What's best for street photography? A 21 or a 28mm?

There are so many ways to view the world, & street photography is really a genre, not just one way of seeing. As Mike said, he wants to see people's faces, to me my interest is in where they are in the architecture of the place.

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I use 40-85mm. 28mm and 35mm are the most popular these days. 21mm is like kissing your subject! ;) This is 21mm:


It's cool, but it's only "like kissing your subject"....if you choose to be in their face, like Cohen does. When i'm taking urban photos, i'm just photographing, but not engaging the people who end up in the frame.
 
It's cool, but it's only "like kissing your subject"....if you choose to be in their face, like Cohen does. When i'm taking urban photos, i'm just photographing, but not engaging the people who end up in the frame.
My point and it was a light one, is that you are generally going to be very close to your subject when using a 21mm. If not, it’s likely not going to be effective most of the time. Kissing was simply me saying you are in an intimate space. Im well aware of how to photograph on the streets.
 
My point and it was a light one, is that you are generally going to be very close to your subject when using a 21mm. If not, it’s likely not going to be effective most of the time. Kissing was simply me saying you are in an intimate space. Im well aware of how to photograph on the streets.
John I was in no way at all, commenting on your ability to shoot in the streets, but on Cohen's personal style. When you say " If not, it’s likely not going to be effective most of the time," that's your view of how to use the particular tool, others may find a different way to use the sweet spot of the 21. It's not my favourite lens, but i do like its versatility in the urban parts of Europe.
 
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John I was in no way at all, commenting on your ability to shoot in the streets, but on Cohen's personal style. When you say " If not, it’s likely not going to be effective most of the time," that's your view of how to use the particular tool, others may find a different way to use the sweet spot of the 21. It's not my favourite lens, but i do like its versatility in the urban parts of Europe.
Oh I know. And yeah since my wide is a 40mm, you are right it is my personal view. However, I do know a good deal about the history of photography and I cannot think of many examples of 21mm being used successfully on the streets. Just a few really. And most are very up close and personal. People say that they want context, but 21mm will will be very distorted off axis. Context can be had with a lot of focal lengths as long as you have space to back up.

That said, yes they’d certainly come in handy in cramped quarters like alleys etc. I’m not disputing that. But as an all purpose street lens, 28mm is just more versatile to use. Of course, the OP might go for the 21mm and try to use it in new ways. There was a time when 28mm was a strange choice for street too.

An interesting point about Mark Cohen is that as he got older he moved from 21mm to 28, to 35 and eventually to 50mm. Something about too many fights and problems with the police.
 
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I own 35 and 28mm lenses but where I live and where I photograph is not a large, crowded city so I am not typically faced with situations where a wide field of view is needed. So my lens choices are almost certainly a reflection of that environment combined with my desire to have a bit of the surroundings to provide context. As a result I typically use a more normal focal length. Over the last year my primary lens choice for 35mm has been a 40mm, and I find that even that focal length is a bit wide occasionally. I have been known to walk around for a couple of weeks with an 85/2 on an SLR and never give it a second thought.

If I went back and looked at all of the photos I have taken since the mid-70s I know without any doubt that my simple, little, Pentax SMC-M 50/2 would be the lens I have used most frequently on 35mm by a very large margin. I know it seems a bit pedestrian to some but I still own two of them and use them regularly. In fact, when I used a Leica, I used a Summicron 50/2, and my favorite lens on my Zeiss Ikon is undoubtedly my ZM Planar 50/2 (a great lens btw.) It is just how I see the world when I'm looking at it through a viewfinder.

I actually do not shoot "street" very often but if that is what I plan to do that day I usually grab for my Rolleiflex with a 75mm lens. For one, people are often interested in the camera itself so they aren't trying to avoid me. Second I feel that when I am looking down into the viewfinder I am personally less threatening to others. Third, it is such a simple camera to use; everything I need is directly in my view when I am looking down. Fourth, I am not an "in your face" photographer so the lens gives me a little distance to work with. And though it is not usually what people think about, that wonderful Tessar lens matches perfectly with the square format allowing me to quickly draw attention to my subject. The only downside is that moving the camera to track people is backwards, so counter-intuitive when you first pick it up, but it does become second nature for me very quickly so it rarely intrudes.
 
I own 35 and 28mm lenses but where I live and where I photograph is not a large, crowded city so I am not typically faced with situations where a wide field of view is needed. So my lens choices are almost certainly a reflection of that environment combined with my desire to have a bit of the surroundings to provide context. As a result I typically use a more normal focal length. Over the last year my primary lens choice for 35mm has been a 40mm, and I find that even that focal length is a bit wide occasionally. I have been known to walk around for a couple of weeks with an 85/2 on an SLR and never give it a second thought.

If I went back and looked at all of the photos I have taken since the mid-70s I know without any doubt that my simple, little, Pentax SMC-M 50/2 would be the lens I have used most frequently on 35mm by a very large margin. I know it seems a bit pedestrian to some but I still own two of them and use them regularly. In fact, when I used a Leica, I used a Summicron 50/2, and my favorite lens on my Zeiss Ikon is undoubtedly my ZM Planar 50/2 (a great lens btw.) It is just how I see the world when I'm looking at it through a viewfinder.

