Best Camera for Real Estate Photos

Edit Subject

Hi Donna,

There isn't an easy answer unfortunately. The DMC-ZS3 has a 25mm wide angle lens, and unfortunately there aren't many point and shoots that go wider. There are some with 24mm lenses but I'm not sure that will help you much.

I think your options are:

1. Get a point and shoot with a wide angle filter

E.g. get the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 (24mm) with a 0.75x magnification filter (getting you down to 18mm): Panasonic DMW-LW46 Wide Conversion Lens

The LX3 vs ZS3 at Snapsort

Looks like this would cost you approx approx $580.

2. Get an SLR and a wide angle lens

Say the Tokina 11mm-16mm and the Canon Digital Rebel XSi

This lens on the XSi (or any 1.5x crop DSLR) would get you a 35mm equivalent of 17mm-24mm, so about the same as using the filter on the LX3.

(Note: This lens is also available for Nikon, but doesn't have its own auto focus motor, so won't auto-focus on lower end Nikons such as the D40 or D60)

Looks like this would cost you approx approx $1000.

Hi Donna, you could also consider a lens adaptor for a camera like the XSi

Opteka HD 0.20X fisheye adaptor sells for 50 at amazon and an Xsi with lens is showing at 515. It wouldn't be as good as a true fish eye but It might get the job done and it would only be 565.

Hope this helps you get some great photos of your real estate listings!

Your welcome Donna,

You can compare any camera on our website.

Here is Snapsort's Comparison of Canon's T1i vs Xsi

You might also want to take a look at the T2i
Here is Snapsort's comparison of Canon's T2i vs T1i

I bought the Rebel XS last night. Picture quality is awesome and really no more difficult to use than a point and shoot. Oddly, the lens is 18-55mm, but even at 18mm, the pictures aren't nearly as wide angle as the Lumix at 24 mm. I wish I could combine the lens of the Lumix with the photo quality of the Rebel. Hmmmm.

Hi Donna, thats awesome, hope you like the Rebel XS - I loved my first SLR and find it hard to go back to point and shoot cameras.

The reason the Rebel XS at 18mm is not as wide as the Lumix at 24mm is due to the "1.5x crop factor".

The short answer: you have to multiply any focal lengths on the XS by 1.5 before you can compare them. So 18mm on the XS is similar to 27mm on the Lumix. You need to buy a wider lens, like the 11mm-16mm lens I suggested, it will be the same as 17mm-24mm on the Lumix.

Long answer: we have to look back to film SLRs. Film SLRs capture light and project it onto the film in the back of the camera, where as DSLRs capture light and project it onto their sensor. The sensor in some DSLRs is the same size as film (e.g. 36x24mm), but in most DSLRs like the Rebel XS, the sensor is smaller to save costs. Because the sensor is smaller, and because everything else is the same (e.g. same lenses, same lens mounts etc) some of the image projected by the lens falls outside of the sensor, so the image is basically 'cropped'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_factor

- Alex

Would this be a viable option?

Wide Angle / MACRO Converter Lens for Canon EOS 18-55mm

I haven't tried a converter like that myself, but that does look like a cost effective way of getting a wide angle lens. For $35 I don't think you could go wrong :)

Thanks for commet part.

I have found when taking pictures of my rental that my Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6 does a great job at capturing outside and inside shots. But the stock flash can't get that wide, especially in the lower portion of the photo. So you'l either need an external flash or shoot with available light (probably with a tripod inside).

The same lens is available for Canon:
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

I'm not a Canon guy, but the Canon gives a little more on the upper end and is a bit faster, so if you have the money, it might be your best bet.
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs