Using a 40mm Lens for Street Photography? 

Yes, 40mm is the better 50mm…and 35mm👀 It is SO interesting that you also noticed that weird thing you say around 02:07 ! I find 40mm incredibly close to 28mm and I find myself composing them both very similarly but the 40mm just looks a bit more normal I guess. While 28mm adds drama to everything I photograph. It‘s really fascinating how a few mm can make such a drastic difference. And yes that canon 40mm pancake is a no brainer :) I saw Paolo Pellegrin using it with a 5D MkIV so it must be „good enough“ 😁

For years I used a 28mm lens on my old but trusty Nikon f. Then I went digital. I now use Fujifilm X cameras and lenses. The 27mm lens was my first purchase. It’s has a perfect field of view for street photography.

Been using the 5D classic with just the 85 1.8 and the 40 2.8 since 10 years or so and never missed anything else for the stuff I’m shooting - even some semi professional product photography. Really funny to see these becoming more popular again but well deserved.

I have a Canon QL17 GIII. It’s a 40mm, and you’re definitely right in its versatility. It feels much like a shorter focal length, despite being closer to a 50mm.

Thank you for the opinion and examples! Bout to scoop this darling up!

Agree the 40mm 2.8 is a great lens and so compact on the 5D or 6D. I recently started using FF with a Canon 5D Classic and am impressed with the image quality - something about the images make it look less digital and the subject just pops.

I recently picked up the 5D mkII with the 40mm. Spot on, the perfect street photography set up. A nice tactile change from the mirrorless shooting experience.

I managed to pick up one of these after watching your video and its become my favourite lens by far and away. I love to take it hiking because its light but also the sharpness and the focal length make it great for making pano landscapes.

That's a stunning colour pallet you've achieved. Really nice 👍

I absolutely love that you're using the 6D in 2023. Possibly one of Canon's best cameras.

As someone who's still using a canon rebel T7i dslr for street and genuinely enjoying the experience because of the ergonomics, I appreciate this video. I have a 24mm pancake lens sitting on my desk, which comes to a 38mm with my sensor, this video made me put it on and I'm excited to give it a try since I haven't really leaned into it yet. I appreciate this take!

Love the overshirt you’re wearing. Also picking up the 6d to pair with my 5d classic and Fuji xt1

Definitely loving 40mm on the GRIIIx - maybe I should get it for my old Canon before it gets too hyped on:) Congrats to 40.000 subscribers! What a fit 😁

Nice photos, nice video. My introduction to 40mm was via the Panasonic 20mm pancake for M43 (Leica had a hand in the design, but v1 was released before they had their Leica branding arrangement). They feel great on the GX bodies… I'm quite interested in this 20 MP full frame Canon idea though. My last DSLR was the Nikon D80 (the end of the CCD era), and I moved to mirrorless because I never took the D80 out of the house. That pancake though, it does look reasonably portable. And I suspect I'd be able to use all my vintage Pentax glass on a Canon body. Oh dear, experimentation could be on the cards!

Yup, that's what's on my Leica Minilux. Always love your compositions and shocking colours Ed! Cheers!

I had this exact set up while at uni for street photography, also got some use shooting short films too. Great simple full frame set up for big hands!

That is an absolutely fantastic lens.

Yes! I’m using that exact lens on a 5D Mark iii. Got rid of Sony gear (and a Leica M240) and have gone back to DSLR. Loving the ‘older’ tech and getting better photos as the camera just gets out of the way. That 40 is a stunner though. Period. Never mind for the money. The EF 85mm f1.8 is also a cracker. Cheers guys, great as always 👍

I remember the first 35mm film camera I bought many years ago. It was an Agfa optima flash compact camera. It came with a rather good fixed 40mm lens and since then I have always liked that focal length. I now use Lumix M43 cameras and use the lumix 20mm (equivalent 40mm) a lot and really like it. I also find it feels wider than it actually is, just something about it.

