Top 5 best street photography chanels in youtube, easy. Thank you for your videos :) i love street photography, i shoot with a Nikon z50 and believe me, i bought a viltrox 85mm thanx to you and man i just love that lens. Thank you so much!
I feel like at some point in the future, I would know Japan so well without having even been there thanks to these videos. Thank you again for a great video, Lukasz and team!
Thanks Lukasz and Axel for taking us with you into the streets of tokyo once again! I always enjoy the atmosphere of your videos and the straight forward explanations!
I used to live in Tokyo for a short while.. Covid messed up the chance for another visa... This video brings me back... I liked Shinbashi... Going to the Leica Store, picking up Equipment and walking to Shinbashi to eat and shoot... makes me a weird kind of homesick...
hi there ... been watching your videos for sometime and i havent quite understand why i enjoyed it ... until this one, when you told a story about someone that look sihilloute .. then I realize, man, you have an amazing skills to tell stories so people enjoy that ... what a great videos here in this eyexplore ... one of my favourite channel on youtube to come every week ... for Lukaz and friends, thank you for sharing this amazing content
Thank you so much!! I try to share my passion through my stories. I'm glad it comes across as engaging! Glad to have you back to watch every time we post. I really appreciate the support! :)
Thank you so much for this footage! It's just amazing how Tokyo is different and beautiful! So much light and places to explore. This place is any photographer's dream! Keep it up, your unique style of presenting your photography experience is exceptionally valuable. Thank you again!
Yeah!! That's a good example of just blasting it wide open. It creates such a beautiful softness. And in particular this 28mm has beautiful out of focus effects, both front and rear. It's one reason I love it so much despite the size and weight. :)
Is AlexXx Axel's alt acount haha??? I'm kidding. Axel has been leveling up his camera skills and there some great movements in this video. He keeps it super flowy and switching smoothly from shooting me to going 'over the shoulder' and showing what I'm shooting. It's like a video game! :)
Haha, yeah, I would too. Or at least I'd have a more discreet camera. That's one of the time I will admit that a small camera is better. It's much less likely that someone will rip a Ricoh GR out of your hands rather than a Nikon with a big lens. I think Japan's level of safety is a major reason why photography is popular here. :)
@@EYExplore It really does work! Something I know myself and other people tend to find interesting is seeing people actually travel to the places they're making videos. I always enjoy the shots of train stations, etc and it can give a better sense of where a place is to people who aren't really familiar with the area. I love the little cultural bits you throw in like about Shinbashi station here too. Just overall, great work!
I bought your book "Tokyo Unseen" from Amazon last night. I look forward to learning from you on RUclips & I am visiting Tokyo in the Spring of 2026, so if you are still giving classes at that time, I am pretty sure I will include your class in my travel itinerary.
Awesome!! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the book! And I'm sure EYExplore and I will still be doing workshops in 2026, so I look forward to meeting you! :)
I was in Shimbashi a few months ago, and just found amazing to see your vision of it. There are so many things where I just walked by without really paying attention. You made me want to go back.
nice tuto. As i already mentioned, in M mode, when you set aperture and let auto iso, you can use 1/30sec or 1/250sec and don't realize exposure works fine becaus eauto iso is hidden behindand could make image noisier... In my case for night street photo i would set iso to 400 or 800 first and F4 and tune shutter speed until exposure on z6ii is nice so no surprise of auto iso. if people wal, i try 1/200sec and if expo is too low, i increase iso. what do you think. also no need to matter with -1eV...
You do what works for you, but I find that process extremely tedious. The min shutter / max ISO takes care of all of that. I set a max ISO of 6400, but if that is too noisy, just set a lower max. If you think 800 is your max, just set that. Same for shutter speed: just set a minimum you are comfortable with. For me it's 1/250. Then all you can affect everything with the aperture. If I'm on f/5.6 and see the ISO is 1600, but I want the ISO to be 800, then I simply change to f/4 and the ISO will come down accordingly. If I change the aperture to f/2.8 the ISO will go to 400. So, with aperture you can control also ISO. Then you change exposure with EV which is a relative setting, making it more flexible for walking around in varying light conditions. Also, you should be aware that the Z6II has dual ISO, so anything from 100-800 is going to have the same amount of noise whether you set it in the camera or set it in post (using exposure in ACR/LR). Then from 800 ISO and up is the second of dual ISO modes. Same rules applies. Setting 800 and going +1 in post, or setting 1600 in camera, will yield almost indistinguishable results in terms of noise and DR.
Thanks for all the videos. I love watching them and remembering my time in Tokyo. I am.wondering how you manage depth of field when using 2.8 in narrow and long spaces like the streets you shoot in. Do you accept some parts will be soft or are you able to control that somehow. I am really keen to get better technically and this is something I am struggling with.
Our pleasure! Yeah, I accept that some parts around the edges (closer to the camera) will be a bit soft. But also, shorter focal lengths (e.g. 28mm) and focusing far away results in pretty good DOF even at f/2. But you're right, than I generally accept that there will be some out of focus areas in the image. I am okay with that because I am most interested in capturing the mood and feel of a place rather than getting a technically precise image. Of course, I strive for technical prevision and try to achieve it where possible, but it's not the priority. :)
I'm new to this channel and I really appreciate your foto /video / commentary approach. japan is so photogenic ! thxs for taking me on this wonderful walk about. zen billings in canada
@eyexplore Amazing work and I really like how you show the "genesis" of your shots in your videos. It really takes a lot of time to get nice street shots. People always think that street 'togs just press the shutter and magically get one keeper after another. It takes a lot of patience and, as you show, re-visting places often times. And, yeah, dealing with setbacks and getting no keeper at all for days. My question, if you don't mind: Do you think a 28mm can be one's single lens for a trip to Japan? Or is it too close to an iPhone (26mm afaik). I will be travelling with two small kids and don't wanna swap lenses around. I have the 24-70 kit and 28/2.8 & 40/2 Z primes for my Z6. The most reasonable choice is the zoom obviously but I kinda like the rendering of those small primes a lot better. The 28 however is too close to an iPhone imo, and the 40 I'm afraid will be too tight. A little help in my decision is much appreciated. Cheers!
