My mom is a real estate agent and she is looking into getting a new camera. She likes canons. Now I'm guessing that if she gets an SLR, her next specification would need to be in the lens she gets. She wants a lens (wide angle probably) that she can see more of the rooms she is taking a picture of but she also wants to be able to shoot thru a window, even if direct sun is coming thru so that there will be no glare, one that will correct the lighting so that the lighting inside and outside will be the same. Does that make sense?

Thanks!
Amber

It makes perfect sense - typical estate agent - she wants the impossible :)

She wants a lens (wide angle probably) that she can see more of the rooms she is taking a picture of
No problem, if it's a 1.6 crop SLR then 10-22 zoom is the answer - open her wallet wider.

correct the lighting so that the lighting inside and outside will be the same
That is not a function of the lens.
If you have bright sun outside and you want the lighting inside and outside to be the same then use a large flash :D On-camera flash probably isn't going to be bright enough.

It makes perfect sense - typical estate agent - she wants the impossible :)

I dont think shes asking the impossible. I have seen pictures like what she wants. Perhaps I just didn't explain it well. Another agent she works with has some kind of Nikon and he was telling her that the camera has some function that corrects the lighting so when you are taking a picture into a room with windows, the lighting is fixed so you can see everything inside and outside with no glare on the windows etc.

This agent she knows has a waterfront property which has a wall of glass facing the water. He showed her some pictures he took in full sunlight of this room and everything was crisp and clear inside and out. Thats all she wants. She doesn't know too much about cameras though so she cant tell me anything about the particular camera shes talking about.

Perhaps someone here knows?


No problem, if it's a 1.6 crop SLR then 10-22 zoom is the answer - open her wallet wider.
[quote]

No one said her wallet wasn't open wide...

[QUOTE=SmartWombat]
That is not a function of the lens.
If you have bright sun outside and you want the lighting inside and outside to be the same then use a large flash :D On-camera flash probably isn't going to be bright enough.

My mom has an olympus something or other right now. On the mode dial it has A/S/M as one of the functions so I put it to manual and changed it to 160 (I think the highest ISO was 300 for this camera) and explained a few things to her so her's is doing much better now, but she wants something she can get a wide angle lens for so she can see a bit more of the rooms.

Shes not asking the impossible, she just wants something better for her job than what she has.

Does anyone have any suggestions for her?
Thanks.
Amber

So what do you have in mind for her, a wider angle P&S, or a move to DSLR ?
Once she moves to a SLR then she may need more of your help to learn more about cameras to get good results.

The biggest problem is that to balance the daylight, you've got to have light indoors too.
That's the tricky one.
I'd suggest a powerful flash (Canon I'd pick the EX580) and possibly a diffuser.

I've had problems with reflections off glass tables, leaving bright light lines on the walls, that were solved using a 10" softbox on the front of the flash to diffuse the light.
I don't know if something cheaper like a lightsphere would do the same job.

If there is a wall of glass, that's almost bringing the outside inside. In which case the job is much easier, you just have to lighten the remaining shadows. In fact if you get the time of day right, and there are light walls, then you will have the same light inside.
That is down to the photographer, not the camera.


Wide angle is available on many of the new P&S, there was a lot of one-upmanship going on at PMA announcing wider and wider angle lenses. I think the widest ended up at 24mm, equivalent to 35mm.

For DSLR there are many lenses in the 10-24mm range that will give good wide angle shots. I chose the Canon EF-S 10-22. The Canon or Tokina or Sigma in that range all seem good, but they're not cheap lenses.

Wider angle than the P&S lenses so you'll get in more of the room, but at a price in aperture so you need more light. If your mother usually works in properties with large windows and in sunny conditions, it wouldn't be an issue.

I haven't tried the Canon add-on lenses for the G9 yet, but they make a wide angle adapter that might be good enough quality (being Canon) to allow the relatively long lens on the G9 to do the job with the adapter.

What matters most?
Pocketability
Widest angle
Speed/ease of operation

Samsung NV24HD - 24mm
Panasonic DMC FX35 - 25mm
Panasonic DMC TZ5 - 28mm
Canon G9 35mm (26mm with adapter)

I think she wants to get an DSLR. My grandfather just got the canon xsi and he's telling her he doesn't think its necessary to get a wide angle lens but, I think she'd be happier with the results from one if she did.

Thanks for the info :)

Amber

...Another agent she works with has some kind of Nikon and he was telling her that the camera has some function that corrects the lighting so when you are taking a picture into a room with windows, the lighting is fixed so you can see everything inside and outside with no glare on the windows etc.


That sounds like nonsense to me. Lighting is just about balance. Exposure indoors and outdoors must balance if one wants both to be rendered that way. In other words, shooting at the right time of day has more to do with it than the equipment used.

Still, I've had to do it without having any say on the timing. I used the HDR feature of photoshop to bring the indoor and outdoor exposure into balance.

As for the lens, I used the 17-40mm f/4L. It is not wide enough on a 1.6x crop factor camera IMO.


Either way, a good deal of experience with understanding exposure will be a prerequisite in achieving what she wants to accomplish. IOW, one won't be able to just step in, shoot, and walk out with the look she wants.

Then if it's the 1.6x crop body, the wider the lens the better.
As long as it's a rectilinear (no distortion) zoom at the wide end, or you have software to fix the corners of the image.
I don't think it would be good to exchange a camera that's not wide enough for a lens that means you need to edit each image, unless your mother is happy to spend time in photoshop.

unless your mother is happy to spend time in photoshop.

No not really lol.. she doesn't have that much time.

Amber