Street Photography Lens?

[Roxanne Baggott]

Which lens would be better for street photography? RF24-105 f/4 or RF 35 mm f/1.8?

 

[Chris Summers]

I think it might depend on your style of shooting and the look you want. I tend to like a zoom for street photography and the 24-105mm gives you a good range from wide to one good for portraits with some background compression, at least with full frame cameras. Yet, the 35mm might be better for low light or night time.

 

[Bucolic Old Sir Henry]

Don't rule out the "nifty fifty" (RF 50mm f1.8). Smaller than the 35mm 1.8, and plenty sharp enough. You can always use manual zoom (walking)... ;-)

I do appreciate the convenience of a zoom, and I do use my 14-35 f4 as a city walkabout lens, but fixed focal length imposes a useful discipline in making you think about being in the right place. It also makes rapid "snatch" shooting - reacting to situations - quicker because it removes the need to zoom and frame.

That said, the 24-105 f4 is a great all-round lens, and if I could only carry one lens on a trip, it would be it.

 

[Bryan Conner]

I would definitely choose a zoom over a prime because sometimes you can't "zoom with your feet" If you are backed up against a building and the 35mm prime isn't wide enough then you either have to stitch two shots together in a pano or you don't get the shot. And, if your subject is on the other side of a street or a canal maybe, with the 35mm you can surely crop in post thereby "zooming in post", but you will lose data and possible image quality in the end.

But, there really isn't a "perfect" lens for any given situation. It is only which lens that you have on the camera or in the bag that makes you excited about photography and being out there making photographs.

 

[Only RF]

I'm very happy with my RF 24-105 f4 and I prefer that range for a walk around. I got it quite a while ago when I had an R. It's a keeper.

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We were walking around and didn't expect to see birds. These parakeets apparently escaped and now have overrun the Iberian peninsula. I took a few shots. The crop surprised me. This is with my R6II.

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[Jake Shoots Birds]

To me there are 2 types of "street photography":
1. Photographing the public in public places
2. Capturing the perspective of the pedestrian

When I think of "street" I think of the latter - from a photographer with a rangefinder to Vivian Maier with her Rolliflex, walking seruptitiously and capturing the real. For that I'm thinking 35mm or 50mm - probably a 35mm.

I see 1 as almost analogous to travel photography, where you'd want something with some flexibil

Neither is more valid than the other, it's more a matter of what you're trying to replicate. I find spending time with a single perspective (my nifty-fifty) by force can be a great reset for all my other shooting.