Comparison of various cameras for Street work

Ray Sachs

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Not too far from Philly
Name
you should be able to figure it out...
Olivier asked me to write a piece for his blog talking about various alternatives to the Ricoh GRD cameras for street photography. I did so and the article can be found here:

thef8blog: Life, cameras, passion » Ricoh GRD alternatives for street photography

I doubt I've said anything there that I haven't said here at least a few times already, but it may be useful for folks thinking about getting a camera that's proficient for street work, even if they're not looking for something primarily for that purpose.

-Ray
 
Nice write-up, Ray. A great analysis of each camera based on the time honoured techniques of street photography. For me the unanswered question it left (and I realise that it was likely outside of the intent of your article anyway) was the suitability of the various cameras when using autofocus. The only one that I know for sure that works for reactive shooting in close quarters is the E-M5, which is essentially all down to the screen interface and AF speed.
 
Nic, the AF on the OMD is indeed the fastest. The RX100 and LX7 are both incredibly fast for compacts, the next best of this bunch. Then I'd say the three Fujis are next - good and solid but not blazing fast. The GXR and GRD3 are both really slow - I wouldn't attempt to use AF for moving subjects with either. My brief experience with the GRD4 is that it's pretty fast in good light, maybe between the Fuji's and the LX7 / RX100? No scientific tests, but those are my impressions.

-Ray
 
Street machine

I am currently using the GX1 (previously used GF1) for street work, I tend to use the Pany 25mm f1.4 lens and this combo is lightning fast to focus and has no shutter lag as well as producing superb image quality in a small system that is not too conspicuous.

I did originally have a Ricoh GRD but have moved to the larger sensor.

Thwaites.jpg


Islington_17_SFX.jpg
 
I am currently using the GX1 (previously used GF1) for street work, I tend to use the Pany 25mm f1.4 lens and this combo is lightning fast to focus and has no shutter lag as well as producing superb image quality in a small system that is not too conspicuous.
Well, you'll note that my favorite choice for street shooting in the article was any m43 body with the Olympus 12mm lens. The G1X would do fine. I prefer the OMD or EPL3/5 because I really like shooting from waist level with the flip up screen, but the main thing is the lens. The article was pretty much all about using zone focus and the 12mm is the only m43 lens that makes zone focus easy. If I liked a longer focal length and liked using AF for street work, the 25 might well be my choice. A 35mm equivalent seems to be about as "long" as I like to use on the street (Oly 17mm or X100), so the 25 isn't a lens I'd use for street work, but HCB did, so you're certainly in fine company!

-Ray
 
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