Reading mode: Light Dark

Street photography, DSLR models

Go to last post
R

rejor11

Member
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
Hey everyone! How are you doing? :D

TLDR, which DSLR for street photography, with portrait, landscaping, and some action on the side?

So, first a little background. I've been using my Leica M-240 for street photography, portrait, landscape, and so on. Mostly street photography, but I have been doing a bit of action and model shooting as well on the side.

It's partly because of this that I am considering selling my Leica and getting into a DSLR. But the other reason is that I find it hard to manually focus the Leica in those portrait, action, etc photos to get that look that I want out of my photos because of the range-finder focusing technique. I find that I am spending too much time worrying about my focusing ability on the rangefinder and wasting time.

For street photography, this is almost a non-issue since I can just set aperture at 4 or 8 and just go shoot.

I also only have two Zeiss lenses, a 35 and 50mm, which have served me very well.

OK so my main concern is getting a full frame camera that can be used as a street photography camera as its primary purpose. I know, a lot of you are going to call me crazy for selling the Leica (arguably the best documentary camera out there) but it's not filling ALL of my needs that I want in a camera.

As it is, I am checking out the new Nikon D750, but am also wondering what Canon may be coming out with in the near future. I got to try the nikon in one of the stores here in Osaka, but my main concern is its size and weight. I did like how easy it was to manually focus it, and the viewfinder was bright and easier to focus with as well.

Any suggestions? Anything new that might be coming out in the near future that could be a good replacement? I'm not in a hurry, so I may just end up keeping the Leica for another six months till more camera news comes out, but at the same time I want to hopefully find something that I can use in the coming winter months and not have to worry about weather too much.

Feel free to suggest lenses as well. I'll be looking at a 50, 35, and a macro lens, as well as a 100mm-ish lens.
 
I've got a 6D, and while it's not inconspicuous on the streets, it's bloody brilliant! For me it boils down to the 2 things: image quality and controls/feel.

The image quality is second to none and IMO is superior to almost every camera out there bar the Nikon D810. Landscapes and portraits have incredible detail with brilliant dynamic range and sweet colours. More than enough cropping ability out of the 20mp sensor. The advantage of the slightly lower mp count though is the low light capabilities. ISO 12800 is the new ISO 1600 and I can say it soundly beats pretty much any camera in the world in this regard except for Sony's new A7S. Having said that it will garner a fair amount of attraction on the streets, but if you can ignore that and act normally, then paired with a 50/1.4 you've got an absolute low light/street monster that you never have to worry about.

There's also the feel and controls of the camera, which can be equally important. I reckon Nikons are still over-buttonised. There are buttons and switches everywhere, on the back, on the sides and on the top and it can become very annoying. The 6D tones everything much down, with a rather minimalist approach of 5 buttons on the top and the bear essentials on the back. Nothing else required. It puts you back in rhythm with your subject, and that's what I love about it!

So there you go, not the best sports/action camera nor the most advanced or discrete, but it takes some of the best pictures you could ask for and does it without busting the bank account or distracting you from your subject. Just check out these shots for yourself that I took with the 6D:

Loading…

www.flickr.com
 
Nice. Those are some quite beautiful photos you have there.

Feel free to check out mine: nasarow-fo-to.com

I'll add the 6D to my research list XD
 
rejor11 said:
TLDR, which DSLR for street photography, with portrait, landscaping, and some action on the side?

So, first a little background. I've been using my Leica M-240 for street photography, portrait, landscape, and so on. Mostly street photography, but I have been doing a bit of action and model shooting as well on the side.

Feel free to suggest lenses as well. I'll be looking at a 50, 35, and a macro lens, as well as a 100mm-ish lens.
Click to expand...
If you want a one-size fits all, I'd suggest the Nikon d810. It has the best image quality period. It has enough pixels for plenty of wild cropping. Really nice for portraits, landscapes etc...

Not ideal for action only because of the file size which results in a slower frame rate of 5fps. But as a frequent action shooter with a d700 I found 5fps to be plenty. My camera can do 5fps without the grip and 8 with the grip. At first I used the grip, now I don't. I find that even at 5fps I tend to end up with a bazillion images to wade through unless I am careful.

A plus with the d810 is that for street photography you aren't always ideally situated and/or might not have the perfect focal length with. With such a high MP camera you can crop and re-compose a lot more than with other cameras.

The d750 has a few advantages. The tilting rear LCD if you shoot in live-view (I do not, I use the viewfinder). It may have a more advance sensor when it comes to low-light since it will AF in -3ev. The sensor is newer and so is probably even cleaner ISO levels and perhaps even higher DR. The other advantages are smaller file sizes and related to that a faster burst rate of 6.5fps. And of course a full 1000 cheaper.

