What Kind of Camera?

[all4freeride]

I was wondering what kinds of cameras the general street photographers that post in here

use. I had a nikon n80 i was using for a year but it was stolen so i am looking at the

MInolta A2 digital camera but still considering other cameras. I really would love a

rangefinder but i can not afford a contax g2 or a leica. Just wondering what kind of

cameras you all generally used?

 

Thanks

[beau 1664876222]

The standard answer is (i) any camera's good if you know how to use it (ii) Leicas are great if you can afford them (iii) Konica Hexar RF, VC Bessa R2 are the next-best things if you're on a budget and (iv) if you really want to try a rangefinder for very little financial outlay get an old Canonet or something like that.

[Spearhead]

Yeah, any camera. I've used 35mm and medium format interchangeable lens rangefinders, 35mm fixed lens rangefinders, 35mm autofocs cameras, fixed lens digital cameras and most recently, a dSLR. Don't worry about what you can't afford, use what you can afford and make the best photos possible.

[steve_chan5]

Andrew,

 

I don't know if this photo is representative of the style of street photography you like, but it was done with a Minolta A2. I sat around 5 feet from their table and took a couple of shots - nobody was the wiser.<div></div>

[chris_dilenardo]

im just getting an interest in street photography and im using a fed 2. cannot fault it at all, dirt cheap and stunning performance. bit limited on the shutter speeds though ( thats why im awaiting a zorki/jupiter 8)plus youre not going to cry too much if it gets broken/stolen.

all the best

chris

[helvitis_.]

Why not look for a Konica Hexar AF, they dont cost much and they have a great "Leica like" lens. Check the reveiws here on photo.net and Dante Stella's site.

[Brad_]

The guy pictured below, also named Brad, says that if you shoot a lot and like to

experiment, something digital will keep you from sweating film and processing costs. I've

been using an old sony digicam for the last 2+ years. Works fine, has some limitations -

can probably be found for less than $500 now.<BR>

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[all4freeride]

Thanks for the answers i just wanted to see what kind you guys tended to use if most of

the crowd used RFs or what. I do like the results i have seen from the A2 and i hopefully

will be buying it real soon.

[spanky]

I've been doing street photography for years, even before I learned there was a term for it! Heh, I thought I was being so original taking pics of strangers in the street and on buses and trains. I started out using a Pentax PZ-20. Since I knew next to nothing about photography, I used to keep it on the green mode (letting the camera select my exposure) with auto focus. I recently came across some of the very early pics I took. Oh the memories. Since I learned to do my own developing and printing, I decided to make the (rather expensive) jump into medium format. Now I enjoy using a Mamiya RZ67 ProII which allows me complete control over exposure with the added benifit of beautiful 6X7 negatives. What a difference in quality over 35mm! Another poster here Lucus G also uses a RZ. Where is Lucus anyways? He hasn't posted in awhile.

I agree that you should use whatever camera you can get your hands on, but if you are brand new to street photography, why not try to use one that has fully automatic features like my old PZ-20? This might help you feel more comfortable the first few times you hit the streets and may feel a little nervous.

Regards,

Marc

[gary h sp]

You can use the A2 swing-up finder (great rez!) at 90 degree angle. Otherwise the LCD at waist level (or lower). Couple with a wire-release and anti-shake for great blur at very slow shutter speeds. See <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2598094

" >Shop 'til we drop</a>,

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/2611507

" >Swingin' the Blues</a>, and

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=411270" >KMDa2 foloer</a>

[scott_davis5]

for a better of many worlds situation, look at a used Contax G1 or G2 with the 45mm lens, or drop down to the 35mm F2. That will give you the rangefinder quiet coupled with autofocus and autoexposure. You can make it look like you're fiddling with your controls when you're actually taking a picture. If you get caught, you can always pull an, "aw shoot, one more wasted frame I'll have to throw out " and still seem reasonably credible.

[lex_jenkins]

1950s vintage Agfa Isolette 6x6 folder. Usually quiet and discrete but if anyone does happen to notice they just smile.

[sam_richardson]

I use a 4x5 Calumet for my Street photography. The shutter is extremely quiet and since I'm hiding under my focus cloth they don't even realize I'm there most of the time. For hard-hitting street photogaphy there's nothing like a view camera.

[adrian_morgan]

Popular photography ran this article a while ago

http://www.popularphotography.com/article.asp?section_id=5&article_id=855&page_number=1.

 

The camera's are varied - it really doesn't matter

[matt_m__toronto_]

... and others with digi cams and similar...

