6 Best Lens for Night Street Photography: (2023 Guide & Reviews)

So today’s article is all about shooting the streets at night.

There’s no doubt that there’s some great street photography to be had during hours of darkness, and light shooting is something we should all try.

It’s almost a rite of passage thing neon lights, short windows reflections.

Car lights, bars, restaurants, people having fun street lighting reflections from pavements from windows.

There is plenty of material to explore.

So in this article, I am going to review the 6 Best Lens for Night Street Photography that will help you become a confident and proficient night shooter.

Let’s drive in:

Which is the best lens for Night Street photography?

Here are my recommended top 6 best lens for Night Street photography:-

Canon 50mm F1.8: (Best lens for Night Street Portrait photography)

I use a 50mm lens for everything. I shoot night streets, portraits and fashion, and a myriad of other things.

The 50-millimeter lens is by far my most used lens.

If you are looking to buy a prime lens and you don’t know what to buy first, this is absolutely the one you should buy now.

I have shot canon my entire life, and a 50-millimeter lens can be used for almost everything.

You can shoot portraits; the 50-millimeter lens is excellent for portraits of individual people as well as couples.

You can get in close, you can back up, you can get the full length, you can get three quarters, and you can even get just beautiful face shots with a 50-millimeter lens.

A 50mm is also great for shooting details; the 50mm is my go-to for all of my night street pictures and as well as all of my reception pictures at night.

I shoot nighttime photos and room scapes with a 50 millimeter.

When you’re using a prime lens which means that it’s a fixed focal length, in other words, you can’t zoom in or out.

It seems tedious, but you can always zoom in to go closer and further away with your feet.

It seems like more work but trust me; you’re going to get a much more crisp image out of a prime lens, typically versus a zoom lens.

Another great thing about a prime lens is that it has a really low aperture in most cases; this gives you a more shallow depth of field, giving that nice soft dreamy background beautiful bokeh.

And it also lets you draw the viewer’s attention to a certain point of focus.

Now, this can make it a little bit more difficult to focus but also, with prime lenses is usually the ability to focus faster.

If you purchase your brand’s top-end prime lens, it’s usually a very fast-focusing lens.

The 50 millimeter, at least in the Canon line, is probably one of the fastest focusing lenses in the lineup.

Another reason I like to use it is that I can focus very quickly during night street photography, and it’s not difficult to photograph at night.

Overall, the 50-millimeter lens is super versatile. You can use it pretty much for anything.

Samyang 12mm F2: (Best Sony lens for Night Street photography)

This lens is the fact that it really feels well built, despite this price tag.

It is quite a pleasant surprise because other lenses with a similar focal range would cost double, if not triple, especially with that fast aperture.

Anyway, it is constructed almost entirely out of metal except for the lens cap and the lens hood, which is made from plastic or more glamorous.

This lens comes with a click aperture ring, which isn’t really optimized for filmmakers who need to change the aperture sign.

This lens has an equivalent focal range of about 18 millimeters on a full-frame sensor, so it’s definitely a super wide-angle lens, even after factoring in the crop.

In fact, I found that focusing was relatively easy with this lens and the focus room wasn’t too long at all, which is, in my opinion, a good thing.

I find lenses with long focus throws to be quite difficult to focus with, especially if you’re shooting videos on your own.

This lens has a minimum focusing distance of about 20 centimeters, which is 20 centimeters not from the front of the lens but from the sensor itself so that you can get pretty close with it.

The good thing about this lens is that even though it is wide-angle if you get really close to your subject, you get an amazing amount of background separation.

I find this lens to be quite sharp in general, even if it’s wide open.

However, it does have some barrel distortion if you do shoot too close to the subject.

If you shoot bright subjects wide open, but it’s definitely nothing, that would be a deal-breaker for me, as I guess it’s pretty much expected with any lenses of this type.

So who do I think this lens is really meant for?

I think this lens would definitely suit anyone who is really out there to find a fast, ultra-wide metal lens on a budget.

I can also see this lens being useful for those wanting to shoot night street photography, interiors in dimly lit places.

And maybe even Astrophotographers who really need a wide-angle lens with a FOSS aperture.

So, all in all, I would definitely recommend this lens to anyone who is really looking for a fast and affordable super wide-angle lens.

To me, this lens is a good compromise between being affordable and being bright too.

Because usually, super wide lenses with fast apertures used to be extremely expensive but fortunately, we are living in an age when you can find good quality glass that’s still relatively affordable.

