Reading mode: Light Dark

B&W street photography camera

Go to last post
A

antonioxrosa

Active member
Messages
57
Reaction score
2
I mainly photograph landscape and travel but I also like very much street photography in b&w. I am wondering what would be the best camera plus lens. I mean the best assuming we have no money limitations. So anyone that usually does street photography can share with me:

- what gear do you use and

- which one you would love to have.

thanks
 
I got the combo I always dreamed about, now the rest is up to me. Cheers.



bc4370b3f70e4c4bb08b94d15353a6d1.jpg
 
antonioxrosa said:
I mainly photograph landscape and travel but I also like very much street photography in b&w. I am wondering what would be the best camera plus lens. I mean the best assuming we have no money limitations. So anyone that usually does street photography can share with me:

- what gear do you use and

- which one you would love to have.

thanks
Click to expand...
Cameras are personal; small and unobtrusive is best for SP. I like Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras. B&W has more to do with your PP and conversion skills. Your eye is what is most important, not the gear.

--
Sam K., NYC
“I’m halfway between tightrope walker and pickpocket.” — HCB
—
Native New Yorker:
http://www.blurb.com/b/7943076
—
Street Gallery:
http://skanter.smugmug.com/NYC-Street-Photography
 
Last edited:
My dream too. But still have doubts if I would me use to manual focus. Have you tested the monochrome version ?
 
skanter said:
antonioxrosa said:
I mainly photograph landscape and travel but I also like very much street photography in b&w. I am wondering what would be the best camera plus lens. I mean the best assuming we have no money limitations. So anyone that usually does street photography can share with me:

- what gear do you use and

- which one you would love to have.

thanks
Click to expand...
Cameras are personal; small and unobtrusive is best for SP. I like Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras. B&W has more to do with your PP and conversion skills. Your eye is what is most important, not the gear.
Click to expand...
I had a Sigma DP-1 for a short time, Press the shutter and a minute later it took a photo, and if you did not turn its power off your battery was drained before the next shot.
 
antonioxrosa said:
I mainly photograph landscape and travel but I also like very much street photography in b&w. I am wondering what would be the best camera plus lens. I mean the best assuming we have no money limitations. So anyone that usually does street photography can share with me:

- what gear do you use and

- which one you would love to have.

thanks
Click to expand...
With all the money in the world you will never ever get the best, there is always something better just around the corner.

Spend the $ on enjoying life and getting out there and snapping it.
 
isme said:
skanter said:
antonioxrosa said:
I mainly photograph landscape and travel but I also like very much street photography in b&w. I am wondering what would be the best camera plus lens. I mean the best assuming we have no money limitations. So anyone that usually does street photography can share with me:

- what gear do you use and

- which one you would love to have.

thanks
Click to expand...
Cameras are personal; small and unobtrusive is best for SP. I like Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras. B&W has more to do with your PP and conversion skills. Your eye is what is most important, not the gear.
Click to expand...
I had a Sigma DP-1 for a short time, Press the shutter and a minute later it took a photo, and if you did not turn its power off your battery was drained before the next shot.
Click to expand...
I remember waiting before buying a digital camera - until they reached 1 megapixel. :-)

--
Sam K., NYC
“I’m halfway between tightrope walker and pickpocket.” — HCB
—
Native New Yorker:
http://www.blurb.com/b/7943076
—
Street Gallery:
http://skanter.smugmug.com/NYC-Street-Photography
 
Last edited:
I use a M4/3 Olympus E-M5, but don't end up with B&W a lot. For SP I do set it to monochrome to get the B&W look in the EVF. Almost always end up using the color RAW for output though.

For SOOC JPGs the Oly PEN-F has a number of B&W presets and adjustments built in. Dunno how that compares to Leica, then PEN-F is nowhere near as expensive.

Manual focus is another issue. With native mirrorless lenses the differences in how those lenses handle under MF may make a bigger difference than the bodies. A MF "clutch" is a good thing, many mirrorless lenses lack this feature.

Kelly Cook
 
I use two: Fuji X-T2 and Sony a7r II. These because they are small and have silent shutter, which have two features that I like. Not parts moving inside when I take picture, this save the mechanical shutter life, other no noise from shutter when take picture. Silent shutter has negative side too, I can live with it. In fuji I have Samyand 10mm and 18-35 kit. Sony I use Samyang35, Canon50 and Sony 16-35 zoom.

My wish camera should be Sony a7r III with Sony 24-105, now too expensive. There are many very good cameras for street from Olympus, Fuji, Sony, Lumix in APS-size.

Sony menu is synonym to chaos, in last model maybe little better. I should say, not difficult to find gear to like, jouni
 
antonioxrosa said:
My dream too. But still have doubts if I would me use to manual focus. Have you tested the monochrome version ?
Click to expand...
As a business decision Leica has privileged rangefinder shooting for small cameras. Otherwise I would have bought a Leica some time ago. They have lost some long time adherents who believe that the rangefinder is more of a negative than the positive. Leica users have told me it would take a year to fully master rangefinder shooting (I doubt this, since I have no trouble shooting MF lenses on my Nikons.)

So to fully enjoy Leica for street, you have to join the rangefinder club, which is designed to give Leica a monopoly in a very small part of the camera market, and retain legacy users from film days, both 'dentists' and pros.

