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Gear Is Not Important in Street Photography

Gear

There are many blog posts and questions on Reddit or Facebook, about what is the best camera or lens to use for street photography. The thing is, gear doesn't matter. Or rather it doesn't matter as much as the average photographer or novice to the genre thinks it does.

If you don’t think Fujifilm is the best camera brand, it’s because you’ve never owned one

An over zealous photographer with dogmatic beliefs about what is the best camera brand. I own a FujiFilm XT5 and think it is the best camera for me, but I would never suggest that it is the best camera overall for all photographers. View thread.

When a mechanic or a plumber does a good job, people don't say "You must have the best tools". Instead we assume they are skilled craftsmen who could get the job done regardless of the cost or perceived quality of tools they use.

The Best Camera

Photography is not about cameras, gadgets and gizmos. Photography is about photographers. A camera didn’t make a great picture any more than a typewriter wrote a great novel.
– Peter Adams

Is there a best camera? No there is not one best camera. There is however a best camera for you. Getting caught up in gear talk hyping the latest greatest cameras or lens will lead to blaming poor results on gear and not improving your skills as a photographer and/or a bad case of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome).

I think this is especially important to note for novice photographers. When buying your first camera you do not need, nor should you, buy the top of the line body and lens. Get familiar with camera body and the kits lens you have for at least 6 months before looking at getting a second lens.

Threads sarahbagbyphoto allgood

I agree with this completely.

Once you've learned the lens you currently have, then you can look at your shots and see which end of the zoom lens you gravitate towards: the wide angle, the zoom, or somewhere in between. 

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Shot on a Canon Kiss X4 (released in 2010) and a Tamron 17-50 budget zoom lens. If I didn't share the camera and lens you wouldn't know if it was taken on a high end professional camera / lens or the budget consumer camera / lens that it actually was taken on.

Camera Canon EOS Kiss X4 Lens 17-50mm ISO ISO--filled 200 Aperture f/3.2 Focal Length 50mm Shutter Speed 1/800

Another time to look at a new lens or upgrading a body is when you run into limitations of your current gear. The limitations could include low light capability, wider field of view, longer reach, or features that a different camera body has that you feel will improve your photography.

When I took the photo above I did not have a kit lens, because I already knew that I wasn't going to be satisfied with the variable aperture that kit lens' typically come with. However a pro level fixed f2.8 lens such as the Canon EF 17-55 f2.8 was far out of my budget as an amateur photographer on a budget. I got a third party lens, Tamron 17-50 f2.8 that had a fixed aperture and was sharper than the kit lens.

Barn Swallow

shot at the maximum zoom available on the fuji 70-300mm. Using budget lenses or cameras is a great way to try out a new genre of photography.

Camera X-T5 Lens XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR ISO ISO--filled 3200 Aperture f/14.0 Focal Length 300mm Shutter Speed 1/1000
DSCF5603

Adding the 1.4x teleconvertor allowed me to shoot even further and get shots at the Toronto Air Show.

Camera X-T5 Lens XF70-300mmF4-5.6 R LM OIS WR + 1.4x ISO ISO--filled 400 Aperture f/8.0 Focal Length 420mm Shutter Speed 1/1250

Buying a budget wildlife lens allowed me to scratch an itch to shoot another genre. It also gave me  the opportunity to get shots at the annual air show in Toronto.

Finally another time, in my opinion, to go with budget lenses is when starting out with a new genre of photography.  Last year, I was interested in trying out wildlife photography. I did not have a long enough lens so I purchased the Fujifilm XF 70-300 which has an excellent reputation and is significantly more affordable than the pro level lenses used by professional wildlife photographers. 

Once I used it, I also discovered that I enjoyed wildlife photography, but found that I desired even more reach. However, buying a longer lens would cost more than double what I paid for the 70-300 and have further trade-offs of increased bulk and weight. My compromise was to get a 1.4 teleconverter which got me the reach I wanted at the expense of 1 stop of light. For me these compromises are acceptable. For you they may not be. In the future, if I were to shift my photography focus from street to wildlife I would likely decide to get a better lens. But until that day I've saved well over a $1000 and can take photos that I am happy with.

Buy a camera that you will carry with you everywhere 

The best camera is the one you have with you.
– Chase Jarvis

For most street photographers that means a small body and lens, preferably one that you can put in your jacket pocket or a small bag. Two popular options are the Fujifilm x100 series and the Ricoh GR III. Both of these cameras are small and easily pocketable. The only downside, in my opinion, is that they do not have interchangeable lenses which reduces their flexibility. The image quality and small form size, however, more than makes up for that though.

For me I prefer a mirrorless camera that allows me to change lenses. Currently I shoot with a Fujifilm XT5. I am planning on getting a second body later this year and my second camera will be smaller than the XT5 I will additionally likely pair it with a pancake lens most of the time making it as close as possible in size to the X100v or Ricoh GR III mentioned above.

If you are comfortable with carrying a large camera and/or lens around when shooting, then that is the camera for you.

2024-October-Paris-Amsterdam-October 14-072

If your camera and lens combo is large and bulky, it may not be practical to carry with you everywhere. But pretty much everyone has a phone with them and modern phones have outstanding cameras. When you are out and you see a scene unfold in front of you, don't hesitate to use your phone camera to capture that moment.  If you like to shoot in raw format, both Android and iPhones allow you to shoot in raw. Take a moment before you go out next time to learn how to set your phone camera to professional mode and shoot in raw.

The Most Important Gear

It is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.
– Eve Arnold

The most important piece of gear that a photographer needs is their brain and creativity. A professional photographer will take amazing photos despite using an entry level camera and lens. A novice photographer with the a professional camera and lens will still will be limited by their skill and knowledge despite the high end gear. What's most important is your photographic eye and skill.

Conclusion

Don't get caught up in GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and thinking that buying the latest and greatest camera or lens will take your photography to the next level. The average photography will be better off putting in more time to improving their photographic eye and skills.

If, however, you have hit a limitation with your current gear, then that would be the time to buy a new camera or lens that will address the issue you are having.