Street Photography and the preffered lens........

I would like to knowthe experiences and views as to what is the preffered walk around lensfor street photography and why? Personally I find 70-200 IS 2.8and 10-22 handy, however the 70-200 attracts a lot of unwanted attention.

I live in the centre of Athens, a city which - quite apart from recent events - is interesting if only because of the high population density, so there’s always something going on. When I go walkabout in town, I leave the camera on full automatic. There’s no way I can adjust RAW exposure settings in time to capture an instant, fascinating moment. My 24-70 seems glued to my camera, but I sometimes take a 50 mm prime for its sharpness (I’m a “lucky” Sigma owner) and for the discipline using this focal length imposes.
I agree with you on both the 10-22 and the obtrusiveness of a big white lens. IMO, the 10-22 on a cropped sensor outperforms the 17-40 on a FF. In his review of the 70-300 DO lens, Bryan highlighted one of its (few) advantages: it’s discreet. I have a work-around for this problem, especially at carnival time, when middle-aged men pointing lenses at cute kids can be easily misconstrued (and I speak as a parent myself). Take a cute friend with you as a shield or cover. I am fortunate to have several attractive friends who are quite happy to strut their stuff while I shoot something else ;-)
A word on tripods: London and Paris (and I imagine many other cities) impose restrictions even in public areas (permit required because an amateur photographer with a tripod is obviously a public hazard). Athenian authorities are fairly lassez-faire, which makes up for the tear gas and shootings, I suppose. I lug my tripod around for all dawn and dusk shots and anything “composed” I don’t want to leave to chance.
I don’t want to use your interesting question as an unsolicited opportunity to post my city shots, so no photos included, but if anyone’s interested in starting a space where we can post our efforts, I’ll be happy to contribute.
Candid photography or carefully constructed documents? (Or anything else in between…) I think I lean towards the careful side - probably because my candid shots are crap. At the risk of getting shot down in flames here, I believe that European shooters are luckier than their New World friends for city imaging. Our cities tend to be more compact, denser, with more things going on to catch the eye at any one time.
I better duck now...

There are quite a few lenses in the 70-200 range with less "sore-thumb" looks if you're willing to give up the image stabilizer. If you can work with a prime for the kind of shooting you do, check out the 85 f/1.8, the 135L and/or the 200 f/2.8L. All are much more compact than the 70-200 f/2.8, and they're black. The 135L is f/2.0 and the 85 f/1.8 is f/1.8, which should be wide enough to stop action pretty close to sunset. You can shoot with any of these and people who don't recognize it won't even know you're using a telephoto lens. The image quality of the 135L is among the best in the Canon lineup, and the 85 f/1.8 and 200 f/2.8 are good performers as well. The 85 f/1.8 has the additonal advantage of being inexpensive.


There's also the infamous Magic Drainpipe, the Canon 80-200 f/2.8L. This was the lens that the 70-200 f/2.8L replaced. It has similar image quality...no USM but the autofocus is plenty fast. No IS either. But it's black, and it's a good bit smaller than the 70-200 f/2.8L. Canon doesn't make it anymore...Adorama gets quite a few used ones that sell for $800, and they occasionally pop up on the fredmiranda buy/sell forum. When I have money to buy a real 400mm lens, I'm probably going to replace my Sigma 100-300 with one of these.


As Stefan mentions, the 70-300 IS DO is also an option. You give up a lot in terms of aperture and a bit in terms of image quality, but you can't beat this lens for size.

Stephan - As the forum grows over time, I envision adding specific sub-categories to the "Image Critique" and "Show & Tell" forums. Street Photography would be a great one. In the mean time, feel free to share a couple of your shots in either of the current forums now.

Thanks Bryan for your interest. And though many people have said the same thing, thanks for setting this up. Your site has been an invaluable source of information in my photographic career. It would have been much harder and less enjoyable without all your insight and information. Keep up the good work!

What's a "real"400 lens? I own the 100-400, but is that real? I'm also lucky to own both the 85/1.8 and the 135/2.0 which are indeed black and therefore discreet (is someone crouching, craning and pointing a big dSLR with or without a lens attached that discreet?), but they really limit my options in cityscapes where versatility is probably going to be your aim tool in getting that interesting shot. the two primes are *amazing* portrait lenses, but the primes' razor-thin DOF wide open when you're too close can limit things in town. Apart from the 50, I stick to my trusty 24-70 zoom just in case.


Actually, I wonder whether city shots are a bit like wildlife photography: don't you just have to wait it out, hoping to get lucky? It's common knowledge that both Doisneau and HCB achieved their amazing shots by hard work, shooting hundreds before the hit on the instant décisif (oh, and sometimes arranging them)?Not that I would ever compare myself to either of them, of course. Atget's monumental "magnum opus" is proof of what hard work for decades will get you.

If the Man says I can, then I shall. Here's one of Exarcheia square, the scene of some of the nastiest riots Athens has seen for decades. Most of the trees and all of the buildings are still standing. Some are burnt or their windows are shattered, but it hasn't really changed that much. I choose this picture for the contrasts. As I was using a tripod, the main character came up to me afterwards, pretty much wasted, and asked me whether I worked for the police. The colours are intentional.


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