Lens Suggestion For Street Photography ?

shyl · Joined: 22 Jul 2011 Posts: 27

Hello everyone
I want a lens suggestion for street photography.I have j9 but its hard to shoot good street photographs.İt must be fast and accurate.I want to use rangefinder lenses on my D7000 but I don't find any m39 adapter.Please help me.

exaklaus · Expire: 2011-12-02

Welcome!
You can't use rangefinder lenses on your Nikon DSLR because of the huge difference of the lens to film/sensor registration.

Klaus

RTI · Joined: 15 Jul 2011 Posts: 282 Location: Moldova, Chisinau

hi,
I'm no expert, but I believe that due to registration distance, you wouldn't be able to use M39 lenses on you nikon, well at least not with simple adapter without lenses, I may be wrong...
Regarding street photo i'd use something in 28-35mm range.

P.S.
ooops, seems Klaus was firt to answer, pardon me Smile

peterqd · Expire: 2014-01-04

Hi, sorry to give you bad news, but you won't be able to use rangefinder lenses on your Nikon DSLR. Because of the need for space for the mirror, SLR cameras are fatter than rangefinders, and lenses for SLRs are designed to focus at this greater back-focus distance. Using a RF lens on an SLR is like using a macro extension tube, so you would only be able to take very close macro shots. I guess that's why you can't find an M39 adapter, but you could use an M42 adapter with a M39/42 conversion ring.

Nikon cameras are actually fatter than most other SLRs , which makes it difficult to use almost any non-Nikon lenses at infinity focus. Can you reach infinity focus with your J9? Most people have trouble, but often lenses can be adjusted.

My advice would be to stick with MF Nikon mount lenses, at least to start with. I'm not an expert so I will leave someone else to advise you on the best one for street photography. I agree with RTI about using wide-angle lenses, but remember that the crop sensor on your camera reduces the field of view, so my choice would be 28mm.

vlousada · Joined: 11 Dec 2010 Posts: 345 Location: Portugal

Hi,

I've seen some MIR 35 f/2 for selling... Some in M42 and others with nikon mount. It is said to be a good lens and since you have a Russian lens already it may worth a try.

Also have the Zuikos 35mm but I am not sure if they work fine on Nikon...

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

Why do you want to use a rangefinder lens on your Nikon? Because RF lenses are better for street photography? Sorry, but this is nonsense.
Ranfinder camera might be better for street shots, yes, because they are unobstrusive. But that does not have anything to do with lenses...

For Your Nikon (which is an APS-DSLR with a 1.5x crop) you should try to get a 24mm lens (perhaps even an AF lens). That one would serve you well for street shooting.

shyl · Joined: 22 Jul 2011 Posts: 27

"LucisPictor" maybe you are right I also use Yashica electro 35 I like rangefinders I want buy one Contax G2 but now it's far to me.Last thing I must say about the rangefinder lenses I believe Leica noctilux 50mm f1.0 better than nikon 50mm f1.4G I know good photograph not about the lenses but I want use quality on DSLR.Thank you for your reply.

estudleon · Joined: 15 May 2008 Posts: 3754 Location: Argentina

My personal taste is the 1,4/35 mm. Nikon has a good one.

The prefocus with F/8 gives you a good range of distance to take a lot of street pics.

Rino.

eddieitman · Joined: 12 Apr 2011 Posts: 1246 Location: United Kingdom

By street photography do you mean People like i like to do, or Street furniture, buildings, etc
If 1 the 1st i would say a nice 50mm
for the later something like 24mm or 28mm or even less

Doing a lot of Street Photography myself i would say 50mm is the right compromise the following are my favourite

For B&W conversions
Fujinon EBC 55mm F1.8
Super Takumar 55mm F2
Both of these have super smooth focus that helps to obtain a quick focus

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

The best for street photography is a full frame rangefinder camera (which today means film, unless you can afford a M9) and a small sized wide lens such as 35mm or 28mm focal range. Set distance and aperture to hyperfocal, and then keep in mind what Capa said once: "if your photo is not good enough, then you were not close enough". I found this to be very true. My best street photos are those that I took with a wide lens and very near to the subject. Street photos taken with a tele lens often feel voyeuristic and cold. Of course you need to find the courage to photograph people at a close distance. Not everybody is able to. I too do not always feel like doing that, it depends on my mood.
This is one of my best street photo and I took it very close to the subject with the Contax G2 and a 21mm lens:

berraneck · Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 1:43 pm Post subject:

buy Olympus XA Wink

it´s equiped with really sharp 35mm lens, fits in your pocket and is easy to use, fast and accurate. and cost a little money. only thing, it´s not digital - for me an advantage:)

RTI · Joined: 15 Jul 2011 Posts: 282 Location: Moldova, Chisinau

rbelyell · Expire: 2014-01-31

wider can always be cropped. you cannot make frame wider. so i opt for 35mm, on full frame--i guess 28mm on aps-c. if so, many good choices, but for little money i like yashica ml 28/2.8 or fast kiron 28/2.0, both c/y mount, useable on nikon with adapter. others use the nikon 28/2.0 to very good effect, but as a canon user, i do not know pricing.

