{"id":106276,"date":"2018-07-30T23:01:28","date_gmt":"2018-07-31T06:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=106276"},"modified":"2018-07-30T23:02:34","modified_gmt":"2018-07-31T06:02:34","slug":"the-best-cheap-cameras-for-street-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/30\/the-best-cheap-cameras-for-street-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"The Best Cheap Cameras for Street Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Street photography<\/a> is great because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the most affordable, open, and democratic form of photography out there. All you need is a cheap camera, the desire to walk and explore, and your own confidence to shoot! Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I consider the best cheap cameras for street photography:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

I. Digital Cameras<\/h1>\n

1. RICOH GR II<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Small, sharp, and epic. RICOH GR II is probably the best affordable street photography camera, and also the best street photography camera in general<\/a>! Super sharp 28mm lens<\/a>, always with you, and has a lovely integrated flash<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Get the RICOH GR II and the ERIC KIM NECK STRAP<\/a> (fits RICOH GR II) and call it a day. Shoot it in RAW and use ERIC KIM MONOCHROME 1600 preset<\/a> for a lovely gritty monochrome aesthetic.<\/p>\n

\"eric-kim-photography-Cindy-Project-black-and-white-12-self-portrait-ricohgr-car\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Hanoi <\/a> <\/div>
\"Eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pointing\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Distortion <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Eric <\/a> <\/div>
\"Sunset\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Abstract\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"walking <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eyes <\/a> <\/div>
\"kyoto <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Hanoi, <\/a>
Hanoi, 2016 \/ shot digital RICOH GR II. I still like the way the photo looks. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Side <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"amsterdam-2015-ricohgr-doll-girl-eric-kim-street-photograpy-black-and-white-monochrome-141911454261.jpg\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"man <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Some of my favorite Tokyo photos on RICOH GR II (in color, with positive film JPEG high contrast setting):<\/p>\n

\"A641D558-4278-4EA8-8276-F453BC350CB7\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"833F6EBA-B246-4BE4-B456-26CAE6294058\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"653956A7-1A59-4229-8128-B7DF9BB6E002\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"B51619DA-830D-46C6-A557-517C4BCEA222\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"488DC18F-86E3-448A-89A0-6754D49E7E73\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"3F13B59A-9049-40EC-8296-98A0A554A143\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"B1B61BAB-F232-4693-9232-64593954525F\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"6A3C4806-58CE-4F67-B7BA-AAD877D70BE2\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"F4183936-32A8-4E9E-8211-0F9AED82E8DB\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"4C271B47-2C2A-4F75-9D5D-DBDB2DA6E817\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"41A7E3C7-FA56-4AC6-8A15-CB738D3F75B3\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"237CE6F4-0252-46C5-95A5-C6ADED48A04B\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"EE5848BB-1432-4506-AC92-C43EDE730AB3\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"DA5F2ECE-6BD6-42F2-BCFC-1D3818DCD87F\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"2EAE148E-757C-49BF-865A-ECF877FD7290\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"883FC2D6-646E-4DDB-87B5-9114130A0CF1\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"933EF2CB-A842-4654-87C3-AEA3DD965C27\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"E7D04526-FD65-4EFB-BDD4-39B257E732DE\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"73468918-D7E1-4E81-BC36-2BC7653C7F26\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"452931D9-65BA-4DB0-87EA-2EA2E2BF296D\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"CF6B3E81-69E5-4647-93EF-B84380D1FC42\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"B27F93A5-C391-4C11-BDF1-25B65398FE26\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"9B610CA2-1334-478D-81F2-00030908515D\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"077ECA13-FBAE-4AED-8433-2B33C0563CEE\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"8A95E5B8-C3FE-4695-861B-F31F0BCA1803\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"1B4FF9C0-DC62-4278-8120-49F2236E609C\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"758EB7B8-9369-4BA3-B505-C0E1E01A2F31\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"A0C49320-6F7F-438B-90F7-2852E3E62BB6\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"53D3228A-E2D2-4CAD-A227-72F82096F2D3\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"1A3D1335-6CF5-41D3-9474-216A976C8787\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"7AD901E5-048A-4857-B1D9-B1837964C6A0\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"C95EFA89-861C-4F62-81CB-958C4EE12376\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"6B5EAB65-3F27-44C6-A50D-B4D7E07283C1\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"B050376C-76E4-4F27-B199-D664C5A7A100\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"D6BC1198-6E4F-447E-8193-FA27A5B03842\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"40725647-8AB0-4534-9274-50CDA0EB7C94\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Old <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"FA5DA9B4-307A-417F-9792-C06CDF9D1BC2\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"2D4A0A52-0BB2-4F81-A5A9-DB9F397A8257\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"86683047-338A-4389-8B4B-E8C7F6E63818\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"503B264A-05C9-496D-A13A-2B7FFCFB1684\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"64679CDA-3C30-4B8F-BC4C-685D8042E342\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"DCDB754A-5F37-4AFE-9DC3-C28C20DE3B92\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"77ED2DDD-07ED-4C44-94CC-4487338CDCE2\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"35F6D8FB-7867-416D-A979-F07CB06F5D85\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n
\n

