Favorite Lens - Real Estate

Just finished up shooting a listing in MA - looking to see what some of you prefer for lenses for both interior and exterior?

Here are some shots from the interior

Snitched wrote in post #18282885
Just finished up shooting a listing in MA - looking to see what some of you prefer for lenses for both interior and exterior?

Here are some shots from the interior

Hosted photo: posted by Snitched in
./showthread.php?p=182​82885&i=i218495032
forum: Architecture, Real-Estate & Buildings

Hosted photo: posted by Snitched in
./showthread.php?p=182​82885&i=i96680280
forum: Architecture, Real-Estate & Buildings

Feedback is appreciated as well!

Hi...the problem with shooting so wide as you have to for interior shots in Real Estate is the amount of PP work you need to do in either lightroom or PS to even up the distortion wide angle of 16mm ( 10mm x1.6 crop). And even then it may only be 80% corrected. Whilst you have done a great job of fixing the wide angle distortion in the images above there are still some lines out in the 2 shots although to fix that would mean major major c work in PS as I assume this is the best you can get using the std Lightroom/PS lens correction tool? . Mind you most people wouldnt notice what I have noticed especially if the shots/images are not going to be enlarged that much and basically destined for web so if thats the case these images will look good ..........

Also if you are keen about this and looking to go further with Real Estate work in the future then maybe worthwhile considering upgrading to a lens body combo that will ease the workload you will need to do in PS etc to get the angles right. Thats assuming you are required to get them as natural looking as possible by the client firm. If thats the case I would suggest looking at lens and camera combo of a Canon ef 17mmTSE( tilt shift lens ) and any second hand full frame camera like a 5 or 6d. This combo will help heaps in angle correction because angle adjustment is by way of the camera/lens which happens at time of shot and its this work flow that will greatly reduce your work later on when you PP in PS/Lightroom . Also reason for need of a full frame sensor combined with the 17mm TS lens is that the effective angle of view on a cropped sensor camera like the 40D will mean you only have an effective Wide angle of 27mm with the Canon TSE 17mm which will most likely be too narrow a viewpoint for work you want to do.

rgds

clipper_from_oz wrote in post #18283198
Hi...the problem with shooting so wide as you have to for interior shots in Real Estate is the amount of PP work you need to do in either lightroom or PS to even up the distortion wide angle of 16mm ( 10mm x1.6 crop). And even then it may only be 80% corrected. Whilst you have done a great job of fixing the wide angle distortion in the images above there are still some lines out in the 2 shots although to fix that would mean major major c work in PS as I assume this is the best you can get using the std Lightroom/PS lens correction tool? . Mind you most people wouldnt notice what I have noticed especially if the shots/images are not going to be enlarged that much and basically destined for web so if thats the case these images will look good ..........

Also if you are keen about this and looking to go further with Real Estate work in the future then maybe worthwhile considering upgrading to a lens body combo that will ease the workload you will need to do in PS etc to get the angles right. Thats assuming you are required to get them as natural looking as possible by the client firm. If thats the case I would suggest looking at lens and camera combo of a Canon ef 17mmTSE( tilt shift lens ) and any second hand full frame camera like a 5 or 6d. This combo will help heaps in angle correction because angle adjustment is by way of the camera/lens which happens at time of shot and its this work flow that will greatly reduce your work later on when you PP in PS/Lightroom . Also reason for need of a full frame sensor combined with the 17mm TS lens is that the effective angle of view on a cropped sensor camera like the 40D will mean you only have an effective Wide angle of 27mm with the Canon TSE 17mm which will most likely be too narrow a viewpoint for work you want to do.

rgds

I appreciate your critique greatly - I am actually in the market now for a 6D as the added video feature as well may be something I am looking to integrate into these real estate packages.

Upstairs room for a client that was still in the building stage that needed images ASAP
Canon 17-40. 6D

16-35 on a 6D. Have had the 2.8 version 1 and now the F4 IS. Both were/are equally capable and are excellent.

theimagepoint wrote in post #18284180
Upstairs room for a client that was still in the building stage that needed images ASAP
Canon 17-40. 6D

Hosted photo: posted by theimagepoint in
./showthread.php?p=182​84180&i=i205326606
forum: Architecture, Real-Estate & Buildings

When you have vertical elements that close to the edge of the frame they have to be spot on. And any horizontals that are obvious and parallel have to be that way as well.

I live on my 6D and my 16-35 for interior. I try to live between 19mm and 24mm to avoid distortion. Positioning and composition is key.

For real estate I use a 16-35 F4 on my Sony A7RII.
For architecture I use 17TSE, 24TSE, 45TSE and 90TSE on the Sony A7RII via a Metabones IV or Sigma MC-11 adapter.

The reason I make the distinction is that real estate pricing doesn't justify the workflow required with the TSE lenses.