The 40mm lens is my second favorite focal length for street photography. The 35mm is my first favorite. Before I purchased my Leica M6 35mm rangefinder with 35mm f/1.4 lens, I used a Canon Canonet QL17 G-III 35mm rangefinder with a fixed 40mm f/1.7 lens.

I first fell in love with 40mm for street photography when I used a Rollei 35. I love my Canon 6D as well but mostly with the 50mm lens. Now I need to pick up this 40mm one!

I love using my 40mm Voigtlander f1.2 E lens and it is permanently attached to my A7III. I have found with some of my best shots, that focal length just feels right and I know any other focal length wouldn't have had the same feel or have been able to capture the framing I had in mind. It feels like 40mm is perfect for my vision. With the 40mm It does strangely feel like it has some of the characteristics of both a 35mm and 50mm in one lens. Isolating subjects is easy using the depth of field like a 50mm but I can also get a fairly wide dof when shooting at f16. I did have a 6D back in the day. Great camera but decided to go mirrorless just because it is a much more satisfying experience with modern, native manual lenses. It is great that street photography can easily be shot with older equipment and you don't feel like you need the latest camera models and lenses. In fact a lot of features in the most modern cameras are overkill. I don't touch a lot of features in my A7III preferring a simpler setup to accommodate my simple manual lens workflow.

Thanks for singing the praises of the 40mm STM. It, among many, is a very fine photographic instrument. Agreed, too, that it pairs well with the 6D. Doesn't have to be expensive to be excellent.

This was informative and cool 👍🏾

On a crop sensor camera the 40mm acts as a 64mm, another weird focal length but I like it. I feel that for crop sensor camera users this is a "must have" lens, it works for so many situations and wow are the optics sharp or what, for the money (pound for pound) this is probably the best lens out there.

The 40mm has been one of my stalwarts for a long time. I even use it when covering events simply because I've not been able to afford the Canon L series 35. I preferred it with the 5Div because of the touch screen over the Mark III. Although I use an R6 primarily for work, the 5D iv pared with the 40mm is a lovely combination for my personal work.

Great video & I absolutely get the comments about using DSLR, having just bought an immaculate 1-owner 'old' 7d for a bargain price. I've paired it with the 24mm 2.8 & 50mm 1.8 STM lenses for now. I've had Fuji X system for a while & will always love their beautiful cameras & film simulations but I'm really enjoying having a big old chunk of DSLR back in my hand. Saving a wad of cash buying older cameras is great too, they're still awesome bits of kit & as you say it's really a no brainer.

Wow actually just while watching this video went on MPB and ordered one of these 40mm lenses... well done Josh! :D

Also I agree, upgrading to a z5 from a dslr d7100 completely changed how I shoot, I am much slower then I used to be.

nice colors...very good.

Great theme. I love mpb. I bought my Xpo-2 from there and 35mm 1.4. I'm on love with the kit, service and gear. I'm so inspired by you both to try Canon 5MK 2 or 6D which is crazy...

The other 'pancake' 24mm Canon lens is pretty handy too. Another 40mm equivalent is the Lumix 20mm f1.7, said to be a Leica design. Also a little slow to focus, but a lovely image quality to it.

I still use my Sony DSLR. Old Minolta lenses are so cheap and have a great colour rendition. I have a problem with 50mm as well. Only situation when I find it handy is if you want very intimidate shots of people. Close ups of couples, details etc. 28mm is a pure chaos for me and that's why I love it.

I have that lens. Comes out to about a 64 on my Rebel. Love it.

"Closest to my field of view" - I agree, I always found the 50mm too restricted a view. So this is my standard lens

Great video! I have used 40 mm lenses as standard since my Minolta CLE - days in the eighties!

So beautiful picture! W have a contax G1 , with 45F2,I hope I can do same as you do!