Thank you!! I'm so glad you enjoy the BTS aspect of our videos! As for lenses, if I only had 28mm I would be perfectly happy, but it's not for everyone. I regularly take only my GR3 (with 28mm equivalent lens) on trips, so yeah... I love 28mm! :)
Another thoughtful and interesting video - I had a Nikon F-mount 35mm F1.4 that I think was in the same series as your 28. I loved that lens. I am really looking forward to Japan opening up again and participating in your workshops.
This district look awesome and so interesting to capture, thanks for this second sharing. I'm wondering if we could get a #unstreetphoto up and make it a trend, but that sound alike something as you're talking about it here too.
Great video, and - as always - we get some quality insights into street/unstreet. One night you'll just have to stake out that little 'adults only' shop for as long as it takes for someone to appear. At least, while you're aiming a camera at the front door, shy customers won't enter from outside.
Haha, yeah, I gotta act cool and only raise my camera in the last moment. Luckily it's when they are coming out so they can't see me through the glass anyway. :)
Another great video Lukasz. I love your content and approach, best photography channel on here man. You mentioned capping your iso at 6400 on aperture mode. Do you find there's much noise when it gets up that high? I have the z6 too and I know that mirrorless is capable of shooting clean at high iso but I haven't tried pushing too hard yet, I think mine is capped at 4000. Also on the topic of noise, when you're editing raw photos in Lightroom do you have a standard amount of noise reduction you apply to every photo or does it vary widely depending on the photo? By that I just mean the standard noise you get in a raw file, like in photos shot at low iso. I only starting shooting in raw last year so I feel like I don't have a consistent method for noise treatment yet and I spend too much time on it. Its a hard balance because I don't like photos to look overly clean either! I was used to the camera processing it for me in jpeg for years haha. Cheers from Ireland!
Thank you so much!! 6400 starts to get a bit noisy, but the images are perfectly usable for me. I'd say I can even go higher than that, so 6400 is a conservative cap. I usually do not do regular Noise Reduction, but I have a default setting of 25 for Color Noise Reduction. Sometimes, if a photo is already at high ISO and I push the exposure even higher, then I might kick up the NR to say 10 or 20, but almost never more than that. I care more about sharpness/detail than low noise. And NR tends to reduce sharpness. So really, I don't mess with NR for the most part. It's not a major part of my workflow. :)
@@EYExplore thanks for the reply! That’s awesome to hear 6400 is usable, I must push my cap up from 4000. That’s good to know! I know what you mean about NR making the image softer, it’s not good. But when I zoomed in on my raw images I was just surprised how much more grain there was in my raw photos compared to my JPEG’s. I guess grain is a better word to use here than noise because some of the photos were shot in daylight and low iso. But then I was going through my z6 settings a few weeks ago and realised my iso sensitivity was on 800. I’ve no idea when I changed it from 100 to 800 it must have been an accident. But I think it could have been like that for quite some time. Do you think that could have been adding to the issue? Cheers.
@@jimmyjazz95 You might have heard about dual ISO and someone recommended that you just shoot on 800. It's definitely more noisy at 100 than 800. But because of the dual ISO, it's probably less noisy at 1000 than it is at 720. It's one of the technical things I don't like about the Z6, but it's not a huge deal in practice. I definitely keep my minimum at 100 ISO.
Quality post and images, commentary about settings and venue, a plus, as always.👍 Red arch pic at 4:25 my fav. Vid title a masterful effective click baity affair😁. Guy in red shoes, prefers dark streets, likes seedy stuff, goes to red light district, waits in front of adults-only establishment to “get lucky” - nice😁. Is the grill a “hibachi”? Agree, hands can tell a story better than faces, sometimes - like hands of artisans. At about 15:30min there was interesting human figure “climbing” wall - explanation? Notice your vid description has lots of info, but lacks geotag or subject tags (like #streetphotography). I understand that including such tags can help boost channel exposure/views/subs from tag-based searches. How come you don’t use them?
Thank you! Yeah for the title I was going to call it 'Just Shooting' but added Red Light District as I was posting! Haha, I love how you describe the video though. Maybe I should have called it 'Getting Lucky in the Red Light District'. I think the grill might be different than a hibachi. I'm not sure though. I only ever heard these grill places referred to as 'robata', which is what the grill is called. But it might be another word for the same thing. And good eye on the human figure! I don't know the story, but it's a decoration or 'sign' for one of the bars there. It looks old so it probably dates back to the 60s or 70s. As for the tags... I just suck at youtube and social media in general haha. RUclips does have a 'tags' section when uploading and I use them. I didn't realize hashtags in the description are also a thing. I will add some! :)
I just got a 24mm and I'm really liking how you can capture a picture wide enough to tell a story with a 28mm. Do you think there are any major differences (aside from the obvious focal length) between a 28 and 24?
In my experience 28mm is the widest you can go without there being obvious visual effects due to the lens (technically due to the closer subject-to-camera distance). But some of my favorite photos are 24mm, and play on that effect. It all depends what you’re shooting, and what/who the end consumer of the photo is. If you’re doing news or photojournalism, for example, you probably don’t want to shoot wide and close… so 35mm or 50mm, which have no obvious optical effects.
In practice there is not a massive difference, but I would say that for the kind of photography that I like to do there are more drawbacks than benefits. I can make a portrait just barely work with a 28mm but with 24 it's getting too difficult, in my opinion. However, the differences are subtle, so if you all have is a 24mm, just use it! You can always crop a bit and get the same FOV as 28mm. :)
@@EYExplore Yeah that's true. I like shooting portraits so I use my 85mm for that. I was hoping maybe I could pull off some portraits with the 24 but it might be a tad bit too wide but I'll try it out and crop like you suggested. Thank you!
Thanks! We will never add music. When you are out on the street taking photos there is no music playing. If the street is quiet, then it is quiet. If there is ambient noise, then you can hear that noise. BGM is lame, in my opinion. :)
I would love to See if you can get an old Nikon Body with Film and do like a one or two Rolls of Film in the Evening challenge i would love to See how you handle this Kind of Stuff 😃 really love your Videos always Hyped when you Upload 👍🏻
Thank you!! Actually, I have an old Yashica Electro 35mm and two rolls of Fuji 400 film haha. I've been putting off doing a video about it, but we should! :)
Great video! Have you tried the new Z 40mm f2 or 28mm f2.8 ? I’m in need of a fast prime and looking at these new Z lenses, especially since they’re on sale for $266(USD), I’m thinking a prime 24, 28 or 35 range.
Thank you very much!! I ordered my 40mm back in November and it finally arrived a couple of weeks ago. We shot a video about it and it will be released within the next few weeks! But for now I can say that I LOVE the new 40mm. It's extremely good value for the price. The build quality does feel a little bit cheap (the plastic mount, and the overall texture of the housing) but man, it's sharp, great bokeh, no distortion whatsoever, and super portable. It's a must have for a full frame Nikon Z owner.
Thank you so much! On a budget the old 28mm f/1.8G is still a good option. Long ago I used to own that lens. But, if you can spend a bit more I feel it's always better to go with native Z lenses because the AF is better, they are typically lighter, and shorter, especially without the FTZ adapter. :)
I really like to work a scene with a 28mm. I think it produces my preferred style of image. Would you say that I would lose value not buying a zoom to take your class, or would I miss any great spots locking myself in with a 28mm?
I always tailor things to the gear people bring, so I would never point out a shot that's not possible with a 28mm if that's all you had. I'd also bring my own 28mm in such a case. But in general, sure you always have the potential to 'miss' a shot with a prime lens of any focal length. That's just photography! So, in short, if you enjoy 28mm, enjoy it! And don't worry about missing out. With any lens or camera you can get plenty of out Tokyo and our workshops. :)
re: fast aperture lenses. I’ve never once said, man I wish I DIDN’T have wider apertures than f/2.8 on this lens… but I’ve said the opposite many times. Another benefit is that the fast aperture Nikon primes tend to be their optical showpieces. The Z f/1.8 lenses for example are just in a whole different league. The photos look almost 3 dimensional. But you pay in money, size, and to some extent in weight.
We used a Nikon Z50 for most of the videos on our channel. Prior to that we used a smart phone (not sure which one) and prior to THAT we hired a guy who used a Fuji (not sure which one).
I was shooting at the Taipei Lantern Festival and Shilin Night Market with my 35mm lens today. It made me feel like I can't get super close to a scene with a 35mm lens because it cuts out too much of the context and layers that I wanted to keep in the frame. It made me curious about 28mm. How do you feel about 28mm vs 35mm for night markets? Sorry for weird wording, I'm kinda drunk and my comment is mostly for visibility.
Haha, no worries! 28mm all the way! I've been using 28s for 5 or 6 years now and I think it's the perfect focal length for urban photography because you can do street but you can still do landscape and architecture well too! :)
Hate to comment on an older video, but as I am new to street photography, I walked around south beach for like 2 hours and not finding much that caught my eyes. Did take a few shots but kinda felt discouraged. What did you do when you first started and couldn't find much to photography?
I highly recommend watching this video where I talk about these kinds of things: ruclips.net/video/xFUgnHg2f98/видео.html But long story short, you have to just go out and appreciate the world without prejudice. Things should not 'catch' your eyes as much as your eyes should be attracted to things. I know I'm just splitting hairs and it's just semantics, but what I'm trying to say is that you have to train yourself to see the beauty in the mundane. I'm lucky to live in Tokyo which is filled with cool things, but STILL I find myself photographing random things like pipes, walls, plants, etc. It's all about discovering your interests by simply being out there. It takes times and effort. Waiting for inspiration or something to catch your eye leads to discouragement for sure. Another way I've heard said: creativity and is the product of curiosity and rigor. Emphasize the rigor here, just gotta get out there and do it. :)
@@EYExplore pursuing a zero covid policy but failing. I'll avoid the politics here also! It is still great for street photography however despite the removal of nearly all neon signs. Only a handful left now.
@@philipmurton3272 Yeah, I heard about the neon signs. And yeah, I don't wanna get into politics/issues either, but I hear ya. I'm of the mindset that we just have to live with it and get back to our lives. The goal of total eradication is impossible. Especially since, even if one area gets it down to zero, the rest of the world won't. So, what, they're gonna keep the borders closed forever?
@@EYExplore spot on. Well, when we can travel again I'll be booking in for some Tokyo tours with you guys. Did a few 5 years back. Keep up the great work guys. Videos are the best out there.
I'm working on a book that will have a lot of candid people photos. None of those have faces showing as they represent certain segments of the local society. I have informal portraits of specific people hat do have faces showing because they represent the mystique of this area. My go-to lens is the Nikon 24-120 f4. I also have a 14-24 f2.8 that I'm using more than I thought I would.
