The better way to work with Canon EOS M200 on the street
I've been using this discreet little camera for a while. I have experimented and worked in different ways and now I think to have the best solution to work with a camera that is fantastic for street photography, so I want to share it with my readers.
A PREMISE
There is no superior method or absolute method to make photography. For how much effort we can do this fits from case to case, from photographer to photographer. And any camera is different in this sense. I believe that for this reason too photography fascinates me so much.
Speaking specifically of this camera, when I decided to buy it, I wanted a camera that I could use more automatically, which would allow me to concentrate rather on the scene and therefore the content and composition without thinking excessively about the exposure parameters. I was drawn to the idea of an extremely compact mirrorless that had a lens that was my favorite focal distance. Something really small, manageable, which allowed me to go to certain areas of the city without attracting too much attention. A camera for my street photography, above all. Obviously this camera turned out to be a really good choice for me. I bought the 22mm lens which I have never removed from that moment. I erased the Canon logo making it even more black and stealthy.
OPERATIVELYl
I have experimented a lot, using it in different ways. Let’s see the differences:
FULL MANUAL
Completely in manual you can and I used the zone focus technique which is recommended for the street, but it is not ideal.This is because the lens is not really designed for that and even the same camera doesn’t allow me to work comfortable. This means that the error rate is very high. It can be fun, sometimes, but definitely not the best way to work with this camera. You have to change the parameters all the time and this is not working when you are on the street making street photography.
SHUTTER SPEED PRIORITY
It works fine, most of the time. I really used the camera a lot that way. But I have a problem with the program of this camera: it is really too much oriented to open the aperture for my taste. This way of working converts my photography into something overly cinematic with an exaggeratedly small focus range. While some photographs can make use of great scenic effect, others definitely don't work.
APERTURE PRIORITY
Yes, in the end, with some precautions, this is the way to go with this camera. At least for my way to photograph. If I want to have crispy and clear images I have to work this way. I almost always keep the opening at f8 during the day. And 1600 ISO allows me to count with a sensitivity always ready for shadows areas and light areas. The shrewdness I have to have is to push the exposure compensation two stops in order to fool the camera to have almost always a faster shutter speed. In fact, it should be borne in mind that Canon at least for this camera did not expect to be able to control the minimum shutter speed, like other mirrorless cameras have. This exposes more to blurred photos. Exposure compensation combined with high ISO forces the camera to tighten the shutter more closely.
ABOUT ISO
This is not a camera where I recommend automatic ISOs. Although I have also experimented with governing only the aperture or only the times, and this despite knowing that in semi-automatic mode it is always advisable to leave only one parameter of the exposure triangle to the automatic control. I wouldn't even mind letting the camera do the most, I wouldn't feel less a photographer. But as long as I get the photos I want and this is not possible with Canon EOS M200 and certain ways of exposing.
ABOUT MY CHOICE
I have questioned myself a lot throughout this period and have experienced a lot. I change and maybe I will change in the future. But I came to the conclusion that opening priority is also a choice that is really consistent with my career as a photographer which is often linked to portrait photography. Opening priority is in fact my choice when I work professionally for books of models, singers, actresses. And if we talk about the street, I am still oriented towards humanity. Even when I do street photography many times I find myself taking portraits of people, in a sort of Pecker approach which has always been the core of my photographic pace.
SOME NOTES
This is what I believe is better for my way to photograph and using this camera. After all this time of use I think I have some degree of authority to be able to express myself on the Canon EOS M200. That is pretty far to be a perfect camera, but…what camera is the perfect camera?
That said, of course, there will also be Canon EOS M200 users who will completely disagree with me and have their own method, which works great for them. Photography is a personal matter and the way to do it is too. But I'm also curious about how others work with this camera. So Canon EOS M users just feel you free to comment this post, and let me know.
