# best lens for street photography



## hdukphotographs (Aug 14, 2007)

Yesterday i went to the Edinburgh festival hoping to get some good portrait shots of the street entertainers but came home with nothing close to what i wanted.I went with my Tamron 17-50 and my canon 17-40.I was wondering what kind of lens i would need to get some great street shots?

I own a canon 350d


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## Digital Matt (Aug 14, 2007)

What are you looking for in a street shot?  What was lacking in the shots you took?


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## Big Mike (Aug 14, 2007)

How about the 'Sigmonster'?  
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/sigma-300-800.shtml

At little too much? :er:  

I'm with Matt, you will have to give us more info if you want to get some suggestions.


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## hdukphotographs (Aug 14, 2007)

Big Mike said:


> How about the 'Sigmonster'?
> http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/sigma-300-800.shtml
> 
> At little too much? :er:


 

That thing is bigger than me.

Im just looking for a good lens that lets me stand back and observe things from a distance, a good lens that would work well with photographng people but no so im in their face.


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## Big Mike (Aug 14, 2007)

> Im just looking for a good lens that lets me stand back and observe things from a distance, a good lens that would work well with photographng people but no so im in their face.


OK, so you would need a longer focal length.  What's your budget?


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## hdukphotographs (Aug 14, 2007)

Anything under and £1000


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## Don Simon (Aug 14, 2007)

If your budget stretches to £1000 you can easily afford a great tele zoom... one of the following would be great...

: Canon 70-200mm f/4 at around £450 (yes half your budget but it may do everything you need and save you some cash).

: Same lens but with IS at £750.

: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 for £950 if you need the faster aperture (which may not necessarily be the case; consider as well as being expensive it is fairly large and heavy too).

: Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 for £650 if you want to save a bit of cash there.

Of course you could go for a zoom with a longer focal length, but then you have to pay more to get the same quality, and handheld shooting on the street gets a bit silly. A fixed focal length is another option but may not be suitable for street photography. Personally I'd be looking at the lenses above and at the Canon f/4 first.


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## Big Mike (Aug 14, 2007)

There are plenty of options...

The Canon 75-300, it's cheap but the small aperture may be a limitation is poor light.
You can get a 75-300 with *IS*, which is a better lens and the IS is a great feature.
There is also the 75-300 *DO IS*, which is a high quality lens and it's a compact size (good for not drawing attention to yourself).

The 70-200 lenses are a more 'high quality' than the 75-300 lenses.  There is the F4 L, the F4 L IS, the F2.8 L and the best one, the F2.8 L IS.  These lenses are the Canon 'white' lenses, which might attract attention, which may not be good for street photography.  Sigma makes a 70-200 F2.8, which is black though.  On the down side, the F2.8 versions are large and heavy.

There are other options as well, but those are probably the most common.


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## gizmo2071 (Aug 14, 2007)

I've never used larger than 50mm for my street photography.
In fact I use my 28mm quite often and get closer to the action. Set a hyperfocal focus shoot from waist height


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## usayit (Aug 14, 2007)

I'm with Gizmo...  I rarely use any telephoto lenses for street photography.

If anything, I shoot with the 28, 35, 50 focal lengths.  I usually shoot with a small "stealthy" camera and often at hyperfocal.  Any BIG lens on a good sized camera body will bring unwanted attention.. all it does is "taint" the environment.  Shooting with a 70-200mm f2.8 IS or something similar on the street is pretty darn near impossible in my opinion.  

Prior to rangefinders, my favorite street shooter was a pentax ME(or LX) with the pancake 40mm lens.  Those cameras were one of the most compact cameras you can buy and the 40mm pancake protruded from the body less than 1/2 inch.  It made for a literally pocketable SLR.  An LX with a waist viewer was also nice as it literally allowed you to shoot "at the hip".


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## Don Simon (Aug 14, 2007)

I've got to admit I tend to think of this kind of street photography as "surveillance" or "PI" shots. Personally I prefer a wide-angle lens on the SLR, or the 'normal' focal length on a TLR or zone-focus camera, which don't have to be raised to eye-level... but street photography with long teles seems to be becoming increasingly more popular (or is it just me?).


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## Frequent Traveler (Aug 14, 2007)

I gotta concur with the shorter prime lenses... 

When i'm out doing street portraits then yes, i use my 70-210mm and get in close. Unfortunately, EVERYONE sees that big thing hanging off my already inconspicuous camera and viola - lotsa turned-away heads, hands and fingers in unique communication poses, etc.

Maybe a super wide would do what you're wanting...maybe let us know what you really like to do.

Usually for street, the longest lens i use is 135mm and that's on my film cameras. My favorite street length is 50mm followed by my 24mm, though recently, my 35mm is getting more attention. Though these are ALL for film.


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## Mike_E (Aug 14, 2007)

If I may ask, why do you want to stand away from your subjects?

Seems to me that you would miss out on 3/4 the fun of street-toggin.


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## Sideburns (Aug 14, 2007)

ok I have a question....don't most of your subjects get angry that you're taking pictures of them?  I know a lot of people hate cameras, and even more hate being watched...
What happens when you take a picture of someone?  Are you legally allowed to copyright it?  Are you allowed to call it your own?  What if that person finds out and you don't have their consent?


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## alrey (Aug 14, 2007)

You'd probably be in bad shape if you were to try and sell/make a profit from the picture, but they can't give you trouble (legally) for simply taking a picture in a public area. Now obviously if it's a private establishment, you ought to be more prudent.

After all, you were just taking a picture of that storefront and they got in the way, right?


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## Don Simon (Aug 15, 2007)

Less easy to argue that when you filled the frame with their face with your big long zoom


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## Mike_E (Aug 15, 2007)

If you're smiling and happy and will talk to people, most won't mind being photographed.  If you are appreciative and respectful of what someone is doing why wouldn't they be ok with what You are doing? (unless of course you are trying to photograph the 'bad' side of humanity)


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## alrey (Aug 15, 2007)

ZaphodB said:


> Less easy to argue that when you filled the frame with their face with your big long zoom



On in the case of the Sigmonster, with their nose hairs.


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## nomade (Aug 16, 2007)

General street photography does not require more than a 50 mm lens and if you have a 35 mm, but if you are as shy as I am, you might as well need something longer, and with your budget you can get.

However I use 50 mm and 35 mm for street, bid lenses drag more attention and could freak some out.


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## Zoso (Aug 16, 2007)

70-300's getting a bit too far out for street photography so anything between 18-200 is good but seeing as you're using standard lenses probs best to get something a bit further as its hard to get in there on the street


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## Iron Flatline (Aug 16, 2007)

28mm, 35mm, or 50mm primes on a Rangefinder. All that big photogear is really not easy to use for street photography. SLRs and big zoom lenses are fun for sports, but not really for candids of strangers.


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