A permanent lens that feels like a fixed set up on my X-pro3 with an adapted Yashica ML 28 mm 2.8 (42mm FF)... The images that comes out of that lens feels dreamy and surreal for the ability on rendering transictions, softness and sharpness of a scene at the same time. Potentially works better than other newer outcomes with AF, but is the feedback that provides utilizing old glasses adapted and the way they were built that with this fild of view makes my favorite focal length of all times. And I personally love 50mm, 35 as well.. but 40mm is something else, somewhere above!!! Not too tight, not too wide, not too compressed...just the right glass to look through at the world.

i own that 40mm and it complete fire on my elan 7s! love it, super sharp, light and compact for travel

My first camera in 80s was with a 40mm lens. The camera make was Vilia and the lens name was Tripplet. This focal range is considered as the golden mean due to physiology of the human eye. Then i switched to Zenit with its Helios. It was 58mm and caused hard times to shoot indoor.

Nice video. I still have my 6D around somewhere. I may even have this 40mm lens. Need to look in my stash

I own this lens for almost 10 years now with a 5dmkiii. Though already own a mirrorless i still kept it. I still love dslr today

I’m so impressed with your discovery. Almost bought an F100 and a very overpriced 35mm. I too prefer optical viewfinder’s to the joyless. Gonna have to wait for more used inventory. The mark ones are slim in the US. In the meantime I’ll try the 24mm on my 80d. Thanks for the good news and awesome pictures. I didn’t get this enthusiastic about the xt5!

My first prime lens, my first love ❤️. Switched to Fuji but never forgot the great times with that pancake 🥲

I still love my Canon 6D and I have the 40mm but found the focal length really strange. I think I'll give it another shot

I used 40mm in the past because the fuji 27 is a pancake and i wanted the smallest possible setup. Wasnt too happy with the focal length though, always wanted a bit wider. But maybe because of the 40mm „renaissance“ i should give it another go

Sound advice. I continue to use used dslr cameras with sharp primes (always using MPB incidentally) preferring them to m'less. Great set of photos too.

The 6d was the first camera I bought and whenever I look back at the files I'm surprised at how well they keep up and I think, why did I go through so many cameras when I could've used it for longer and saved a lot of time and money along the way?...This video really hit home for me, on a side note, where did you get that jacket? lol

I use my Canon 40mm on my m5 with a viltrox speed booster. One of my fave street setups. Yeah, you’re right, strange focal length, but short of parading around with my Canon R and huge 24-70, this setup is a good middle ground. Happy shooting everyone.

I use a Fuji camera with 28 mm pancake lens for street photography. It is great because you can keep it in your pocket and make a picture from your hip.

This is my favourite lens (on my old 5D3) and is the only reason I bought an adapter for my R62. But temper your expectations with focus speed. It’s an STM, not a USM L.

I agree with you. DSLR has something especial in comparation with mirrorless

I was thinking of using the 6D and the 40mm/2.8 as my 2nd camera at a community event. what are folks preferred f/stop? how sharp is the 40mm @f/2.8? or f/4? thanks in advance. thumbs up.

Hi Ive got a 50mm 1.8 stm and I was thinking of getting a 24mm or a 40mm for my 1300d, got any advice ?

I've just bought a Canon 24mm ef-s 2.8 for my Canon 100D. With the crop sensor this gives me 38.4mm. I usually work with a Nikon D700 so for me this is a really small set up for Street Photography. As I already had a 100D sitting in a shelf the 24mm lens only cost me £90 used which I'm hoping will be a great wee unobtrusive cheap set up.

I also want to try a 28mm lens on my Fujifilm crop sensor (which is ~ 42mm) focal length but already got a 35mm thus wondering if there's such a difference between them, but now I think I'll give it a try since an old MF lens takes less than 50 bucks

Love my Fuji 27mm which is a 40mm equivalent. Think you nail it when you say it hits a nice space between 35 & 50. Although I’m a bit odd anyway as my favourite is the Fuji 50f2 which is a 75 equivalent. NOT a traditional street lens.

Great video, mft offer 14, 15, 20 and 25 mm lenses. Superb lenses, I have them all!

