Hello all. I’ve been on the lookout for a small but powerful street lens for my kit. A while back I sold my 55ZA in favor of the 50ZA due to heavy use for portraiture (I love this lens), but now am missing something in that range of focal length for street shooting. I tried to go out walking with the big gun but it seems for whatever reason to capture people’s attention and sort of ruin the spontaneity of it all.
I’m not sure yet if I want to buy back the 55, though it was a great lens, as maybe there is a better option out there. I have the 35GM which is…just maybe small enough for me for street as far as me not wanting two lenses in that focal length. But for 50-ish, I’m thinking something under 400 grams and at least f/2 since I do like to walk at night sometimes or get a bit of background blur for casual portraits.
What are your favorites give or take 10mm from 50? I’ve been practicing zone focusing so MF lenses are fine. The CV 50 APO is appealing to me as an example, albeit expensive. It doesn’t have the CA issues of the 55ZA. I’m also hearing there might be a sigma contemporary 50f/2 on the way but not sure yet of the size/weight/performance. Thank you in advance for any insight!
The 35GM, Sony 40/2.5 and Batis 40 come to mind for me. All nice and fast autofocusing in a minimal package.
Sigma's new I series lenses also come to mind, but those are hit and miss from some user reports.
The Samyang/Rokinon 45mm f/1.8 definitely has a fan base, which would be small, light and cheap(ish). Haven't used one myself, so I'm not sure how fast the AF is if that is a concern for you.
The Sigma 45 2.8 is a nice small lens. The fact that your considering MF with the Voightlander tells me any reported focusing issues reported would not be too much a concern. It is very cheap, nice build and takes great photos. I have no problem with the AF for my purposes. 65mm 2.0 is a stellar lens. Remarkable, but a bit more money and a big larger but smaller than some of the others you mentiioned
Alan Parker wrote:
The 35GM, Sony 40/2.5 and Batis 40 come to mind for me. All nice and fast autofocusing in a minimal package.
Sigma's new I series lenses also come to mind, but those are hit and miss from some user reports.
Thank you for these ideas. I have the 35GM and it’s great. But want something even smaller physically that is closer to 50mm and at least f/2 for darker environments. I was contemplating the 50g as well (f/2.5) but I might end up missing that extra stop or so. I know for a lot of street shooting it is f/8, understand that but would like it to be flexible if possible. The Batis always looked nice but I’m not sure it’s that small physically. But again, appreciate your response!
MARKFER wrote:
The Sigma 45 2.8 is a nice small lens. The fact that your considering MF with the Voightlander tells me any reported focusing issues reported would not be too much a concern. It is very cheap, nice build and takes great photos. I have no problem with the AF for my purposes.
Very tempting at the current price. But I am worried about aperture. I did really like the f/1.8 for shooting at night. How does this lens handle for MF?
*You added a note about the 65i. I’ve heard great things about it. It might be a bit longer than i am used to for traditional street focal lengths. I feel like the size was not big, but not small either. Food for thought. I wish I just had all the money and I could try out all of them!
formula4speed wrote:
The Samyang/Rokinon 45mm f/1.8 definitely has a fan base, which would be small, light and cheap(ish). Haven't used one myself, so I'm not sure how fast the AF is if that is a concern for you.
This is not a bad idea for the price. I’ve seen people split on this lens and I can’t say that I recall why. Maybe bokeh not superb, onion rings, something like that? But I have to say I have not been impressed with SY manual focus experience personally. Love the output of the 85 I have from them but the AF is the worst of the lenses I own and…don’t even try to manual focus it. An exercise in frustration.
If you want small, non intrusive, get the Sony 35 2.8. But what is more critical in street shooting is how the photographer interacts with the street. If one looks like they are out to sneak a photo, it does not really matter what gear one has...people will be suspicious of you.
chez wrote:
If you want small, non intrusive, get the Sony 35 2.8. But what is more critical in street shooting is how the photographer interacts with the street. If one looks like they are out to sneak a photo, it does not really matter what gear one has...people will be suspicious of you.
I get this, thank you. I didn’t seem to have this issue with using the 55 so I chalked it up to the new big front element/size attracting attention. Not all the time, but definitely once in a while. For now I just use the 35Gm, which seems to be just small enough to avoid this (perceived?) problem. But was looking even smaller for the 50-ish focal length.
