My first and hopefully only post in the digital categories. But I haven't a clue as to which digital camera I need. I'm a realtor and need to take interior and exterior house photos. If I were speaking in 35mm film terms, I suppose I would need something in the 28-35mm lens range. I do not know what that translates to in the digital world. And I'll also be needing an affordable digital Nikon SLR, used, of some kind. I don't want the photos to be of crap quality, but certainly don't need a D-850. Digital photography is just not something I want to sink a pile of money into. Thank you.
What Nikon Do I need?
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Do you use 35mm nikon as well? Do you already have lenses in that format- or any 35mm lenses you would find acceptable for that use? That could be big influence.
If not, and you just need something cheap that can get the job done, without worrying about using the lenses or body for anything else, I might go for something like a D7000 or D7100 and a 10-20mm lens; in the US you could probably find that for <$500, and the 10-20mm would give you an effective wide angle for interiors. The whole setup would be cheaper than a full frame camera like a d700 or d600, unless you found one extraordinarily cheap, which is possible. A lot of DX digital nikon bodies and lenses are quite cheap right now: essentially in nikon digital, you have a choice of the smaller "DX" sensor (APS-C, 24x16mm) and appropriate lenses, or the 35mm full frame equivalent (36x24mm) sensor.
If not, and you just need something cheap that can get the job done, without worrying about using the lenses or body for anything else, I might go for something like a D7000 or D7100 and a 10-20mm lens; in the US you could probably find that for <$500, and the 10-20mm would give you an effective wide angle for interiors. The whole setup would be cheaper than a full frame camera like a d700 or d600, unless you found one extraordinarily cheap, which is possible. A lot of DX digital nikon bodies and lenses are quite cheap right now: essentially in nikon digital, you have a choice of the smaller "DX" sensor (APS-C, 24x16mm) and appropriate lenses, or the 35mm full frame equivalent (36x24mm) sensor.
My friend has been house shopping for a few years; I've seen hundreds of interior and exterior photos. In 35mm equivalent terms, the photos all look like they've been shot with 16mm to 24mm lenses. Really wide!
In digital full-frame, it's the same lens focal length as 35mm format. That's like Nikon D700, D800, D810, etc.
In digital APS-C, the APS-C focal length times 1.5 gives you the 35mm equivalent:
18mm APS-C is like 24mm in 135-format
23mm APS-C is like 35mm in 135-format
35mm APS-C is like 50mm in 135-format
50mm APS-C is like 75mm in 135-format
Something like D90 is APS-C camera; it has a good reputation.
There's also micro-4/3, but Nikon is not really in that game.
In digital full-frame, it's the same lens focal length as 35mm format. That's like Nikon D700, D800, D810, etc.
In digital APS-C, the APS-C focal length times 1.5 gives you the 35mm equivalent:
18mm APS-C is like 24mm in 135-format
23mm APS-C is like 35mm in 135-format
35mm APS-C is like 50mm in 135-format
50mm APS-C is like 75mm in 135-format
Something like D90 is APS-C camera; it has a good reputation.
There's also micro-4/3, but Nikon is not really in that game.
Yeah that's why I thought something to go with the Nikon 10-20mm might be a good choice, it's a cheap way to get a digital ultra-wide.
Yes all my Nikon stuff is either F or F2. I have lenses starting at 28mm on up, but they're all non-AI. As an aside, all us agents have seen the super ultra wide angle room shots and the universal consensus is thumbs down. Totally misrepresents the size of the room, making the listing agent look like he's a scumbucket. The buyer's agent sends an MLS link to the buyer, then upon actual showing, what looked like a sizeable room was actually a telephone booth. Dirty pool.
Agreed. That "technique", though, is alive and well around these parts.
28mm is the widest I go for anything. In Nikon DX format (APS-C) that would be ~18mm.
I second the D7000, D7100 Nikon DX cameras mentioned above.
Well if you want a normalish perspective, the DX/APS-C equivalent of 28mm is between 18-19mm, and a lot of Nikon's standard DX zooms started at 18mm, so there's a ton of cheap lenses available in that range. With something a bit older like a D90 or a cheapish D7000, and the 18-55mm you could get out for <$300. This isn't pro tough gear, but it doesn't sound like that's what you're after here.
Now for a tougher question. Say I did get a 7000. Our pro photographer uses a really expensive high end Nikon and a fancy flash. He shoots a half dozen shots from his tripod, and somehow stacks the layers. A poorly lit room ends up looking like he brought in a van load of fancy lighting equipment. Somehow I don't think I could do that with any of these used cameras.
MattKing
Moderator
Even with a 7000, you could probably do the HDR in "post".
