[creampuff]

For me, the K-5 is great for candid street photograpy, if you choose the right lens. For example, you wouldnt want to choose the 35mm LTD because if it misses focus, it hunts forever. However, my DA70 LTD and 50mm f1.7 snap to focus nice and quick, not to mention are real small.

I have to disagree with you about the DA 35mm Macro Limited. I think it's a fantastic lens that's ideal for street and walkaround shooting. At non-macro distances, the focus is quick. The K-5 does well because the camera is very discreet and the shutter is so quiet. Don't blame it on the gear, work on the technique. Here's a quick uncropped snapshot...


K-5 DA 35mm Macro Ltd

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Last edited by creampuff; 11-24-2011 at 05:41 AM.

[Schraubstock]

Hi

It is not too hard to get nice people shots if you go the right way about it. I like to shoot people going about their daily life and I use a little trick that almost always works.

When I have identified the person(s) I want to shoot I let them see that I take photographs but the shifty method I employ is to pretend I am not really taking photos of them. Rather when standing in front of them I point my camera over their heads like I was taking the roof of a building behind them or point my camera slightly away from them but still roughly in their direction. Now I take a number of shots and watch their behavior. Sooner or later they get used to me standing there taking pictures (but not of them, they know this now) and don't look at me anymore and carry on with their business. That's the moment I sneak a shot. The photograph below was taken this way.

Greetings

[Nuff]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with K5 for street photography. I don't do much of it (and not that I'm great at it) since my woman nags me about stalking people. I did it a fair bit with my Olympus e-p1 and I find the k5 much better for it.

With street photography you supposed to picture the image you want to take before it happens and before you bring the camera to your eye. I like the fact that after visualising the scene in my mind, I can just bring my K5 to my eye and fire a shot in an instant. The e-p1 is a lot slower camera, so I tend to miss a shot more often.

With DA21ltd:




With FA43ltd:

[crewl1]

I use the k5 with fa35 f2 as my go-to street rig.
I sling it with a optech strap setup black rapid style.

I don't shoot from the hip though as I don't get good results.
In touristy areas it won't get noticed but in places where cameras are not normally used you may get some looks.

When I travel on business I use a k-x with a da-40 since I keep those in my travel pack.
The k-x is louder and also needs a little more time to focus so my pacing requires a slower approach than the k5.
The sound isn't an issue in a busy street but in a museum or church you will hear it.

I prefer the k-5 as it is quick and silent.
Sometimes I'll use it in continuous mode and can get 3 or 4 shots of a subject with the same effort it takes to get one shot off with the k-x.

I was considering a smaller camera but think I would miss the speed, IQ and control I can get with K-5.

My street shots are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/citystreetshots/
You can see which used the K-5 or k-x.

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Last edited by crewl1; 11-24-2011 at 08:15 AM.

[RonHendriks1966]

Here's a quick uncropped snapshot...



K-5 DA 35mm Macro Ltd

I wouldn't call that nice girl a "fat lady"

[JHD]

Anytime you bring a camera (especially a DSLR) up to your face and point it at someone, it's pretty obvious (unless they are blind) you're taking their picture. So shutter noise is hardly a concern. I bought a NEX-5 exclusively for street photography. The shutter is LOUD, but I have found it's not a problem because on average there's plenty of competing noise on the street. More importantly people never see me taking their picture because the NEX allows me to be discreet by shooting from the hip. IMO a flip out LCD is indispensible for shooting discreet candids.

[Nuff]

For me, I don't like to take photos from hip, since I don't like that perspective, unless it's for specific photos. So no matter what camera I would have, I would still bring it up to my face. I think the best camera would be Fuji x100. It's small, it's the right focal length, silent shutter, great iso, people think it's some old camera. It's much better choice than m4/3 camera since it has a viewfinder. For me I don't mind if people noticed that I've taken their photo, as long as it's after the fact and I've captured the moment I'm after.

This shot is bit blurred, since shutter speed is too slow and I moved the camera too quick.


But, I like the fact that he noticed me taking the shot (he didn't have much else to do), since there's eye contact.

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Last edited by Nuff; 11-24-2011 at 05:08 PM.

[Franky2step]

K5 is great for street, no shutter lag!!! Very quiet shutter as well, I put black gaffer tape over the Pentax name, looks evn more discreet.