İ have one quess what size crop factor 0.71x with speedbooster 40mm and 50mm from apsc

Oh well... I wanted to sell my Canon 6D but this makes me think about it again. 🤔The video on night photography from Shane is also a big inspiration what can be done with this camera. I had it so long and never used it for things like that, I always had the preconception that I need a smaller camera for the streets. Had the 40mm lens as well, but I sold it in favor of the 50mm STM. Still I enjoy the 40mm focal length from time to time, but more on my analog cameras - the Leica Summicron 40mm is also killer lens that can be had for relatively little money.

I love this video and the 6D/40mm 2.8 pancake is my exact set-up (as soon as my 6D finally arrives, thank you holiday season...). But I'm curious because on your instagram some photos you share here are tagged with another camera and another focal length. What to believe?🤔😅

im still using this lens for street photography after i moved to rf camera. compare with other tiny 50.8, the 40mm is slower and softer. but the focal length is more suitable for street 😊

I fell for 40mm accidentally because it was my first ever lens when I got into photography. I'm glad this happened because some people are diehard 28/35/50mm without ever trying 40mm which is such a shame.

Hi is your LR Preset to sale? Love the colors.

Midway through the video, I hopped onto MPB and bought this lens, in like new condition for $114 USD. And no, I'm really not a ringer for either Framelines or MPB. :- ) Anyhow, I bought the 6D new years ago. Before switching to Panasonic MFT, this and the 35mm f2 and 50mm f1.7 was my travel camera kit. I kept it all this time in part because it was such an "honest" camera - no fanciness, no pretensions of pro-anything, no retro-cool and skinny jeans, no saccharin homage to nostalgia. It just records images with integrity, shutter press after shutter press. Importantly, the 5D to 6D generational transition was the threshold at which sensor tech became good enough. Now, having said that I'm not forsaking the GX-85 and G9. IBIS is one. Less so but still important is with an articulating panel for live view, composition from interesting perspectives is easier. Don't laugh; you'll understand when you're as dinosaur as I am.

Now I own the 40 mm pancake lens using with Canon R and R6 and R5 with adapter I guarantee it will blow away the RF 50 1.8 that lens is a disaster compared to the 40 2.8. I’m a portrait photographer I using it for branding styles images with corporate work also using the Tamron 45 mm 1.8 another untouchable lens for price and outstanding delivery. I think for street photography the 40 mm pancake lens is perfect. I was a photojournalist a century ago 😮 so I do have some knowledge. Enjoy your channel.

My street combo is Sony A7C with 40/2.5G, - very sharp, very good AF and very good HighISO.... and the combo is small and light.

Well, that’s a lovely combo! The 6D is probably the best value Canon camera: that sensor generation with the 5Diii got quite nice high ISO performance and more dynamic range than the 5Dii and 7D, but these days 6Ds are cheap as chips, ridiculous for what you’re getting honestly. You’d pay 2-3x more for a 6Dii or a 5Div, and while those are both great cameras, it’s not worth it for everyone. The 40mm is so small, light, quiet, and cheap. I bought one for $50 from a guy who had dozens of them for a 3D scanning rig. He was changing the setup and was like, “Can I sell you five?” I’m a little sorry I didn’t take him up on it, because it’s great little lens and I could have practically given them away to friends.

I use the Panasonic 20mm on a Pen-f for a lot of my street photography.

Using 40 mm equivalent (GRIIIx) recently, and quite fond of it, but it is more difficult to shoot from the hip compared to GRIII due to different composition requirements when close to the subject . On the other hand I have developing a dislike for 35mm (Canon RF) nowadays and prefer eiither 85 mm or 50 mm on full frame usage.

I do love a bargain . . . I picked up a new GX9 (for street & travel) recently. I paid £450 new and I already have the G9 and a plethora of lenses (inc some small manual lenses . . 17mm, 25mm & 35mm). If I was into auto focus then I would probably get the Panasonic 20mm pancake lens for that 40mm look however I find I’m much more covert without the autofocus beep 🤷

40 feels so good because its very close to natural vision, 28 isolates subjects by having distortion and being wide, thats why a 40 can seem more airy imo.

