X100 good for street

Iansky

All-Pro
Location
Cotswolds, UK
I find the X100 is a great camera for street work, people tend to look and then look away as they think it is an "old" camera - the main thing is size, ease of carry and totally silent operation so you can get street photos without drawing attention to yourself.

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Hi Ian,

I'd agree that X100 is great for street. I really like a lot of the shots you post, these included. Like you mention, the camera doesn't draw a lot of attention, and it's light and pretty easy to use once you figure out how to avoid using the menus too much. Here is one of my first ones with the X100 (I think he was using a Sony Nex):

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-Thomas
 

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I can't speak for the X100, but the X10 has become my preferred everyday camera -- and that includes street photography. It's subtle and inconspicuous (especially the all-black version), it's incredibly quiet, and it's solid; the thing is built like a damned tank.

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The X10 doesn't make you invisible, but it allows you to work with minimal interference, and that's invaluable in street photography.
 
Street photography is something that every photographer is likely to do slightly differently, depending on his or her comfort level with the whole process. I used the X100 for street work for a while, and the X10 as well. The X-Pro is still part of my "street stable". I've used a couple of Ricoh cameras and the LX7. But my Olympus bodies (OMD and EPL5) are probably my favorite street cameras ever, with their flip out and touch to shoot screens and the new lenses with the "snap" manual focus ring. But its all personal preference - I don't think any camera is inherently better or worse for street unless they're just too slow to get the job done. An inability to zone focus and noticeable shutter lag are two traits that I just simply can't live with. But I got started with street shooting with a very slow EP2 and 17mm f2.8 setup and I got on OK with it, so I guess I'm just spoiled now. But I do get a much higher percentage of keepers now than I did then and the camera is no small part of that. The X100 was never my favorite street camera because of the relatively narrower focal length (I prefer 28 or 24mm equivalent) and because I just never really got comfortable with the camera in front of my face on the street, and the X100 was an OVF only machine for me. The X-Pro is too a lot, but with the 18mm lens, I'm fine using zone focus and shooting from the hip, so the viewfinder only comes into play when I want it to - occasionally for street, and nearly always for everything else.

That said, I did some street shooting with my X100 when I had it. And though they're old, I'll add a few to the thread...

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-Ray
 
Good stuff here Ray! :cool:

Street photography is something that every photographer is likely to do slightly differently, depending on his or her comfort level with the whole process. I used the X100 for street work for a while, and the X10 as well. The X-Pro is still part of my "street stable". I've used a couple of Ricoh cameras and the LX7. But my Olympus bodies (OMD and EPL5) are probably my favorite street cameras ever, with their flip out and touch to shoot screens and the new lenses with the "snap" manual focus ring. But its all personal preference - I don't think any camera is inherently better or worse for street unless they're just too slow to get the job done. An inability to zone focus and noticeable shutter lag are two traits that I just simply can't live with. But I got started with street shooting with a very slow EP2 and 17mm f2.8 setup and I got on OK with it, so I guess I'm just spoiled now. But I do get a much higher percentage of keepers now than I did then and the camera is no small part of that. The X100 was never my favorite street camera because of the relatively narrower focal length (I prefer 28 or 24mm equivalent) and because I just never really got comfortable with the camera in front of my face on the street, and the X100 was an OVF only machine for me. The X-Pro is too a lot, but with the 18mm lens, I'm fine using zone focus and shooting from the hip, so the viewfinder only comes into play when I want it to - occasionally for street, and nearly always for everything else.

That said, I did some street shooting with my X100 when I had it. And though they're old, I'll add a few to the thread...

5711577230_e3c6c0e9c6_b.jpg


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-Ray
 
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