I do most of my real estate shooting for a studio and they take care of the final edit. I do make a point of getting verticals vertical. That's easy with a proper leveling head on the tripod.

dmward wrote in post #18287251
When you have vertical elements that close to the edge of the frame they have to be spot on. And any horizontals that are obvious and parallel have to be that way as well.

Can you go into more detail about vertical and horizontal elements? I don't currently do real estate photography but I'm thinking of trying my hand at it and I'm scouring this forum for information.

I use a Canon EFs 10-22 on a 7DII for almost all interior work. The lens is not often set at 10mm for the reasons others have outlined above. I usually work in the 13mm-20mm range. Outside I prefer my EF 24-105L when possible. It just does a better job of exteriors. I am VERY careful about leveling and vertical convergence. Any slight error is corrected in LR but I don't miss often. When I do depart from conventional upright and level framing, I do so deliberately to highlight some architectural detail and in a way that no one can think it was anything but intentional.

Unlike one of the posters above, I would not use any prime - t/s or otherwise - for RE interior work. It would be too limiting and would slow me down a good deal. Such lenses should be saved for more exacting and deliberate work on which more time can be expended than is practical in RE work.

rgs wrote in post #18349370
I use a Canon EFs 10-22 on a 7DII for almost all interior work. The lens is not often set at 10mm for the reasons others have outlined above. I usually work in the 13mm-20mm range. Outside I prefer my EF 24-105L when possible. It just does a better job of exteriors. I am VERY careful about leveling and vertical convergence. Any slight error is corrected in LR but I don't miss often. When I do depart from conventional upright and level framing, I do so deliberately to highlight some architectural detail and in a way that no one can think it was anything but intentional.

Unlike one of the posters above, I would not use any prime - t/s or otherwise - for RE interior work. It would be too limiting and would slow me down a good deal. Such lenses should be saved for more exacting and deliberate work on which more time can be expended than is practical in RE work.

You could have a backup body with a t/s or something like a 50mm mounted on it in order to capture something cool when you see the opportunity for a shift or bokeh. It's quick, but you need a 2nd body.

joooowan wrote in post #18349402
You could have a backup body with a t/s or something like a 50mm mounted on it in order to capture something cool when you see the opportunity for a shift or bokeh. It's quick, but you need a 2nd body.

I could and I carry a back of EVERYTHING. But I could change a lens as fast as I could move one camera from the tripod and put the other on while unplugging the tablet I have tethered to the camera and plugging the other one in. I do use my 24-105 for some interior details. It's quite good for that but too long on a crop for general interior use.

rgs wrote in post #18349370
I use a Canon EFs 10-22 on a 7DII for almost all interior work. The lens is not often set at 10mm for the reasons others have outlined above. I usually work in the 13mm-20mm range. Outside I prefer my EF 24-105L when possible. It just does a better job of exteriors. I am VERY careful about leveling and vertical convergence. Any slight error is corrected in LR but I don't miss often. When I do depart from conventional upright and level framing, I do so deliberately to highlight some architectural detail and in a way that no one can think it was anything but intentional.

Unlike one of the posters above, I would not use any prime - t/s or otherwise - for RE interior work. It would be too limiting and would slow me down a good deal. Such lenses should be saved for more exacting and deliberate work on which more time can be expended than is practical in RE work.

Do you typically use a flash? Incidentally, my house was just put on the market so I got to watch a photographer come in and shoot. He was using a 16-24 with a flash. The photos came out great.

Most of the time I bounce a flash from a wall behind me into the room. I never use direct flash (too harsh) or umbrellas (still too harsh and the hardware is hard to shoot around). The flash gives clarity, sharpness, good color without color shifts makes windows and light sources easy to balance.

The flash exposure is followed by a 7 shot, 1 stop bracket (no flash) which serves to provide an ambient exposure to blend with the flash in PS for better modeling, filling of shadows, and in general obscuring the 1 flash look and giving a more ambient look. If the flash/ambient blend proves not to work in post, I will blend several of the bracketed shots in LR-Enfuse.

Manslide wrote in post #18342384
Can you go into more detail about vertical and horizontal elements? I don't currently do real estate photography but I'm thinking of trying my hand at it and I'm scouring this forum for information.

Vertical have to be vertical and when shooting with a wall or other element parallel to the sensor then that horizontal edge has to be parallel with the top or bottom of the frame.

Lightroom transform module, under the lens correction module has sliders to help get vertical vertical and the horizontal horizontal. I don't rely on the auto buttons. They miss more often than they get it right.

As others have said, extreme wide angle lens will distort more toward the edges. That means try to keep things that will look distorted away from the edges.

Around me, the realtors want wide to make a room look spacious. That creates a challenge for finding points of view that won't make things look too strange. If it looks too distorted I show the realtor the back of the camera and let them decide. They invariably take the wider shot.