Your thoughts and Advice please

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Dave
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I am hankering after some street photography. Not trying to be pretentious, but, well I want to have a go at it.

I don't want to go digital. I think film is right. I have a few choices.

1. Olympus XA. 35mm rangefinder. 35mm lens It's well thought of, sharp and small. The thinking is that I won't be conspicuous.

2. Olympus OM40, 50mm f1.8 lens. No winder, nothing fancy. No fancy camera strap ( actually its para cord).

Film wise, I'm thinking HP5. ASA 400 so hopefully no need for flash, if I can help it.

What are your thoughts please? I don't want to be in peoples faces, and will ask if I can take pictures. Soul stealing aint my thing.....
 
I really like the XA for all sorts of things. It's small, quiet, needs no case and is very good for low light handheld shots. This one was hand held, propped against a lamppost at somewhere between 1/8th and 1/15th second


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Shot on Tri-X at 400 ASA
 
Well I'm not into street photography but at weddings (esp before and after) I use a SLR with telephoto lens a lot, it works because everyone is busy talking or whatever and you don't intrude when at a distance, so I guess would use this set-up on the streets.
 
Hi Dave,

First off: Nothing pretentious regarding street photography. It is a 'real' experience and alot harder than I ever thought it would be.

Cameras: Out of the two your have suggested. IMHO it would have to be the XA but, have you thought of an Olympus OM1n or 2n? You are restricted with the XA when it comes to lenses and ASA settings i.e. 25-800 max.

I realise that it (XA) has the quietest shutter out of the two - people think that because it's quiet, then you can perfom magic but, the lens is a 35mm and so you have to get in close and so, invariably, it's a take and keep going, regardless of the shutter noise.

So, XA out of the two you have suggested but, if you get hooked on 'street' I think you will soon be hankering for more flexibility.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Alistair,

I'm a fan of the XA, but I do have a choice with SLR's . I have an OM1 an OM2 and an OM40 Lens wise I can go 24, 28, 50, 135 and 75-205, so lots of choice.

If I went with an SLR i could use the 50mm f1.8 ( I want to stay away from flash).

Dave
 
Dave, for fun, I often use a Asahi Pentax S1a and a 55mm F2; no meter, 500 top speed and love every moment of it. I use a hand held meter and there is no problem with film speed or shooting at dusk/night.
 
Its not purist to use a standard to wide angle for shooting street, anything else is shooting in the street.
Personally the XA will give you a chance to get shots you'd struggle to with the Olympus, unless you are completely unfazed by the proximity of "street".
 
If you're wanting to get away without flash don't forget you can push your film to get a better shutter speed :)
 
SparkUK said:
If you're wanting to get away without flash don't forget you can push your film to get a better shutter speed :)
Click to expand...

Chris: Yes, but only to 800 ASA with the XA.

Dave: It is as you say get stuck in (no matter which camera) and as John has said it's not to do with ideology, it's practicality.
 
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I've got the xa, and it's a great wee camera. A couple of points worth bearing in mind, the xa (at least the first edition that I've got) is a true rangefinder which requires focussing. The split focus window is tiny and is tricky in dim light, and the actual focus is by a little arm and not a barrel grip. Can be a bit fiddly. Also setting the asa is like repairing a watch! Try it, and you'll know what I mean. The results though are outstanding for such a small compact machine, easily pocketable, and has a near silent shutter.

I'd recommend another camera, the nikon 28ti. Brilliant compact, outstanding optics, auto everything, but about 10 times the cost of an xa!
 
Absolutely. Pocketable, near silent, doesn't look too 'pro', and you can watch for subjects walking into the frame by the frame lines in most RF's.
 
The problem with that on a RF with aperture priority (like the XA) is that you just have to make sure you get the subject within the depth of field for the aperture selected. Easy on a bright day, challenging at night!
 
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