Panasonic LX7 with the Pentax K-5 + FA43 thrown in for good measure. I also brought the Pentax Q but the LX7 got the bulk of the workout. The Panny’s fast zoom makes it well suited to street work, from a fast and wide 24mm F1.4 to a still fast telephoto 90mm F2.3 that lets me reach across the narrow streets of Chinatown for candid shots:
I’ve got it set up to step zoom through the traditional focal lengths (24, 28, 35, 50, 70, 90). One thing that I wish it had was a way to customize the steps. I’d like to, for example, have just three steps – 24, 50, 90) or some other combination and have the camera quickly move between them. Camera speed is critical of course in this kind of photography because moments come and go like that.
This one’s with the Pentax K-5 and the FA43.
More LX7. I think that I actually prefer smaller sensors for this type of work as the deep DOF lets you create photos with lot so stuff to look at – layers that convey the density of eye candy in a place like this.
This for example was 90mm F2.3 and I was able to capture everything from the foreground silhouette to the awnings across Mulberry Street in focus.
As to the Pentax Q, it more or less stayed in the bag until the LX7’s battery drained. I used it for a spell, but the 02 Zoom is kit-zoom slow, and while the 01 Prime (47mm F1.9) is a peach, the flexibility of a fast zoom is a real asset. Had I used the 01 Prime I would have worked very differently to get shot and ultimately had a very different set.
And the K-5? It’s still a joy to use. There’s something comforting about using a camera that’s so responsive and so good in low light and can take so many photos on a single charge. Chinatown is one of those places where there’s so much going on and so many tourists with cameras that you can raise a camera to your eye and still be more or less unnoticed. Except for this fellow that really didn’t want his photo taken.
I’m imagining that he’s got an issue with immigration or he could just be shy. In either case, he was on the street and I had a legal right to photograph, but as you can see, I did cross over a line. It’s one of those situations that evolves right in front of your eyes and only after you are walking away (I barely broke stride as I took this photo with the K-5) do you start to process what just happened.