Street photography is a tricky beast. Many prefer the 35mm or 50mm focal length, others prefer 28mm. Some even opt for an 85mm. Some prefer to use a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, maybe even a rangefinder with mobile phones such as iPhones becoming more and more popular for street photography.
Standing in a busy street corner taking photos and no one batted an eye
Street photographers tend to lean towards smaller cameras. Hence the popularity of Fuji & Ricoh cameras among street photographers. The smaller the better, and it doesn’t get smaller than iPhones. They’re more camera and less phone now. A highly capable and unobtrusive camera that you take every where with you, that’s the dream.
Like all art forms, gear doesn’t matter, gear does however play an important role in how artists are able to articulate their vision.
One day it hit me that an iPhone could take “real” street photographs. I left the house to take photos and after taking around 10 photos my cameras battery died, I reached into my pocket to replace the battery only to realize I had left extra batteries at home. After a few moments of dread, I pulled out my iPhone opened an excellent app called Halide (which shoots RAW) and started photographing. The next few hours were incredibly liberating, plus I got some nice photographs that when compared to those taken with a camera, were indistinguishable when printed.
A mix of photographs taken on an iPhone and with a larger mirrorless camera. In print form they become indistinguishable from one another.
Taken in a Sufi shrine. A larger camera would’ve bruised the scene with the sound of a shutter.
Small unobtrusive cameras are incredibly convenient when it comes to photographing people in public.
Most of my photographs are taken using a Fuji X-Pro 1 or a Ricoh GR2, over the last coupe of years I have gotten into the habit of shooting more and more with my iPhone. It goes everywhere, shots at 28mm and supports RAW. Seems like a perfect street photography camera! Just like mirrorless cameras were liberating coming form DSLRs, smart phones like iPhones have allowed myself and others to photograph moments that otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to.
Plus, with advancements in computational photography you can take some really great portrait photographs at using the wide and telephoto cameras.
Moral of the story, don’t let anyone tell you that you need a dedicated camera to shot photos, your mobile phone will be good enough!