Any SL street photographers around here?

[trickness]

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Hey all! I have an SL2 which I absolutely love, but  until nowI have pretty much dismissed it as a potential street photography camera because of the size and weight of the body. I have been using my Q2M, which is fantastic but obviously a 28 mm focal length and black-and-white only. I’m curious who else might be on the boards here who regularly uses an SL body with either M or SL glass for street, and perhaps we can share some experiences. I had been considering getting an M body just for street, but I wear eyeglasses and seeing the frame lines of anything wider than 50 mm is hard.  So I’m thinking about taking the SL out and just giving it a try. Thanks!

[ajmarton1]

Give it a try. I found the SL too big and heavy and noticeable but that’s when the SL lens selection was limited. I like the Ms for street. But I also wear glasses so I prefer the Sony a1 with the 50mm 1.2 for street. 

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[trickness]

5 minutes ago, ajmarton1 said:

Give it a try. I found the SL too big and heavy and noticeable but that’s when the SL lens selection was limited. I like the Ms for street. But I also wear glasses so I prefer the Sony a1 with the 50mm 1.2 for street. 

Yeah I can’t see myself using SL glass for this. I’ve got a 50 M Lux and a 21 SEM which is what I planned on trying.

[Gavin Cato]

SL2 body with an M lens is still fairly compact. It ain't no Q2 but it's not enormous.

 

[ropo54]

Try the Sigma 45 2.8?

 

[chris_tribble]

Nah… For me M rules for street. One lens (take your pick 21 / 28 / 35 / 50 - it depends on your style and preference) and one body (M4 to M10). Hyperfocal and f8 and off you go… 😎

[trickness]

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1 hour ago, chris_tribble said:

Nah… For me M rules for street. One lens (take your pick 21 / 28 / 35 / 50 - it depends on your style and preference) and one body (M4 to M10). Hyperfocal and f8 and off you go… 😎

Have you tried the SL? I know the capabilities of the M, and the obvious size differences. But you can use and glass and hyperfocal/F8 on an SL body as well. 

[trickness]

1 hour ago, ropo54 said:

Try the Sigma 45 2.8?

 

No need for autofocus, i prefocus with the DOF scale on M glass 😁

[ajmarton1]

3 hours ago, chris_tribble said:

Nah… For me M rules for street. One lens (take your pick 21 / 28 / 35 / 50 - it depends on your style and preference) and one body (M4 to M10). Hyperfocal and f8 and off you go… 😎

Agreed.  But sometimes I just want the AF, especially when I am traveling and want to make sure I nail the shot.  

[Anakronox]

I’ve occasionally taken the SL2 out with either the 35mm or 50mm Summicron-SL.  It’s a bit too big and noticeable, but some of the shots turned out really well.  I’d much rather take a M or Q2/M out.  Even a Mamiya 7 is in my opinion less obtrusive than the SL2.  At least it attracts more curiosity than annoyance. 

[frame-it]

9 hours ago, ropo54 said:

Try the Sigma 45 2.8?

 

for me its the 50mm summilux M, 5.6-8 in the day, and 1.4 in the night

 

[Simone_DF]

9 hours ago, trickness said:

No need for autofocus, i prefocus with the DOF scale on M glass 😁

You can see the DOF scale with L mount lenses too. Set it to manual focus, half depress the shutter, and the top display will show the exact front, in-focus and back focus areas.

With the Sigmas it's perfect because they are as small as the Ms, have an aperture ring and have a AF/MF switch on the lens, which makes switching between AF modes a breeze, especially if you find yourself in need of AF for whatever reason. 

[Simone_DF]

12 hours ago, ajmarton1 said:

Give it a try. I found the SL too big and heavy and noticeable 

Agree on big and heavy, a bit less on noticeable. People will notice you have a camera anyway, regardless of the size. When I had a Sony + 55mm, reactions were the same. People noticed me with a M too. 

And if you go to Africa, India or Asia and you're white (I'm generalizing here), you'll stand out as a sore thumb, people noticed me even before I had time to take out my camera, and at that point it doesn't make any difference.

Edited October 13, 2021 by Simone_DF

[Chris Nebard]

The SL2-S (with a wrist strap) and the Sigma 45 is now my main street camera. Carrying it all day,  along with my Q and Summarit 75 in a small shoulder bag, gives me a portable set-up that I’m very comfortable with. That lens range is perfect for street (for me) and more than compact enough - I spent years using my old Nikon D700. I’ll never knock the wonderful M range but I’m at the stage where autofocus plus the M/F assist functions of the SL2-S are beneficial. And those little Sigmas are perfect on it. The 45 has transformed the user experience for me. 

[Ken Abrahams]

When I do colour street photography, I use the SL 601 with M lenses. Its not too bad at all, I dont have any issues when using it. In fact the SL2 and SL2s have ibis which would is great for doing motion/blurred subjects while the background is sharp. I would love one for Street Photography.  I love colour work however I like Monochrome even better so I have M10M and M9M for that. 

Best

Ken

[chris_tribble]

All good points above.  For street you can, infact, use anything you want from box brownie through to twin lens reflex (http://www.vivianmaier.com/), Hasselblad, or an SLR, with the M being a great option.  The key thing seems to be how you stand, how you merge with the space around you.  I've used the SL and SL2 in urban settings and it's been fine - just a bit bulky and heavy for a day out.  For grab shots the fast AF on the SL2 sometimes gives you more chances of success than an M.  Ahhh... it's all relative 🙃

[trickness]

2 hours ago, Ken Abrahams said:

When I do colour street photography, I use the SL 601 with M lenses. Its not too bad at all, I dont have any issues when using it. In fact the SL2 and SL2s have ibis which would is great for doing motion/blurred subjects while the background is sharp. I would love one for Street Photography.  I love colour work however I like Monochrome even better so I have M10M and M9M for that. 

Best

Ken

Ahhh, but those rumors about an impending SL2 monochrome…..

[trickness]

2 hours ago, chris_tribble said:

All good points above.  For street you can, infact, use anything you want from box brownie through to twin lens reflex (http://www.vivianmaier.com/), Hasselblad, or an SLR, with the M being a great option.  The key thing seems to be how you stand, how you merge with the space around you.  I've used the SL and SL2 in urban settings and it's been fine - just a bit bulky and heavy for a day out.  For grab shots the fast AF on the SL2 sometimes gives you more chances of success than an M.  Ahhh... it's all relative 🙃

Yeah I found that the Q2M is so easy to use for street because it weighs nothing and it’s so easy to prefocus and obviously at F8 at 28 gives you tons of depth of field, having something light that you don’t think about has its advantages. I haven’t really even considered using auto focus for street photography because I think it’s blasphemy 😂

[geotrupede]

SL2S with f16 with a 28 is good for street, pre focus 1m and attack. the M is better for ergonomics but the SL has more features like high frame rate (if you want to machine gun) and the ISO which helps keeping shutter speeds > 1000 in most situation (at f 16). so you basically are invincible. if BW is your thing, the monochrome has better and finer grain. the SL2S is a bit like a Tmax400, the other is more like neopan but both quite good in different ways. monochrom has my preference but that is me. SL is a lot of fun with the most odd lenses you can imagine and find...

G

 

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[Steven]

I use my sl2s and M lenses (exclusively) for street photography 365 days a year. It’s a great camera. It can do it all. 
when I can’t be bothered with the size, I’ll bring a film or digitale M along.