2. LUMIX LX100<\/a><\/h2>\n
\"Selfie
Selfie with Lumix LX100 and GoPro mounted. Osaka, 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Lumix LX100<\/a> is a fantastic camera by Panasonic. Sharp integrated 24mm lens<\/a>, and really good for color photography!<\/p>\n

\"Yellow
Yellow and red selfie abstract. Osaka, 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The autofocus for the LX100 is super fast, accurate, and I’m actually a huge fan of micro 4-3rds. It also shoots really great video, which is good for vlogging<\/a> or youtube. I shot a lot of street photography in Osaka<\/a> with it recently, and loved it!<\/p>\n

\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n
\n

II. Film Cameras<\/h1>\n

1. Ricoh GR1-series cameras<\/h2>\n
\"Amsterdam,
Amsterdam, 2012. Shot on a point-and-shoot film Ricoh GR1s<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thanks to my buddy Bellamy Hunt from Japan Camera Hunter<\/a> for
\nteaching me about film. I personally love the Ricoh GR1-series film pocket cameras. If you can find one in decent condition used, it is probably one of the best ‘bang for the buck’ film compact cameras.<\/p>\n

I shot my entire grandfather’s funeral<\/a> on it, with Neopan 400 film, pushed to 1600:<\/p>\n

\"\"
Some chinese calligraphy done by my grandfather in his study<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
From the doorway, looking into my grandfather’s study<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
My grandfather’s grave, from my “Grandfather” series. Busan, 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Self-portrait of myself from my “Grandfather” series. Busan, 2013<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Busan,
Busan, 2013. Old portrait drawing of my grandfather.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Busan, 2013. Part of my “Grandfather” series.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Busan, 2013. From my “Grandfather” series<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"
Seoul, 2012<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Phone Cameras for Street Photography<\/h1>\n

Pretty exciting time for smartphone street photography<\/a> as well, here are some good options:<\/p>\n

1. iPhone SE<\/a><\/h2>\n

iPhone SE<\/a> has the (same camera as the iPhone 6s) — only $349 (unlocked!!!) Process your photos with A6 in VSCO<\/a>, and call it a day!<\/p>\n

2. Android Street Photography Cameras<\/h2>\n

For Android, the best image quality is the Google Pixel. It uses HDR+<\/a> and ‘computational photography<\/a>‘ for phenomenal image quality! Other good options include the OnePlus<\/a> ones (you can also get the Google HDR+ camera on it, with a hack).<\/p>\n

Some street photos I’ve shot on phones:<\/p>\n

\"eric-kim-street-photography-lg-g4-smartphone-1.jpg\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"Orange <\/a>
Orange County, 2015. LG G4 <\/div> <\/div>
\"Flight <\/a>
Flight from Saigon to Singapore, 2018. Shot on Samsung S7 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Paris, <\/a>
Paris, 2015. Galaxy S6 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Prague, <\/a>
Prague, 2014. Shot on a Samsung S6 <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric-kim-phone-photography-2-12-800x800\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"ANNETTE <\/a>
ANNETTE KIM: Visual Artist <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Shot <\/a>
Shot on a phone. <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Toys <\/a>
Toys R US. Shot on phone. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with hb2 preset <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with c1 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with hb2 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Head <\/a>
Head tattoo. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Processed <\/a>
Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Oakland, <\/a>
Oakland, 2016 <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric-kim-photography-smartphone-android-street7\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric-kim-photography-smartphone-android-street8\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric-kim-photography-smartphone-android-street12\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n
\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n
\"0-hanoi1360996952.jpg\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric-kim-photography-cindy-project-hanoi-00119611177279185.jpg\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"eric-kim-street-photography-hanoi-5732251228.jpg\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric-kim-black-and-white-street-photography-hanoi-0012086-2 <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"eric <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Ultimately recognize you’re happiest when you’re in the creative flow of making stuff; of creation<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Use a small, affordable, and cheap camera to shoot– and spend the rest of your money on experiences<\/a>, travel<\/a>, education, books<\/a>, workshops<\/a>, and ultimately — invest in yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And remember our STREET CLUB MOTTO:<\/p>\n

\n JUST SHOOT IT.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

ERIC<\/p>\n

See all equipment ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Street photography is great because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the most affordable, open, and democratic form of photography out there. All you need is a cheap camera, the desire to walk and explore, and your own confidence \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":83018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-posts"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/happy-ricoh-eric-kim-annette-kim.jpeg?fit=1000%2C548&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106276"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106280,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106276\/revisions\/106280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}