[vrrattko]

Actually I wouldn't worry too much about how big your kit is. When I was taking pictures in the streets I was initially worried about people and wanted to go candid, just to find out that in most cases people don't give a *** of being photographed. Sometimes even, especially with girls you might even get a nice smile or nod. Let them see your camera and watch out if they don't mind you taking photos. It took from me somehow nasty feeling of stalking somebody with camera, and make a street photography something like a communication with my subjects.
If they don't want to be photographed they let you know and then it is good to respect that...

to your original question: K-5 and pancakes are small enough to make people feel at ease....

[Rupert]

I very recently got the x10 and think it may be a better street shooter in some ways...I have noticed that people are not startled at all by such a small camera....but my honest opinion developed over time is that it has more to do with the shooter than the camera. If you use some basic common sense, and have the right outgoing personality, you can do as well with D3x as you can with a spy camera in an ink pen.

If you are easily flustered or intimidated, it might be hard for you when you encounter the (very seldom) person that catches you and complains. If you have a quick and witty response, you will recover and keep on shooting. We train to take photos, we have to train our minds to do candids. Fortunately, it is not hard to do!

It also helps if you can catch them asleep!
[IMG] [/IMG]

Best Regards!

[alohadave]

I suppose a blimp or underwater housing is out of the question?

It's kind of hard to be discreet with a big plastic box on your camera. It's not just sound that you are worried about, it's the look of the camera and how you interact with it.

[RioRico]

I suppose a blimp or underwater housing is out of the question?

It's kind of hard to be discreet with a big plastic box on your camera. It's not just sound that you are worried about, it's the look of the camera and how you interact with it.

I wasn't being entirely serious. Guess I omitted the

We've had various threads here on street-shooting strategies and tactics, from stealthy to blatant to social-engineered. Yes, factors involved include the size and color and packaging of both the photo gear and the photographer, as well as the location and moods of the subjects. I take rather different approaches in San Francisco's Union Square, and Chinatown, and Ferry Terminal, and in cities and villages in Central America. I'm a very tall old gringo; I can blend in in some places but not others. People in different places react variously to camera-slingers, and to different gear, and to various approaches. There's no single answer. Improvise!

[RonHendriks1966]

I think that if you would buy a Yellow K-r that no-one would assume that you are making seriuous pictures and thus creating the room for the streetphotography you want to make.

I came across some-one wit a Pentax 6x7 camera and a ladder in the crowd. He just put up his ladder in a street and went up and after 10 seconds he was unnoticed by the public.

Looking for the picture:

So he is just two heads above the public and no attention is paid to what he is doing there.

[Jeff Charles]

I've read a lot by street photographers about the value of having a smaller, more discrete camera, and the micro 4/3 cameras like the E-PL# and E-P3 have caught my attention.

I think it helps for the camera not to look too serious. However, I've done street photography with an Olympus OM-1, an Olympus E-1 (big, but quiet like the K-5), an Olympus E-620, a Pentax K100D, a Pentax K10D, a Konica Hexar AF, and a Fuji X100. In practice, I don't think there is much difference. In fact, although on paper the X100 and the Hexar should be the best street shooters, I preferred the K100D, the OM-1, and the E-620.

The photographer being discrete is more important than the type of camera. With a larger camera, using a hand grip, like the Hakuba LH hand strap, and only raising the camera to your eye to take the shot can help. Confidence and lack of hesitation are also important, I think. I've found that if I just take the photo and don't project uncertainty, there's rarely a reaction. (All that said, I don't consider myself to be more than an average street photographer.)

I just bought a K-5 and a 35mm f/2.4, Turns out that that kit weighs about the same as the K100D with the FA 35, f/2, a combo that I liked a lot for street and candid shooting.

Jeff

[einstrigger]

I think street photography is all about being discreet and having an eye for framing and composition. Is the k-5 small enough? Sure, why not, especially compared to what people used to use. I was looking through Vivian Maier's work and I was amazed at the photos she took with her Kodak brownie and later a Rolleiflex. If anything, that tells me it's more about technique then the actual camera being used. And with the K-5, that should be much easier then a Rolleiflex. If anything, the latest cameras in mobile phones are probably the most discreet.