David, David, David .... <sigh> (Comments interspersed) > As in most cases, Shel, I agree with your analysis.
This is a very wise approach, for rarely am I wrong, although I often go against the crowd <g>. > However, I'm not sure that I understand your > reasoning as to why a prime should be deemed > better for street shooting than a zoom other > than perhaps its size and weight could > give it some advantage over a larger zoom. Well, size and weight are often critical components in the overall package when one is out shooting on the street. Smaller size plays another factor besides speed - it allows the camera and the photographer to be less intrusive and yet work closer to people. Smaller lenses and cameras aren't as intimidating as larger lenses and cameras. Faster primes allow for faster focusing (with MF gear) and allow greater control of DOF, which allows for a more varied look to the photographs. > On my MZ-S the AF zooms I use are extremely easy > to use and, in my opinion, add to street shooting > since they allow me to approach some subjects even < closer than I could with a prime without getting > into their personal space. That goes to personal style, as I implied earlier. A zoom doesn't allow ~you~ to get closer, rather, it allows you to stay further away from the subject while allowing you to use the tele end of the lens. The result is that your perspective is limited to the longer focal length if that's how you shoot. Of course, with that noisy MZ-S with auto winder, getting close may cause the people you're photographing to turn and run when the film advances to the next frame. I say this only half in jest- there is a smiley in there somewhere. > I will admit, however, that that big, 77mm > "eye" pointed at someone can be somewhat > intimidating and hard to disguise. Smaller lenses don't have as much need to be disguised ;-)) > I'm heading to Italy in two weeks and plan on taking > nothing by my 28-70 and 20-35. I'll see what happens. How big are those lenses? What's their aperture? > As to enlargement size, I regularly go to > 11x14 and frequently 16x20 and am > very pleased with what I get in return. We can discuss this point all day, but without seeing your results and knowing what satisfies you, there's no way to know the quality of your prints. Describing the quality of a photograph, or anything, with just words leaves much to be desired. > As to the varifocal issue, with today's > AF capabilities even on the most basic cameras, > the time it takes to compose, focus, zoom, > re-focus with a zoom lens generally should always > be far faster than compose, focus, CHANGE > LENS, re-compose, re-focus with a prime. This assumes that one wants to change the focal length. Most "street shooters" that I've encountered go out with one to three cameras, and shoot with a particular focal length. Juan and I went shooting on Sunday, and based on where we were and the subjects we were focusing on, we agreed it was a wide to normal kind of day. I was using two bodies, one with a 35mm and the other with a 50mm. Juan was using two bodies, one with a 24mm and the other with a 50mm. We both had longer lenses but they weren't appropriate. The difference, I think, is that we knew what we wanted, and weren't just hunting for subjects. What we wanted to photograph required lenses in the range we chose. Speaking only for myself, I don't try to capture every Kodak Moment, but rather, work by focusing on the subject matter that I went out originally to photograph. Believe me, lots of good photos get passed by, but the quality of what I do get may be improved because the shooting day is specifically directed. > BTW, Shel - I don't care what anybody says, > I don't think you look anything like Hannibal > Lecter. Which "Hannibal Lecter" am I supposed to look like? > I was thinking more along the lines > of Abby Hoffman, but, of course, that's just > my opinion! If you're basing your opinion on a 30+ year old photo, I'd suggest that your opinion is wrong <g>. -- Shel Belinkoff mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/pow/enter_pow.html - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
