You can consider it the second hands on review of the newly purchased lens. Yesterday I have been to a nearby barrio with the Canon Rebel and the 24mm lens. I share with you some photos and thoughts.

I am happy with the results achieved yesterday. I feel like I'm already taking measurements for this lens and in fact the photos I'm about to share here are much better than the first test. As I expected, and is the reason why I decided to buy this lens, the nature of pancake allows me a more peaceful approach with people. I decided to make this second hands on review in a popular neighborhood, where people is not used to see a guy with a DSLR camera.

Compared to the first test, I was also able to count on a much more friendly light and this contributed to achieve better photos.

Guys, this is my kind of lens. Exactly how the pancake lens of my Olympus Pen (eq. 34mm) was or the fixed lens of the Leica X2 (eq. 36mm). This pancake is an equivalent 38.4mm, because the sensor by Canon you have a multiplying factor of 1.6. This means very less distortion that makes this lens good for my kind of street photography and for portraits on the fly.

Please note: all the work is JPG straight from the camera, with a little adjustement in post production, as I am used to do.

I only got so close because I was tied up. And in any case, after the dog was quieter, loose and without a muzzle.

Entering the barrio is always, in some way, particular. I have a camera. And I still have to blend in. I don't hide what I do. I am calm. And this will benefit my body language.

For me, offering an overview of the place is a constituent part of the documentation. A landscape approach that has helped me in recent years to present life as it is here in Mexico. And that for two years, with the talk of the pandemic, has offered an opportunity for understanding what the human and therefore social condition is like in our barrios.

I'm interested in how the lens behaves in this light. I try to make good compositions and provide content, but I am also testing the newly bought lens to see if I can maintain consistency with respect to my photography, to what I normally do with the other camera.

As an observer of humanity I am interested in gestures. Photographing gestures corresponds to photographing where something is happening.

Shooting with a DSLR comes with some inherent difficulties when it comes to street photography. This is the reason why the advent of mirrorless cameras is a blessing for many photographers, myself included. Photographing, however, with a wide angle lens allows you to shoot even without doing it with the eye perpetually in the viewfinder. Shooting from the hip is not a shame: it allows me to make a lot of street photos that, otherwise, would be not possible.

The atmosphere and the feeling I have to give you of being there is fundamental. I don't believe in overly constructed photos. I rather believe in instinct and in recognizing in infinitesimals of a second the potential that a certain image can possess.

Street Photography is different from all the other genres. It is the same difference with the urban sports like parkour, BMX, skateboard and the classic sports.

It is about trying the camera as in a snapshot that allows me to create images that fit my way of reacting to what is in front of me. And yesterday, much more than the first shots taken, I can say I have this certainty. For this reason I already consider the test of this combo passed.

I deal a lot with certain dynamisms as a photographer. The layers allow me to justify certain observations in a clear way, making evident what my vision is.

Taking up a DSLR to make street photography today is an act of rebellion against certain marketing dynamics. And also as a blogger this accounts for my courage.

Compared to 15 years ago when I was doing street photography with a digital SLR (Nikon D40/D60) I am I am a completely different photographer: much more experienced and aware.

As a communicator and speaker of photographic culture I say: guys, here it is. As you can see, you can take an old DSLR and do a great work. Buy a used camera, you have no excuses. Yes, Street photography can be done with a camera released in 2011.

In this sense I appreciate Leica because despite the many new proposals it is a brand that still has respect for its old cameras. Believe me, I did have business relationships with almost all brands and I know what I'm talking about.

If I can also achieve consistency on an aesthetic level, then I feel powerful.

As I said, my work as a photographer is very characterized by wanting to give the feeling of the place. Also for this reason my photography is of the realist type, with little post production, anchored to reality rather than the unreal.

I push a lot during a work of this type. With the conception of verifying how the lens and the camera behave, I don't mean to force the shots, but in any case it is a less thoughtful approach and rather aimed at having a number of images to be evaluated then in front of my computer.

The light was precious. As you can see.

In wanting to offer a faithful portrait of the place, the barrio comes to meet me in its essence. Personally I love this kind of shots, apparently simple, but absolutely revealing of that essence I'm looking for.

I stop and take three shots. The ones you see above.

From the observation of a particular scene I can have a look and a reflection of the place.

The management of the light by the lens is what interests me.

It does it in a gentle way that positively surprises me.

Exactly what I said above. The shadow rests delicately on the objects and this makes the image pleasant to look at.

The last shot is a little pulled away. Unbalanced composition.

I propose it for the light.

Some notes

This is a really great lens with which I will take off a lot of satisfaction.

Shooting in the barrio with a DSLR, compared to what I thought, was not too much of a problem. I will be using it a lot in the near future. This is a camera that I have not even paid for and simply traded for the Pentax.

Respect to the first hand on review I think to have realized better photos. And the feeling is that it will get better and better.

The Canon EFS 24mm f2.8 Pancake lens is the best budget lens. Small, inexpensive, and sharp.A very great lens for candid and documentary street photography. I used this time only AF that I found it very accurate.

A day in the barrio with Canon Rebel T3 and EFS 24mm f2.8 Pancake Lens

Humanist and realist at the center of the approach

The essence of a Street Photography blog