These cameras will make you love street photography.
Is it really possible for a camera to make you a better street photographer? You could argue that using a dedicated camera with manual controls will help you hone your skills better and faster than using a smartphone or a compact camera. But does using a manual control camera help you to actually spot interesting images?
Design vs Specs
The Olympus Pen F is a pretty camera that produces pretty images, and it's a good all-rounder. However, it's just about good enough as a street photography camera.
On paper, the absolute pinnacle of street photography technology is the Sony A9 Mark III. It costs a pretty penny but has technically perfect features like a silent global shutter and 120 fps raw shooting, meaning you are never going to miss a moment.
We both agree that the A9 III would be a horrible street photography camera. Going with a camera like that removes so much of the romantic nature of photography.
Street photographers don't want to spend a few grand on an A9 III. Instead, they spend a few grand more on something from Leica with none of the advanced features—no global shutter, no silent shooting, no AI autofocus. We actually want to spend more to have technically less on paper but something that suits the genre much more.
Stripping Back the Experience
Leica and similar cameras all share one thing: they strip back the photography experience. You don't have tools to compensate for mistakes. Instead, you have the bare bones camera, forcing you to use your skills, reaction, and observation.
It feels redundant to carry a camera with 8k video and super high burst modes just for simple street shots. We aspire to a camera as close to the 35 mil film shooting experience as possible when shooting street photography.
A Manual Focus Workaround
Does the Olympus Pen F strip back the experience enough to emulate a Leica? In many cases, no, but in my case, it accidentally does.
I tried to compensate for the Pen F's high used price by buying the cheapest prime lens: the 17 mil f 2.8. It's slow, and honestly, it sounds terrible. Instead of complaining, I use a manual focus workaround to treat this like shooting on a Leica with zone focusing. It's like at least 40% of the Leica experience.
The Zone Focus Method: I set a custom button as my AF/MF toggle. I autofocus on the ground 1.5 to 2 meters ahead at f4 (an f8 full-frame equivalent). Then I switch to manual focus. This deep depth of field allows me to shoot without needing autofocus, using a zone focus setup.
Joy vs Job
A common question is whether it makes sense to use the older PEN-F over a technically superior camera like the a7c2, which has fantastic dynamic range and autofocus.
On paper, the A7C II is the better camera, but I'd much rather take the PEN-F or my Fuji X-T2. The PEN-F is a joy to use compared to my Sony, which honestly just feels like a work camera. When I use the Sony, I feel like I'm on a freelance gig. With the PEN-F and X-T2, I just enjoy shooting. This is an intangible thing that you can't put on paper.
Finally, what is a good enough level of image quality for street photography? It's not numerical. Image quality doesn't just come from the megapixel count. A 10-megapixel super old CCD DSLR in good light will produce images you're happy with. A 100-megapixel medium format in terrible light will make it much harder. At the end of the day, image quality comes down to the individual photos much more than the camera or lens.