The 24-120 is awesome. I used to have an F-mount one. Recently I got my hands on the Z-mount version and we shot a video with it. It should be out in a month or so. :)
A lot of people ask me that, and I'm sure I would like it, but since I have this one I see no reason to change right now. I also have a Ricoh GR III which has a 28mm equivalent lens, so right now it's not in the cards to get yet another 28mm. :)
@@EYExplore I do understand. Maybe you could ask a local Nikon dealer to lend you one for a review. There are some RUclipsrs doing something of the sort. I’m not imposing in any way as this might not be your kind of thing but it would be interesting for us viewers to see what can be done with other Lenses in your genre.
@@stephenspiteri_zunkus it seems my usual gear rental shop has it, so next time Axel and I have a shooting session we'll rent it if it's available. We do have about 7 videos already shot and in the production pipeline so it will be a while! :)
@@EYExplore maybe you could squeeze in a small video in. It would make sense to do so as it’s a very talked after product and just by mentioning it, it could bring more subscribers to your channel. Timing is key. The time is now ;)
@@stephenspiteri_zunkus Yeah, well we're not a really a channel about timing what's popular. As I often say in these videos, photography is not about gear. Gear matters to an extent, but mindfulness, rigor, curiosity, openness, comfort with the gear you have, and of course having fun; these things are what this channel is about. Frankly, I'm sure that Nikon Z 28mm is just fine and will not make a fundamental difference in how you take photos compared to any other 28mm because 28mm gives you the same FOV no matter what lens it is (unless it's on a smaller or bigger sensor). If you're wondering about sharpness and quality, I'm you can get that info from somewhere else. :)
My second time of watching already, I took a lot of exposure info from this and armed with my recently downloaded exposure app i know this will give me loads of practical help. Thank you Lucas and of course Axle
Yeah, and also the size/weight difference! The one I have is huge, especially with the adapter. I love it a lot but find myself using the 40mm f/2 much more since it's so tiny.
The camera comes with image stabilization. But also, I'm trying my best to hold it steady, hold my breath, and take a few photos in a row to make sure I get a sharp one. :)
You can come up with some really cool pictures if you try to hide or obscure the people in your shot plus it could save you some trouble with the law in certain European countries.
Intersting thought about shooting people in scenes but their face is obscured by something. A new challenge for me to see if the presence of a faceless peoson can add something to the story like your bookeeping person did in this video.
Thanks! Yeah, for some reason I gravitate to this style. Silhouettes is another one. In general, I like being less-direct about the people in my shots these days.
Back alleys, neon lights, elevated trains, doesn't get any better than that.
Hard to beat! :)
“Give us your camera and your shoes” would have the icing on the cake 😉
@@wh0tube Haha. "I need you clothes, your shoes, and your motorcycle."
The sights and sounds of that place gives your video a feel like you're in a giant studio warehouse and not outdoors.
I love that! :)
Top 5 best street photography chanels in youtube, easy. Thank you for your videos :) i love street photography, i shoot with a Nikon z50 and believe me, i bought a viltrox 85mm thanx to you and man i just love that lens. Thank you so much!
Thank you!! That is very high praise! Glad you love the lens!! :)
Hats off to the videographer, perfectly framing Lukasz !
Axel does an amazing job! :)
You are so good at explaining the culture. Brilliant
Thank you!! Glad you found it interesting! :)
I feel like at some point in the future, I would know Japan so well without having even been there thanks to these videos. Thank you again for a great video, Lukasz and team!
Thanks man! Glad to hear that! :)
Love your subject matter, Tokyo always looks amazing
It really is a magical place to shoot! :)
Thanks Lukasz and Axel for taking us with you into the streets of tokyo once again! I always enjoy the atmosphere of your videos and the straight forward explanations!
Thank you so much! glad you enjoyed it! :)
I used to live in Tokyo for a short while.. Covid messed up the chance for another visa... This video brings me back... I liked Shinbashi... Going to the Leica Store, picking up Equipment and walking to Shinbashi to eat and shoot... makes me a weird kind of homesick...
I hope you can come back some day!!
17:13 Love the transition between the "coolness" of the high city 🏙 and the "warmth" of the low city 🌆
Yeah! Same! :)
Awesome! Thanks for the upload
Thanks for watching! :)
hi there ... been watching your videos for sometime and i havent quite understand why i enjoyed it ... until this one, when you told a story about someone that look sihilloute .. then I realize, man, you have an amazing skills to tell stories so people enjoy that ... what a great videos here in this eyexplore ... one of my favourite channel on youtube to come every week ... for Lukaz and friends, thank you for sharing this amazing content
Thank you so much!! I try to share my passion through my stories. I'm glad it comes across as engaging! Glad to have you back to watch every time we post. I really appreciate the support! :)
Thank you so much for this footage! It's just amazing how Tokyo is different and beautiful! So much light and places to explore. This place is any photographer's dream! Keep it up, your unique style of presenting your photography experience is exceptionally valuable. Thank you again!
Thank you so much!! Glad you enjoy this type of content! :)
@@EYExplore You are the best!
The f/1.4 shot at 26:40 is beautiful, made even better by the story your told earlier in the video.
Yeah!! That's a good example of just blasting it wide open. It creates such a beautiful softness. And in particular this 28mm has beautiful out of focus effects, both front and rear. It's one reason I love it so much despite the size and weight. :)
Top notch video camera work, nice angles!
Is AlexXx Axel's alt acount haha??? I'm kidding. Axel has been leveling up his camera skills and there some great movements in this video. He keeps it super flowy and switching smoothly from shooting me to going 'over the shoulder' and showing what I'm shooting. It's like a video game! :)
It ‘s so nice to enjoy the night scenes and English here😊
Thank you! :)
These walks are so sick. Love it
Thank you!! :)
Once again, an inspiring video. Not so sure I would walk through the red light district in my city without a SWAT team with me.
