[RioRico]

I may have already mentioned (tl;dr) that a single prime just won't do, or why bother to use an interchangeable-lens camera? My night/street lenses are several: Vivitar-Kiron 24/2 or Vivitar-Komine 28/2 CF; FA50/1.4 (my only AF prime); Nikkor 85/2 (modded to PK); Tak-B or SMC-Tak 135/2.5. Sometimes nothing beats the DA18-55 with a K2 Yellow filter on it, to grab glaring neon lights in odd shades. But which to use depends on the night and the street.

[CWyatt]

I may have already mentioned (tl;dr) that a single prime just won't do, or why bother to use an interchangeable-lens camera?

You might disagree with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand and many other top street/classic doco photographers.... it depends on how you shoot. One might be just fine. For others, zooms or many lenses are fine too.

[ChopperCharles]

I want to chime in here... the SMC-FA 50mm f1.7 is an amazing lens for the money, the bokeh is just wonderful, it's sharp and contrasty with beautiful colors, even wide open. When I'm going out shooting at night in a dimly lit locale, no tripod and just high ISO and street shooting, that's the lens I take.

For daytime though... my most loved lens is a Promaster 100mm f3.5 macro - otherwise known as the "plastic wonder". I find for the kind of photography i do, i need a telephoto and a macro most often. The 100mm Promaster (which is the same as the Pentax 100mm f3.5 macro, just without the Pentax coatings) is extremely sharp, and the bokeh is nice too. It's useful in low light too. It's not super fast, but for the price it is. I shoot it wide open often as not too.

Granted, you guys are talking mostly lenses I will never consider, because they're just too far off the mark of "reasonably priced" that I'm just not interested. But for what I do, those two lenses are my favorite. I also have a Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 that sees use as well, but it's not my favorite as it's not nearly as accurate autofocus as either of the other two, and it weighs a metric ton in comparison.

Charles.

[jeverettfine]

I may have already mentioned (tl;dr) that a single prime just won't do, or why bother to use an interchangeable-lens camera? My night/street lenses are several: Vivitar-Kiron 24/2 or Vivitar-Komine 28/2 CF; FA50/1.4 (my only AF prime); Nikkor 85/2 (modded to PK); Tak-B or SMC-Tak 135/2.5. Sometimes nothing beats the DA18-55 with a K2 Yellow filter on it, to grab glaring neon lights in odd shades. But which to use depends on the night and the street.

I do agree, "why have an interchangeable lens camera?"...

Much depends on how light-weight you want to be, whether you have two bodies, etc. You still go right with my suggestion of a 24 etc. I like your kit above. The Pentax-A 100 2.8 (not the macro) is another great one to have along.

[RioRico]

You might disagree with Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand and many other top street/classic doco photographers.... it depends on how you shoot. One might be just fine. For others, zooms or many lenses are fine too.

Both HCB and GW used more than one lens. Each may have preferred certain focal lengths (50mm for HCB, 28mm for GW) but they used others too, according to my brief research. Some legendary toggers stick mostly to one lens, and many others don't, so we can draw no firm conclusions here other than, "If it works for you, fine!"

A couple years ago I bought the kit of a late urban shooter, a staff togger on a newspaper in a medium-size Midwestern USA city up through the early 1990s. Nothing fancy: workhorse M42 body with 28/2.8 and 55/1.7 and 135/2.8 lenses; a Yashica GSN Electro 35 (with 45/1.8 lens) probably for color shots for the Sunday magazine; a couple flashes, sets of filters, etc. A basic working kit for urban reporting. FOV-translated to APS-C, that's like a K5 with 21-35-90mm lenses, with an X100 for backup.

Other PJs might have a similar but shorter kit, especially if they're shooting crime scenes in tight quarters: 24-35-55-85mm, FOV-translated as 16-24-35-58mm. I've already mentioned my low-light street kit: 24-50-85-135mm. For daylight, I'd replace the 24mm with 21+28mm, and supplement the midrange with an F35-70. These, and some slower lenses, have each proved their value to me in specific situations. You'll have to pry these from my cold, dead fingers. No rush, eh?

[CWyatt]

I thought this thread was about street photography?

[CWyatt]

Some legendary toggers stick mostly to one lens, and many others don't, so we can draw no firm conclusions here other than, "If it works for you, fine!"

Exactly, it's a case of whatever works (as it usually is in photography). But we can say that this generalisation isn't really true:

I may have already mentioned (tl;dr) that a single prime just won't do

[DeadJohn]

I may have already mentioned (tl;dr) that a single prime just won't do, or why bother to use an interchangeable-lens camera? ...

One of my goals for the single prime was wandering around New York City during lunch and after work. I don't want to carry a camera bag to the office every day nor change lenses every time I step from a sunny park into the deeply shaded canyons of Manhattan. I eventually settled(*) on the Canon S95 for this need because it is more convenient for me than a DSLR.

