perfect combo film reflex and street photography

[Archiver]

I usually use an M for that sort of photography, not that o really do ‘street. However, my favourite slr is my old Nikon FM2n and a pancake 50. That would do the job. Rokard’s suggestion of the Boigtlander 40 is good too, but I haven’t got one of those.

The suggestions for the Pentax MX are also good, though I prefer the Nikon in hand.

Karen Nakamura’s site, Photoethnography.com home page - a resource for photoethnographers , is actually an interesting resource too.

+1 for Karen Nakamura's site. The info is a little dated as it was mostly written before mirrorless cameras, the vast increase in film prices and the current situation of a Canon 5D for a few hundred dollars, but the advice is solid regarding equipment choice. I pored over that site avidly back in the day. She has a huge blog with lots of articles about classic cameras and lenses, too.

As for a film SLR for street photography, my choice would be a small Pentax body like ME, ME Super or MX, and a combination of tiny primes like the SMC M 28mm f2.8 and SMC M 50mm f1.4. I've even considered getting a third party leather half case for my ME, as the original ever ready case from the 70s is cracked and falling apart.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Re. SLR's at a lower price point, you can still find the Canon EOS 3 online, or an EOS 5. Both excellent cameras. The 40 and 50mm EF lenses are widely available, and they are good, and cheap. At a higher price point, there is the Nikon FM3a which I'm currently using with some Nikkor Ais lenses.

 

[Archiver]

Re. SLR's at a lower price point, you can still find the Canon EOS 3 online, or an EOS 5. Both excellent cameras. The 40 and 50mm EF lenses are widely available, and they are good, and cheap. At a higher price point, there is the Nikon FM3a which I'm currently using with some Nikkor Ais lenses.

Very much this. So often, we talk about the film cameras of the 50s, 60s and 70s, maybe the 80s, but more recent Canon and Nikon SLR's are technologically much better.

 

[p.giannakis]

My answer is: it depends on how well you know your gear.

- for summer or when light levels allow apertures f/8 and above I choose cameras with aperture priority such as OM-2N, OM4, Pentax ME etc.. with a 35mm or 28mm and 400asa film. No need for accurate focusing.

- during overcast days or winter I choose AF SLRs such as EOS5, F90x, 700si etc.. as they are of reasonable size and focus fast.

- bad weather conditions I use the F4 or F5. For b&w film I like the F4 more (I use it with an MB20) but obviously the F5 is not a slouch.

I tend to avoid manual exposure cameras for street photos. I use them for portraits or as walk-about cameras.

 

[p.giannakis]

you can still find the Canon EOS 3 online

Be careful with these and the Eos1n. They share the same mirror magnets and tend to stop working. Loads of videos online with them turning into bricks (the dreaded 'bc' error). There are some tricks to get them going for a bit longer but overall are not reliable. I had to return my EOS-1n.



There is a way of troubleshooting them but it doesn't worth the time.

If you press and hold the Clear button together with the battery check button, an error code will appear on the top display. Something that looks like this:




Now the rest three codes are in hexadecimal and need further deciphering. Zero means that the switch is on and one means it is off.

 

[Out to Lunch]

but overall are not reliable.

There are also tons of videos posted by satisfied users. Certainly no issues with my EOS 5, which I've been using for some 31 years, and neither with the EOS 3 which I bought during the late nineties and then gifted to a relative -I liked the grip of the EOS 5 better. This said, it could be a problem with failing electronics of cameras that lingered for years in bags underneath staircases.

 

[santino]

I thought the mirror magnets issue was rather common with the T90 and EOS 1? So it is only safe to buy the 1V that is expensive but excellent or one of the mid range bodies for pennies and if they fail, just replace them.

 

[wlewisiii]

Never had the issue with the T90 personally. That said, in EOS, my personal favorite was the A2E but you do have to be careful of the back spinner switch.

Now, I'm Nikon F4 all the way.

 

[Bingley]

I have a Nikon FM2 with a voigtlander 40mm f2 "pancake" lens. It's very compact and should be a great setup for street.

I don't generally use an SLR for street photography but this ^^^ is what I would use if I did (and I have this camera and lens, but use the more for landscapes).

There is an Australian photography living in Japan named Renato Repetto, who has used Nikon F and F2 cameras for street, although recently he's moved to a Leica M3. Worth checking out his website, though.

 

[Bingley]

The quietest SLR I ever used was a Minolta XD-11. Significantly quieter than the Nikon and Pentax cameras I've used, and with a terrific metering system as well. Almost rangefinder-like in shutter sound. I ultimately sold my sample and went with Nikon cameras bc (a) they are incredibly rugged; and (b) the availability of terrific lenses at moderate prices.