Need help deciding my next lens for real estate

I just got a rokinon 12mm fisheye for my canon 5d Mark ii. So far this lens has been super fun, but now I'm thinking of getting a wide angle to do some real estate photography. I'm no pro or anything but wanted to see if I can make a little cash to compensate the purchase of a lens. I was thinking of getting a sigma 24-105 art series lens. I've heard great things about it. I was just curious to know if this is a wide enough angle for the full frame camera? I don't want to spent a ton of money on a lens. Any suggestions? I've done some research and a lot of lens that I've read online are referring to lens that is capable to only a crop sensor like the canon 10-18mm or 10-22mm. Need some feedback and suggestions! The sigma 24-105 is also good for the overall walk around lens. I eventually want to get a 70-200 f4 in the future to shoot surfing.

Thanks for the help!

EDIT: I realized that this might be in the wrong section. If so, can the moderator please move this to the correct section?

Thanks!

For a 5D you'll want to start with something like a 17-40mm or a 16-35mm (any of versions will work)

Look into 24 and 17mm TS lenses if you're going for real estate. They make dealing with verticals (which will be a big thing for you) *much* easier. You can go straight Wide/UWA but you wind up with a fair bit of distortion to the internals/externals of buildings that is not desirable for RE shots.

The tilt shift lens are way too expensive for right now, as I'm just starting to get back into photography. I would also like to know how other people got started, or what lens they started off with?

andrewliu wrote in post #17973219
The tilt shift lens are way too expensive for right now, as I'm just starting to get back into photography. I would also like to know how other people got started, or what lens they started off with?

We use the 16-35 f/4 IS for my wife's kitchens.

Yes, there is some distortion but I've found that Lightroom corrects it pretty easily..... perhaps not a tilt/shift lens level, but good enough for our uses.

Most of the shots on my website were taken without a tilt shift lens. Check it out.

www.daviesimaging.com

Edit: just looked through my website and 90% of those images are from a 17-40mm.

If you shoot without a shift-capable lens, you can use postprocessing software to correct the converging vertical lines. Be aware, however, that you may introduce apparent aspect ratio error by doing so. I just photographed a nice square piece of paper on a rule background (paper cutter). (Think of the paper as a 8' x 8' wall being photographed when your camera and lens is not perfectly level to the ground)

The first shot is as taken in the camera and imported into Lightroom.

Your photos are amazing! 17-40mm huh? I guess I'll have to look into this one! Also, what about the 17-55mm one? I read a review that this is sharper than the 17-40.

Edit: just did some more digging on 17-55 and found out that it's not compatible with the 5DMKII

Wow! Thank you so much for explaining this to me. Is paintshop pro a must have tool? I have lightroom and photoshop, but I'm not a pro at any of those programs. I definitely want to start learning more though.

andrewliu wrote in post #17973488
Wow! Thank you so much for explaining this to me. Is paintshop pro a must have tool? I have lightroom and photoshop, but I'm not a pro at any of those programs. I definitely want to start learning more though.

I used Paintshop Pro simply because I have not upgraded my computer to the Lightroom 5. LR5 has the Upright tool (in lens corrections) and can resolve converging verticals. I mentioned apparent distortions caused in the correction of converging verticals because it is a generic result, not unique to the software I used, but is something that even Adobe points out in its video tutorials. Adobe has a variety of options in LR that you can turn on/off to address different forms of resultant distortions, some of which are designed to 'make the photo more pleasing to the eye' but in itself can allow varying degrees of distortions to exist in the correction process. If I had an active business in real estate photography, I certainly would have upgraded my computer software long ago, to use perspective correction in LR6 (and later).

Here's a link to two posts I did about Perspective Control lenses and choice of FL, and the use of reaaally wide angle for real estate photography earlier this year.

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=17845959

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=17845997

And pertinent to OP question, what an architectural photographer recenty added to that thread as comments:

"I'm an architectural photographer based in Washington, D.C. I shoot condos, office buildings and rental properties for marketing in print and on the web. I use the Canon and Schneider tilt/shift lenses. The lens you would use the most for interiors is the 24MM TS-E II. It's not too often but for tighter spots I use the 17MM TS-E. If you were to buy just one lens, I'd recommend the 24 TS-E II (the original 24 TSE was soft). If you are shooting for money and can afford it, the 17MM can be handy to have. I also use two Schneider TS lenses, the 50 and 90MM, but those are reserved more for exterior elevation shots from a distance or detail work."

Thanks for the tips!

But I opted to go for the Canon 16-35mm f4!!! Heard realy good reviews about it. I still can't afford the tilt shift, so hopefully this lens will be enough!

We do a lot of architecture, and I agree with the architectural photographer that the 24mm TS-E is the most used.

However, for Real Estate, it seems that the exaggerated space of a very (17mm) wide angle makes the places look bigger, which seems to be the preference in real estate.

photoperson wrote in post #17975958
We do a lot of architecture, and I agree with the architectural photographer that the 24mm TS-E is the most used.

However, for Real Estate, it seems that the exaggerated space of a very (17mm) wide angle makes the places look bigger, which seems to be the preference in real estate.

Yes, just as I related in my first link in Post #11 !
Quite a change in attitude compared to what was expressed by a real estate agent decades ago...no longer 'truth in advertising', they now simply want to lure you in! I wonder what the BROKERS currently think about this point, compared to the 'used car salesmen' agents.

TSE 17mm TSE 24mm 5Dmk II or III CPL for the lenses
Tripod, ball head. Light.