Me, I'm mainly interested in the d750. Not for the burst rate but because I strongly suspect that the smaller file size, and slightly better ISO/low light performance will serve me better.

The only Canon I would consider a peer to these two cameras is the 5d mk3. If I were in to manually focusing in video I would prefer the Canon.

Lenses:

35mm: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 art or Nikon 35mm f/1.4g

50mm: Sigma 50mm f/1.4 art or Nikon 58mm f/1.4, optionally the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 is inexpensive, exceptionally sharp and smaller than either of the above.

Macro: Sigma 150mm f/2.8 or Nikon 105vr (either doubles as the 100ish mm)

Other lenses:

Personally I prefer the 20ish primes to the 35mm. Nikon has an exceptional 24mm f/1.4mm and a low priced (but nice) 28mm f/1.8. I love the Sigma 20mm f/1.8 being wide enough to be used in close quarters, fast enough for low light and optically surprisingly good for the price.

I only occasionally do street photography and depending on my mood I most often use a Sigma 20mm f/1.8 or Nikon 50mm f/1.4g The 50 is smaller and less obvious.

Also see:

Loading…

www.dxomark.com
 
rejor11 said:
Hey everyone! How are you doing? :D

TLDR, which DSLR for street photography, with portrait, landscaping, and some action on the side?

So, first a little background. I've been using my Leica M-240 for street photography, portrait, landscape, and so on. Mostly street photography, but I have been doing a bit of action and model shooting as well on the side.
It's partly because of this that I am considering selling my Leica and getting into a DSLR. But the other reason is that I find it hard to manually focus the Leica in those portrait, action, etc photos to get that look that I want out of my photos because of the range-finder focusing technique. I find that I am spending too much time worrying about my focusing ability on the rangefinder and wasting time.

For street photography, this is almost a non-issue since I can just set aperture at 4 or 8 and just go shoot.

I also only have two Zeiss lenses, a 35 and 50mm, which have served me very well.
OK so my main concern is getting a full frame camera that can be used as a street photography camera as its primary purpose. I know, a lot of you are going to call me crazy for selling the Leica (arguably the best documentary camera out there) but it's not filling ALL of my needs that I want in a camera.

As it is, I am checking out the new Nikon D750, but am also wondering what Canon may be coming out with in the near future. I got to try the nikon in one of the stores here in Osaka, but my main concern is its size and weight. I did like how easy it was to manually focus it, and the viewfinder was bright and easier to focus with as well.
Any suggestions? Anything new that might be coming out in the near future that could be a good replacement? I'm not in a hurry, so I may just end up keeping the Leica for another six months till more camera news comes out, but at the same time I want to hopefully find something that I can use in the coming winter months and not have to worry about weather too much.

Feel free to suggest lenses as well. I'll be looking at a 50, 35, and a macro lens, as well as a 100mm-ish lens.
Click to expand...
Get a mirrorless camera and keep your Leica. You can use your existing lenses on the mirrorless when you want to use manual focus and you can use an AF lens when you want AF.

I don't know why you are having problems focusing those lenses on models. Models are not usually moving around that much (are they on a cat walk?) and zone focus usually works just fine. Photographers did Vogue, etc. type shots for years with manual focus.

Tedolph
 
Mostly because I want to get precise focusing on the lead eye with shallow depth of field (1.4, for example) and I tend to probably be a bit too precise. My own problem, I know, but I also think that the rangefinder version of focusing is a bit harder for me to see when it's "in focus".

As for mirror less, I've tried but am not happy with EVFs.
 
I might just go this route and wait another year before buying a DSLR to save money.
 
Your best option, in my opinion, would be to rent a camera you're thinking about purchasing - like the D750, for example, and using it for a few days. With the amount of money you've put into your current photography equipment, I hope you have the skill and knowledge to find the ins and outs of a camera, and understand if it's a good option for you, within only a few days of using it.

LensRentals has a new program called Keeper. It seems pretty interesting, and pretty much what I think you need: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2014/10/introducing-lensrentals-keeper. Lumoid operates a similar program.

One camera in particular that I think you should consider is the Fujifilm X100T and its predecessor, the X100S. Just search Google and YouTube for reviews of those two cameras and you'll probably see why. They seem like the perfect option for street photography. Neither of them has a 35mm frame sensor, nor interchangeable lenses, but keeping with darklamp's advice, you can have a different camera for that (though he may have meant that you should keep your Leica and add a DSLR to accompany it). Wide open at f/2, you'll get a similar depth of field to what you're used to with a 35mm lens at f/3, or f/2.8 to round out to the closest full stop. That's still quite shallow - even shallower than what you want, as you've written that in street photography you shoot at f/4 or f/8.

