Wide angle street photography

[Lauffray]

Ever since I got a 35mm lens for street photography I've been using it 95% of the time, however sometimes, and more so recently I find myself itching for some a bit wider.
So I've been thinking about either a 28mm or a 24mm. Both seem moderate enough for my uses but the 28 is kind of close to 35 and I'm afraid the 24 will be too wide.
Of course these are only impressions, having never shot in the street with anything wider than 35 I'm wondering if I really need it or if I'll even use it at all. My store doesn't rent or lend lenses so I can't test it out.

I'm just wondering if anybody here shoots street wider than 35, or if you have 2 lenses if you mind posting some comparative samples

cheers

 

[Graham Line]

24 is great for street if you have a wide enough finder, either built-in or slip-on, or if you can develop a feel for the size of the frame. If you're shooting a 35 now, you probably won't find a useful difference in a 28.

 

[cosmonaut]

I shoot both 28mm and 40mm. Yes there is a big difference. I love the greater DOF on the 28. It is much easier to scale focus. If I am not mistaken 28mm is as wide as you can get without distortion.

 

[back alley]

are you ready to move in closer to your subjects?
if not, stick with the 35 for a while longer.

if so, i suggest a 25mm lens...it's like a 28 but with an edge to it and you might get away without using an external finder.
28 is safer and easier to learn to use.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

There are several definitions of "street" so I need to be careful here. I can take "street" to mean "streetscape" or to mean "people in the street".
I tend more towards the "streetscape" and I find the 35mm and 25mm lenses to be pretty much ideal. I occasionally reach for the 21 but it does start to present challenges in maintaining verticals etc - in fact you're almost better off deliberately going for the distortion it can give.
A 28mm lens is too close to 35mm to give you a lot of difference, I feel.
If I know I'm going wide I'll load up the Bessa R4A which has frames from 50 down to 21mm. I'll take the 35 and 25 and slip the 21 in my pocket, just in case.If It's a more "in the middle kind of day" then I might use the M6 and the 50 and 28mm lenses as 28 is as wide as the Leica viewfinder goes.

 

[BillBingham2]

While the camera I use 95% of the time has a 28/1.9 built into it I would not go there from a 35. I love the CV 25mm lens and would recommend it very highly for street.

If it's only sometimes then I would say what about stepping back, ducking down and back or moving slightly. Buy a lens between 21 and 135 for some times lends itself to camera bag growth problems. A 15, 12, 300, those I can agree with once in a while as they are just fun lenses.

B2

 

[shimokita]

I am sure you could find an old LTM 28mm and M-adapter (depending on what camera you use).... and just try it. Doesn't matter what condition the lens is in, just get a feeling for the FL and then look for a better lens if you like the results.

My experience is that once I started using the CV15mm, my 28 started to feel like a "normal" lens. Sure it takes some getting use to and indeed you don't need a matching finder for street. For RF it's 15, 28, and 50. For film slr it's 20, 50, 85 (and looking for a 35mm)...

Think in big steps, as you will most likely get there in the long run anyway ;-).

Casey

 

[Tim Gray]

I suck at shooting street photography, though I do enjoy it. 28mm is perfect for it in my mind.

 

[jsrockit]

I feel that a 28mm is very different than a 35mm lens... very different...especially after you've used a 35mm lens 95% of the time.

 

[Renzsu]

Check out the photostream of Jonathan van Smit aka K_iwi:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/n_ipper/

He shoots with all kinds of lenses, but mostly wide-ultrawide.

 

[cambolt]

I actually like what most people call "distortion". You just have to learn to embrace it, though all this depends on your photography style. Remember that using anything wider than 35mm will mean having to get very close to your subject. I don't have a superwide for film, but my DSLR's lens is 28mm equivalent, and it is good for kind of surreal shots, as everything looks massive, kind of like seeing things from a child's view.

 

[Rob-F]

28mm is sufficiently different from 35mm to be worth having. It has more of a "you are there" look, without screaming "wide angle." A 24mm doesn't scream wide angle either, but it's getting there. I use both, and generally find 28 wide enough.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Check out the photostream of Jonathan van Smit aka K_iwi:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/n_ipper/

He shoots with all kinds of lenses, but mostly wide-ultrawide.

The post-processing vignetting in the 21mm shots somewhat makes for effective fov of around 28mm.

I've always said that there's nothing that high contrast and vignetting can't fix 😀

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

28mm is sufficiently different from 35mm to be worth having. It has more of a "you are there" look, without screaming "wide angle." A 24mm doesn't scream wide angle either, but it's getting there. I use both, and generally find 28 wide enough.

I've tried using 28mm for "street" and I still am not very comfortable with it. For me, 35/40 is the widest focal length I'm comfortable with (for now).

It's a combination of style, environment, and "what you're going for". While some people don't mind the "distortion", I find that it makes anybody appearing near the edges unnaturally distorted --I'm thinking 17-20mm when I say that--, and you don't want those corners heavily distorted. Unless, again, you don't mind or that is what you're going for.

I have been using the 20mm (40mm equiv. in 35mm format) with my Lumix GF1, and I can get some reasonably-close shots, and also leaving me some room for cropping when I find that it was too wide for me (I still find myself mentally framing for 50mm)



Lumix GF1 + 20mm f/1.7 (no crop)





Lumix GF1 + 20mm f/1.7 (2x3 crop)

 

[sircarl]

I use a 24mm Elmarit-R with my R7 when I'm shooting in crowded streets. I really like the effect it gives of being right "in there." Below is a sample, from the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City last March.

For what it's worth, Joseph Koudelka's marvelous photos of the 1968 Prague uprising were mostly shot with a 24.

 

[Mesti3K]

I used to use 50mm exclusively, but ever since I got the 2.8/25mm ZM...I can't get enough of it. Especially when there's big buildings around. It really gives a sense of the scene.

 

[wilt]

Check out Garry Winogrand's work.

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

21 is quite cool actually (I would love to try a fast 24 though)

15mm is a little too extreme for street most of the time...

these are from 2009, I only use it on rare occasions at the moment and for landscapes (also quite rare. 😀 )

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

oh and regarding the 28, lovely focal length, I'd love to have one myself, but it really works differently compared to 'superwides' (24 and wider). it's more like a 35 in use, but the look is not the same.

 

[Michiel Fokkema]

For me 24 is too wide. 28 is just fine. Still considerable wider then a 35 to my taste. If I really waant to goo wide I use a 21. So, 24 just is not working for me.

Cheers,
Michiel Fokkema