A Nikon for street photography

Hi All!

I own a Nikon N90s that I love; I shoot especially on the street,

but most of the time my camera seems to be too much big and

indiscreet when moving through the people, at the underground, and

at all the public places, especially when much crowded...you know

what I mean...

 

I usually shoot B&W film and I was thinking about getting a Leica M

series since can fit into my pocket, but a Nikon SRL would allow me

to use all my lenses...

 

So, what about a Nikon F3hp??

Is it a good choice for street photography?

And above all is it a good camera to move through the people and for

all that hard work that is going up and down for the city?

 

Thank you for your time!

Best Regards

 

Gabriele

>>>I was thinking about getting a Leica M series since can fit

into my pocket<<<

 

Unless you have a big pocket and have a compact lens on the

leica, it is not really a pocketable camera. A f3hp is about the

same size as the n90s if i remember correctly so i don't know

what you would gain. If you want something lighter and smaller,

by all mean get a rf else stick with your n90s. They are rather

nice cameras.

I love the FM3a with the 45mm pancake. Fantastic lens and body combo and considerably

smaller than the N90. Quiet (enough) as well.

Reactions on the street have far more to do with how the photographer acts than what the camera looks like. I shoot on the street with larger cameras such as a Mamiya 7 and Canon EOS 10D and get no different reactions than when I shoot with smaller cameras. Results can be seen <a href="http://www.spirer.com/">here.</a><p>

 

Make sure you get advice from people who actually do a lot of street photography - far more people talk about it than do it.

I know people whose inadvertend, furtive actions with tiny cameras make them as

indiscreet as possible. I know a person who shoots street photos with a handheld Pentax 67

with no difficulty.

 

It's not the camera.

I don't pretend to know about 'street photography', but if you want to screw around with small/light/cheap Nikons, you could do worse than the FG. It's one of Nikon's smallest and lightest bodies, and it sells (used) for under $100.

 

I agree with the observation that the M series Leica's aren't as small as you might think. The basic body size is pretty similar to my F2; of course the metering head adds quite a bit.

Agree with Todd. Also, the FA is a cheap and ovrelooked Nikon. Matrix metering if memory serves, and I think it does TTL flash.

Leica is designed for the street photography. It's smaller than Nikon, also much lighter. It will be easier for you to move through the people and attract less attention. Also, it's a lot quieter than N90s. (loud winding and focus) Although rangerfinder has some limitation compared to the camera you have. Not to mention much more expensive.

It won't fit into your pockek. (probably!)

I don't think Nikon F3hp won't offer very much, either. Sometimes auto focus is very beneficial which your N90s can offer.

If you're really convinced that having "the" camera is key to success, then let Jeff and others show you how independent good street work is from equipment. For Nikon, any of the FM/FE variants are petite and innocuous to most people. F3s are roughly the same size(minus a motordrive)but are pricier and no more capable,feature-wise, than these cheaper models.Check out www.nikonlinks.com for reviews of these and other Nikon models.

I've done some street shooting with my F3 and motor drive. I had a 35mm lens on, and I was quite obvious about it. Nobody cares after a while. Without the motor on, the F3 is quite small and quiet.<p>I agree with Todd that the FG (sans motor) with a small lens such as the 50mm f/1.8 Series E looks non-intimidating to all.

for the willing soul, any camera will do...

take a longer lense, 300mm and up should get the trick

How about a nice digital camera like the Olympus 5060. It's silent, fast, capable of making stunning 8"x10" or larger prints, and you look like a tourist. Nobody looks twice at you and with the twisting screen you can photograph while looking down, not at your subject. Also, it's great to be able to change ISO & use flash when needed.

Any camera will do. Be polite, sincere and honest, and you'll have no problem. I regularly use a Niknon FE-2 and 28mm for my street shooting, which I do a lot of. However, the small cheap Japanese rangefinders work very well for this too. I particularly like my Canon GIII QL-17 and my Vivitar ES. Fast sharp lenses.<div></div>

...or a Contax T3: small, rugged and discrete (especially the black version) with a Carl

Zeiss Sonnar 35mm f2.8. Can be expensive but ideal for street photography.

I agree that it is not the camera that makes the difference. It is how people perceive your "approach".

 

I have photographed in markets and souks with lots of different cameras: EOS 1V, FM3A, and even with a Ricoh GR21 (lots of fun with that one!).

