Best lens for New York?

[Efra1]

Hi, I´ll travell to NY in 3 weeks, and I dont know what lens can be better for street shots.
Any experience in this city?.
Some recomendation where to go, I dont like the Tourist areas, better to shoot more intimate NY scenes.

Thanks

 

[cfc247]

28 summicron is your best bet!

28 summicron is your best bet!

Efra, I'm currently in philly but grew up in NY and visit regularly for shooting. You will obviously want a faster lens for the subways and alleys and a relatively wider lens is more useful for candids. I pretty much only shoot with my 28 'cron in NYC. If you want to save money, you can consider the CV 28 1.9. I've read reviews that say the older 28 1.9 is sharper and has better IQ than the newer 28 2.0.

The subways are a great place to shoot, as well as chinatown, wall street, battery park, central park, soho, greenwich village, to name some cultural spots. Plan on walking a lot with comfortable shoes and light gear.

Some sample shots from Soho and the subways:

 

[jke]

I agree. 28mm is the best. Probably 400ISO film too.

Just avoid Times Square. Intimate won't be a problem. People are all over the place. You'll be intimate with strangers whether you want to or not. 🙂

But try 125th St and Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem. The Cloisters and Fort Tyron Park in Upper Manhattan (and around in that neighborhood.) The north end of Central Park (Harlem Meers.) Wall St. area during the morning rush (between 8 and 10.) Brooklyn Bridge first thing in the morning (early commuters & athletes.) Thompkins Square Park, south and east into the Lower East Side, especially in the area of north of Delancy and south of Houston between Allen and Columbus. Chinatown in the park on Mulberry and then further over towards Chrystie St. and Seward Park.

The list goes on....

 

[SteveRD1]

NYC? I would say the ultimate would be the 24 Lux...but that is out of my reach and many others. I am shooting now with a CV 28 F2 and a Leica 28 Summicron. The cron beats the Ultron in sharpness and would make a better street shooter, BUT my old little Elmarit ASPH was sharper than the cron and is an even better street shooter IMO.

If you want a GREAT 28, the Elmarit ASPH or Summicron are the best two 28's I have tried.

 

[Roger Hicks]

NYC? I would say the ultimate would be the 24 Lux....

'Fraid so. My standard film lens in big cities (and most other places too) is a 35 Summilux. That's been the most useful to me over the last 27 years or so in New York, London, Paris, San Francisco, Delhi, Athens, Istanbul, Moscow, Calcutta, St. Petersburg, Beijing and more.

So on the M8/M8.2, even though I have the high-ISO option, it's the 24 Summilux. Second choice would be either a 25/2.8 or a 28/2 -- though I never much cared for the 28/1.9 on the M8 so maybe not a 28. In my mind there's no doubt that IF you can afford the price of a decent second-hand car for a lens, the quality from the Summilux is stunning.

I've spent most of the afternoon scanning Summilux shots on Ektar 100, and sorting Summilux shots from the M8/M8.2, for a Shutterbug review. I'm in love. I fear I'm going to have to buy the damn' thing.

Edit: Sorry, just realized I was answering the wrong question: I don't know where I got the impression it was an M8. With 35mm film, a fast 35mm lens, as I said. But it's intensely personal. My wife prefers a 50 and several of her best NY shots are with a 15/2.8 fish-eye on a Nikkormat. (We now have a Nikon-to-M adapter).

Tashi delek,

Roger

 

[Damaso]

I'm going to say 35 or 50 if you're doing street shooting...

 

[afineman]

any lens you like. it's a great city. you can shoot it with a wide angle or a telephoto or a normal lens and it's going to look great.

that said, personally i prefer the 21 or 28 for daytime and 35 for nighttime - only because of the wider f-stop on the 35. if you need to, you can always rent leica lenses from photo village on broadway at 26th street.

more important than the lens choice is the food... there is some great eating up here.

 

[Efra1]

Thanks all for the comments.
I will carry the 21 and 28, 35 Lux and for the 50 I´m not sure if the Summilux (heavy crome asph) or the more ligth Summicrom.

any lens you like. it's a great city. you can shoot it with a wide angle or a telephoto or a normal lens and it's going to look great.

that said, personally i prefer the 21 or 28 for daytime and 35 for nighttime - only because of the wider f-stop on the 35. if you need to, you can always rent leica lenses from photo village on broadway at 26th street.

more important than the lens choice is the food... there is some great eating up here.

I´m OPEN to your sugestion about the food... some intersting places ?? please tell me something more 🙂

 

[Pablito]

Well, giving advice about food is as hard as giving advice about lenses. All depends what you like. You can find any kind of food in NYC....

For instance, you wont be happy here if you're vegetarian:
http://www.katzdeli.com/

If the thought of raw fish turns you off, then you definitely want to avoid this place:
http://www.yamarestaurant.com/

And if you don't like Chinese don't go here:
http://www.joeshanghairestaurants.com/

 

[jke]

Nha Trang Centre just south of Canal St. at 148 Centre St. Good cheap Vietnamese food served by friendly characters. The old man will "prescribe" food for whatever ails you. And the food may be delivered by someone who can only be described as the Vietnamese Elvis.

Veselka at 144 2nd Ave at 9th St in the East(ish) Village. Great Ukrainian dumplings. Get them boiled not fried and ask for onions, sour cream AND applesauce.

Cafe Grumpy at 224 W 20th St between 7th and 8th Ave. Best coffee in town frequented by a rather eclectic DIY crowd.

Oms/b at 156 E 45th St east of the north end of Grand Central Station. A Japanese cafe with nice variety of fresh rice balls & soup for cheap in a very small space.

