Favoured lens for street photography

Dman

Dman

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Dave
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Apologies for covering a subject that's no doubt been done endless times before, but I have done an extensive search and my brain aches from all the reading I've done this evening, without finding an answer.

Hopefully I'm finally going to get a chance to try some street photography before heading to the CNY celebrations. I'm wondering what people tend to use on a cropped sensor for street stuff. I have the following lenses which could come into play

Sigma 30mm 1.4
Nikon 50mm 1.4
Tamron 28-75mm 2.8
55-200mm 3.5-5.6

Now although probably a safer bet, I don't want to use the zoom for the reasons that it's pretty dire in low light and it seems to be 'cheating' somewhat. So that leaves me with two primes or the mid range zoom.

I'm thinking the 50 may be a tad too long on a cropped sensor even though it's my favourite lens, can anyone confirm that they've found this to be the case? If so, that leaves me with the Tamron or the Sigma.

The Tamron would be a good all rounder but will it be fast enough when the light starts to go? Or should I just stick the 30 on and do the best I can? It would make me have to think a lot more but I may miss a few good shots because of the restriction.

What are your preferences when out on the street?
 
I din't know what the nikon d90 is like but if it has a crop sensor then i would go for the 30mm f1.4 Sigma. If full frame then the Nikon 50mm f1.4. You will get better IQ from the primes.
 
I know the latest trend is for fast primes and if that's the way you want to go then a 35mm would be my choice - I find the angle of view on a 50mm too restrictive...

You're on a crop-sensor, so I'd actually go wider than that, if it's a Nikon DX sensor then a 24mm would give the same approximate AoV of the 35mm on DX.

But since I also find Primes too restrictive, the additional stop no hindrance whatsoever and I've been doing it this way for over 15 years, then I'll stick with two bodies mounting a 24-70 f/2.8 and a 70-200 f/2.8 with a fast-50 in my backpack.

But like I say - if you held a gun to my head and said 'One lens only' it'd be a 35mm f/2...
 
if its one lens only, i would go for the 30mm...
 
for the cny bit ,i'd go for the 28 - 75 .reasonably fast and versatile ,and if the light goes a bit go home ,,no sorry up the iso , ( look out for us lot Dave )
 
I like the 50 on my 30D, so I've just got an 85 1.8 for the 5d.

I just found it was a good length for London streets, NY for example I think you'd want something a bit wider as the streets are a bit more cramped.
 
It depends on what time of day you're shooting. If it's good light, and it's your first time, take the 28-75mm. I use a 28-80mm as my walkabout, but if I'm specifically doing street and only street, I might pop a 35mm on instead. I'll agree with James and say, would depend on my mood!
 
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