 

However, the photographer sometimes feels more confortable by using a smaller camera, when approaching a subject, so that may play a role too.<div></div>

Here is another one.<div></div>

Hi Gabriele! TLRs are very discreet cameras, everything on eye level is less discreet. If you want to go with a very small thing, consider a Rollei 35. Small discreet cameras usually only have one lens!

Besides that, a camera with fast operation has its advantages for the kind of photography you do. Your N90s is fast. A F3 should also be ok, it offers A-mode. A compact alternative could be the FE-series. If you can give up A-mode the FM, FM2 are superb compact cameras.

Lotsa street and documentary photographers and photojournalists have used and do use Nikons. Between my F3HP and FM2N I prefer the latter for this style - the finder may not be quite as bright but it's not bad and the red LED metering readout is much easier to see in low light compared with the dim, grayish LCD readout in the F3HP finder.

 

The FM2N's metal shutter may be a wee bit noisier than the F3's cloth, but it's a tossup. Neither is really quiet. My OM-1 is quieter than either Nikon. But the Nikons are more versatile and, besides, I have motor drives for both and a wider selection of lenses. If I'm going to use a motor drive then shutter noise is moot. I just assume that people see me taking photos so why try to hide it?

 

If I really want to be discrete I'll use either my Canonet GIII QL17, Olympus XA3 or one of my TLRs - all have *much* quieter shutters than any SLR.

 

Back to the F3HP - the high eyepoint/long eye relief finder is outstanding. The finger grip on the right front side of the body is terrific. When used with the MD-4 motor drive it's weight and size are very reasonable.

 

Another accessory that can help keep camera noise to a minimum is a Zing neoprene body case. I had one that fit the Canon T50/T70 and it helped keep down the noise of the built in winder. It'll also protect the camera against knocks if you're particular about protection from dings and scratches (I'm not). I does slow down film changes tho'.

Great answer, Lex, although with one bad fact: the F3 uses a horizontal travel titanium shutter. :)

 

John.

Any of the FM series, up to and including the current FM3a make excellent street shooters. If you want autofocus, the F75 is pretty tiny, but the sweet spot in the Nikon line-up is the F80 in my opinion - if you don't want a cameras that's too big and heavy, the F80 packs the most punch for its size, weight and money. I've used all of the above, and my choice for what you want to do would be an F80 or an FM3a. I personally don't think the camera itself makes much difference for street shooting, but I can see where you wouldn't want it to be to big and obvious. By the way, an F80's shutter is also pretty darned quiet, so quiet in fact, that when shooting amid typical noise in the city, I often had to double check to see that the shutter actually went off.

I seem to be promoting the Nikkormat FT2 alot lately, but I own a Leica M4 and a Nikon F3HP.

 

First off, if you have an investment in good quality Nikkor lenses, then stick with that. Investing in the Leica system, or even the less expensive (relatively) Voigtlander lenses will become costly.

 

Although the Nikkormat is larger, louder and heavier than the M4 it is much smaller than the F3HP. In addition, the ergonomics on Nikkormat fit street photography very well. You can set the shutterspeed, aperture and focus all with your left hand. You may even check meter settings without bringing the camera to your eye by looking at the little window on top of the camera by the prism.

 

A good Leica M4 (no meter, chrome) will go for $700 and up, while a Nikkormat FT2 in black will cost you less than $150 in mint condition. That is alot of money saved for film and good lenses like the Nikkor 35mm f1.4 or so. Summicron equivalents will be well over a $1000 for the same type of lens.

 

Not to start a war but unless you have the money to burn, the difference between the two lens systems are not significant enough to warrant the cost differential. I do admit the image quality of the Leitz lenses are wonderful to behold, but if you can't afford it then what good is it? If taking pictures is your objective and not collecting equipment then take the low road and enjoy the times on the street shooting, not sitting home saving money for that Summilux or Summicron!

I shoot street photography with a D100 with a MB-D100 dual battery/vertical grip attached, with my 70-200mm sigma EX HSM lens. Doesn't look too conspicous at all ;)

The FG is a good choice. It is small and has the P and A programs, that can be very usefull. You can use all your lenses. It is very underrated, what makes the camera quite inexpensive (you can not buy a better camera for 100$).

 

Regards,

 

Nuno.

The classic Nikon "street camera": the brand new Nikon S3 2000 rangefinder.