Travel street photography - should I get a zoom or 50mm prime?


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red_ryder

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I travel a lot, but mostly to cities so not taking much landscape photos. Instead will be doing street photography. Should I get a mid-range zoom or just a 50mm prime? I was thinking zoom will be very convenient and save me on a lot of walking, but not sure about quality. Anyway, if zoom, any to recommend? Budget $600 and below, willing to buy 2nd hand lens.

Thanks!
 

red_ryder said:
I travel a lot, but mostly to cities so not taking much landscape photos. Instead will be doing street photography. Should I get a mid-range zoom or just a 50mm prime? I was thinking zoom will be very convenient and save me on a lot of walking, but not sure about quality. Anyway, if zoom, any to recommend? Budget $600 and below, willing to buy 2nd hand lens.

Thanks!
Everyone have their own style. In the good old film 35mm days, I feel 50mm lens is good. But remember, with dSLR, it is FoV (Field of View) is like 75mm lens. Kit lens (come with D50 or D70/D70s) is good too. At least for time being before you can afford higher 17-35mm f/2.8 or 17-55mm f/2.8 lens.

Regards,
Arto.
 

If u have the budget, go for Nikkon 18-200mm VR lens..good versatile lens for travelling..
cost around $1200++..
 

What about 3rd party lens? I read a good review about the Sigma 17-70mm 2.8-4.5 in a magazine, anybody else used it here?
 

Got $$, get the 28-70mm f/2.8 :thumbsup:
I just love the range and the quality of this lens! :bigeyes:
It is a keeper type of lens (i.e. Once bought, wun sell one!) :lovegrin:
 

Depends on how much zoom you want? 70mm enough, or 200mm? You like to walk up to the person and shoot him, or shoot him from far away without him knowing?
 

For $600, a 3rd party 28-70mm f2.8 lens might be able to fit your budget.

If you dun mind to walk and can get close to the local when you shoot, 24mm prime will be my choice.
 

i would say zoom lens would be better...sometimes 50mm is alittle too wide/tele.

you might wan to consider sigma 18-50 or tamron 17-50 f2.8. both offer gd image quality at <1k
 

alot of street photography are done without flash,a fast prime will be alot better than a 2.8 or slower zoom.

a 2 stops diff between a 1.4 and a 2.8 makes ALOT of diff in low light situation.
 

ipin said:
Got $$, get the 28-70mm f/2.8 :thumbsup:
I just love the range and the quality of this lens! :bigeyes:
It is a keeper type of lens (i.e. Once bought, wun sell one!) :lovegrin:
i know someone who sold his

i also have an old 28-70 f2.8 that is sitting in my dry cabi
it used to be my standard lens on my film camera

the 18-70 kit lens has a more useful range in the digital age.
 

I took at 35mm (stick there most of the time) and 20mm (use for "wide" landscape) with me.

:sweatsm: waiting for 16mm DX prime lens.

Prefer prime since is more compact. good zoom lens too heavy... can't really enjoy the trip.
 

First of all, ask yourself...are you those shy shy type who don't dare to approach strangers or shoot strangers up close?
 

just stick to your kits lens lor .... :lovegrin:
kits lens good ... hehe
 

clicknick said:
Depends on how much zoom you want? 70mm enough, or 200mm? You like to walk up to the person and shoot him, or shoot him from far away without him knowing?


but many would definitely notice you especially if you do have zoom lens i guess ;)
 

If you don't mind trying film, why not pick up something small and easy to use, such as the Olympus XA series? Or if you wish to stick to digital, even a compact such as the Fuji F11 or F30 might draw less attention than a big DSLR. Plus, a digital compact like these will give you a zoom equivalent to around 35-105mm, flexible enough for most situations.

In the end, it depends on your preferences or shooting habits, but I tried doing street with an SLR system before and it almost always gets me noticed. A bigger lens will draw even more attention.
 

fWord said:
In the end, it depends on your preferences or shooting habits, but I tried doing street with an SLR system before and it almost always gets me noticed. A bigger lens will draw even more attention.

i 2nd your opinion, i had bystanders asking me things occasionally eg..
1. are you a reporter?
2. can you send me the pics?

more oftenly, you will see people stare at your lens combo :dunno: and some will comment on things like how come that guy use such a big lens etc :think:
 

izzit paste with a pl filteror cpl will good than u use uv for acpture the scene when with a big sun!! any suggestion??:think::dunno:
 

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