Street Photography and a Sigma 50 mm DG HSM lens go hand-in-hand for the street photographer looking to increase their street prowess.
The art of urban street photography takes time. It’s an art that can be taken to the heady heights of the masters – in order to get there you need dedication, persistence and good equipment.
Good street photography comes from the heart, but yes, we do need the equipment. That’s why I mention this particular lens; the Sigma, 50 mm, DSG HSL.
I’ve used various lenses for my street photography around Berlin, Madrid, and Sevilla. Long ago, I went with the Nifty-Fifty Canon. A 50 mm lens that comes with the camera.
It was when I started to ask questions that I got the cold hard answers that I needed to hear. Surely it’s a prime lens too – isn’t that good enough?
Well, not really. It’s cool if you’re starting out, but you’ve got to ramp it up at some point. Get serious about wanting the results from street photography that you dream of.
I’ve used the Canon 28 mm – 105 mm lens. The 55mm Canon lens, the Nifty-Fifty 50 mm, and I’ve also got a great Sigma lens for my crop sensor Canon Rebel, the 17 mm – 50 mm. All of these lenses have something interesting to great about them, maybe not the 55mm Canon crop lens. It’s a little too basic and has a few vignetting problems and distortion that puts it outside of any serious street photography work.
I keep going back to the 50 mm Sigma lens for Canon.
When I use the Canon 24 mm to 105 mm, it’s fine, but the Sigma lens quality and its rock solid build is first class.
You can’t beat the glass quality, the body is metal built. It’s slightly heavier than all of the plastic bodied Canon versions of 50 mm, but it fits well in the hand, and gives stability to your shots.
I carry my canon 5D,Sigma 50 mm DG HSM attached, in my hand, free of a strap – I don’t like being hindered by a shoulder strap flapping around my hands. Maybe it’s an accident waiting to happen.
It’s a high-performance lens for outstanding imaging quality and that’s what an urban street photography is looking for – you’ll find that quality in the Sigma 50 mm DG HSM Lens.
You know as well as I do, “get close” is an axiom in street photography. Well, that’s right. And the Sigma 50 mm will allow you to do just that without risk of distortion. I often find that I need little to no adjustment in post processing to vignetting or perspective.
I’m one of these photographers who loves to play with the idea of pulling perspectives – but not by accident. The Sigma lens can give you a crystal clear, tack sharp finish. It’s beyond Canon’s range of glass and body quality. And even though I’ll always sell lenses that I’ve grown out of, I won’t be selling any of my Sigma lenses any time soon.
The Sigma 17 mm – 50 mm I mentioned, does a great job too. If I want a day out in street photography and I am thinking black and white, wider angle than 50 mm, then I’ll grab the crop sensor Canon Rebel and the Sigma 17 mm – 50 mm lens. It’s a lightweight body with top quality glass.
I take my street photos according to my feel of the day. That could be black and white, and for some reason my brain goes all 35mm. It’s a strange thing when I notice that without a thought, I adjust the composition to 35 mm, close enough, and get the broad looking street shot that I want. variety is the spice and salt of life on the street.
Both lenses give all the choices I need. I don’t pine for anything else but, maybe, a 35 mm prime lens from Sigma – that’ll be in the post one of these days.
And here’s one of the main reasons why I say Sigma 50 mm lens is the best for street photography.
Street photographers are bent towards the art and creativity side of photography. Composition, light and darkness, colour and a damned good frame is what we seek.
But there’s something else that a Sigma 50 mm DG HSM Lens will deliver without a doubt – textures.
This lens has such a powerful ability to focus at tack sharp angles, that we pick up textures and grains, light and shadows, like nobody’s business. Texture is expressive of the light and darkness, the play of colours, and the forms that create the beautiful images we capture. Sigma lens glass does this, it’s probably the best glass on the market. It’s wildly beyond any Nifty-Fifty, and definitely beats Canon’s range of lens glass.
These days, I’d rather take my Sigma canon lens with me than the Canon 24mm- 105 mm. It’s just an obvious choice for a street photographer.
Top-Features of the Sigma 50 MM Lens
- Standard lens
- Lens mount: Canon EF
- Aperture 1.4
- Fixed focal length
- Min. focus distance: 40 cm
- Filter thread: 77 mm
You can buy from the list below – it’s always your choice at the end of the day. Buying lenses is an important part of developing yourself as a street photographer, so make the w´right choice and don’t hesitate to get the Sigma 50 mm lens to up your game as an urban photographer.
The links below are affiliate links, this means that when make a purchase I receive a small commission on the sale – it has no effect on the end price for you. One photographer helping another is a good thing, I hope you discover the help that I offer to be the choice in your Sigma lens purchase.
Sigma 35 MM f/1.4 DG HSM Camera Lens
Sigma 17-50 mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM Lens – 77 mm Filter Thread
Canon 28 mm – 105 mm Canon Lens