I actually do not shoot "street" very often but if that is what I plan to do that day I usually grab for my Rolleiflex with a 75mm lens. For one, people are often interested in the camera itself so they aren't trying to avoid me. Second I feel that when I am looking down into the viewfinder I am personally less threatening to others. Third, it is such a simple camera to use; everything I need is directly in my view when I am looking down. Fourth, I am not an "in your face" photographer so the lens gives me a little distance to work with. And though it is not usually what people think about, that wonderful Tessar lens matches perfectly with the square format allowing me to quickly draw attention to my subject. The only downside is that moving the camera to track people is backwards, so counter-intuitive when you first pick it up, but it does become second nature for me very quickly so it rarely intrudes.
The Rollei is a cool choice for all the reasons you outlined. Wish i could get my hands on a Rolleiwide. The only place in a city, anyone ever stopped to talk to me about a camera was in Paris of all places....& they asked about the Rolleiflex.
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The Rollei is a cooll choice for all the reasons you outlined. Wish i could get my hands on a Rolleiwide. The only place in a city, anyone ever stopped to talk to me about a camera was in Paris of all places....& they asked about the Rolleiflex.
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The Rollei Wide is not very wide, by the way. It is not worth its high cost. It is a rare Rollei camera.
 
The Rollei Wide is not very wide, by the way. It is not worth its high cost. It is a rare Rollei camera.
Rare and expensive. I loved the 50mm on my Mamiya 6MF...... I could happily live with the 55mm on the Rolleiwide (but not $4500 USD worth).
 
For instance, Lee Freidlander reportedly used a 35 and a 28, mostly.
This is what I´ve read too. Basically a 35mm user for decades with a little bit of 28mm. Then the move to the Hasselblad wide camera and most recently a Voigtlander Bessa with 25mm F4 I believe (recent gallery opening in NYC).
Do you see like him?
Not many people can claim to see like him...
Or are his pictures suggestive of what you want your pictures to look like? Gary Winogrand used mostly a 35, I hear.
Winogrand was known for his 28mm photos mostly. He did use other lenses early in his career, but later was pretty much 28mm.
Henri Cartier-Bresson is famous for using mostly a 50, although I think he used a 35 too when he was feeling it.
Yes, a known 50mm user but supposedly used others... however, not in any way that I can tell. I see a lot of 50mm when looking at his photos.

The thing is you can force any focal length into use while walking around. You can make photos with anything. Basically, it is all personal ´preference and nothing more.
 
It’s not a ‘gear first’ question. What are you trying to shoot? How do you want it to look? Then, pick the tool.

I needed a hip shooting lens for NYC (fairly tight scenes). 28 is working out well. 21 would be too wide for that. Decide what you’re trying to capture and work backwards.
 
It’s not a ‘gear first’ question. What are you trying to shoot? How do you want it to look? Then, pick the tool.

I needed a hip shooting lens for NYC (fairly tight scenes). 28 is working out well. 21 would be too wide for that. Decide what you’re trying to capture and work backwards.
B, I agree with you completely. We're lucky in that there is currently such a wide range of lenses, for essentially all budgets and projects. A carpenter for example wouldn't say "I want to build this X, but I only want to use a chisel." The idea comes first & then you select the equipment to do it.
 
I already feel like I’m crowding people quite a bit when using a 28mm lens and therefore I would have a hard time imagining myself using a 21mm lens to my satisfaction. Conversely, in all of the examples shown here where a 21mm lens was used, I’m left wishing that the photographer had moved in closer to the people in the frame.

When shooting inanimate objects in tight quarters, a 21mm lens might be just the ticket, though here distortion would likely become a concern.
 
The Rollei is a cool choice for all the reasons you outlined. Wish i could get my hands on a Rolleiwide. The only place in a city, anyone ever stopped to talk to me about a camera was in Paris of all places....& they asked about the Rolleiflex.
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I got nice comments on the Rolleiflex in NYC, Miami, Brussels... (In Brussels this was a VERY cute Canadian girl with her VERY TALL boyfriend :) )

The Rolleiflex is my "lazy" favourite for street (when I want good results and can't manage the engagement the Leica + 35mm need)
 
The jury seems to be out on the best choice of lens here...

As someone who has been struggling of late with changing over to street photography from a lifetime of static (= buildings, ruins, temples) image-making, I find the 28 suits me best. But then I've had a 28 2.8 D on each of my Nikon D800s for so long, I reckon those lenses are well and truly stuck on my cameras and it will take a crowbar to remove them.

I also own a 24 and a 20, both Nikon Ds. Bought new, hardly used. When I've popped off to cloud land, whoever buys those from my estate will get wonderful bargains...

A friend wants to sell me a Nikon 14 D. Which would open interesting opportunities for pix of people on the street.

So okay, of necessity (and to save expensive repair bills with those 28s just about Supaglu'd to my D800s) I will go with 28. Or my second choice, my Nikon 35 2.0 D. But then some of you here are doing such gorgeous work with 21s or 50s or even a 16 (good one, Raid!).

As a compromise, maybe a 24? For the best of all visual worlds.

Sheets, isn't this fun?!?
 
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Hey guys. Between 28mm and 21mm I find that 28mm is "easier" and 21mm makes you work for it. I find that working harder gives you "better" results. I would advise using a 21mm with no distortion as I find that the distorted look is tiring... I guess this is another plus for 28mm; less distortion.

I used 21mm and my iphone for all the pictures in here :

Thank You Shanghai – Fistful of Books
 
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