do you need the 'best' lenses for street shooting?

I recently purchased my first new style Leica lens since the 90s... the 28mm Elmarit ASPH. To my eyes, there wasn't much of an improvement over the CV 28mm f/3.5 that I was using prior. I'd be fine with either really. Honestly, I hate the fact that I have to use a $5000 camera combo to be happy making photos. Here's to hoping the Fuji X100 delivers and allows me to bring my favorite camera rig down to a reasonable level.
 
If you are doing photo-lithography or high-resolution machine-vision applications, you are generally better off with the best lenses available. Sure you can do corrections for distortion in lenses using software in machine vision applications, but that requires more processor power. Best to go with a better lens.

Otherwise, it is all personal taste.
 
I shoot with an L-Hex 35/2.0. Sharp when needed, low contrast wide open, modern lens when stopped down.

The focus throw and the easy accessible aperture ring is what really counts, whenever I actually focus, that is. Most of the time I have set it to f8 and 10ft.
 
No need for a fast lens, unless you prefer shooting at night. If you do hyperfocal shooting, you'll be at f/8 - f/16 mostly, so you won't need a fast lens at all.
Go for something that you feel you can work fast with. Something that you can grab blindly and immediately know that you have the focus ring and not the aperture ring, something that you can feel where it is focused without having to look at it (although I admit this is not really an issue when you shoot hyperfocal.. and there will be plenty times when you CAN take a quite look at the lens).
So, you could be perfectly happy with a 35mm f/3.5 lens if you know how you want to use it. Likewise, if you know you'll be shooting in dark places you might not want to settle on anything less than a nokton or summilux (or even noctilux).
 
Sam Abell said that he could shoot publishable pictures with his high school TLR if he had to. Leica for most of us is like driving a Lotus at 60 MPH, when its built to cruise at 100.
 
The CV 35 1.4 is perfectly fine for street. Besides, go look at 100 frames taken at full speed on the street wide-open, maybe 25 of them are perfectly focused, so unless you nail every one wide-open, you are not likely to see much difference to a $5000 lens. ;-)

Get a lens which focuses well at your preferred f.stop then focus on the content, its about the content not the lens, I'm pretty sure even Chris would agree with that. :)

do you need the best possible lens to be found, no, but if money is not object it is nice to think the lens is as good as it can be "if" you happen to take the next American Icon image. :)

Bo

www.bophoto.typepad.com
 
Lens choice with regard to street photography is all about ergonomics, IMO; tab/no-tab, short/long focus throw, damped-ness of focus action, accessibility of aperture ring, size, etc.

When you have a camera in your hand for hours on end, walking around in the cold (and wet/snow), you wanna be comfortable operating your machine.

Optical quality these days is far greater than the acceptable threshold anyways.

Oh and lose the collapsible hoods...
 
I like a good lens as much as the next guy.

But for street photography, I say optics, schmoptics. It's all about the moment.

F8 and be there!
 
I like a long focus throw for street shooting, as it's easier to change focus quickly without worrying about overshooting the mark
 
NO , No & No
some of my FAVorite street shots have been with
an Uncoated 1937 Summar,
the Nokton 50 1.5

certaunly NOT lenses that were High Cost
but in terms of Rendering ....STELLAR !
 
I like my Snapshot-Skopar 4/25 for it's very nice handling 'in the street' (it's tinyness, the clickstops on the focus ring at 3, 1.5, and 1m) -- but I love it because it's a very good lens optically as well.

Sure, first of all you need to get the image. But imagine you've caught the image of the century -- only to find out that it's crap quality-wise because the lens you used isn't very good: I'd be annoyed.
 
Go through your copy of The Americans with lens quality in mind. I think the book would not be near as powerful if shot with modern high-end lenses.

John
 
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