Haha, yeah, I would too. Or at least I'd have a more discreet camera. That's one of the time I will admit that a small camera is better. It's much less likely that someone will rip a Ricoh GR out of your hands rather than a Nikon with a big lens. I think Japan's level of safety is a major reason why photography is popular here. :)
These are my fav videos boys. Just walking talking and shooting, so sick
Hehe, glad you enjoyed it! :)
once again fantastic video, some of my fav shots are from Shimbashi. Really do love these videos!!
Thank you so much for watching! :)
You guys are always so good! These videos have really been keeping me going while Japan is locking everyone out.
Thank you so much!! This kind of feedback is why we've been making them longer and longer. :)
@@EYExplore It really does work! Something I know myself and other people tend to find interesting is seeing people actually travel to the places they're making videos. I always enjoy the shots of train stations, etc and it can give a better sense of where a place is to people who aren't really familiar with the area. I love the little cultural bits you throw in like about Shinbashi station here too. Just overall, great work!
@@AlexSinclair Thanks for the great feedback! :)
Gritty for Japan is cleaner than most cities in America 😜
Haha, true! :)
I never knew about this area. I’m definitely coming here soon!
Great! :)
I bought your book "Tokyo Unseen" from Amazon last night. I look forward to learning from you on RUclips & I am visiting Tokyo in the Spring of 2026, so if you are still giving classes at that time, I am pretty sure I will include your class in my travel itinerary.
Awesome!! Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the book! And I'm sure EYExplore and I will still be doing workshops in 2026, so I look forward to meeting you! :)
As usual, great video !
The ambient sounds of the JR station make me nostalgic about Japan
Thanks!! Yeah, I love those ambient sounds too. Also for train crossings. The the most 'Japan' sound to me! :)
Thank you for sharing this video…❤
Our pleasure! Thanks for watching! :)
I was in Shimbashi a few months ago, and just found amazing to see your vision of it. There are so many things where I just walked by without really paying attention. You made me want to go back.
You must! I've explore the area so much and believe me there is so much that I noticed only after the 100th time there. :)
Great video! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!! :)
nice tuto. As i already mentioned, in M mode, when you set aperture and let auto iso, you can use 1/30sec or 1/250sec and don't realize exposure works fine becaus eauto iso is hidden behindand could make image noisier... In my case for night street photo i would set iso to 400 or 800 first and F4 and tune shutter speed until exposure on z6ii is nice so no surprise of auto iso. if people wal, i try 1/200sec and if expo is too low, i increase iso. what do you think. also no need to matter with -1eV...
You do what works for you, but I find that process extremely tedious. The min shutter / max ISO takes care of all of that. I set a max ISO of 6400, but if that is too noisy, just set a lower max. If you think 800 is your max, just set that. Same for shutter speed: just set a minimum you are comfortable with. For me it's 1/250. Then all you can affect everything with the aperture. If I'm on f/5.6 and see the ISO is 1600, but I want the ISO to be 800, then I simply change to f/4 and the ISO will come down accordingly. If I change the aperture to f/2.8 the ISO will go to 400. So, with aperture you can control also ISO. Then you change exposure with EV which is a relative setting, making it more flexible for walking around in varying light conditions.
Also, you should be aware that the Z6II has dual ISO, so anything from 100-800 is going to have the same amount of noise whether you set it in the camera or set it in post (using exposure in ACR/LR). Then from 800 ISO and up is the second of dual ISO modes. Same rules applies. Setting 800 and going +1 in post, or setting 1600 in camera, will yield almost indistinguishable results in terms of noise and DR.
Great vid! Your vids are always inspiring although your style is pretty different from mine I love watching how you think about your shots.
Thank you!! That's really what I hope to share. I'm not preaching a style, just sharing an approach. :)
Thanks for all the videos. I love watching them and remembering my time in Tokyo. I am.wondering how you manage depth of field when using 2.8 in narrow and long spaces like the streets you shoot in. Do you accept some parts will be soft or are you able to control that somehow. I am really keen to get better technically and this is something I am struggling with.
Our pleasure! Yeah, I accept that some parts around the edges (closer to the camera) will be a bit soft. But also, shorter focal lengths (e.g. 28mm) and focusing far away results in pretty good DOF even at f/2. But you're right, than I generally accept that there will be some out of focus areas in the image. I am okay with that because I am most interested in capturing the mood and feel of a place rather than getting a technically precise image. Of course, I strive for technical prevision and try to achieve it where possible, but it's not the priority. :)
So great!
Thanks! :)
❤ your videos cause I learn about photography but also I learn about Japan 👍🏽
Thank you so much! :)
Nice shots I really like the train shot at 1.15 and the shutter shots at 26.30
Thank you so much!! :)
I'm new to this channel and I really appreciate your foto /video / commentary approach. japan is so photogenic ! thxs for taking me on this wonderful walk about. zen billings in canada
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
Beautiful Pictures.
Thank you! :)
@eyexplore Amazing work and I really like how you show the "genesis" of your shots in your videos. It really takes a lot of time to get nice street shots. People always think that street 'togs just press the shutter and magically get one keeper after another. It takes a lot of patience and, as you show, re-visting places often times. And, yeah, dealing with setbacks and getting no keeper at all for days.
My question, if you don't mind: Do you think a 28mm can be one's single lens for a trip to Japan? Or is it too close to an iPhone (26mm afaik). I will be travelling with two small kids and don't wanna swap lenses around. I have the 24-70 kit and 28/2.8 & 40/2 Z primes for my Z6. The most reasonable choice is the zoom obviously but I kinda like the rendering of those small primes a lot better. The 28 however is too close to an iPhone imo, and the 40 I'm afraid will be too tight. A little help in my decision is much appreciated. Cheers!
