Street Photography with the Sony A7iii
Why shooting street photography with a full frame mirrorless camera is a good idea, regardless of brand.
The Sony A7iii is a full frame mirrorless camera and one that many street photographers may pass off as oversized and overpriced. But the advantages of shooting street photography with this camera far outweigh these objections, especially if you’re in the market for a main camera to shoot professionally.
I’ve been shooting exclusively on the Sony A7iii since 2018 for my street photography and professional work. I haven’t written a full review yet and now that we’ve entered 2022, I feel that it’s time I put my thoughts down to see if this could possibly help others if they’re looking to break into the full frame mirrorless world with what is still possibly the best all-around street photography camera in its niche for overall value and performance.
Is the Sony A7iii Too Big for Street Photography?
Let me be upfront about the size and form factor of this camera because there is a subset of street photographers who prefer small compact cameras like the Ricoh GR3. If you’re one of those shooters who wants a camera that can fit in your pocket to take anywhere just like your smartphone, then this camera isn’t for you. In fact, you can forget about any full frame mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses that are on the market as of 2022.
But there’s another subset of street photographers like myself who either don’t mind the hit in the size department or who own a different camera just for street shooting. If you’re in this category, then read on. I’m going to talk about why camera size for some of us street shooters doesn’t matter at all and how the Sony A7iii otherwise outperforms any of the smaller sensor cameras, hands down.
Why wouldn’t I care about size?
The truth is, that I do. There are times that I wish I had a compact camera instead of my smartphone for certain situations. But if you’re a foreigner living in a place like India, as I am, then the size of your street photography camera will likely pay little or no role in how stealthy you can be. That’s because you already stand out more than your camera does, especially if you’re walking around any non-tourist area and taking photos, even with your smartphone. Your high profile as a person who attracts a lot of attention will in a vast majority of cases overshadow your camera’s size advantages. I’m of the opinion then that the Sony A7iii is a perfect fit for photographing subjects in many developing nations whenever safety isn’t an issue. When safety’s a concern, that’s when you want your Ricoh GR or smartphone for the job.
Are there any size advantages then to owning a Sony A7iii compared to DSLRs? The answer is a resounding yes in both size reduction and the amount of space that you need to pack the camera body with a couple of lenses for casual outings. For example, when I first started shooting street photography I didn’t really bother carrying a camera bag a lot of the time for my Canon T3 Rebel DSLR. Maybe I’d take a backpack if I wanted to have my lenses along but my typical outing would only include the body paired with a prime lens like the 24mm or 50mm. The point I want to make is that it wasn’t ever feasible to have a small shoulder bag with extra lenses and accessories along with me because even the smallest of camera bags were bulky when packed with the body and a lens or two. But I can and almost always do carry my Sony A7iii in a small bag because it actually fits well and isn’t as bulky (and is a lot easier on the shoulders).
There are arguments and debates over whether mirrorless camera systems in general aren’t really that much smaller or lighter once you attach a lens to it. In the early days of mirrorless, this was certainly a valid point to make. But these days, there are so many newly-designed compact lenses coming out by camera makers and third parties specifically designed for mirrorless brands. In almost all of these cases, the lenses are smaller and lighter. Does that mean you can stick some of these in your pocket? Of course not. But the size advantage that cameras like the Sony A7iii have over their DSLR counterparts is important enough to note here if you’re someone who likes to pack a small shoulder bag versus a larger one and leave the backpack at home.
Recommended Street Photography Lenses for the Sony A7iii
Let me start by declaring that I’m a prime lens shooter. I currently don’t own a single zoom lens. So if you’re a fan of packing something like a 16-35mm or a 24-70mm lens, then simply search online for options. There used to not be too many choices, but now Sony and third-party makers are filling in the gaps.
If you’re a prime lens shooter, I may be able to help with your full frame mirrorless choices, especially if you’re shooting on the Sony A7iii. Let’s start off with what I own for street photography only:
Samyang 18mm 2.8
Samyang 24mm 2.8
Sigma 35mm 1.4
Sony 50mm 1.8
Sony 85mm 1.8
I’ll start off by saying that the extreme focal lengths in my collection, the 18mm, and 85mm, do have uses in street photography and I highly recommend each of them.
