For street photography in London you need a kit that is discrete enough to put your subject at ease (for reportage shots) and professional looking enough to be taken seriously (when asking permission for street portraits).
The prime lenses are small and the lens filters protect them
The equipment I use for street photography is build around speed and ruggedness:
1. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2
2. Panasonic Lumix 14mm f/2.5
4. Hoya HMC Haze UV(C) Filter
5. Panasonic DMW CGK3 Black leather case for GF2 by Panasonic
6. SanDisk Extreme HD 16 GB SDHC
7. Icebreaker Merino T Shirt
My kit is small enough to fit into the pockets of a street jacket. No camera bag required.
The layers you wear when out taking photos are more important than you’d expect. You want to blend in, look safe, look sharp and be invisible. All at the same time. You also want to be warm enough or cool enough whatever the weather. Over the years I’ve settled on Merino t-shirts as the anchor in my street shooting kit.
Most of my merino t-shirts are from New Zealand brand Icebreaker
Merino tops are worn by cyclists and mountaineers because they work as well in hot climates as in cold ones. I’m constantly surprised at how much better a merino t-shirt feels in summer than a cotton one.
You can check out my full street photography kit on Amazon at:
London Street Photo 
I also use the very good Panasonic black leather case when using the 14 mm; can you tell me if the new X 14-45 mm zoom lens fits in it ?
i want to become a street photographer. i have a fujifilm finepix t200 camera.
Keep taking LOTS of pictures… be brave and get amongst it. I’ve been shooting for 51 years, just upgraded my GF1 to a GX1 plus LVF2 (I love it!) with 2 new primes 14mm & 20mm, and am in a wonderul place creatively. Other than that I use a Leica film camera. But I’m “old-skool” 😎 and that’s a whole other story 😎
The GX1 will do 24×20 inches naturally with exceptional quality. As much as you will ever need. Don’t be convinced by far too many you need a Canon 5D III or 7D. Best wishes.
With all the new camera is this still the one you would recommend? How does the screen work in bright lights since there is no viewfinder?
These days I like the GX1 if you can afford it, the OMD if you want a viewfinder and the GF3 as a smart/cheap purchase. But the gf2 is a bit of an under appreciated classic. If you can get it cheap with a 14mm then go for it!
Thanks!
I agree wholeheartedly! Just upgraded and about to buy another body, plus keep the GF1 handy as a backup 😎 BUT the LVF1 (for GF1) and LVF2 for Gx1 IMHO are essential!
what is the model of this optical viewfinder? nice blog, congrats! thanks.
Helios from Mr CAD in UK.
Hy!
I loved your pictures and blog!! And I have a question please.
Do you usually take your pictures in raw or jpeg format?
Thank you.
Best regards.
For street you always shoot RAW. I then process in Lightroom. What if that one random shot could be ‘the one’.
Hi Peter, so you never bring the lens cap? the filter subtitutes it??
For street shooting, the filter is enough. But for travel, the lens cap is still the best protection.
I’ve accidentally discovered an ideal film camera for street shooting (I’m too dim to learn digital). It’s a Nikon F2 with a waist level finder. I’d fancied an F2 for a while and got one for portraiture, later, saw a body sans finder going cheap. Bought that as well and then saw a WLF and felt it would make a good top-end body cap to protect the screen. Got the urge to take a few shots with this weird-looking camera to see how I got on with looking at an image that was reversed. So, that’s when I discovered that nobody notices you fiddling with this strange looking camera: you can frame/focus and look away, pressing the shutter button as you do. Am going to look for a WLF for an F3 now as this would give autoexposure with an F3 body. There are plenty about and some of my lenses have been AI’d.