Thank you!! I'm so glad you enjoy the BTS aspect of our videos! As for lenses, if I only had 28mm I would be perfectly happy, but it's not for everyone. I regularly take only my GR3 (with 28mm equivalent lens) on trips, so yeah... I love 28mm! :)
Thanks for the response, appreciate it!
Another thoughtful and interesting video - I had a Nikon F-mount 35mm F1.4 that I think was in the same series as your 28. I loved that lens. I am really looking forward to Japan opening up again and participating in your workshops.
Thanks! Yeah, I was thinking about that 35mm, but ultimately settled on 28mm. :)
lovely content as usual :)
Thank you so much! :)
This district look awesome and so interesting to capture, thanks for this second sharing.
I'm wondering if we could get a #unstreetphoto up and make it a trend, but that sound alike something as you're talking about it here too.
Ah, good idea about the hashtag! I will include on relevant videos from now on! :)
Great video, and - as always - we get some quality insights into street/unstreet. One night you'll just have to stake out that little 'adults only' shop for as long as it takes for someone to appear. At least, while you're aiming a camera at the front door, shy customers won't enter from outside.
Haha, yeah, I gotta act cool and only raise my camera in the last moment. Luckily it's when they are coming out so they can't see me through the glass anyway. :)
Thanks for the cool video. I would love to do a workshop
Thank you! Hopefully some day! :)
Another great video Lukasz. I love your content and approach, best photography channel on here man.
You mentioned capping your iso at 6400 on aperture mode. Do you find there's much noise when it gets up that high? I have the z6 too and I know that mirrorless is capable of shooting clean at high iso but I haven't tried pushing too hard yet, I think mine is capped at 4000.
Also on the topic of noise, when you're editing raw photos in Lightroom do you have a standard amount of noise reduction you apply to every photo or does it vary widely depending on the photo?
By that I just mean the standard noise you get in a raw file, like in photos shot at low iso. I only starting shooting in raw last year so I feel like I don't have a consistent method for noise treatment yet and I spend too much time on it. Its a hard balance because I don't like photos to look overly clean either! I was used to the camera processing it for me in jpeg for years haha.
Cheers from Ireland!
Thank you so much!! 6400 starts to get a bit noisy, but the images are perfectly usable for me. I'd say I can even go higher than that, so 6400 is a conservative cap.
I usually do not do regular Noise Reduction, but I have a default setting of 25 for Color Noise Reduction. Sometimes, if a photo is already at high ISO and I push the exposure even higher, then I might kick up the NR to say 10 or 20, but almost never more than that. I care more about sharpness/detail than low noise. And NR tends to reduce sharpness. So really, I don't mess with NR for the most part. It's not a major part of my workflow. :)
@@EYExplore thanks for the reply! That’s awesome to hear 6400 is usable, I must push my cap up from 4000.
That’s good to know! I know what you mean about NR making the image softer, it’s not good. But when I zoomed in on my raw images I was just surprised how much more grain there was in my raw photos compared to my JPEG’s. I guess grain is a better word to use here than noise because some of the photos were shot in daylight and low iso.
But then I was going through my z6 settings a few weeks ago and realised my iso sensitivity was on 800. I’ve no idea when I changed it from 100 to 800 it must have been an accident. But I think it could have been like that for quite some time. Do you think that could have been adding to the issue? Cheers.
@@jimmyjazz95 You might have heard about dual ISO and someone recommended that you just shoot on 800. It's definitely more noisy at 100 than 800. But because of the dual ISO, it's probably less noisy at 1000 than it is at 720. It's one of the technical things I don't like about the Z6, but it's not a huge deal in practice. I definitely keep my minimum at 100 ISO.
Nice video and pics
Thanks!! :)
Quality post and images, commentary about settings and venue, a plus, as always.👍 Red arch pic at 4:25 my fav. Vid title a masterful effective click baity affair😁. Guy in red shoes, prefers dark streets, likes seedy stuff, goes to red light district, waits in front of adults-only establishment to “get lucky” - nice😁. Is the grill a “hibachi”? Agree, hands can tell a story better than faces, sometimes - like hands of artisans. At about 15:30min there was interesting human figure “climbing” wall - explanation?
Notice your vid description has lots of info, but lacks geotag or subject tags (like #streetphotography). I understand that including such tags can help boost channel exposure/views/subs from tag-based searches. How come you don’t use them?
Thank you! Yeah for the title I was going to call it 'Just Shooting' but added Red Light District as I was posting! Haha, I love how you describe the video though. Maybe I should have called it 'Getting Lucky in the Red Light District'. I think the grill might be different than a hibachi. I'm not sure though. I only ever heard these grill places referred to as 'robata', which is what the grill is called. But it might be another word for the same thing. And good eye on the human figure! I don't know the story, but it's a decoration or 'sign' for one of the bars there. It looks old so it probably dates back to the 60s or 70s. As for the tags... I just suck at youtube and social media in general haha. RUclips does have a 'tags' section when uploading and I use them. I didn't realize hashtags in the description are also a thing. I will add some! :)
I just got a 24mm and I'm really liking how you can capture a picture wide enough to tell a story with a 28mm. Do you think there are any major differences (aside from the obvious focal length) between a 28 and 24?
In my experience 28mm is the widest you can go without there being obvious visual effects due to the lens (technically due to the closer subject-to-camera distance). But some of my favorite photos are 24mm, and play on that effect. It all depends what you’re shooting, and what/who the end consumer of the photo is. If you’re doing news or photojournalism, for example, you probably don’t want to shoot wide and close… so 35mm or 50mm, which have no obvious optical effects.