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

On APS-C, I can highly recommend the Meyer Primagon 4.5/35, it's a small and light lens and is sharp at 4.5 so the lack of speed is no issue.

RioRico · Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 3:34 pm Post subject:

It depends on what streets and what subjects in what light and with what attitude. Some (in)famous street shooters use a short zoom and handheld flash, straight in people's faces. Some hide their cameras or at least stay minimal. Here is a good free online book on candid street photography [ http://book.85mm.ch/GoingCandid.pdf ] where the author takes the minimal route. The best street tool might be a P&S. Or it might be a 4x5 on a tripod in a doorway. It depends on the story you want to tell -- about the street and about yourself.

Enough of that. I may use my Pentax kit lens, or a Tokina 21/3.8, or a Kiron 24/2, or a Komine 28/2 CFWA, or the Meyer Primagon 35/4.5, or a CZJ Tessar 50/2.8 (12 iris blades), or a Nikkor 58/2, or an Enna Tele-Sandmar 100/4.5, or a Sakar 500/8 mirror. It all depends on who, where, when, why.

peterqd · Expire: 2014-01-04

Many of the lens suggestions above won't work on a NIKON camera! Rolling Eyes

Can we be a little more careful what we recommend for this inexperienced member please?

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

Ah, I missed that he uses a Nikon.

Nikon-fit lenses only.

The E-series 28mm is supposed to be very good and isn't that expensive.

Vivitar Series 1 24-48mm in Nikon fit would be a great lens but is rather large and heavy.

Probably something made by Nikon themselves would be ideal as they are, as we know, great lenses.

The Russians made some Nikon mount lenses for the later Kiev SLRs, if they made the Mir-1 37mm in Nikon mount it's a good lens for this type of work.

IAZA · Joined: 16 Apr 2010 Posts: 2587 Location: Indonesia

J9 isn't easy to focus specially for street shot, unless you are sit down and watching the object carefully.
you need fast lens? it mean not in daylight? mir 35/2 is cheap choice good enough I guess, nikon 35/1,4 is good choice but not cheap
easy focus? if condition is good I think easy to focus, you have to practice more to know your lens then focus is easy.

wider lens and fast? do you really need that? Very Happy

for me my fave lens for street shot isn't fast lens.
Schneider Kreuznach curtagon 28/4 or mir 35/2
or other light weight lens like leitz elmar 90/4 for some situation

the good point of 28-35mm lens, farthest distance before infinty is close, so beyond it (for example 3m) no need to focus, just set infinity. look at viewfinder only for composing
many Nikon lenses for this goal, I heard that Nikon lenses are better in Nikon cam than other cam. I don't test it Dont have Nikon cam Very Happy

Pancolart · Expire: 2013-11-18

3.5/135mm seem very convenient for me. Wider DOF then F2.8 seems appropriate to catch people in motion with MF lens.

ManualFocus-G · Expire: 2014-11-24

A Nikkor 50/1.4 is always a good option, you can get some intimate shots on crop at that length...not brilliant for general street shots though. For that I would recommend a Mir-24N (or is it H?) for Nikon.

peterqd · Expire: 2014-01-04

muddus · Joined: 27 May 2011 Posts: 233 Location: Suomi

There is a lot more fun to shoot from near and wide-angle lens. 21mm you can shoot people meters away, and he did not know anything. often the only view when you shoot over.
24mm is also nice and gives a lot to see. Longer already require more work and more accurate operation and takes too much time on non-real time detection. ( FF-body)

21mm in these pictures does not even seem to be very wide angle.

rafa1981 · Joined: 15 Jul 2010 Posts: 142

Manual lenses that are good at f5.6 and upwards in the 28mm-35mm range(18-24mm in APS-C). Basically everything for a FF.

Unfortunately with high speed manual lenses you spend most of the time focusing, so I can't recommend them for street photograpy.

For APS I think that it's better to stick with the kit zoom for this purpouses or one of the cheap (small in size) primes, provided that they have distance scale.

nixland · Expire: 2012-07-29

How about Nikkor 24/2 Ais (around $220)

note: the photo was cropped by the way Smile

Yebisu · Joined: 13 Feb 2011 Posts: 1299

Excellent images from Orio and Nixland. And some interesting suggestions from everyone.

How about the Ais 24/2.8. I use it a lot on full frame slr and cropped sensor dslr.

Or the 35/1.8G (not manual focus but an awesome lens and great value for money).