Suggestions for a good street photography setup?

nurseMarty wrote:

I recently purchased the GR iii used. I too am not in love with it. It is not the GRiii’s fault.

I love the size and weight. I love the snap focus. I love the B&W simulation. The lens is plenty sharp. Here are my problems. FOV. 18mm is too wide for me. Workaround. Reconfigured the video button so I can digitally zoom to 23mm at 19mp. More than OK. No view finder. Some times I want an EVF to help frame the shot. The GR series never has had an EVF. I knew that but never realized how much I’d miss it. Then there is the battery. Tiny. Easy workaround. Buy more batteries. Since the battery is so lite, carrying a couple extra batteries is no problem. The overall user experience for me, so far, is I’m not having that much fun either the aGR iii.

Still using the GR. Trying to find the love. Overall, I enjoy using my Panasonic GX85 and 15mm lens and Fuji X100S more than the GR.

Mask on Nurse Marty

Each  to his own of course but for me the GRII is the best street digital camera ever made

I , on the other side , have ZERO interest in the flawed GRIII 

Pete_W wrote:

dwkdnvr wrote:

I think a GX80/GX85 + Panny/Leica 15mm/1.7 is a great combo, and kinda/sorta can be an M43 alternative to a fixed lens street camera like the X100 series (different ergonomics, obviously)

I completely agree.

I do most of my shooting with a G95 but whenever I want to go light and walk around the street with a camera, I find my GX85 with the PL15mm lens ideal.

The tilting screen allows me to shoot from the hip

Ahhh the infamous "shooting from the hip" 

which helps keep a low profile.

maybe it does , although I doubt that this much more discreet than shooting from the waist ,, but as far as photos I don t think I have ever seen a series of good pictures taken that way LOL

Harold

Exactly how I felt.  I bought it for a trip to Scotland, didn't get that many good photos, couldn't figure out the best settings, missed the viewfinder, etc.  Figured it was an expensive mistake.
Then I stopped shooting for a few years, jumped back in last November upgrading from EM1.1 to EM1.3, having a ball with it as I am now retired and can spend more time learning. Content as can be until I bought an ebike...
(I will never ride a regular bike again, what fun this is at 66!  I have a horse, too, but this is a different experience)
... and I needed a camera to take with me.   So I thought I would give the GRII a try again.
I don't know whether it is my greater knowledge of the EM1.3, or more time, or what, but I love it now.   I am a telephoto girl, the fixed wide angle is tough for me to compose, the LCD in bright light is hard to see, but it is forcing me to think differently.   And the images are so sharp, I can crop to get my "telephoto" point of view if needed.
Now I use snap focus, compose (or not) by larger elements of color or size (vs gnat's ass focusing) and am amazed at what I get.
And it is so pocketable, in ordinary pockets, it is always with me.  Just in case!

ahaslett wrote:

uniball wrote:

Not going to comment on the body. The 20/1.7 is about the slowest focusing lens I've used since the original, sans-firmware updates, X100. Its a total annoyance for street in anything but good light and contrast. In the absence of decent light, it will hunt, and hunt, and... I have the current version. Nice render but rarely mounted and will likely be sold.

I use either the PL15/1.7 or the O25/1.8 and am delighted with both of them.

Interesting, it doesn’t hunt on an EM1.2. Just been trying inside a dark cupboard.

Andrew

I too don't understand the complaints about AF on the 20 f1.7.  I've been street shooting with this lens (the original) for years, on an E-PL8, E-M1.2, and now E-PL10, and it focuses fast & accurately with no "noise" issues whatsoever.  Maybe I just got a good copy (used for $100)?  It's a wonderfully sharp little lens and I love it.

Harold66 wrote:

bs1946 wrote:

The 20mm f1.7 takes beautiful images plus V1 & V2 share the same optics., so you can even go for the cheaper V1. But, the 20mm is also well noted for its slow and noisy autofocus, two attributes you don't want in a street lens.

This is complete BS. at least for stills. Nobody will hear the AF noise in a street configuration

This is obviously hearsay and not firsthand experience

g.

Harold

Sorry Harold,  another uninformed BS rant on your part, as you often do when opening your mouth assuming you know everything and everyone else knows nothing.

Do you  even own the 20mm lens ?

Seems to me you are just trying to push another lens ?

i have actually shot with the 20mm lens for more than six years and i have not encountered ONE SINGLE  issue where the subject could hear the noise of the lens AF

Maybe in some instances you could , but the subject no wayy

Harold

Harold66 wrote:

Do you even own the 20mm lens ?