In practice there is not a massive difference, but I would say that for the kind of photography that I like to do there are more drawbacks than benefits. I can make a portrait just barely work with a 28mm but with 24 it's getting too difficult, in my opinion. However, the differences are subtle, so if you all have is a 24mm, just use it! You can always crop a bit and get the same FOV as 28mm. :)
@@EYExplore Yeah that's true. I like shooting portraits so I use my 85mm for that. I was hoping maybe I could pull off some portraits with the 24 but it might be a tad bit too wide but I'll try it out and crop like you suggested. Thank you!
Great video! You can consider adding BGM in some scenes, otherwise sometimes it looks hollow
Thanks! We will never add music. When you are out on the street taking photos there is no music playing. If the street is quiet, then it is quiet. If there is ambient noise, then you can hear that noise. BGM is lame, in my opinion. :)
I would love to See if you can get an old Nikon Body with Film and do like a one or two Rolls of Film in the Evening challenge i would love to See how you handle this Kind of Stuff 😃 really love your Videos always Hyped when you Upload 👍🏻
Thank you!! Actually, I have an old Yashica Electro 35mm and two rolls of Fuji 400 film haha. I've been putting off doing a video about it, but we should! :)
Really enjoyed your commentary
Thank you! :)
I was more impressed with the videography settings!
Thanks! :)
Great video! Have you tried the new Z 40mm f2 or 28mm f2.8 ? I’m in need of a fast prime and looking at these new Z lenses, especially since they’re on sale for $266(USD), I’m thinking a prime 24, 28 or 35 range.
Thank you very much!! I ordered my 40mm back in November and it finally arrived a couple of weeks ago. We shot a video about it and it will be released within the next few weeks! But for now I can say that I LOVE the new 40mm. It's extremely good value for the price. The build quality does feel a little bit cheap (the plastic mount, and the overall texture of the housing) but man, it's sharp, great bokeh, no distortion whatsoever, and super portable. It's a must have for a full frame Nikon Z owner.
@@EYExplore thank you. I’m on the fence between the Z 28mm f2.8 and the 40mm f2, I will probably end up with both. Are you going get the Z 28mm ?
@@nancyk9475 Probably not because I already own the 28mm I used in this video, which an absolutely perfect lens, so no point to have redundancy. :)
Great video! Do you think buying an f mount 28mm f1.8 is worth buying in 2023 for using with an FTZ adapter ? TY
Thank you so much! On a budget the old 28mm f/1.8G is still a good option. Long ago I used to own that lens. But, if you can spend a bit more I feel it's always better to go with native Z lenses because the AF is better, they are typically lighter, and shorter, especially without the FTZ adapter. :)
I really like to work a scene with a 28mm. I think it produces my preferred style of image. Would you say that I would lose value not buying a zoom to take your class, or would I miss any great spots locking myself in with a 28mm?
I always tailor things to the gear people bring, so I would never point out a shot that's not possible with a 28mm if that's all you had. I'd also bring my own 28mm in such a case. But in general, sure you always have the potential to 'miss' a shot with a prime lens of any focal length. That's just photography! So, in short, if you enjoy 28mm, enjoy it! And don't worry about missing out. With any lens or camera you can get plenty of out Tokyo and our workshops. :)
re: fast aperture lenses. I’ve never once said, man I wish I DIDN’T have wider apertures than f/2.8 on this lens… but I’ve said the opposite many times.
Another benefit is that the fast aperture Nikon primes tend to be their optical showpieces. The Z f/1.8 lenses for example are just in a whole different league. The photos look almost 3 dimensional.
But you pay in money, size, and to some extent in weight.
Yeah! Totally agree! It's a trade-off. To me the price/weight/size is not a very big deal. I'd rather have the optical performance. :)
what focal length do you like better? 28 or 40 ? If you could only choose one
These days 28mm is #1 for me. :)
Question? What camera are you using to shoot video in this footage? Sony or Neo 7?
We used a Nikon Z50 for most of the videos on our channel. Prior to that we used a smart phone (not sure which one) and prior to THAT we hired a guy who used a Fuji (not sure which one).
I was shooting at the Taipei Lantern Festival and Shilin Night Market with my 35mm lens today. It made me feel like I can't get super close to a scene with a 35mm lens because it cuts out too much of the context and layers that I wanted to keep in the frame. It made me curious about 28mm. How do you feel about 28mm vs 35mm for night markets? Sorry for weird wording, I'm kinda drunk and my comment is mostly for visibility.
Haha, no worries! 28mm all the way! I've been using 28s for 5 or 6 years now and I think it's the perfect focal length for urban photography because you can do street but you can still do landscape and architecture well too! :)
bought my camera from up that way love it over there
Nice! :)
Hate to comment on an older video, but as I am new to street photography, I walked around south beach for like 2 hours and not finding much that caught my eyes. Did take a few shots but kinda felt discouraged. What did you do when you first started and couldn't find much to photography?
I highly recommend watching this video where I talk about these kinds of things: ruclips.net/video/xFUgnHg2f98/видео.html
But long story short, you have to just go out and appreciate the world without prejudice. Things should not 'catch' your eyes as much as your eyes should be attracted to things. I know I'm just splitting hairs and it's just semantics, but what I'm trying to say is that you have to train yourself to see the beauty in the mundane.
I'm lucky to live in Tokyo which is filled with cool things, but STILL I find myself photographing random things like pipes, walls, plants, etc. It's all about discovering your interests by simply being out there. It takes times and effort. Waiting for inspiration or something to catch your eye leads to discouragement for sure.
Another way I've heard said: creativity and is the product of curiosity and rigor. Emphasize the rigor here, just gotta get out there and do it. :)
Loved it! Watching and wishing I could head back up to Tokyo but currently trapped in the insanity that is Hong Kong at present. Roll on 2023!