I do like 40mm for it's versatility very much as well ... in the film realm you can get a Konica SLR like the Autoreflex TC (or anything else in the Autoreflex series of cameras) with a beautiful 40mm f/1.8 Hexanon lens for under 100 € 😉

I’ve used the Fuji XF 27/2.8 which really holds up against the Elmarit 28/2.8. And now the GF 50/3.5 which beats even the 35/1.4 GM (except bokeh). Prefer it to the 35FF focal length. Curious how your journey with less expensive gear goes on

Cracking lens, I use it on my 5Ds and R.

A long time ago I used to look through a DSLR with a zoom lens and see at what point would it look like my actual vision (my other eye was open so they would sync) and it was around 40mm. Not sure if there was any magnification involved so maybe that’s what you mean? Any idea why 40mm (or equiv) seems to be one that gets a pancake version? Fuji also have one - never a pancake 28/35 though :(. Might try pick up the Fuji one on MPB!

Really surprised that there is such a difference between 35mm and 40mm. 35mm has always been my favorite. Maybe I'll give it a try 🤔

Its crazy to think about the fact that I have L lenses yet this little cheap 40mm is one of my favorites of all time.

Canon 5d and 50mm 1.8 Great set up for the money.

i agree a dslr is a much more enjoyable to use i too have gone back to them

Try the Konica Hexanon 40mm f1.8 lens. It's a great lens paired with my Sony DSLR a850.

I was thinking about grabbing a 6d camera, but i also really want an xt series camera! If only I had $ lol

Did you catch Vincent Cassel 04:15?

Humans see (if they are healthy and have two good eyes) with a viewing angle of about 42°. This explains why so many 40mm (full frame) photographs look natural. 40mm (42°) sees almost the same as the human eye. I discovered this at a medical lecture on the human eye at university. Since then -for 35 years- I have photographed almost exclusively with 40mm. Sincerely yours, Caspar

Josh, the 40mm focal length is the TRUE sweet spot for street photography and is actually more in line with how human vision sees the world. I use the Voigtlander 40mm f1.4 on my Leica M240, the Voigtlander 21mm f4 and TTArtisans 27mm f2.8 on my Fujifilm X-Pro3 and the LUMIX 20mm f1.7 on my GX9. While I do like 28mm, 35mm and 50mm, the 40mm focal length for street photography is my favourite.

Sebastiao Salgado was sporting this lens back in the day

Word!

👏🏻🌠

There are good reasons why most 50s and 60s fixed lens rangefinders used a 40mm lens.

Strange focal length ????? On a crop that 40mm acts like a 64mm yea 64mm. I do find this to work well for me for street. It is strange that at 64mm it is almost a portrait lens but still has a charming wide angle feel so for me I really like it. Not mentioned you can get really close to smaller "street" subjects/objects almost macro just another feature that make this super sharp lens a great choice.

6:00 yes, please review older cameras!

It's the very reason that Pentax has nearly always had a 40 mm lens in its line-up.

40mm is wide enough for groups and narrow enough for a portrait. The perfect all-in-one lens.

40 mm pancake is so good and sharp on full frame body. But unfortunately isn't sharp on crop sensor bodies!!!

1.49...nice portrait...slightly spooky though...

Well the reason I think it feels wider is because it’s a pancake. 40mm from the lens. Idk just logic

Yep.. here for the trigger warning... I'm thinking about getting a Sony... People keep saying it's joyless to use..what does that even mean?

Because the human eye sees 43mm field of view it’s exactly what u see when u put the camera to ur eye

I dumped mirrorless about 6 months ago, can’t say I have missed it. I found it was affecting my eyes, with tiredness and blurriness after extended periods of shooting, they have been a lot better since. 40mm is a nice focal length, Paolo Pellegrin used it a lot on the 5D4 promo video.

Soulless Sony 😂 trigger warning ⚠️