What is your go-to lens for street photography?

[airfrogusmc]

I shoot street usually with a 35 and an M M becasue it matches the way I see. So I'm from whatever camp matching vision with equipment is. No need for anythign else for me.

 

[Majki]

28 is my favorite lens.
My second choice is 21.
50mm: i don't know how to use this lens on the street, but 40mm (rollei 35se) look very accurate. I would like to try some 40mm on my rangefinder.

 

[clickysteve]

Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.4 🙂

 

[narsuitus]

For street shooting, I sometimes use a Nikon L35 AF compact camera with a fixed 35mm f/2.8 lens.


Nikon L35 by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[dmr]

Kinda odd girl out here. Mostly the Takumar 28-80 zoom, or else whatever stock lens is on whatever {d-word} camera I have with me.

 

[james.liam]

We used to have sub-forum for street photography...
Anyway. We are alive and on the streets.

The usage of the lens depends on the density of the street.
One shoot for all is 35 for me.
Dead streets in Canada (most of them) is 50.
If it is Toronto downtown, 28 will do.
If it is something like free candies or free ice cream, then those groundhogs will crawl out as crowd and I plough through them and their fruits of legum with 21 or 16.

1++

There's no single answer. Ricoh, anchored in 28mm even created the GR21 because sometimes, that's what you need.

 

[agentlossing]

I’ve been shooting street photography for several years. I’ve developed techniques for getting in close to people and getting off a shot undetected; I was invisible. But, it wasn’t always that way. When I first started street I was nervous, heck, I was scared. Then with time I became more comfortable, and eventually I became the invisible stealthy guy that would invade a person's space without regard for their privacy or even dignity sometimes just to get the shot! Any camera, any lens, I made it work.

Well, I’m done with street photography. At least I’m done with the in-your-face privacy invasion style of street photography. Why this change? I don’t know. It’s kind of like when I quit smoking cigars; I woke up one morning and that was that, I quit.

What does this have to do with “What’s my go to lens for street photography?”... Nothing.

Have a great day,
Mike

I know this is a bit of an old post, but I thought it was interesting. I have gone through a similar process - started off scared, then built up a stealthy style using the tilt screen on my micro four thirds camera. Started to feel put off with the whole sneaky method, which came to a head when I started using a Ricoh 500G which I more or less had to put up to my eye. But I took a different turn. I'm not quitting street photography, in fact I do it a little more than I used to. But I'm not invading personal space any more. I'm using wider lenses and composing with less of a tight frame on individuals, and it feels good. It also challenges me to find more interesting and complex scenes over just photographing an "interesting person."

I've used 50mm and 40mm and equivalents. The Panasonic 20mm in MFT was a common lens for a lot of my earlier attempts. Now I'm mainly using 35mm - on my Bessa-T, and not minding whether people see me take a photo. The film rangefinder look helps what I'm doing - it looks disarming, my camera gets looks but I don't. Sometimes it's the Ricoh GR III with the 28mm, but 35mm seems the go-to right now.

 

[xayraa33]

I been using the 50mm Jupiter 8 lens more often these last few months.

 

[Saganich]

40mm Rokkor.

Because street photography decisions are fast, I think it is good to use a focal length that shows you the scene as you see it so that you can compose intuitively. As much as I love Windogrand's work, for example, I had a lot of trouble composing with 28mm because it is not my visual field of awareness. I find the 40mm to cover almost exactly what I am aware of seeing.

Agree. I find the 28 to wide. I tend towards 35 and 50.

 

[jpressman]

I like to use the Fuji 27 2.8 on my XT3 for the field of view and the pancake form factor. Feels just right for street. Otherwise, the X100f.

 

[Bob Michaels]

28mm or the equivalent 18mm for my Fuji. 21mm/14mm also works for me. I can get by with 35mm/23mm but that is getting tight and requires me to be farther back than I really want. Now I like the wide angle perspective but I also fear being too far away so people do not initially realize they are being photographed. I want everybody to be sure everyone knows what I am doing out of fear something will think I am trying to be secretive and then discover me.

 

[Tom R]

If, by your question, you mean which lens should I use to make photographs that look like something Gary Winogrand or <fill in the name from that time> may have done, than any wide-angle lens will likely suffice.

Of course, the tools are no substitute for having something to say that hasn't been said.

 

[Nitroplait]

I like to use a 21mm. You can get really close to people because they think you are photographing something behind them.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

My Ricoh GR (28mm-e) is perfect when I’m in downtown crowds. Otherwise, Fuji body with the 27mm pancake (40mm-e) works well.

 

[Forest_rain]

I never could understand how people can use wide angle lenses for street photos. I use a 135. Getting super in close people get nervous I feel. I've even gotten a few comments with my 135 even though it's pretty unassuming and I'm far away.

Never got used to shooting wide somehow.

 

[Rayt]

I never could understand how people can use wide angle lenses for street photos. I use a 135. Getting super in close people get nervous I feel. I've even gotten a few comments with my 135 even though it's pretty unassuming and I'm far away.

Never got used to shooting wide somehow.

I have a friend who only shoot with tellies for street because his style is to isolate the subject. For me I am just as interested in the environment and the subject in it so 35mm and wider are appropriate for that.

 

[Rob-F]

I still prefer the 35mm for street. The problem with wider lenses in a rapidly moving and changing situation is you don't have control over what is happening out at the edges. You can have an attractive interesting scene unfolding, and someone walks into the frame in a loud shirt with a can of Budweiser and a beer belly, and there's nothing you can do about it. It's easier to keep track of what's going on within the 35mm frame. It's wide enough and not too wide.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

It all depends on where I am. In the streets of NYC or Philly, it's a 28mm or 21mm, if it's somewhere not as crowded, then a 50mm is perfect.
I don't like taking photos of streets too much though, it reminds me of doing documentary work when I was with the Navy engineers.
Phil Forrest

 

[Ricoh]

It used to be 35mm on FF, but if I was to practise today it would be a Covid 500mm.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Zeiss Biogon 2.8/28.