zooms for street shooting?

[back alley]

i know some hate the term street shooting but please bear with me.
i am curious if some fuji shooters do use zooms on the street and if so which ones and why.
i don't normally like zooms because they offer too many choices when framing and it slows me down...to the point that i can miss a shot.

 

[narsuitus]

For the times when I do not need to carry three fast prime lenses (16mm f/1.4, 23mm f/1.4, and 56mm f/1.2) or when I do not have time to quickly change lenses, I use the Fuji 16-55mm f/2.8 instead.


16-55mm Fuji f/2.8 by Narsuitus, on Flickr

 

[f16sunshine]

For events, I had really good success with the fuji 18-55 and 55-200 2 camera combo.
The 18-55 saw the most duty. It’s a very nice way to cover “street” like candids.
That said, the 27mm is the lens I would choose for personal days 🙂

 

[Godfrey]

Zooms are mostly useful when shooting events and such where what I am intending to capture is spur of the moment and quite variable.

When I go out to 'shoot street', I generally have a set subject distance and field of view in mind and use a prime lens that I pre-focus and pre-set exposure with to obtain the right focus zone, etc. I almost never change lenses when I am doing this kind of work, only rarely even carry a second lens. A zoom in this situation can often get in the way.

 

[jsrockit]

Yes, I use the 18-55mm sometimes on the street. I'm used to using 28, 35, 50, and 85 primes... so it works for me. I generally choose the focal length before bringing the camera to my eye. This way it works like 4 primes in one for me. However, I mostly do this when going to an area that I don't know. When I know an area, I know which prime will work best.

 

[mdarnton]

... whoops...

 

[willie_901]

I agree with jsrockit's point that you can use a reasonably use a compact zoom as a collection of primes. It just takes a bit of self-dicipline to only use a set of standard focal lengths instead of not changing positions and zooming.

However, in my experience people are more likely to ignore a small goofy looking camera (rangefinder or mirrorless body) with a small lens. So, I prefer to use the smallest possible lens.

I can fit the my X-Pro2 and Fujinon 18/2, 27/2.8 and 35/2 lenses in a reasonably small bag.

For different projects/events I can swap out one our more of those lenses for the 23/2, or rarely the 50/2.

If I have nothing specific in mind, I just take my silver X100T.

This is essentially what I did when I used a Zeiss Ikon M body with the 28/2.8 Color Skopar, 35/2 Biogon or 50/1.5 C-Sonar lenses, or a Canonet G-III QL17.

 

[kai.zorki]

I use my x-t1 with my 18-55 for nearly everything i shoot. I tend to use it as a collection of primes, like some others already said. I guess i do that, because i only shot primes for a decade, so sticking to one fl feels natural for me.
I mostly use the lens at the 23mm setting and only change the fl, when i want the perspective of a different fl. As i tend not to use anything above 35mm and nothing shorter than 23mm, i am thinking of buying the 23 f2 and 35 f2, however i am happy now with the 27mm, which has the advantage of being tiny.

That said i will probably never get rid of the 18-55, it is just too versatile and is a great travel lens.

 

[splitimageview]

18-55 is a fine choice. Plenty fast enough for hyperfocal street, and flexible for situations when a wide won’t do. Easy decision.

 

[Dogman]

When I bought into Fuji cameras, I rediscovered prime lenses. Prior to the Fujis, I used Canon and Olympus 4/3 digitals with various zooms and they worked very well for candid documentary style photography (the term I prefer over "street" photography---"street" sorta has a connotation of a stray mongrel dog or a person of poor repute). While they worked fine, I still felt my previous film Leica rangefinders with prime lenses was superior. With the Fujis, I mainly stick with 35mm and 50mm equivalent lenses. But I did buy an 18-55 zoom recently with the intent to use it in place of my usual primes. As of yet, I haven't had an opportunity to try it out very much but it certainly seems a good choice--small, lightweight and sharp.