Read this

If Leica had made a small, flexible evf camera that used its lenses, it would now risk having to compete with Sony/Nikon/Canon, all of whom will have full frame mirrorless cameras by the end of the year.

So if you want the experience of a German built camera today, you have to take a lifetime membership in the strange seeming 'rangefinder club.' Not that there is anything wrong with rangefinder shooting. It's just a weird accident of business economics that that is tied into the Leica experience.
 
skanter said:
antonioxrosa said:
I mainly photograph landscape and travel but I also like very much street photography in b&w. I am wondering what would be the best camera plus lens. I mean the best assuming we have no money limitations. So anyone that usually does street photography can share with me:

- what gear do you use and

- which one you would love to have.

thanks
Click to expand...
Cameras are personal; small and unobtrusive is best for SP. I like Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras. B&W has more to do with your PP and conversion skills. Your eye is what is most important, not the gear.
Click to expand...
 
antonioxrosa said:
Thanks for your input
Click to expand...
Small and unobstrusive is good for street photography. Many great cameras to choose from including models from Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, and Fuji, among others. Purchase a good quality 35mm or 50mm lens. Choose a camera that has a flip down or articulated rear monitor. If you have money to throw away, you could buy a Leica, but it won't help you take better photos. Spend your money on books and classes. Another suggestion is if you're not sure what camera to buy, you could rent it and try it out. US companies like Adorama, B&H, and Lens Rental will rent for short term periods, mostly the better models. Good luck.

Steve
 
SteveS58 said:
antonioxrosa said:
Thanks for your input
Click to expand...
Small and unobstrusive is good for street photography. Many great cameras to choose from including models from Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, and Fuji, among others. Purchase a good quality 35mm or 50mm lens. Choose a camera that has a flip down or articulated rear monitor. If you have money to throw away, you could buy a Leica, but it won't help you take better photos. Spend your money on books and classes. Another suggestion is if you're not sure what camera to buy, you could rent it and try it out. US companies like Adorama, B&H, and Lens Rental will rent for short term periods, mostly the better models. Good luck.

Steve

--
Steve Schulman
Steve Schulman Photography
Click to expand...
awww.. come on you guys, I have four soon to be five SLR's ...and I still want a black titan. The Leica was not good money thrown away either. It is now worth 4.5x what I paid, am saying goodbye soon.

But this slr stuff ...come-on, fair crack of the whip. I've got feelings too.

By the way, the Leica is nice, if you use it right, I will miss it but if you want to see my head spin, dizzy ...then just say NIKON five times. In fact say it six times, I really do want the Titan.

ant
 
Last edited:
isme said:
SteveS58 said:
antonioxrosa said:
Thanks for your input
Click to expand...
Small and unobstrusive is good for street photography. Many great cameras to choose from including models from Olympus, Panasonic, Sony, and Fuji, among others. Purchase a good quality 35mm or 50mm lens. Choose a camera that has a flip down or articulated rear monitor. If you have money to throw away, you could buy a Leica, but it won't help you take better photos. Spend your money on books and classes. Another suggestion is if you're not sure what camera to buy, you could rent it and try it out. US companies like Adorama, B&H, and Lens Rental will rent for short term periods, mostly the better models. Good luck.

Steve

--
Steve Schulman
Steve Schulman Photography
Click to expand...
awww.. come on you guys, I have four soon to be five SLR's ...and I still want a black titan. The Leica was not good money thrown away either. It is now worth 4.5x what I paid, am saying goodbye soon.

But this slr stuff ...come-on, fair crack of the whip. I've got feelings too.

By the way, the Leica is nice, if you use it right, I will miss it but if you want to see my head spin, dizzy ...then just say NIKON five times. In fact say it six times, I really do want the Titan.

ant
Click to expand...
Actually I though of another. a black F ...but am not sure, would just be to own, so make that...

NIKON NIKON NIKON NIKON ..NIKON (NIKON?) (NIKON?)
 
Last edited:
Thanks. Fully agree with you. The big question for me is. Does it make any sense or would I be able to shoot with Nikon fx af and at same time with Leica rangefinder mf. Can we gain and maintain both technics at same time?
 
antonioxrosa said:
Thanks. Fully agree with you. The big question for me is. Does it make any sense or would I be able to shoot with Nikon fx af and at same time with Leica rangefinder mf. Can we gain and maintain both technics at same time?
Click to expand...
Entirely up to you. Some folks shoot with a variety of cameras. Some stick to one camera brand and type til death.

varietyguy
 
For B&W photography I would say: Leica Monochrom (M 246) and either Summicron-M 35/2.0 or Summilux-M 50/1.4. You will love the tonality and dynamic range of this sensor and lens combination.
 
The expensive answer: Leica M Monochrome

The cheap, somewhat DIY, answers:
  • Any 12 mpx M4/3 with a small prime such as 20/1.7, 14/2.5, or 17/1.8 with MF clutch (for zone focusing). Why ? because the low light noise in the pictures give amazing digital "grain", even more beautiful after converting to B&W.
  • If you prefer an older DSLR : for nice noise in low light / high ISO, I had plenty when I used a Pentax K-7. It looks great once converted to B&W.
  • The new sensors are too clean even at high ISO. It's not fun anymore ;)
  • The P&S with CCD sensors from 2009-2010 are great too. Bonus point if it has RAW support (e.g.: LX3, LX5).
 
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