When my focus for the day is on photography rather than work, then I'll gladly pack a DSLR and multiple lenses.

(*) "Settled" is really the case here. The S95's IQ is impressive given its size. A DSLR, though, offers significantly better IQ and lens flexibility.

[RioRico]

One of my goals for the single prime was wandering around New York City during lunch and after work. I don't want to carry a camera bag to the office every day nor change lenses every time I step from a sunny park into the deeply shaded canyons of Manhattan.

Ah, in this situation I would apply my LOTD (lens of the day) strategy. See the world differently with each lens, move and frame and shoot differently, especially when I'm walking similar paths each day. I'll keep a good P&S in my pocket for images the LOTD isn't suited for.

[cali92rs]

One of my goals for the single prime was wandering around New York City during lunch and after work. I don't want to carry a camera bag to the office every day nor change lenses every time I step from a sunny park into the deeply shaded canyons of Manhattan. I eventually settled(*) on the Canon S95 for this need because it is more convenient for me than a DSLR.

When my focus for the day is on photography rather than work, then I'll gladly pack a DSLR and multiple lenses.

(*) "Settled" is really the case here. The S95's IQ is impressive given its size. A DSLR, though, offers significantly better IQ and lens flexibility.

I wonder if an X100 might suit your needs better? If you have the $$$ of course (I don't )

[creampuff]

Ah, in this situation I would apply my LOTD (lens of the day) strategy. See the world differently with each lens, move and frame and shoot differently, especially when I'm walking similar paths each day. I'll keep a good P&S in my pocket for images the LOTD isn't suited for.

No offence intended but the "lens of the day" strategy is just about the worst approach to shoot street photography.

Many years ago while on assignment, I met a group of experienced South Korean news photojournalists over lunch. Without exception, ALL of them stress the need to be intimately familiar with using a single lens when shooting street images/reportage. Simply put, they often have no time to switch lenses, they know the FOV coverage and perspective effect even before they raise the camera to the viewfinder and they know what the lens is capable of. For many, that lens would typically be a moderate wide angle preferably with a fast maximum aperture.

The problem is many amateur photographers don't have the discipline to put their gear/lenses in varying and often extreme situations and usually only have a vague idea of what a particular piece of equipment can do. This is to be expected because they don't make a living from photography and being new, are often finding their way around on the basics of photography. It's the reason a lot of amateurs ask what lens is suitable for what purpose, because many are frankly clueless. Such a question will almost never come up among experienced shooters because they already know what a particular lens can deliver. For them, how to capture the scene is more important than the gear used. Amateurs think erroneously that a particular piece of gear will get them a great image... without a creative eye, that's wishful thinking.

[GeneV]

The OP'er talking about not having auto-focus as limiting for shooting from the hip, and that DA40 wide open @ f2.8 may be too slow. These two statements dont belong together.

FWIW, the DA21 is about perfect for street photography; MF at ~2 meters, stop down to f5.6+, you can shoot from the hip all you like knowing focus will be OK.

I'd prefer a compact 24mm, but the DA21 and DA40 are my most used street lenses. They are so inconspicuous, especially on a K-x. I have also used the DA21 on mf a lot. It saves a missed point of focus on a quick street shot.

The FA35/2 is my most used prime all the way around these days, though.

[kshapero]

I love walking around with a Voigtlander 40/2 pancake lens.

[bossa]

The Sigma 30mm aint that big!

The Sigma 50/1.4 is huge though and dwarfs my other 50mm lenses.

[RioRico]

No offence intended but the "lens of the day" strategy is just about the worst approach to shoot street photography.

One-lens-only is one approach. It is not the only approach. I can think of numerous PJs who carried a rather more complete kit -- as did I, back when it was my job. No, changing lenses in mid-action isn't an option. Instead, have an idea of what you're likely to encounter and have the appropriate optics mounted. And maybe extra camera(s). (I used to carry a SLR, RF, and TLR together.) I think the answers here and in similar "street-shooting" threads indicate there's no consensus even as to what street photography *is*, let alone the best tools. The best answer is: Whatever works. If a single lens works, then great.

The LOTD strategy is exploratory. DeadJohn said, "One of my goals for the single prime was wandering around New York City during lunch and after work". That's exploration. With LOTD, I pick a lens to explore. What will it force me to see? I see vastly differently with 16-28-55-100mm lenses. I'll use the 10-24 for crowds on fairly wide streets, a fast 85 or slow 100 (depending on light) to pick out faces on narrow streets, etc. One consideration there: my slow Enna Tele-Sandmar 100/4.5 is so tiny (similar to the SuperTak 35/3.5) it doesn't *look* like a tele, doesn't intimidate, so it's one less factor in togger-subject interaction.