35 GM definetely small enough, if its not then its just your subjective perception. Its more towards how you picture yourself in the streets really, gear size is second. Smaller gear does spark the idea that youre more stealth, when its not. I approach things the same way when I use my 35 GM or Sigma 35 1.2 😬
Re lenses, for 50 mm I prefer AF. Either get back the 55, Sigma 65 or Sony/Batis 85 1.8. Lighter weight does make street much more enjoyable.
abadger wrote:
I get this, thank you. I didn’t seem to have this issue with using the 55 so I chalked it up to the new big front element/size attracting attention. Not all the time, but definitely once in a while. For now I just use the 35Gm, which seems to be just small enough to avoid this (perceived?) problem. But was looking even smaller for the 50-ish focal length.
frezeiss wrote:
35 GM definetely small enough, if its not then its just your subjective perception. Its more towards how you picture yourself in the streets really, gear size is second. Smaller gear does spark the idea that youre more stealth, when its not. I approach things the same way when I use my 35 GM or Sigma 35 1.2 😬
Re lenses, for 50 mm I prefer AF. Either get back the 55, Sigma 65 or Sony/Batis 85 1.8. Lighter weight does make street much more enjoyable.
Yes the 35 I have is just fine. Great, fantastic, actually. But I was feeling this need to get a small 50 as well because I don’t like walking with the very large 50 lens I have. That Sigma 35/1.2 is an awesome lens but something of that size is just too much for me for street walks and the GM fits the bill for that focal length. But I get what you are saying. I could certainly go back to the 55 if I can’t decide either way.
DaveFP wrote:
IMO the two (by far and away) best street lenses for Sony are the FE 35/2.8 and 1.8.
FE 28 is also excellent for street.
Had and actually really liked the 35/1.8 but I use the GM so much I don’t think I would use it. Had, and also liked the 28. I was pretty green when I had it at that time and probably didn’t utilize it to its full potential tail. But found distortion a little annoying. Plus the corners at lower apertures were…muddy. But yes those are great ideas. Still would like something closer to 50 and f/2 ish. Thank you for these ideas!
akashyap wrote:
I bet the to-be-released Sigma 50/2 will be great here - small, great build quality, great IQ for the price.
Otherwise, if you’re really up for MF, and don’t care for official weather sealing, the CV 50/2 and CV 50/1.2 are incredible incredible lenses.
These that you have listed are sort of my top 3 ideas at the moment actually. Forgot about weather sealing! Hmm. Wonder how sealed those CV lenses are.
I really thought the 35i was great, but went with the GM at 35. So maybe the new sigma will be something to wait for. But who knows with delays and everything when that will be. I just had my hands on the 50APO today and…it was very nice. I’m thinking it could diversify in function as well for landscapes. Amazing resolution on the test shots and it just sort of has its own look. I do like it.
Sounds like you’re looking for the same lens I am looking for, the ever-elusive Sony 50mm f/1.8 G. I saw a rumor that Sigma is working on an I-series 50mm f/2 but I’m not sure if that’s real or when it would get released. I suspect a Sony version would be lighter and a little smaller but that’s just a guess. Personally, I’ll be waiting for one of these two before buying anything at that focal length. If you can’t wait, buy something used that you can resell for the same amount later. Good luck.
PaulMoorePhoto wrote:
Sounds like you’re looking for the same lens I am looking for, the ever-elusive Sony 50mm f/1.8 G. I saw a rumor that Sigma is working on an I-series 50mm f/2 but I’m not sure if that’s real or when it would get released. I suspect a Sony version would be lighter and a little smaller but that’s just a guess. Personally, I’ll be waiting for one of these two before buying anything at that focal length. If you can’t wait, buy something used that you can resell for the same amount later. Good luck.
I would probably be all over a compact 50 f/1.8G. You are right. The current 50/1.8 Sony offers is ok and cheap but not really on par with the level of quality I am looking for. So an update would be great!
I use the ZA 55/1.8 and the Batis 40/2 as my two street lenses. Both pretty small and light, and both in the focal length range I prefer (ie not too wide).
For street shooting where I want small, fast, and sharp, I am a big fan of Voigtlander MF lenses.
You may want to try the 50 mm F/1.2 Nokton SE. This is a small unobtrusive MF lens with dual personalities. Wide open it produces images with a special glow, and character. Stop down a bit and it is amazingly sharp and crisp. The build quality and experience of using it are indeed special. Try it and you may find that you enjoy shooting with the Voigtlander lenses so much you begin collecting them. It happened to me. Whether on my Sony, or my Leica, when I am out street shooting they are pretty much all I use these days.
Personally for my Sony kit I use the similar 40mm F/1.2 Nokton which splits the difference between 35mm and 50mm. I love the images it produces.
I like the little APS-C 20mm pancake for this, but the shiny black finish can draw some attention. I did wish it was silver to blend into the silver plastic APS-C camera body I was using. A matte black would be nice for the more common black camera bodies. The cap style hood at least has a dull finish.
The cheap Sony FE 1.8/50 is not a bad choice. I kinda regret selling mine. It does have a fairly large front element. It wouldn't be too hard to paint over the shiny trim on the Samyangs. Their 35/2.8 is substantially smaller than their 45/1.8. The Tamron OSD primes are so bulky.
