Always 35! :D Reason: 50 is too close at times, 24 gives you this wide angle perspective distortion which makes it more or less useless for my taste. 35 is wide enough/not too close while being visually more neutral compared to wide and ultrawide angels. Plus, it's ideal for video.
yup i'm getting the 24 for my next trip to Tokyo for sakura season. gonna spend most of the time walking around taking pictures of the sakura sea and their buildings. thanks for the video it's pretty inspiring!
What about the 40mm (like the 40mm f/2.5 G)? Seem to strike a balance between 35 and 50? My favorite part of the video was in Chinatown when the lady said “no pictures ma’am”…
Neither. 28 mm is the best. and you never raise the camera to your eye. THEN you'll feel comfortable. I shoot with a pretty slim Nikon Z6 M2 and 28 mm f/2.8, carrying it on a strap around my neck. 99.999% of people pay me no attention as I'm pushing the 'Go' button from the chest ;)
I used to shoot mostly 50. It’s great at isolating subjects. But I prefer 35 as my daily lens, because you can get more of the scene, and it’s more forgiving when shooting wider apertures. Which, is probably why 35 is a classic documentary focal length.
I liked the 24mm and 50mm shots the most. If I were shooting street photos I'd likely want those focal lengths if I had a full frame camera. (I tend to shoot either really tight or really wide.)
Glad to see another photographer who has the same stylistic choices I do. I see the world in 24mm, but every one of these primes have a special place for specific purposes, which, is mildly annoying since I always see life cinematically as well. Think either Wes Anderson or M.Night Shyamalan. What lens do you usually use in everyday photography? I have a Canon M50 and I use an 18-200 Tamron Telephoto lens. It gets me by, but there's something more that I seem to be searching for. Do you have an Instagram with your photos? I'd love to see them and get in contact to swap ideas.
If you're worried about attracting attention, you should be using the LCD screen and carrying the camera at chest/waist height, not looking through the viewfinder. That matters more than the lens. You can walk right past people on the street and take the shot when they're close or where you want them to be. The other consideration is, do you like to isolate a subject, or shoot a scene containing a subject. Street "portraits" are inherently way more boring to me, IMO. Street photography is more about "street scenes," in my mind.
@@dimakor5914 depends on how you shoot - I feel like 85+ puts you IN the scene where everything under 50 is looking at a scene … if that makes sense :)
This video was so helpful. I've been wanting to get back into photography. I have an A7II with a 35 mm that has been collecting dust. Paired with my t3i from my early days of photography. Kept it because I'm in love my my 50 mm lens. I might have to go with another 50 mm for my sony but still browsing.
I'm a Nikon user but when doing street work I opt for my Fuji X100V. The smaller camera is less obtrusive and people seem to react to it better than a big clunky camera/lens.
So, Lizzie, what aperture do you use while doing this? I ask because I am wondering if 2.8 would be good enough in which case the 24-70 2.8 offers a lot of flexibility and the new "mark II" version is "manageable" for walking around.
How is it inconspicuous when you walk and shoot with the camera glued to your eye?! Street photographers will either shoot from the hip or bring the EVF to the eye, shoot and put it down again.
Right! And the lens’s options! Then she says I like the small factor and proceeds to pull out a humongous 24mm 1.4 lens! I was laughing throughout the whole video.
With my APS-C cameras I like 20mm1.8 it give me a 30mm full frame equivalent so it's wide enough for street and architecture. I used it in New Orleans to shoot both without changing lenses
I think what also matters is what body you have, because these focal lengths are different with different bodies, like apsc vs fullframe. For streetphotography, the fave focal length will also be different based on preferences and styles.
Why focus on the people who only destroy, ruin, kill and simply destroy everything around them? After seeing how bad we react in crisis (corona, financial), I simply get disgusted by people 😬 and therefore I try to focus on what is interesting in the surroundings I'm in 😊 24mm is my favorite 💪 Would love to see more of the places you are, especially when you call it street photography 😉 people in focus, then it's portraits 😊
I’d have to agree and say the 50mm is pretty good for street photography if you are capturing people without any background concepts; subjects are the key with that lens. I personally like the 35 for street because it allows you to capture the background which gives a total picture of the scene; similar to the 24 but not as wide. Either way with any of those you can’t lose; you just need to have a general idea of what you are shooting for. Good video! NYC is full of scenery
If you feel uncomfortable getting close to people it may help if you don't carry a camera with a lens the size of a brick. It's street photography not a photo shoot for Vogue Magazine.
Much thanks, Lizzie. This was fantastic. A question, would you ever use/choose a 50mm manual focus for this type of shooting? Why or why not? Please don’t hold my preference of 50 over 35 😄
Great video, few time ago I was trying to understand which lens to buy first and this video helped me a lot! Now that I got multiple lenses I just wanted you to say that the first lens I got is still my favourite one, meaning that this video helped me nail the best lens for my style of photografy :) at first try! I'd defenitelly suggest this video to anyone looking for their first lens
I need to make my way to NY. I do enjoy 24 a great deal, but I struggle with allowing myself to be close to peeps. I need to use silent shutter more often.
imo 35 is an awkward middle ground. a 40mm gives you a slightly more flexible FOV than a 50 but still maintains that subject/detail focus and cinematic look. If you're going down to 35 mind as well go to 28/24..
Great video, I see some negative comments at the end of the day you can’t please everyone. I wonder how many of the negative commenters actually have stuff posted on their channel.
It's obvious that you don't feel comfortable doing street photography. That's why the 50mm was more natural for you. You also chose big obtrusive lenses and you did not blend in the street. Shooting a model in the street is NOT street photography. Next time take a small Zeiss 35/2.8, stop looking at the EVF and get closer to people. You'll get much more interesting results.
hi, thanks for this comparison. it helps me as a beginner. i've always use prosumer cameras before, but this year i try to use mirrorless and i start to learn about the lens slowly
i like the 28 and 35 for street !!! ... but you do all the 35 and 50 mm pics in vertical, and just some 24 in horizontal and i saw many photographers doing that, you thing it's because of the instagram thinking ??? nice video
I like 24mm it’s good talking environmental portrait particularly with family. No need to go far from family in crowded place at same time we can take photo with decent amount of body is covered
My choises are 24/50/85 as I don't have an 35 prime... Are one of them better than the others, no... They have different trades, and it depends on personal prefenrences :) The 24mm opens up the world, the 85mm creates focus, the 50mm is a bit of both...
Like how you have to use cleavage to sell a sponsors product. Tells me a lot about it. BTW the 35 was the lens of choice in the days of film for street photogs. If you are so worried about getting close to a subject then why not just use a 135 or longer? It lets you maintain that modern hands off scared to interact with people mode that I see so much from people your age. BTW for architectural photos you use a T&S lens anyway or a camera with rises and falls and adjustable backs
The Nikon 1 - V1, with 10mm Lens, is my Camera I like using for Street Shooting.. Small, and Touristy Looking, so People don't pay much attention to what I'm doing! I even bring my Pentax Q, when I want a Super Small, and Easy to carry around type of Camera, instead of one looking like a Bazooka pointed at the Public!
I think a point and shoot is best for street photography. It attracts very little attention and people don’t think you are doing anything too serious. When that woman told you “no pictures” is what I constantly had with a large DSLR
I feel like walking around with that big and bulky camera is not ideal for street photography. I’d rather use an APSC or micro 4/3 camera and still get great image quality.
That’s what I figured. After my 50, my next focal length up is 135 so when I shoot with my 50 after the 135, it feels like how you’re describing the 35.
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