Alright, the best street photography camera – let’s do this.
What you want is a small, stealthy, lightweight digital camera, with high image quality and IQ.

Let me spare you some time, and just forward you to the two crazy positive reviews on Amazon of my two favorite cameras for street photography:

My two favorite cameras for street photography

1. The amazing Fujifilm x100f.
2. And the small pocketable Ricoh GR II.

Click the links above. Read the reviews. Pick the one within your budget. Start shooting.

Easy.

These two cameras are both mirrorless and are undeniably two of the best digital cameras for street photography.

I own both of them and if you want to see some photos I took with those cameras go here: Fujix100f Photos & Review (the updated version of the Fujifilm X100T) & Ricoh GR II Photos & Review. Both cameras are small, lightweight compact digital cameras with non-interchangeable / fixed lens.

When choosing your camera for street photography it comes down to this:

• Weight: You don’t want a heavy camera on the streets. The Fuji x100f is a little bit heavier than the Ricoh GR 2
• Size – small is best: The Ricoh  GR has amazing quality in photos – and can fit in your pocket!
• Image Quality & IQ: Here the Fuji x100f outperform the Ricoh.

A comparison  of my two favorite cameras for street photography:

Pick the Fujifilm x100f if you:

• Want higher image quality.
• Shoot in the evenings and nights. It performs a lot better on high ISO.
• If you don’t care about it not fitting in your pocket.

Get the Fujifilm x100f on Amazon.

 

Pick the Ricoh GR II Digital (black) if you

• Want the camera to fit in your pocket.
• If it’s your first street photography camera.

Get the Ricoh GR II on Amazon.

 

 

I have featured both of these digital compact cameras in my ‘Best Travel Cameras article‘ too, because of the image quality and lightweight.

What about the other camera brands?

Just because I really like the Fujifilm and Ricoh, doesn’t mean that’s the right choice for you. A lot of people swear the Leica, Nikon, Sony & Canon and if you are one of them, here are the cameras I would go for if I were you:

My pick for a Nikon street photography camera: Nikon D750 DSLR Camera. I normally wouldn’t think of a DSLR camera for street photography, but I have some friends who really love this camera.
Read the reviews of the Nikon D750 on Amazon.

My pick for a street photography camera from Canon: Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II Digital Camera
Read the reviews on Amazon.

If I were to go with a Leica camera for street photography I’d go with the legendary Leica M Digital Rangefinder Camera.
This camera makes sense if money really – really isn’t a problem for you. It’s 3.0″ LCD screen that gives you a live view capability. Read the reviews of the Leica M on Amazon.

If I were to go with a Sony camera for street photography: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX 100 V Digital Camera.
Read the reviews of the Sony Camera on Amazon.

And lastly, my favorite street photography camera from Olympus: Olympus PEN-F Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera

Read the reviews on Amazon for the Olympus.

Also, remember gear addiction is a real thing. For street photography, you don’t need a crazy expensive body and lens. Actually, a lot of people use their small smartphone for street and portraits. Both Android and iPhones have really good image quality by now. I also wrote a little bit about my favorite small cameras and where to buy your camera.

If you want to take better street photography, it might be better to look into getting books about photography, than buying a new camera. Even though, I really, really wish I could afford some of these cameras shot by the photographers who won the World Press Photo Award & Cameras for Photojournalists.