The Samyang 18mm 2.8
The Samyang 18mm 2.8 is a great wide-angle lens for capturing groups of people in enclosed areas or for otherwise capturing large spaces (like wall art) close up. It’s also great as a landscape lens and for achieving that classic wide-angle lens look of a distance subject on the horizon.
Would I recommend it? Yes. The autofocus is decent enough and you don’t really need a wider aperture with this wide of a focal length. There’s also less barrel distortion than I would have thought and what you do get can be corrected in Photoshop or Lightroom.
The Sony 85mm 1.8
The Sony 85mm 1.8 is by far my best-performing lens. The autofocus is simply amazing and its low-light performance is better than any other lenses I’ve used, including its big brother, the 85mm GM. Now, 85mm isn’t really your traditional street photography focal length but I put mine to good use in a lot of my work because the overall look of this bright portrait lens can usually make the dullest of scenes pop.
Would I recommend it? Yes. This is Sony’s best lens for the money. Also, you won’t find a better-performing lens in terms of autofocus in any third-party lens maker as of 2022.
The Sigma 35mm 1.4 ART
The Sigma 35mm 1.4 ART produces the best quality images out of all my lenses. This wide aperture prime produces dreamy images when you open it up all the way to 1.4. I have a couple of issues with it. It’s heavy and its autofocus isn’t that great. It can struggle with moving subjects and it’s even more pronounced in low light situations.
Would I recommend it? No. Not the first iteration of it, the one I own. But Sigma just recently released an updated version of this lens that is both more compact and better performing, according to several reviewers. This is largely due to the fact that Sigma actually designed a new lens for the Sony E-mount line instead of fusing the equivalent of an adapter to make it compatible. My copy is longer because of this.
But let me say for the record, if you want to save some money, Samyang has 35mm 1.8 and 2.8 versions and Tamron has a 35mm 2.8 as of this writing. Any three of these lenses, in my opinion, would work well with the Sony A7iii. I was able to get my hands on a copy of the Tamron when they first released it. It was a nice compact option that performed well in what little time I had with it at the convention.
The Samyang 24mm 2.8
The Samyang 24mm 2.8 is the equivalent of the little engine that could. Samyang and its marketing alter ego, Rokinon, have gotten bad reputations over the years for being cheap, crappy lenses. But I can tell you from experience that this isn’t the case at all, especially when you have their lenses paired with the Sony A7iii.
This lens is the smallest and most compact lens I own. It’s also a great street photography focal length if you’re looking for something different but not too extreme. It’s still a wide-angle lens capable of capturing large spaces close up and you have enough quality and resolution with the Sony A7iii to allow for some cropping when you need it.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. If you had a bit more money in your budget, you may want to consider picking up the newer 24mm 1.8 copy. If you have tons of cash, then the best 24mm prime lens on the market is probably Sony’s 24mm 1.4 GM.
The Sony 50mm 1.8
The Sony 50mm 1.8 is the only nifty fifty that I’ve used on the Sony A7iii to date. So I won’t be able to compare it with anything else I’ve used. But I’ll say upfront that I highly recommend it with the caveat of first comparing it with the new 45mm offerings by Samyang and other third parties. Sony makes a few different versions at much higher prices but for street photography, they’re a little overkill for the price point.
If you’re a Henri Cartier Bresson fan, you can’t go wrong with this 50mm lens. Although I downplay the focal length in my mind at times, this lens produces beautiful images and I use it quite a bit in my Riding Rickshaw project. Recommend it? Yes.
The Sony A7iii Is for Professionals and Street Photography
Since 2018 the vast majority of my photos have been taken on the Sony A7iii. Regardless of whether for portraiture, fine art, documentary, or street photography, the camera has proven to be a reliable tool for me. After looking at the specs of the Sony A7iv, I never seriously considered upgrading. At the pace that Sony’s putting out new models, I’ll likely be happy with this camera until the A7ix appears!
If you have any questions or comments, I encourage you to enter them below. I’m more than happy to answer any queries, especially on any of my street photography workshops in Mumbai.