Hummus Place at 305 Amsterdam on the Upper West Side. An Israeli hummus restaurant with great simple food, nice waitresses and great Turkish coffee.

Queen of Sheba at 650 W 46th in Hell's Kitchen. Good Ethiopian food in a restaurant with a lively atmosphere and reasonably good (for US) injera.

Sushi Yasuda at 204 E 43rd St near Grand Central. Some of the best sushi in town elegantly presented. Bring two credit cards. Expensive but worth it.

Chiyono at 328 E 6th St in the East Village. Japanese home cooking. You order and the proprietress goes in the back and cooks it. Great food.

Need more? 🙂

 

[dfoo]

I like 28mm for big city people shooting. But you either have to have lots of people, or you have to close. Real close, otherwise you end up with half the frame being empty.

 

[back alley]

is this lens going on an m8?

 

[kbg32]

I highly recommend this range an 18mm, 21mm, or 24mm. FOV on the M8 - 24, 28, or 32.

Chinatown, the Lower East Side, East Village are great for intimate close street shots. As well, though out of the way, St. Nicholas Avenue from 170th Street - 190th Street, and Broadway from 25th Street - 32nd Street. Great hustle and bustle of street vendors and people.

 

[Nemo]

Efra will use mainly a Leica M8.

I am in the same situation... I don't know what to bring with me to NY for shooting. I have a M8, and I own a Summilux 35mm ASPH and Summilux 75mm. I plan to buy a new lens before I go to NY, and I don't know if the 21mm Summilux or the 24mm Summilux. The second is smaller and it doesn't need a separate viewfinder, the first has a 28mm FoV on the M8, and optically is a bit better...

 

[kbg32]

Nemo,

I recommend getting the 21. But then I am very partial to the 28 FOV....

 

[Nemo]

Nha Trang Centre just south of Canal St. at 148 Centre St. Good cheap Vietnamese food served by friendly characters. The old man will "prescribe" food for whatever ails you. And the food may be delivered by someone who can only be described as the Vietnamese Elvis.

Veselka at 144 2nd Ave at 9th St in the East(ish) Village. Great Ukrainian dumplings. Get them boiled not fried and ask for onions, sour cream AND applesauce.

Cafe Grumpy at 224 W 20th St between 7th and 8th Ave. Best coffee in town frequented by a rather eclectic DIY crowd.

Oms/b at 156 E 45th St east of the north end of Grand Central Station. A Japanese cafe with nice variety of fresh rice balls & soup for cheap in a very small space.

Hummus Place at 305 Amsterdam on the Upper West Side. An Israeli hummus restaurant with great simple food, nice waitresses and great Turkish coffee.

Queen of Sheba at 650 W 46th in Hell's Kitchen. Good Ethiopian food in a restaurant with a lively atmosphere and reasonably good (for US) injera.

Sushi Yasuda at 204 E 43rd St near Grand Central. Some of the best sushi in town elegantly presented. Bring two credit cards. Expensive but worth it.

Chiyono at 328 E 6th St in the East Village. Japanese home cooking. You order and the proprietress goes in the back and cooks it. Great food.

Need more? 🙂

Please !!!!

 

[Roger Hicks]

... the first has a 28mm FoV on the M8, and optically is a bit better...

Disputable. I find the 24 fractionally better (I have both on loan) and VASTLY more useful.

Tashi delek,

R.

 

[Nemo]

Disputable. I find the 24 fractionally better (I have both on loan) and VASTLY more useful.

Tashi delek,

R.

Roger,

my comment was based on the MTF graphs and Erwin Puts' review. I am very interested in your opinion. In what particular sense is the 24mm better? Stopping down? Wide open? Why do you find it more useful?

(I have a M8).

Thanks!

R.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Roger,

my comment was based on the MTF graphs and Erwin Puts' review. I am very interested in your opinion. In what particular sense is the 24mm better? Stopping down? Wide open? Why do you find it more useful?

(I have a M8).

Thanks!

R.

More useful because it's the widest frame in the finder and not TOO wide (I've never been a 28mm fan, though).

'Real world' performance of both is just unbelievably good, and for pics where I've needed a wide-angle on digi or an ultra-wide on 35mm, the 24mm has looked 'crisper' to me. Historically this has been known to correspond to higher contrast/lower resolution, which may explain the apparent MTF anomalies.

This is based ONLY on 'real world' pics as I no longer do resolution chart testing: no-one pays enough and besides the manufacturers' MTF figures are on the web.

But the bottom line is simple. Both are quite incredible, so it comes down to the focal length you prefer, rather than to small differences in resolution and distortion.

Tashi delek,

R.

 

[MartinL]

Hi, I´ll travell to NY in 3 weeks, and I dont know what lens can be better for street shots.Any experience in this city?.
Some recomendation where to go, I dont like the Tourist areas, better to shoot more intimate NY scenes.

Thanks

I've been in NYC since November. Feel like a native but have fun like a tourist. Instead of going to places for photos, go anywhere you want to see. The shots will be there. Museums are all great. Make sure you hit all the neighborhoods. They change from block to block.

Everywhere is a "tourist area." But the locals are everywhere too. Intimate? NYC? OK, get up early on the weekends and start walking. Quiet times. Read the street names/signs. Every place here is famous.

There's a reason for the huge crowds at Times Square--it's awesome. Don't miss the tenement museum, Brooklyn Botanical Garden has the world's largest display of cherry blossoms--you may be here in time, on and on and on.

Few months ago I got a 28 Elmarit. Haven't had it off my camera since.

Here's a small selection of what I mean.
http://www.pbase.com/mnl/photo_diary