The advantages of the high end bodies are probably related more to speed of execution and high resolution results for those times when you want to put the photos on a billboard ad near the interstate.
The fancy flash? It will probably work just about as well with a 7000.
You'd be amazed at the low-light capabilities of even low end digital cameras.
With digital, you want to avoid blowing (overexposing) the highlights. If you blow the highlights, you can't get any detail back. It's like using transparency film, but you have more latitude and you can pull detail out of the shadows easier.
The camera usually has a histogram you can display on the back to help avoid overexposing or underexposing.
With digital, you want to avoid blowing (overexposing) the highlights. If you blow the highlights, you can't get any detail back. It's like using transparency film, but you have more latitude and you can pull detail out of the shadows easier.
The camera usually has a histogram you can display on the back to help avoid overexposing or underexposing.
Thank you all. I believe you folks have got me fixed up on the camera and lens part. Now for a flash that can let me do those stacked photos of rooms that look like I used fancy lighting equipment. r will that cost a pretty penny? I'm spending the boss' money and am a frugal sort.
Pretty much any of the D1000 (3000, 5000, or 7000) series cameras would work. The newer, the better. The biggest advantage to a newer ones is Nikon has some newer lenses (AF-P) that only work with the newer cameras, mostly DX500 and higher. The great thing about the AF-P lenses is they tend to be cheaper than the older ones (when new). But any of them with an 18-55 would fit the bill.
As for flash, it depends on how easy you want the flash to be. Some of the newer ones will have auto flash exposure modes. The older ones will need to have the flash power and camera exposure manually adjusted. Since you're shooting static scenes, that won't be hard to do, but might be a bit time consuming. The older flashes, especially ones made for film cameras, would be significantly cheaper. That would allow you to afford more flashes and probably some flash modifiers, which is what's most important for a professional look. You want smooth, diffused light, not harsh direct light. Something like an SB-26 would be great. Also, you'll probably want a remote flash trigger system so that you can get the flash off the camera, and trigger multiple flashes at once. You'll also need a good camera tripod and some stands for your lights.
You might even consider using shop lights, which would be easier to set up than flashes because you can actually see what you're doing without having to check the back of the camera. Just make sure to get daylight balanced lights, so you don't get one color of light coming from the windows and another coming from the flash.
Skill is more important than gear. So what you'll want to do is find as much as you can online about how to light a room and how to frame a shot. A good photographer will take an exponentially better photo with poor gear than a poor photographer will with the best gear.
As for flash, it depends on how easy you want the flash to be. Some of the newer ones will have auto flash exposure modes. The older ones will need to have the flash power and camera exposure manually adjusted. Since you're shooting static scenes, that won't be hard to do, but might be a bit time consuming. The older flashes, especially ones made for film cameras, would be significantly cheaper. That would allow you to afford more flashes and probably some flash modifiers, which is what's most important for a professional look. You want smooth, diffused light, not harsh direct light. Something like an SB-26 would be great. Also, you'll probably want a remote flash trigger system so that you can get the flash off the camera, and trigger multiple flashes at once. You'll also need a good camera tripod and some stands for your lights.
You might even consider using shop lights, which would be easier to set up than flashes because you can actually see what you're doing without having to check the back of the camera. Just make sure to get daylight balanced lights, so you don't get one color of light coming from the windows and another coming from the flash.
Skill is more important than gear. So what you'll want to do is find as much as you can online about how to light a room and how to frame a shot. A good photographer will take an exponentially better photo with poor gear than a poor photographer will with the best gear.
One other thing if you've exclusively used film: many people use ISO settings that are high compared to film. Things like ISO and color balance could be changed shot-to-shot if you really had to. What I'm saying is that, unlike film, you're not constrained with a single ISO or color balance for 36 shots.
For film, I stay within ISO 25 to 400. Many digital users would consider this pathetically slow: they may be using 1600 as a minimum. With an entry-level or intermediate camera, I wouldn't go too high because they have smaller sensors than pro models.
You may not need to use flash everywhere, but as Jim wrote above, you want smooth diffuse light.
For film, I stay within ISO 25 to 400. Many digital users would consider this pathetically slow: they may be using 1600 as a minimum. With an entry-level or intermediate camera, I wouldn't go too high because they have smaller sensors than pro models.
You may not need to use flash everywhere, but as Jim wrote above, you want smooth diffuse light.