And even though it doesn't have interchangeable lenses, you can achieve different fields of view with accessories. Fujifilm has both a wide-angle converter (making it a 28mm equivalent) and a teleconverter (50mm equivalent). I guess you lose a stop of light with both, but I haven't read about them at all, other than the fact that they exist, so I may be wrong on this one.

If you're buying a DSLR that will be used mostly for landscape and 'action' shots, the D750 seems like a perfect fit, even though an APS-C camera may certainly be good enough. The D750 has a great high-resolution sensor that's fantastic for landscapes, and one of the best autofocus systems of any DSLR - actually the best in Nikon's lineup - so it should be good for those action shots. Just make sure you get a fast card, as its buffer isn't all that impressive.
 
rejor11 said:
Mostly because I want to get precise focusing on the lead eye with shallow depth of field (1.4, for example) and I tend to probably be a bit too precise. My own problem, I know, but I also think that the rangefinder version of focusing is a bit harder for me to see when it's "in focus".

As for mirror less, I've tried but am not happy with EVFs.
Click to expand...
You've never tired that Fuji Xt-1 evf then. Best viewfinder on earth period. Optical or otherwise.
 
rejor11 said:
Hey everyone! How are you doing? :D

TLDR, which DSLR for street photography, with portrait, landscaping, and some action on the side?

So, first a little background. I've been using my Leica M-240 for street photography, portrait, landscape, and so on. Mostly street photography, but I have been doing a bit of action and model shooting as well on the side.
It's partly because of this that I am considering selling my Leica and getting into a DSLR. But the other reason is that I find it hard to manually focus the Leica in those portrait, action, etc photos to get that look that I want out of my photos because of the range-finder focusing technique. I find that I am spending too much time worrying about my focusing ability on the rangefinder and wasting time.

For street photography, this is almost a non-issue since I can just set aperture at 4 or 8 and just go shoot.

I also only have two Zeiss lenses, a 35 and 50mm, which have served me very well.
OK so my main concern is getting a full frame camera that can be used as a street photography camera as its primary purpose. I know, a lot of you are going to call me crazy for selling the Leica (arguably the best documentary camera out there) but it's not filling ALL of my needs that I want in a camera.

As it is, I am checking out the new Nikon D750, but am also wondering what Canon may be coming out with in the near future. I got to try the nikon in one of the stores here in Osaka, but my main concern is its size and weight. I did like how easy it was to manually focus it, and the viewfinder was bright and easier to focus with as well.
Any suggestions? Anything new that might be coming out in the near future that could be a good replacement? I'm not in a hurry, so I may just end up keeping the Leica for another six months till more camera news comes out, but at the same time I want to hopefully find something that I can use in the coming winter months and not have to worry about weather too much.

Feel free to suggest lenses as well. I'll be looking at a 50, 35, and a macro lens, as well as a 100mm-ish lens.
Click to expand...
Ill start this off by saying i have NO brand loyalty. I just use the best tool available.

That being said i just bought a D750.

I love my new D750. Super fast autofocus, amazing image quality, 6.5 FPS. Highly recommended.

Canon has consistently disappointed me with camera technology over the last 3 years and i dont expect that to change at all. Nikon has put out much better bodies and improved them every time. So don't hold your breath.

However, i think you have a misconception about manual focus. If you want to manual focus get a mirrorless camera. It offers, focus peaking and zoom right in the EVF . its 10000% easier to use manual focus on a mirrorless camera.

Best pure street photography camera right NOW is the Fuji X-t1 period. For its size, sharpness and features. But the better overall camera for everything is D750.

I have owned the Sony A7, D750, Fuji X-t1, X-e1, Nikon D5100, Sony NEX 6, in the past 2 years and i do street as well and have been published in magazines.
 
juvx said:
rejor11 said:
Mostly because I want to get precise focusing on the lead eye with shallow depth of field (1.4, for example) and I tend to probably be a bit too precise. My own problem, I know, but I also think that the rangefinder version of focusing is a bit harder for me to see when it's "in focus".

As for mirror less, I've tried but am not happy with EVFs.
Click to expand...
You've never tired that Fuji Xt-1 evf then. Best viewfinder on earth period. Optical or otherwise.

--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/13255522@N04/
Click to expand...
Also, the mirroless cameras can automatically focus on the near eye. DSLR's can't.

As for EVF's v. optical VF's things have changed. Take a look at the Oly VF-4 or the EVF on the EM-1.

Tedolph
 
darklamp said:
darklamp said:
Also, the mirroless cameras can automatically focus on the near eye.
Click to expand...
What are you basing this claim on ?
Click to expand...
Every Olympus since the E-pl2. Others have this feature as well.

