Ideal focal length for street/docu work?

[Oronare]

Hello all.

I am a University photography student and am really getting into Street work recently.

I have three lenses I usually use but can't obviously flick between them when out on the busy streets trying to capture that 'decisive moment'

The three I mostly use are;

nikkor 15mm ultra wide angle prime
nikkor 24mm prime
nikkor 55mm prime

Now, I mostly use my FM2 in which case please advise based on that, but i occasionally shoot using my D200, in which case they will all be around 24mm, 35mm and 80mm because of the Sensor cropping.

thanks a lot.

 

[usayit]

Focal length is as personal thing as a painter choosing materials and paint brush. Just like there is no one exposure setting, there is no single focal length to choose.

My personal favorite focal length is 24mm (maybe a 21mm on a crop)... A good amount of DOF to work with, easy to visualize, can be handheld at pretty slow shutters.

 

[table1349]

While I prefer primes over zooms for urban shooting I prefer the 16-35 f2.8L. The zoom provides that range of focal lengths with out the hassle of changing lenses. Don't know if Nikon has something similar in focal length and IQ or not though.

 

[Oronare]

While I prefer primes over zooms for urban shooting I prefer the 16-35 f2.8L. The zoom provides that range of focal lengths with out the hassle of changing lenses. Don't know if Nikon has something similar in focal length and IQ or not though.

There is a Nikkor 16-85mm f3.5 on the market which would cover the wider angles of 16-35 but still have that 50mm range too.

I wish i had the £400 for that lens right now

I actually get £500 in scholarship in December, so I might treat myself.

 

[skieur]

I use a tilt screen, live view and a 2.8 18mm to 50mm zoom for some street work and a 70mm to 300mm when I am working from a greater distance.

skieur

 

[gsgary]

The master Garry Winogrand used a 28mm on film