The 5 Best Cameras For Street Photography - Black Friday 2024

The RICOH GR III is by far one of the best cameras for street photography on the market. Its minimalist design isn't the sexiest—you won't find a viewfinder or tilting screen here—but you can't beat its tiny, unassuming form factor for discretion and portability. Miraculously, given how compact it is, it also features a relatively large APS-C sensor and built-in stabilization, so it captures excellent overall image quality, with great low-light performance to boot, thanks to its wide-aperture lens.

While the GR III doesn't have the fastest or most reliable autofocus, it comes with a unique 'Snap Focus' feature that's ideal for street shooting. With the press of a button, the camera 'snaps' the focus to a pre-set distance, which is incredibly convenient for quick, discreet shots when you can gauge your distance to a subject. The wide-angle 28mm full-frame equivalent focal length is also well-suited to street scenes, giving you a lot of coverage and room to crop in if needed. If you prefer a slightly narrower field of view, you can opt for the RICOH GR IIIx instead; it's a tad pricier but comes with a 40mm equivalent lens that gives a more natural field of view.

The Fujifilm X100VI isn't nearly as small or discreet as the RICOH GR III, but it offers a lot more functionality and premium features that you won't find on any other point-and-shoot. Like the RICOH, it uses a larger APS-C sensor but offers a much higher 40.2-megapixel resolution, giving you some more leeway to crop in your images. It also features a unique hybrid viewfinder that can toggle between an electronic viewfinder and an optical rangefinder with frame lines to give you a wider view of your subject's surroundings. The tilting screen is also great for waist-level shooting. All of that, plus a fantastic built-in lens with a 35mm equivalent focal length, make it one of the best cameras for street photography.

That being said, this is an expensive camera—it's pricier than many interchangeable lens models. Popular demand has also made it hard to find in stock. If you don't think the X100VI is worth the hype, you might be all set with another camera from our list. Alternatively, if you like the size of the X100VI and want the Fuji shooting experience, picking up the older Fujifilm X-E4 and pairing it with a small prime lens comes pretty close, though it uses a lower-resolution sensor and lacks the X100VI's optical rangefinder. 

If you'd prefer a compact camera with a bit of zoom range, the Sony RX100 VII is the best camera for street photography with a built-in zoom lens. It's similar in size to the RICOH GR III, though it uses a smaller 1-inch type sensor, making it less suited to low-light shooting. Despite that, it's still a great sensor for its size, with a stacked design that allows for incredibly quick 20 fps burst shooting. Beyond that, its built-in lens has a versatile 24-200mm equivalent focal length range, giving you more flexibility to shoot subjects that are farther away.

Despite its compact design, the camera also comes with useful extras like a pop-up viewfinder, which is nice to have on sunny days, and a tilting screen that's great for waist-level shots. Physical controls are somewhat limited, so if you'd prefer a more old-school feel with manual exposure dials, the Panasonic LUMIX LX100 II is a great alternative if you can find it. However, it's been discontinued and has a shorter zoom range than the Sony.

While you can't beat compact cameras for portability, an interchangeable lens camera gives you more versatility. The Fujifilm X-T5 is one of the best street photography cameras with an interchangeable lens design. It has old-school exposure dials that make it easy to adjust your settings on the go, and it brings back the three-way tilting screen from older models in the X-T series, so you can easily capture shots from almost any angle. The camera is also relatively compact and has an excellent battery life for a mirrorless model.

The X-T5's 40.2-megapixel sensor is the highest-resolution APS-C sensor on the market, capturing a greater level of fine detail and giving you more flexibility to crop your images, which comes in handy if you prefer to shoot from farther away. If you're more of a photography "purist," you might enjoy the design of the Fujifilm X-Pro3, which is a great alternative to the X-T5. It uses an older-generation sensor with a lower resolution, but its hybrid viewfinder and reverse-tilting screen are meant to encourage more engagement with your surroundings, which is a big plus for street photography.

Last but not least is the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV, one of the best budget mirrorless cameras we've tested. It uses a Micro Four Thirds sensor, so you won't get as much dynamic range or fine detail as you do with the high-resolution APS-C sensor on the Fujifilm X-T5. But the upside of that smaller sensor is that it's a much more portable camera system with smaller lenses that make for a highly portable kit.

It's also one of the few cameras at this price point to feature in-body image stabilization, making it easier to get clear handheld shots at slower shutter speeds. The ergonomics are also great for such a small camera. However, it doesn't have the most reliable autofocus system, and its build quality isn't as good as more expensive models. Still, if you're looking for a compact camera system that won't cost you a fortune, the E-M10 Mark IV is a great choice.