Light_pilgrim wrote:
I have a 5D MKIII and several L lenses. I like travelling and enjoy street photography. Problem is the weight and size of my gear. I am looking for somethig smaller, ligher, but something that will give me very high IQ. I know about Leica, but it will cost a fortune. Is there any alternative?
I will probably have only one lens 35 1.4. Also I want to have an optical viewfinder. Wat options do I have and do we have a decent product today or we still need to wait as nothing come close to dslr in terms of IQ?...Show more →
the closest to your requirements is X100
completely silent and smaller than a RF are additional pluses for street
Not Leica, but Leica is defenitely for that: street foto hunting .My solution is X1 # 1.300 $ now.It possessed a well-known rectangular figure and a big red dot, it is tiny and funny like a little cute toy, and when people try to gaze with veneration at it , X1 clicks continuosly with-out a sound, my another combo 5D2 and Contax N 24-85mm is an extreme opposite.
thrice wrote:
The problem you face is that a 35/1.4 effective non-retrofocus lens doesn't exist outside of Leica Mount.
People might recommend the Fuji x100 or Xpro1 but there is no 35mm equiv for the xpro1 and the x100 lens is 35/2.8 in terms of rendering and f/2.0 in terms of light capturing ability.
There should be a 23/1.4 for the Xpro1 next year but I don't know how big it will be. That will give you 35/2 equivalent rendering on the APS-C sensor of the Xpro1.
The Zeiss 24/1.8 for E-mount (NEX) is a very good lens, and quite light. It will give you a 36mm f/2.4 equivalent rendering.
FWIW, the difference between aps-c and 35mm is actually a little more than that. F1.8 on Nex gives you an equivalent rendering to f2.8 on 35mm. You'd need f1.3 on aps-c to get f2 on 35mm.
99% of accomplished street shooters stop down as much as they can anyway, the genre doesnt really offer itself to bokeh experiments
traditionally it's not what street is about
but each to their own and experimentation is always nice, if subject isolation is the goal than that new little FF Sony is probably the go. Leaf shutter too
I wouldn't be concerned with shooting at f/1.4 for DOF reasons... you're probably gonna be shooting stopped down for working with strangers/candid/street shooting.
- Look as "normal" as possible.
- Use a camera that doesn't scream "Latest Hi Tech". Big DSLR with white lens is an absolute no-go.
I use various cameras for my own street photography, ranging from the tired, old OM-3 to a Fuji GX680 on a tripod. Lenses can vary, but somewhere between 28 and 135mm eqv. does it for me. I mostly carry two lenses.
As has been mentioned by many here, wide apertures aren't very useful in the streets, but there might be occasions when they are useful anyway. Locking oneself into a certain focal length and/or max aperture is just plain silly though.
Some gear has come and gone since my D700 and Zeiss and still nothing for me. Its been a long time and you would think it long overdue but with whats available its been an easy wait.
I'll likely upgrade to whatever comes after the D600 and so I'll just keep waiting ...and take pics in the meantime.
The original poster, Light pilgrim, shoots a 5D Mk II with L glass but finds the weight and size of his gear problematic for travel and street photography. LP wants something smaller and lighter.
The only hint we have of style for either is a stated preference for 35mm for travel and street purposes.
Street photography can mean so many things. The urban architecture or urban decay street photographer may need tools different than the habitual B+W gritty conversion fan who might be perfectly happy with the small sensor Ricoh GRD IV and its fantastic snap focus (quick zone focus) feature. A street portraitist may want for nothing but a nice 85mm lens for their DSLR. The HDR specialist might want something again different.
Travel photography likewise can mean many things to many photographers.
Maybe LP could weigh in on how LP's personal style will dictate what is really needed.
What about the new hybrid E-A NEX-9 system that's supposed to come out? It will be a digital 35mm sensor that will accept E mount lenses in crop mode and, via an adapter, accept A mount lenses is 35mm mode. Might be what you are looking for.
As Michael said, street photography can mean so many things. To me, it refers to what one would see over at inpublic or in the "Hardcore Street Photography" group on flickr, but opinions differ about this. I rarely see what I would consider true street photography in most forums, but the definition varies.
Either way, the OP stated that he wanted a 35/1.4, so that makes things tough if he moves down in sensor size from the 5Dii. Even a 35/2 equivalent would be tough. The new Fuji 23/1.4 will be like 35/2.2 on FF.
The new RX1 may be a good option, although, if Sony doesn't give a proper digital distance scale in-camera, like they don't with the NEX cameras, zone focusing will be more difficult.
I have shot street photography with SLR/DSLR, rangefinder, mirrorless and P&S. The best keeper average I had was with rangefinder and SLR (film), the worst with DSLR. P&S and mirrorless although interesting never appealed to me due to lack of viewfinder for the ones I had.
In other words you can only find the right gear for any genre of photography by experience and trial and error, because every photographer is different and so is their gear preference, what works for one does not work for another.
But it is way to heavy and way to "loud". People run away.
Hence my desire to have something different:-) I have the 35 mm MF lens, but it is heavy as well asn MF is not very easy with 5D MKIII.
For that sort of shot, I'd suggest a compact FF and a 85 prime, or an APS-C Mirrorless and a fast 50. Try your 5D with an 85/1.8 wide open.
A 35 or equivalent gives a very different feel to the shot, with more of the environment as a part of the shot. You really need to work to get real isolation with a 35, even at f1.4.
Hmmmm pretty hard to do small dof with a small kit, without resorting to leica or film.... but if you remove that consideration it opens up dozens more possibilities in the mirrorless world (some of which with half-decent dof control too)
It must be said though, that people's attitude change ever so slightly when I use the big Fuji. These are from a village in rural Cambodia, GX680 IIIs with 65mm f/5.6 and 180mm f/3.2 respectively on Fuji Acros:
.My solution is X1 # 1.300 $ now.It possessed a well-known rectangular figure and a big red dot, it is tiny and funny like a little cute toy, and when people try to gaze with veneration at it , X1 clicks continuosly with-out a sound, my another combo 5D2 and Contax N 24-85mm is an extreme opposite.