With zooms, I've had a tendency to consider them as being just two focal lengths--the shortest and the longest with the in betweens being nice to have supplements. You know, mostly just crank it out to maximum for distant subjects and rack it back for close ones and make some minor adjustments from these points.

 

[Photog9000]

Back when I was a working photographer, my personal work was mainly shot o the street (former newspaper shooter) using a Nikon D2H with the Nikkor 18-200mm superzoom. At the time, it gave me the flexibility that I wanted. Since retirement, I have dropped back to the single camera/lens combo to emulate the great HCB. Today I am using a Fuji X100S with the TCL-X100 attached for a 50mm field of view. No zooms anymore as I just do not want to carry the weight.

 

[Big Ursus]

Lately, if I'm using my Fuji X-t2 for street shots, I only use zooms; mostly the 18 to 55 mm; sometimes the 18 to 135 mm, though it's pretty big.

I like the lens stabilization, but what's especially appealing is the fact that I always have my favourite focal length, 28 mm equivalent, as well as the option to reach out - say, across the street - to pick out a visual relationship I think is interesting.

 

[Axel]

Like jsrockit said - preframing an 18-55 or other zoom lens is a good way to shoot for me
on the street. But a big extending lens is not always the smartest way to aim people and
carry around in town.
So it depends. Actually my best setup is one camera with a prime (50 most) and a 24-500
ultracompact in my pocket.

The Fuji 18-55/2,8-4 is a/that great lens when it comes to marvelous sharp and punchy images
and a reliable stabilization. A good substitute for every prime in this range of focal lengths.
But it also is heavy. And it extends very visible when using anything other than the shortest
length. And if you plan to get some smooth or dreamy look of your pictures the 18-55
won´t be the first choice. It´s some kind of brutally straightforward 😉

my 5ct

 

[jsrockit]

But it also is heavy. And it extends very visible when using anything other than the shortest length.

Come on, it isn't that heavy....the 16-55mm is HEAVY! And it extends, but only about 1.5" at 85mm. That's not horrible. At that point, you are far away from people and they won't know.

And if you plan to get some smooth or dreamy look of your pictures the 18-55 won´t be the first choice. It´s some kind of brutally straightforward

This is perfectly put... there's no magic here, just brutal honesty!

 

[Axel]

Come on, it isn't that heavy....the 16-55mm is HEAVY...

At least it were my reasons to use a physical smaller and lighter setup for the street.

Comparsion Fuji 16-50, 18-55, Leica 18-56

 

[dugrant153]

Sigma 24-35 F2 Art lens

Sigma 24-35 F2 Art lens

Being a Canon/Sony user, I've taken to liking the Sigma 24-35 F2 art lens. Not only do I get some pretty good results at F2 but I get a decent range that fits my "usual" wide-angle street photography range of 24-35mm.

It's a heavy and larger lens but the results are great. I usually shoot with primes but having the versatility to zoom when I can't move from my spot is really nice to have.

 

[jsrockit]

Comparsion Fuji 16-50, 18-55, Leica 18-56

Great... two things... F2.8–4 and not made of plastic will make it a bit heavier that the other two. Not that the Leica is plastic... but it is SLOW.

 

[Axel]

As described - for the street specially. The 18-55´s faster side is only in wideangle.
For me something like the old tri elmar 28-35-50 would be nice when it comes to more
than one focal length on a single camera.
Otherwise I just like to use a prime, don´t care and shoot 😉

 

[back alley]

i almost went out to buy the 18-55...but i didn't...

 

[jsrockit]

As described - for the street specially. The 18-55´s faster side is only in wideangle.
For me something like the old tri elmar 28-35-50 would be nice when it comes to more
than one focal length on a single camera.
Otherwise I just like to use a prime, don´t care and shoot 😉

Slag the Fuji for being F4 at 85mm when the Tri-Elmar is F4 across the board? The rest of the kit zooms are also fastest at the widest setting... Fuji is just faster across the board.