Street and documentary has been an important part of
photography since the very first photographic devices were invented. In the 19th
Century a camera was a very large thing requiring a heavy tripod and a
considerable amount of equipment. The photographer needed an assistant and
maybe an obedient donkey to carry it all.
In the early part of the 20th Century street
photographers elected to use either a hand held large format sheet film camera
such as the Speed Graphic or one of the early Leica “miniature” rangefinder
models.
Twin lens reflex models had a vogue for a while but from the
middle of the 20th Century, the single lens reflex (SLR) 35mm type
became dominant.
Today’s digital
mirrorless interchangeable lens models (MILC) are descended from those
SLRs via the DSLR era.
While professional photographers have preferred
interchangeable lens models with through the lens viewing and metering, some
amateurs and enthusiasts have gravitated
towards rangefinder style models, a type of camera for which there appears to
be a continuing market.
I first ventured into street and documentary photography in
the 1960’s and 1970’s. I used a Pentax Spotmatic 35mm SLR which was compact and
capable of making good pictures in the right hands.
Over the years I have tried most camera types for street
work including SLR, DSLR. MILC and many compact and rangefinder style models
from many manufacturers.
Here are my personal thoughts about some current model
cameras recommended by various vloggers, bloggers and website promoters for
street and documentary work.
I often see cameras of the compact/rangefinder type put
forward as best for these types of use cases.
Three of them seem to get mentioned more than others.
Fujifilm X100V
Apparently Fujifilm is having difficulty filling orders for
this fixed lens, rangefinder style
compact. Whether that is due to high demand or some problem with supply
I do not know. I bought, owned and tested one of these some time back and used
it for a while. Having done so I am at a loss to understand the popularity of
this camera which I found to be so quirky and idiosyncratic in operation that I
was glad to be rid of it. It makes good
pictures but we can say that about almost any current model camera. Some people
say they like the look of it. Fair enough, beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. It might suit some people who
are absolutely wedded to the 35mm (full frame equivalent) focal length or to
the styling of the device.
The problems I have with the X100V are about the user
experience. I found holding, viewing and operating to be sub-optimal and
un-necessarily complicated.
There is no proper handle and no proper thumb support. We
have to buy aftermarket bits to provide these things. The viewfinder can be set to optical or
electronic, ensuring neither is optimal. The thumb stick is poorly located and
is of the sub-optimal “little nubbin” haptic design. The D-Pad has disappeared.
To change ISO we must lift up the little ring around the shutter speed dial,
turn and jiggle this until the desired speed is indicated then drop the ring
down again. This was a poor piece of ergonomic design when it was commonly used
in the middle of the 20th Century. But in 2023 it is just
perverse. On top of all that there is no
stabiliser in the lens or sensor. Oh,
and just to add to the perversity salad, if we want to mount a filter we must
first buy an adapter.
It seems to me that the Fuji X-100V occupies a very small niche occupied by users who actually
enjoy finding ways to use poorly designed equipment.
Ricoh GR 3/GR 3x
A few years ago I bought a GR2. Then when the GR3 came along
I got one of those. These GR cameras have
near cult status with the dedicated band of users for whom these are the
ultimate street cams. I found that as expected these cameras make very good
photos. But as with the Fuji, the
problems I have with the Ricoh compacts are about the user experience. Holding
the Ricoh is quite nice with a decent handle and a small but useful thumb
support. Operation is quite nice also with a well considered set of controls.
The layout is particular to Ricoh
compacts but once understood works quite well. Snap-focus is a very useful feature which I
wish all camera makers would provide.
But there is no EVF and no way to fit one. I find that in
bright light outdoors framing up a shot on the rear monitor is mostly
guesswork. Worse, the screen is fixed which makes over head and under hand
shots impossible. An accessory optical viewfinder is available at an
extortionate price if one can be found anywhere but even when fitted it gives
only an approximate view of the framing and no camera data.
Leica Q2
I believe this might be Leica’s best selling camera model. In
Australia the base model Q2 costs AUD9290 new and that is without the accessory
grip or thumb support which cost an extra $660. Or we can get one of the
special edition models for an extra $1000. This is for a fixed lens compact
with a 28mm lens. I have been known to spend substantial money on camera gear
but not the Q2 or any other Leica. After spending all this money we end up with
a very basic camera with limited controls, limited capability and a fixed
monitor screen. And a 28mm lens which is
fine if we need a wide angle view but does limit the range of use cases for
which the Q2 is suitable.
