Best RF for street photography

[Tom Diaz]

I would suggest considering the Hexar AF with its very sharp 35mm/2 lens and quietness of shutter. Its main liability is the max shutter speed of 1/250 sec., but you could always use slower film if the streets are well-lit by sunshine.

Same here. I have one and I find that it's the one I take when I am doing street shooting and want to leave the Leica, the Voigtlander, and the extra lenses behind. I like it so much that I worry that my Leica is feeling sad at being left behind.

The Hexar is incredibly quiet, especially in its "silent mode." You can't hear it very well yourself, and bystanders will not. My style of street photography involves people, getting close, 35mm lens, nobody looking at the lens, lots of depth.

Of course, the AF is out of production so you're talking about a used camera, but there are a lot of them for sale in very good condition. I got a "Rhodium" model that was completely pristine and beautiful but must have been 10 years old.

If I could not find a good Hexar AF and wanted to do the same thing, I would buy a top-flight digital P&S instead, looking again for one with very quiet operation.

 

[Buttons]

... Somthing unconspicous, something silent, something you can shoot from the hip, something relatively cheap, high quality ..... Rolleiflex without any doubt 🙂

 

[kmack]

Any cam'll do as long as you're comfortable with what you're doing. I've shot street with everything from an EOS 3 to Leica to GR-1v. They all worked fine. I'd just suggest keeping it simple to keep your eye on the action - Hexar AF.

To amplify Allen's post. The best camera for street shooting is the one you can operate with muscle memory alone. No thought to the camera, all thought on what is around you.

 

[Sean Chan]

If shutter noise is your major concern, go for a leaf shutter camera.

I suggest you check out the Yashica 35 GT / GTN.

Shutter noise of a Bessa is similar to that of a morden SLR if not louder but ususally pepole won't notice it if you are not shooting it right next to their ears.

 

[FrankS]

There were definitely pictures that I did not take of people indoors with the Bessa R when I still had it, because I knew the shutter noise would draw attention to myself and my activity that I did not want to have. My Leica Ms are much quieter cameras than my Bessa R was. For me, it (Bessa shutter noise) was an issue.

 

[DougK]

My best "street" camera is an Olympus Trip 35. If it could handle film faster than ISO 400 it would be perfect.

 

[sf]

aha! I just had an epiphany : best RF for street photography is the one you most like to carry around!

Comfortably carried, quick to use, fast glass, tough.


I know that I would choose an M6 before an M3 for its meter. Anything 35mm before the Mamiyas. I love my RF645 because it is easier to focus than any RF I've ever experienced - very nice patches and a great viewfinder, and the lenses are easy to accurately focus. And the camera is smaller than my D70, narrower than an M6, only a centimeter or two taller, and fits in tiny bags. And it's built like a rock, easy to load/unload (with Fuji film), and its controls are brilliantly designed and placed for street shooters.

Honestly, I'd vote for the RF645 as the best camera for street photography - especially with 220 film in there, 32 shots goes a long way. Only reason I would possibly buy a 35mm RF would be for the faster glass. But, I rarely shoot wider than F4 anyway, unless for flowers, portraits, macro stuff, and then the RF is the wrong tool anyway because it doesn't focus closer than a meter.

 

[fenio]

I like the contax G2. It is fairly quite and with auto focus read out you can often shoot from the waist with a wide angle. I also like the Rollie TLR.

 

[Leica Geek]

The G2 is not quiet, but it has a great autofocus and a great metering system in it. By the time someone realizes you took their picture, you've taken five or six shots. You really move with the G2. Great camera.

 

[ErnestoJL]

I found that "my" best RF for street photo is a Yashica E35 GSN, because is fast, and meter is accurate, however I love my Contax/Kiev set but for other reasons (they aren´t any fast and sometimes my eye is the meter).

Ernesto

 

[thetooth]

my favorite non rangefinder . A rollei tlr 6x6 . quiet and you don't have to bring it up to your face to take a picture . canon qll makes a nice small "street camera also .

thanks