The newest ones will even do Left Eye v. Right Eye even if that eye is not the closest eye!
darklamp said:
I have a MILC and it most certainly does NOT focus on the nearest eye automatically.
Click to expand...
Which MILC do you have?

Tedolph
 
Last edited:
I'm going to try out a couple of those mirror less cameras that others have mentioned, but right now i've decided on keeping the Leica and saving for the next year to buy a second camera for landscape, etc.

My Leica is basically the perfect street photography tool and I just cant see myself selling it just to buy a second camera that won't do street photography as well as a Leica.

Thanks for the advice and tips, everyone :D
 
rejor11 said:
I'm going to try out a couple of those mirror less cameras that others have mentioned, but right now i've decided on keeping the Leica
Click to expand...
Good move-don't get rid of it.

I still have my Leica CL.
rejor11 said:
and saving for the next year to buy a second camera for landscape, etc.

My Leica is basically the perfect street photography tool and I just cant see myself selling it just to buy a second camera that won't do street photography as well as a Leica.
Click to expand...
If you are looking for something Leica-esque, take a look at the Olympus ep-5.

The shutter sounds just like an M4.
rejor11 said:
Thanks for the advice and tips, everyone :D
Click to expand...
Tedolph
 
tedolf said:
rejor11 said:
I'm going to try out a couple of those mirror less cameras that others have mentioned, but right now i've decided on keeping the Leica
Click to expand...
Good move-don't get rid of it.

I still have my Leica CL.
tedolf said:
and saving for the next year to buy a second camera for landscape, etc.

My Leica is basically the perfect street photography tool and I just cant see myself selling it just to buy a second camera that won't do street photography as well as a Leica.
Click to expand...
If you are looking for something Leica-esque, take a look at the Olympus ep-5.

The shutter sounds just like an M4.
tedolf said:
Thanks for the advice and tips, everyone :D
Click to expand...
Tedolph
Click to expand...
Or a fuji x100s. Amazing camera.
 
juvx said:
tedolf said:
rejor11 said:
I'm going to try out a couple of those mirror less cameras that others have mentioned, but right now i've decided on keeping the Leica
Click to expand...
Good move-don't get rid of it.

I still have my Leica CL.
juvx said:
and saving for the next year to buy a second camera for landscape, etc.

My Leica is basically the perfect street photography tool and I just cant see myself selling it just to buy a second camera that won't do street photography as well as a Leica.
Click to expand...
If you are looking for something Leica-esque, take a look at the Olympus ep-5.

The shutter sounds just like an M4.
juvx said:
Thanks for the advice and tips, everyone :D
Click to expand...
Tedolph
Click to expand...
Or a fuji x100s. Amazing camera.
Click to expand...
Except he can't use his M mount lenses on it.

He can on the e-p5.

Stabilized too.
juvx said:
--
https://www.flickr.com/photos/13255522@N04/
Click to expand...
Tedolph
 
tedolf said:
juvx said:
tedolf said:
rejor11 said:
I'm going to try out a couple of those mirror less cameras that others have mentioned, but right now i've decided on keeping the Leica
Click to expand...
Good move-don't get rid of it.

I still have my Leica CL.
tedolf said:
and saving for the next year to buy a second camera for landscape, etc.

My Leica is basically the perfect street photography tool and I just cant see myself selling it just to buy a second camera that won't do street photography as well as a Leica.
Click to expand...
If you are looking for something Leica-esque, take a look at the Olympus ep-5.

The shutter sounds just like an M4.
tedolf said:
Thanks for the advice and tips, everyone :D
Click to expand...
Tedolph
Click to expand...
Or a fuji x100s. Amazing camera.
Click to expand...
Except he can't use his M mount lenses on it.

He can on the e-p5.

Stabilized too.
Click to expand...
 
juvx said:
tedolf said:
juvx said:
tedolf said:
rejor11 said:
I'm going to try out a couple of those mirror less cameras that others have mentioned, but right now i've decided on keeping the Leica
Click to expand...
Good move-don't get rid of it.

I still have my Leica CL.
juvx said:
and saving for the next year to buy a second camera for landscape, etc.

My Leica is basically the perfect street photography tool and I just cant see myself selling it just to buy a second camera that won't do street photography as well as a Leica.
Click to expand...
If you are looking for something Leica-esque, take a look at the Olympus ep-5.

The shutter sounds just like an M4.
juvx said:
Thanks for the advice and tips, everyone :D
Click to expand...
Tedolph
Click to expand...
Or a fuji x100s. Amazing camera.
Click to expand...
Except he can't use his M mount lenses on it.

He can on the e-p5.

Stabilized too.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top