Well the D7100 came today, with its 18-55 lens, for which iI thank you guys for steering me right. I wasn't entirely happy that the 18mm was going to be enough for the kind of real estate interior shots I need. But it also came with a few accessories, one of which was a screw-on wide angle adapter called "Digital Concepts High Definition 0.43X 52mm wide angle lens". And when I screw that on the front of the lens and set the lens zoom at 18mm, it vignettes the image at the corners. So when I set the lens to about 21mm, the vignetting goes away and I end up with a good bit wider angle lens than without the adapter. I realize that screw-on adapters compromise picture quality just as bad or worse than teleconverters, but the MLS photo quality is so poor that I don't think it's going to matter one bit. MLS is the realtor website that agents pay for to post our listings. So all things considered, I believe if I had the latest D-850 and best lenses, I couldn't have done better. The 7100 can shoot 5 shots for stacking layers for contrast control, so it seems you guys put me right where I needed to be. Thank you.
I just noticed a mistake I made in post #3 where I wrote 18mm is equivalent to 24mm in 135 format, but in post #6 correctly wrote the equivalent as about 28mm.
Hopefully the adaptor meets your needs.
Hopefully the adaptor meets your needs.
Awesome! And you're right. Those wide angle converters will diminish the picture quality, however, if you're going to be posting them online at a highly compressed 72 dpi and not making large prints for printed advertisements, then no one will know. And even if they are being printed, chances are no one will really know because this typically isn't the type of photo people scrutinize for quality, but rather just stare at it an try to imagine where their furniture will go and how jealous their friends will be. As long as the lighting is good and the house is staged to look inviting, that's all that really matters.
I will point out that sometimes those wide angle adapters can distort the perspective of the image. That can be easily fixed in Photoshop using the lens correction tool. That is, if you even need to. People are used to seeing barrel distortion on wide angle shots, so as long as it isn't too bad, I doubt it would drive away any potential buyers. So if it's something that concerns you, it is easily fixable in software.
Which brings to mind, you may want to make sure your tripod that has a bubble level on the head to make sure the camera is level so you don't get perspective distortion. With all of the hard parallel lines in architecture photography, having the camera just a bit off level can make walls appear to cave in or bow out. Once again, it's fixable in software using the same lens correction tool, but it's easier to fix at the site with a level camera. And that's something that could potentially turn of a prospective buyer, if it appears the walls aren't plumb.
MattKing
Moderator
Or alternatively, you use a hotshoe mounted bubble level - something like this:
https://strobepro.com/products/2-ax...N3EWDJRbxKKJ_vuUJRK0GWejyn5ZTqokaAnJxEALw_wcB
Wouldn't it be funny if a house was designed so that the interior really did look as if you were viewing it with an ultra-wide-angle lens: huge room - like the kitchen - with walls and appliances and center island all far away, walls tilting back.
You go in and photograph it with 50mm lens. Clients show up and are stunned that seemingly wide-angle photos are actually realistic.
Someday an architect will do this, become famous.
You go in and photograph it with 50mm lens. Clients show up and are stunned that seemingly wide-angle photos are actually realistic.
Someday an architect will do this, become famous.
I've been happy with my Yongnuo speedlites. The nice thing is that they can be controlled and fired wirelessly.
I have 3, YN560 IV and the YN560-TX controller. They are few years old so you can find great deals on eBay. I use Panasonic Enloop batteries with them and have not had any problems.
Usedphotopro.com (Robert's Camera) is a great source for light stands. You can get ugly mid range all metal stands for less than the cheap stuff with plastic parts on Amazon/eBay. Since you'll be hauling them around, the cheap stuff will instantly break.
I have another question. I've been learning all these menus and controls, figuring out settings that would be most universally helpful to the kind of work I'll mostly be using it for. Knowing I'd be needing the HDR al lot, I researched the 7100 over the others for that capability. But now I've discovered that I'd have to set the camera at settings that would make it a nuisance to continually have to go into these menus to undo it for other stuff, then re-enable it for that. Can't I just manually shoot 5 frames spaced an f/stop apart and drag them into my editing program and stack them there, and forget about doing it in-camera? I look over there at my gorgeous F2, wishing I could use that instead because it doesn't have all this menu foolishness. Don't worry, little F2. I'm not forsaking you--you're still my sweetheart.
some of the intro-level DSLR Nikons come with a 17-35mm kit lens, which is excellent;that would be hust right for you!
Is this lens any good? I was never a fan of the third party lenses in 35mm. I just don't want to sink any more money in this camera than I have to. Thank you.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tokina-12-...179979?hash=item44422f6b0b:g:mqEAAOSwT8FdPemL
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tokina-12-...179979?hash=item44422f6b0b:g:mqEAAOSwT8FdPemL
you can^^
What Nikon do I need?
All of them.
All of them.
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