Canon 22mm F2: (Best Canon lens for Night Street photography)

I want to talk about the portrait capabilities of the Canon 22 millimeters F2 lens.

It’s a 22-millimeter lens made for the M mount. Basically, it’s made for mirrorless cameras, and they usually are grouped sensors.

Basically, the 22 millimeters will act around 30 millimeters, so this is the real focal length.

The aperture of this lens is f2; you will have a decent amount of blurriness and bokeh in the background of your portraits.

If you work with it, you can play around, and you can get some nice night street pictures, and you can get beautiful portraits with this lens, better than others.

It will work pretty well for night street photography and portraits when it comes to night photography.

As well as a close-up of your subject, it would help if you were a bit careful because this lens can distort a bit on edge, so keep a bit of distance or pay attention to crop your image in the editing.

When it comes to made or full-body pictures, you will start to lose that blurriness of the background because of this lens.

It’s pretty wide, the big round is not that compressed, but I think it works pretty well when it comes to street and fashion pictures; it’s going to be just great.

I love the 22-millimeter lens; it takes decent portraits, works amazing when it comes to street photography, street fashion photography, even macro photography.

It basically is an excellent all-around lens. You can Vlog with it; you can take nice pictures.

In the beginning, the best thing is to invest in a good but still versatile lens, and that’s what I did when I bought the 22-millimeter lens.

This lens can be used in many situations.

First, the focal length will allow you to use it in a small studio; you can use it for wide shots of portraits, street photography, landscapes, macro photography, whatever is just an excellent all-around lens.

In the beginning, the best thing you can do is to get a good all-around lens.

Nikon 35mm F1.8: (Best Nikon lens for Night street photography)

If you are looking for something much better but on a budget, something that creates the best for night street photography and takes great pictures and videos in night conditions.

Could this be the best lens to upgrade to?

So, guys, this is possibly one of the best lenses to upgrade from the kit lens in the Nikon family.

F 1.8 is the maximum aperture which allows us to conclude that it indeed is a very fast lens for the price.

So coming to the focal length, Yes, it’s fixed, meaning you won’t be able to zoom in with it.

As you did with a kit lens, take this prime lens feature as an advantage and not a disadvantage.

Zoom in by moving closer to the subject, and trust me, it will really help in taking out the creative side.

The next best thing about this lens is that aperture F 1.8 aperture on this lens allows for much better low-light photography in surroundings.

The wide aperture allows for more light entering the camera sensor and giving a much better and visible picture in a low-light situation.

It’s an EFs lens, indicating the presence of a silent autofocusing motor inside.

Well, I don’t want to raise any questions, but isn’t silent wave autofocus supposed to be silent.

The lens tends to make a bit of noise while autofocusing during the video.

This could be a problem for many shooting videos out there.

It isn’t as bad as the standard kit lens, but it’s much better than that.

This 35-millimeter lens doesn’t have a super solid autofocus motor.

It tends to make a little bit of a chattering noise which can be hard for sure if you listen carefully; the focusing ring isn’t the best out there. It’s made up of rubbish material.

The good thing about this lens is that it also has an auto slash manual mode, meaning you can manually set the focus, even when the lens is set to autofocus mode.

I find this very handy just in case the lens has problems focusing automatically.

We’re using the 35-millimeter lens instead of a 15 millimeter on such a crop sensor camera because this 35-millimeter lens would work like a 50-millimeter lens in itself.

If you decide to go with a 50-millimeter lens with a crop sensor camera, then you’ll have a very zoomed-in video or image.

If zoomed-in pictures are your game, then go for it.

This is a superb lens overall; I’m sure many of us record audio separately, focusing noise shouldn’t matter; adventuring is just subjective. Some people like to have it; some don’t.

So should you go in for this lens, I see no reason to refuse this for an upgrade.

Fuji 35mm f1.4: (Best Fuji lens for night street photography)

Need to capture the nighttime scene? Fuji 35mm f1.4 is your tool!

This lens for night street photography has a fast aperture of 1.4 that can easily capture stunning photos in low light.

The bright 1.4 aperture allows your pictures to remain crisp, even when fading light adds dreamy haze to your scene.

No other lens offers more of what you’re looking for in a single package.

Bringing the best street photography to life is easy with the newest Fuji lens, offering beauty and precision like never before.

Perfect for traveling with luggage restrictions as the aperture stays constant throughout zooming in and out.

From professional photographers to hobbyists, this lens has a story that can tell anyone’s tale.

