Personally, I prefer a camera I can control shutter, aperture and focus manually for candid work.Was curious what everyone favorite cameras are for street photography?
Hasselblad SWC, Fuji X100 & XPro2.
Actually, more for narrow alley photography!not really for street photography, more for wide boulevard photography.
Me too-I also love my Trip (simple and bombproof).Was curious what everyone favorite cameras are for street photography? Don't get to shoot street photos too often where I live but love my Olympus XA2.
You make some great points, plus end up with a more workable negative.Hear me out here. Try not to laugh.
Just about any TLR can work well for street photography.
The problem with rangefinders and SLR's and almost anything else (and I do use them all) is that your subjects respond differently when they feel that a camera is pointing at them. You may see them looking right into the lens, building tension. So then you end up with a lot of intense looking photos where the subject is looking into the camera. Do you then take photos of people from behind? From far away? Just to get that candid moment.
With the TLR, navel-gazing into the chimney viewfinder from above, it's not so threatening to subjects. You don't look like you're about to take a photograph, and most folks will tend to just go about their business.
I took this with a Mamiya C330. But really any TLR with a chimney viewfinder should work fine. I'd love to get into a Rolleiflex someday.
Agreed. A TLR or maybe an SLR without a pentaprism, where you have to look down into the camera to take the shot instead of putting your eye up to the back, tends to put people more at ease. I don't know if it's because you're not facing them while taking the shot, or you're using a unusual looking camera that doesn't immediately trigger fears of intrusion, but it goes a long way towards keeping people calm and accepting of your work.Hear me out here. Try not to laugh.
Just about any TLR can work well for street photography.
The problem with rangefinders and SLR's and almost anything else (and I do use them all) is that your subjects respond differently when they feel that a camera is pointing at them. You may see them looking right into the lens, building tension. So then you end up with a lot of intense looking photos where the subject is looking into the camera. Do you then take photos of people from behind? From far away? Just to get that candid moment.
With the TLR, navel-gazing into the chimney viewfinder from above, it's not so threatening to subjects. You don't look like you're about to take a photograph, and most folks will tend to just go about their business.
I took this with a Mamiya C330. But really any TLR with a chimney viewfinder should work fine. I'd love to get into a Rolleiflex someday.
not really for street photography, more for wide boulevard photography.
Samsung ECX 1 - really. Check my street work done with ECX 1:
(more on IG)
On the opposite end of the spectrum, an SLR with a long lens is about the worst thing you could use, as far as people's reactions to your presence is concerned.
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