Camera suggestions for inconspicuous street photography? Best answer on the web

  • I currently use a Nikon dSLR but sometimes this is too noisy and too large for my taste - even with a small prime.



    Iâ ™m looking for something pocketable, quiet, with a wide angle, and great image quality at f/2.8.



    A digital point & shoot is silent and has a great form factor, but I have yet to see one thatâ ™s responsive or offers shallow depth of field.



    A Leica M? I could live with the price of a used one but these cameras draw *more* attention than my dSLR. Possibly a Voigtlander. Any other rangefinders with a great lens selection?



    Point & shoots such as the Contax T2/ T3, Ricoh GR1, Yashica T4/ T5 etc. all seem to have drawbacks of their own (mostly lacking features or a p.i.t.a. user interface). Theyâ ™re also all getting fairly old for a used electronic device. Any new stuff?



    What would you use?


  • I don't know the price range that you what to spend, but I know that Canon has a camera you should look at. It's the Powershot G10 it's like a 4 or 5 hundred dollar camera. I would think for that price it would have what you are looking for. I believe that Nikon has a camera in the same range if you do some digging. I hope this helps.

    Good luck and God bless.


  • Leica M series cameras have always been a great choice for street photography, they have relatively quiet shutters and are quite inconspicuous. I don't see how a leica can draw more attention, but I guess that would be relative. I rather enjoy using my nikon FE2 and 50mm f/1.4 ai-s manual focus film SLR for inconspicuous shooting. Only problem is, the shutter and film advance are quite loud. Also look into the yashica electro GS/N rangefinder, it's a good camera for that sort of thing as well - I almost won a bid on one on ebay some months ago but decided not to persue. Other than those, a good p/s digital camera is the best bet - like the canon G9 or G10 for example. They are small, have decent resolution and clean images for p/s and nearly silent. Hope that helps.


  • You might look at a digital TLR http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catâ ¦


  • Try this one Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28K 10MP with a premium 27mm wide-angle LEICA lens with an 18x optical zoom

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CCLâ ¦


  • Hiya Ponies, long time no see.



    I think this one ought to do it !

    http://www.dphotojournal.com/wp-content/â ¦


  • As you surmised, 35mm rangefinder is the way to go as far as quietness, inobtrusiveness and performance.



    A Cosina-Voigtlander Bessa R4 series would be good if you want wide angle, it has an assortment of wide-angle viewfinder frames.



    A used Hexar RF would also be an affordable option, though you have to be careful and check it for compatibility at infinity focus if you want to use other makers' VM-mount lenses.



    Both have the advantage for street photography that they are common in non-chrome colors.


  • I have found the same thing you have. My Leica M3 is an attention magnet when on the street. People are so used to seeing small digital cameras that the sight of an old fashioned rangefinder draws a crowd. I prefer TLRs for street work but they can be a draw as well. I often use my Kodak DX7630. Compact and enjoys a very sharp Schneider lens.



    No camera is perfect. Point and shoots suffer from terrible shutter lag however I have found the small sensor an asset. I typically zone focus and use a small aperture. Long, long depth of field. Handy.



    You can't beat a T4 for image quality and I think some have a viewfinder on top of the camera.



    You might look into the Pentax Auto http://cgi.ebay.com/Pentax-Auto-110-Cameâ ¦



    or the Panasonic G1 http://www.dpreview.com/previews/Panasonâ ¦


  • Have you looked into lomo photography? if not check it out. I find it pretty cool myself.. (you can always use a scanner)



    Your question got me very interested in how one does get good photographs on the street. This guy seems to sum up everything I was going to say about the issue plus alot of other good points.

    http://www.beyondphototips.com/2008/08/1â ¦









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    Posted inhznj.com July 30th, 2010 edit