With 7 rounded diaphragm blades, different exposures occur at different aperture openings, making it perfect for portrait work or shallow depth-of-field shots with a useable depth of field up to about 1/2 MFD (maximum focus distance).

Images from this lens will have the perfect bokeh for night street photography.

It is also characterized by its high rendering capabilities of dramatic lights and speedy response to low-light conditions.

This lens’s focal length (35mm format equivalent) is a highly versatile 53mm with an angle of view of 44.2 degrees that will capture everything right in front of you for sharp detail!

It’s no surprise that one reviewer called it “a must-have” for nighttime shooters.

With this lens, you’ll be able to get sharper shots at wider apertures than with other lenses!

The Fuji 35mm f1.4 lens is an excellent choice for shooting photographs at night and in moonlit street scenes.

Sony 35mm f.18: (Best lens for nighttime street photography)

Sony has created this 35mm lens for our street photographers whipping out their cameras to shoot in the dark.

Let’s say you want to be able to take crystal-clear shots of your surroundings at night, in any weather? The Sony FE 35mm f1.8 is designed just for that.

If you want to catch images of the city like never before, look no further than this unique product!

You’ll be drawn in closer and more intimate with your subject matter, thereby making you an audience favorite.

With 6/8 optical elements and an angle of view of 44° on APS C cameras, it gives a clear image while allowing you freedom from carrying multiple lenses around all day!

This works perfectly when there isn’t enough light to take amazing photos by street lamps in New York City or San Francisco area cities like Oakland and San Jose!

The fast autofocus system within the lens allows rapid focus acquisition even in dim lighting, without slipping or jittering like other lenses struggle with – great for capturing shots when time matters!

This versatile fixed lens is ideal for shooting portraits in tight locations or colors in low lighting at night.”

This lens is the most popular, best, and widely-used lens for nighttime street photography.

It’s also the perfect camera support for shooting movies.

The best part about this product is that it comes at a cost-effective price, so you don’t have to break the bank.

Night street portrait photography:

Night street portrait photography is not easy. It takes a lot of time and patience to learn the best techniques, but it’s worth it when you get that perfect shot!

What lens should I use?  What does a good exposure look like when shooting at night?  How can I work around bad lighting conditions to make my subject stand out against the background while maintaining detail and color balance in their face and clothing?

They require you to think creatively about the best composition to convey your subject’s mood and feeling.

Night street photography film:

Photographers are always looking for new ways to challenge themselves. Night street photography film is a great way to do this!

This article will give you all the information you need to start your night street photography film journey.

It has many different colors, which makes for some interesting nighttime shots that would not be possible with standard black and white or color films.

Not only does night street photography film make for some beautiful photos, but it can also help with creativity.

Night street light photography settings:

Street light photography can be tough to get the correct settings, but it is not impossible. There are a few things that you need to keep in mind when shooting at night and to experiment with exposures, such as the following:

1) Make sure your camera has a tripod or some stabilizer (a bean bag, for example).

2) Shoot wide open, so you have more depth of field, which will help cut out any blurry images.

3) Use manual mode and experiment with different shutter speeds.

4) Experiment with ISO levels and find what works best for your camera.

5) Aperture matters! If you shoot f/2.8-4, then there’s a high chance that your background will be overexposed.

6) The best way to get this balance is by using manual settings on your camera and experimenting with shutter speed, aperture, and ISO.

How do you shoot street photography at night?

Recently, I’ve been interested in shooting street photography at night. There are many challenges with this, but the good news is that there are also a ton of creative opportunities!

In my experience, it’s best to shoot wide open and expose for the sky (since you’ll be able to recover some detail from the highlights).

You can also use an ND filter to get slow shutter speeds, allowing you to use a lower ISO and help keep your images clean.

It’s always important that your subject is lit well enough when photographing at night, so they show up on camera, either by light painting or flashlights.

What lens is best for street photography?

Street photography is a type of photography that focuses on candid shots in public places. Photographers often use short focal lengths to make their subjects more intimate and personal. Street photographers’ popular choices are the 50mm, 35mm, and 24mm lenses.

These three lenses all provide different perspectives depending on how close they’re used to take photos from your subject. However, these are just suggestions as each photographer’s preferences vary greatly based on what they’re looking for!

CONCLUSION:

Alright, guys, so that concludes all the lenses we will talk about today in this article.

Do you guys have any experience with these lenses? What are your thoughts on them?

Which is your best lens for night street photography?

Is there a lens that I didn’t mention in this article that you love to use for street photography?

Would you please leave your thoughts and comments below?

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