Thank you so much!! I didn't know about HK right now, is it really bad? I've been there once in 2015 and it was amazing. Wish I could go back! :)
@@EYExplore pursuing a zero covid policy but failing. I'll avoid the politics here also! It is still great for street photography however despite the removal of nearly all neon signs. Only a handful left now.
@@philipmurton3272 Yeah, I heard about the neon signs. And yeah, I don't wanna get into politics/issues either, but I hear ya. I'm of the mindset that we just have to live with it and get back to our lives. The goal of total eradication is impossible. Especially since, even if one area gets it down to zero, the rest of the world won't. So, what, they're gonna keep the borders closed forever?
@@EYExplore spot on. Well, when we can travel again I'll be booking in for some Tokyo tours with you guys. Did a few 5 years back. Keep up the great work guys. Videos are the best out there.
I'm working on a book that will have a lot of candid people photos. None of those have faces showing as they represent certain segments of the local society. I have informal portraits of specific people hat do have faces showing because they represent the mystique of this area. My go-to lens is the Nikon 24-120 f4. I also have a 14-24 f2.8 that I'm using more than I thought I would.
The 24-120 is awesome. I used to have an F-mount one. Recently I got my hands on the Z-mount version and we shot a video with it. It should be out in a month or so. :)
Great video, what lens did you use on the Z50?
We shoot all of these videos with the included 16-50mm kit lens. :)
@@EYExplore good to know I can achieve such good video quality on my z50 thanks guys
Very nice videos. Just wondering about origins. Poland? I'm not far in Riga :D
Thank you! Yes, I am from Poland, but we moved to the US when I was a kid and I grew up there. I speak Polish fluently though. :)
I am chomping at the bit to go back and do some street photography in Tokyo. Australian cities are too wide and flat XD
It's different shooting for sure, but there are some great streets photographers out of Australia. Jesse Marlowe and Trent Parke come to mind! :)
I can't wait to be able to explore Japan again!! I'm a much, much better photographer than I was when I first visited!🤞😩
Yeah, I feel the same. I go back to places I haven't been to in a long time for this same reason! :)
I’m wondering if you’d like the nifty little z mount 28mm f/2.8? Light, small and cheapish.
A lot of people ask me that, and I'm sure I would like it, but since I have this one I see no reason to change right now. I also have a Ricoh GR III which has a 28mm equivalent lens, so right now it's not in the cards to get yet another 28mm. :)
@@EYExplore I do understand. Maybe you could ask a local Nikon dealer to lend you one for a review. There are some RUclipsrs doing something of the sort. I’m not imposing in any way as this might not be your kind of thing but it would be interesting for us viewers to see what can be done with other Lenses in your genre.
@@stephenspiteri_zunkus it seems my usual gear rental shop has it, so next time Axel and I have a shooting session we'll rent it if it's available. We do have about 7 videos already shot and in the production pipeline so it will be a while! :)
@@EYExplore maybe you could squeeze in a small video in. It would make sense to do so as it’s a very talked after product and just by mentioning it, it could bring more subscribers to your channel. Timing is key. The time is now ;)
@@stephenspiteri_zunkus Yeah, well we're not a really a channel about timing what's popular. As I often say in these videos, photography is not about gear. Gear matters to an extent, but mindfulness, rigor, curiosity, openness, comfort with the gear you have, and of course having fun; these things are what this channel is about. Frankly, I'm sure that Nikon Z 28mm is just fine and will not make a fundamental difference in how you take photos compared to any other 28mm because 28mm gives you the same FOV no matter what lens it is (unless it's on a smaller or bigger sensor). If you're wondering about sharpness and quality, I'm you can get that info from somewhere else. :)
My second time of watching already, I took a lot of exposure info from this and armed with my recently downloaded exposure app i know this will give me loads of practical help. Thank you Lucas and of course Axle
Thank you so much Harry! :)
Like at 4:40 Tokyo has a lot of wedge triangle-shaped buildings by virtue of how the streets meet.
Yeah, these are all over Tokyo! I like them too! :)
came back to this video since I just bought the Nikkor z 28mm f/2.8. I wish it was a f/1.4 but for $250 I really can't complain :))
Yeah, and also the size/weight difference! The one I have is huge, especially with the adapter. I love it a lot but find myself using the 40mm f/2 much more since it's so tiny.
@@EYExplore so far I really like the lens even at f/2.8
@@allen.9 Awesome!
How’s your camera so stable at 1/5 handheld?
The camera comes with image stabilization. But also, I'm trying my best to hold it steady, hold my breath, and take a few photos in a row to make sure I get a sharp one. :)
@@EYExplore skills right there! I have ibis on both cam and lens and I can’t get it to be sharp at 1/30
@@iKIMshuffle Just shoot a bunch in a row. It's a bit of a numbers game too! :)
I like videos focused on a focal length
Thanks!! It seems lots of people agree with you, so, we will keep making these! :)
10:35 Send Axel in there - you'll be able to find out what goes on inside and get the shot you want as he comes back out!
Haha, good idea! He might never come back out though lol. :)
You can come up with some really cool pictures if you try to hide or obscure the people in your shot plus it could save you some trouble with the law in certain European countries.
Yeah, I know some photographers who have to shoot that way as a necessity, but I think it results in a great aesthetic! :)
Pipes!
Hell yeah!! :)
Intersting thought about shooting people in scenes but their face is obscured by something. A new challenge for me to see if the presence of a faceless peoson can add something to the story like your bookeeping person did in this video.
Thanks! Yeah, for some reason I gravitate to this style. Silhouettes is another one. In general, I like being less-direct about the people in my shots these days.
The train stopped. Should’ve kept shooting to get the people blury and the train still. :)
I think I did, but didn't show those photos as it's more interesting to me with the train in motion. I guess I should have showed those as well! :)