Not anymore, Had a Type 2 that I sold. mostly for the slow AF but the noise that you claim can hear helped.

Seems to me you are just trying to push another lens ?

Seems to me that you're full of hot air. Go find some else to annoy.

Matt Waller wrote:

ahaslett wrote:

uniball wrote:

Not going to comment on the body. The 20/1.7 is about the slowest focusing lens I've used since the original, sans-firmware updates, X100. Its a total annoyance for street in anything but good light and contrast. In the absence of decent light, it will hunt, and hunt, and... I have the current version. Nice render but rarely mounted and will likely be sold.

I use either the PL15/1.7 or the O25/1.8 and am delighted with both of them.

Interesting, it doesn’t hunt on an EM1.2. Just been trying inside a dark cupboard.

Andrew

I too don't understand the complaints about AF on the 20 f1.7. I've been street shooting with this lens (the original) for years, on an E-PL8, E-M1.2, and now E-PL10, and it focuses fast & accurately with no "noise" issues whatsoever. Maybe I just got a good copy (used for $100)? It's a wonderfully sharp little lens and I love it.

Mine makes a low hum when focussing which is very obvious on video and irrelevant to stills shooting.  It’s slightly slower at AF than some other MFT lenses, but you get small size, low cost and good IQ in return.

AF on Olympus cross-type PDAF bodies and Panasonic bodies is very different.  Panasonic won’t let you CAF this lens; the EM1.2 does it quite happily in low FPS burst shooting while walking towards the focus point.

I just did a torture test in very poor light against my 12-40 Pro at f4 ISO 1600 and 1/10s.  It took ~0.3s longer to acquire focus.  At f1.7 and 1/60, it took maybe 0.5s longer and did hunt very slightly.  Focus was accurate for both lenses.

Andrew

bs1946 wrote:

Harold66 wrote:

Do you even own the 20mm lens ?

Not anymore, Had a Type 2 that I sold. mostly for the slow AF but the noise that you claim can hear helped.

the second part makes no sense. English Please

Seems to me you are just trying to push another lens ?

Seems to me that you're full of hot air.

No i do think you were trying this to push the op for the 17mm

Go find some else to annoy.

that s not how forums work. You don’t decide who and when I post 🤪

H

As mentioned, startup time can be key for street shooting. My E-M1 II apparently does sensor-cleaning each time it's turned on, and that does take a couple of seconds. Not a huge amount of time, but if you're catching spontaneous moments, it could make the difference. My GM5, an older generation of camera, does not sensor-clean by default, and it is ready to go by the time I have the EVF up to my eye.

There's more than one way to skin a cat here, though: the battery on the EM1 is so much larger that you can just leave the camera on while you're walking around, rather than switching it on and off. I have mine set to sleep after a couple of minutes, and it will wake up if I operate any control.

ange_photo wrote:

I have a D7500 which is just too annoying to carry around with me when I'm on trips and it's hard to keep a low profile while shooting with a black DSLR in the streets.

I'd like a camera that isn't too big (I am a big guy so I don't mind a slightly bigger camera), that's well built, with decent image quality and dynamic range, possibly with weather sealing, with decent battery life, decent EVF and interchangeable lenses.

That's why I started looking at the m4/3 ecosystem. I like that there are many available lenses around and I like the fact that m4/3 cameras tend to be small and cute.

My budget is about €1000 for a camera and a lens. What do you suggest?

For the lens, I thought about getting the Panasonic 20mm f1.7 asph. mark II which goes for about €300, and this would leave €700 for the camera.

Thanks.

Raist3d imported an EP-7 and demonstrated some very nice street work using the Olympus 25/1.8 lens. One particular post that may be of interest ... https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65320704

The body only list price 799 €.  If you can locate a great sale on on the Olympus 25/1.8, this might squeeze in on or close to budget.

I have the 17/1.8, 25/1.8, and 45/1.8, all of which would be very nice for street use.  I have no experience with the Panasonice 20/1.7 which everyone seems to like.

Is for the OM-D E-M1/II and 17mm F1.8, although I may slip the 60 macro or 9-18 in a pocket.  Bigger pocket I may bring along the 75/1.8
The PEN-F may look cooler, but I like the grip of the E-M1
E-M5 for lighter weight while keeping weather sealing. (what, you don't shoot in the rain?)

I have a GM5, and with the 20 it doesn't get much smaller.  For low shots I palm it, chest for higher shots.  Very discreet.  I just take lots of shots and see what I get.