It’s time to get back to shooting life in motion, so here are eight of the most streetwise buys

Shutterstock

Many of us easing out of lockdown recently have rediscovered the simple joys of ambling around city streets, feasting on the sights and sounds of bustling life. It’s only natural to want to capture this ‘new’ normality on camera. And if you’ve never been into street photography before, it’s a chance to try something new. But what is street photography, and how do you shoot it?

Classic street photography is all about reacting to your environment, anticipating events as they unfold and capturing definitive moments. More often than not, classic street images include people set against urban surroundings, photographed candidly as they go about their lives.

You’ll therefore need a camera and lens combination that you can use fairly discreetly, and that enables you to shoot with next to no setup time. Traditionally, a full-frame camera with a 35mm prime lens is the ideal tool of choice. Let’s look at the best options for DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. 

Matthew Richards

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

Digital Camera BEST FOR CANON EF

£539/$599

Get it while you can…

Lens mount Canon EF

Rumours are rife that Canon will discontinue this lens sometime this year. That’s a shame, because it works really well for street photography. It bridges the gap between the EF 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens, which is supersmall, but has a focal length that’s a touch on the long side; and the EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM, which is massive in both size and cost. This 35mm f/2 IS USM is quite compact and light, yet has a fairly fast aperture rating, ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, plus four-stop stabilisation. The manual focus ring operates with precision and enables fine adjustments.

Performance

Performance is impressive, with quick and whisper-quiet autofocus, stabilisation that lives up to its 4-stop billing and excellent image quality in all respects. There’s certainly no lack of sharpness and contrast.

Sharpness

There’s little to choose between this and Canon’s RF 35mm for centre-sharpness.