Compact compacts
There was once a profusion of these but most have now been
discontinued as the majority of casual snapshooters use the camera(s) in their
smartphones.
But some compacts can still be bought new. I mention those which I have used and found
decently effective for street and documentary work.
Canon G1X.3
Like most compacts still on the market this one uses a
previous generation sensor, processor and autofocus technology. Still, it’s a proper camera with a 3x zoom of
very good quality, a fully articulated touch screen monitor, an ergonomically decent small handle, a
decent thumb support, an always ready EVF over the optical axis, a good set of
controls and good image quality. It uses a version of Canon’s 24Mpx APSC
sensor.
Canon G5X.2
This one uses a version of the smaller Sony made “one inch”
(15.9mm diagonal) 20Mpx sensor also used in several Sony cameras. The sensor
does a very good job for its size. The
G5X.2 has a 5x zoom of decent quality, a reduced set of controls and very small
but still useful holding aids. The thing which bugged me when using this camera
is the pop-up-pull-back-push-forward-push-down EVF which got tiresome in
regular use.
Panasonic and Sony still offer a range of small
compacts. I have used most of them but
can’t recommend any due to a range of ergonomic, performance and image quality
issues.
Small bridge cams
Panasonic Lumix
FZ300
This evergreen model is still on the market indicating at
least some level of continued consumer interest. My posts on this blog about
the FZ300 also regularly attract viewer traffic. This one uses the very small 7.7mm
diagonal 12Mpx sensor which was introduced several years ago but is still
capable of giving good results if used thoughtfully. The FZ300’s unique selling
proposition is its 25-600mm (equivalent) constant f2.8 lens. It packs a lot of
good stuff into a very compact package, including weather resistance, a proper
handle and thumb support, proper EVF over the optical axis, fully articulated
touch screen monitor, a good set of controls and good overall responsiveness
and performance. I suspect that if
Panasonic ever decides to update this camera they might have a winner on their
hands.
Crop sensor
MILCs (mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras)
There are lots of these with several brands vying for our
attention. Over the years I have used micro four thirds models from Panasonic
and Olympus and APSC models from Canon, Nikon, Sony and Fujifilm. They are all
capable of taking good pictures so our decision to buy will be based on
operating performance and ergonomics, with personal preference becoming a
significant factor in reaching a decision. Our perception of brand value will
also be a significant consideration.
For what it might be worth my pick of this bunch is the Canon EOS R10. On my assessment Canon has been able to put
together a package with specifications and capabilities, image quality,
performance, ergonomics and value for money which put it slightly ahead of the
competition at the present time. The R10
with RF-S 18-45mm kit lens makes a very handy compact camera which is a
pleasure to use.
Full frame MILCs
There is plenty of choice for bodies and lenses from Canon,
Nikon and Sony in this space with each brand offering options for compact
body/lens combinations. There is little
difference in image quality, performance, ergonomics or capability between them. So we will make a choice based largely on
brand preference and availability of suitable lenses.
My point here is that there are several current model full
frame MILCs which are small enough to function as compact, unobtrusive devices
suitable for street and documentary work.
Full frame (43mm diagonal) sensor mirrorless cameras have
several advantages over other types. They can be genuinely compact and
unobtrusive yet they offer very high image quality. They work well in low light
with low levels of noise at high ISO settings and also in harsh sunlight with
very good highlight and shadow rendition, especially in Raw files. They usually
have better autofocus and overall performance than models with smaller sensors.
The sensor is small enough to enable foreground-to-background sharpness at small
apertures or well defined foreground-background separation at wider apertures.
Another issue here is that R&D on small sensor compact
cameras appears to have ceased with funds and expertise shifting to full frame
MILCs.
My choice
This is personal but for whatever it may be worth, my
current number one choice for compact street camera kit is the Canon EOS R5 with RF 50mm f1.8 lens.
The camera body is rather expensive although if we buy one in Australia right
now Canon will toss in an RF 50mm f1.8 for a hundred bucks.
I also find the EOS RP very suitable and have an R8 (which
has basically the same body as the RP)
on pre-order. I will report on that in due course. The R8 with RF 24-50mm lens is small and
light with excellent image quality and performance at an attractive price.
Summary
The advent of small full frame mirrorless interchangeable
lens cameras and small primes and zooms has re-defined what we can regard as a
compact camera kit for street and documentary photography. The size advantage
of older style compacts has been eroded by the proliferation of smartphone cams and developments in full frame bodies
and lenses.