 

do you print and frame images or just transfer pictures onto the computer for email/personal/web posting?

[Brad_]

Matt, the majority of the images I make go to the web. However, I also print, mat and

frame quite a few. By the way, I also enjoy woodworking and make my own frames from

hardwood lumber. I haven't tried making my own glass yet, though.<BR>

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[grant_.]

wild setup brad...

[Spearhead]

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Yeah, and he has a great setup for matting too.

[Tony Rowlett]

Brad, I've always wanted to be able to make frames like that. Looks like you have it down. Are you using your table saw to make the cuts, or are you using something else?

[frank_scheitrowsky1]

Street photography is an area that I am interested in moving into. I have been doing photogrphy for almost 30 years. My photographic interests have evolved and I have been fortunate to aquire many different camera models and types. Presently, these are my favourites for travel and street photography: Rollei TLR (Rolleicord and Rolleiflex, offering fantastic MF quality and discreet waist-level viewing), a Konica Hexar AF (so quick and capable), and I'm about to get a Fuji GS645W (wide angle RF MF!). I am also going to get a Minox GT repaired because you just can't beat the size/quality performance of this camera that can always be in your pocket.

[Brad_]

Tony, here are the steps: The two wood species you see there are Sepel and and the

retaining trim is Padauk. Both start off as boards around 5" wide by 7' long. After ripping

(table saw) and planed (using a surface planner) to the desired thickness and widths

(Sepele sides are 3/8" thick by 1 7/16 wide, the Padauk trim is 3/16" thick, by 1/2" wide)

by about 7' long for a 16x20 frame.

 

I then glue and clamp the trim to the Sepele. After the glue dries, that assy gets ripped to

1 3/8" wide on the table saw - that reveals a perfect joint where the two woods meet. That

gets pushed through on a table router to round over the Padauk edge. I rough cut the

four sides on a bandsaw (not in the photo) to within 1/16" of an inch - with a 45 degree

miter.

 

Those ends of those pieces then get trimmed on a miter trimmer. That's what you see on

the left side of the photo, clamped to my bench - the hand lever causes the trimmer

blades to move left or right, shaving the wood. That puts a perfect glass-smooth 45

degree miter edge on the ends of each of the four sides. BTW, that miter trimmer design

hasn't changed in 100 years - it's all cast iron with heavy steel trimming blades.

 

The sides get glued and clamped - it now looks like a frame. Sand at 150, 220, and 320

grit. Then burnished with 500 and 1000 burnishing pads. Three coats of shellac, lightly

burnishing in-between. Then a coat of paste wax.

 

A lot of labor for something that looks pretty simple. It's a good way to kill time....

[sjixxxy]

I prefer my <a href="http://zeropoint.six-something.org/v04/index.php?page=trip_mod">modified Olympus Trip 35</a>. Sure it isn't as "pee your pants" sharp as a leica, and only offers one shutter speed in its current state, but at $20 a camera, I feel very uninhibited in where I take it.<div></div>

[jrl]

I've just got a Leica CM, which I'm loving. It isn't that expensive. I actually went out to get a digital camera but in the end got persuaded to stick to film. Although I'm not up on equipment as I hadn't touched a camera for over five years.

 

Not making a joke here but if it is real no frills you want you can do a lot worse than a Ilford disposable. I'd recommend them for things like music festivals where there are lots of sticky fingered people about.

 

Digital, have a good look at the Panasonic versions of the Leica cameras. They are basicaly the same apart from styling.

[randy_skopar]

My favorite street setup is a Rolleiflex 3.5F with a Rolleikin mounted. (That's an adapter that lets you use 35mm film.) You can view at WL, which lets you pretend to examine the camera while you shoot in all directions. Using a 75mm lens on 35mm film gives you a little reach, also, and the results are marvelous. You are using the very center of a Planar lens.

[bart_w._van_lith]

I've been using a Nikon F4e for some time, but people find it a very frightning camera to pose for. If I try to shoot candits and people do notice, people often look offended because they think they'll be on the front cover of some newspaper the next day :)

Especially when shooting with the 180mm 2.8 ED lens attached, people sometimes think I'm a paparazzo or something like that.

 

And with it's age it's not even insured anymore, so if it gets stolen I hardly get any $ back at all.

 

That's why I've been looking for a Fed 3 camera, with a jupiter lens (like someone above already wrote). I'll let people think I'm some poor student (poor yes, student no ;) if they even notice me at all.