Which Lens for Photographing Homes

I am in the process of (re)building a website for my company. I do custom home building and renovations. As I am in to photography I would like to take my own photos. I only do residential work, so the largest subject size would be of the front elevation of a house, with the surrounding landscape in many cases. I would also be taking photos inside of rooms and details. I might like to do some panned shots, I would imagine stitching images would be the way to go.

What would be a good lens for this use? Right now I am using a 20D with thoughts of getting a FF soon (was hoping for a 5D MkII but will likely get a 5D). My lenses that could be of use are 50, 85, 100, 10-22, 17-85 & 24-105.

My thoughts, a TS-E 24mm. Would this be overkill? I know I could used some of the lenses I have and use CS2 to bring the perspective closer to normal and crop. Would I lose anything by doing this? How about for stitching images, wide angle is not very good for this, I would imagine a TS lens would make this easier to do.

Any thoughts or input would be appreciated.

Now, over to the Lighting Forum on the same subject. LINK

its a great lens, and will work ewll for this. I think you might be in for some headaches trying to stitch them together though, if you made any chages to the perseptive that is.

I would rent one first though, its a very specialized lens and a big investment.

I usualy use a 16-35 on a 1.3x body and fix the distortion if I have to

for the inside of the house, I'd go with a fisheye. 180 degree coverage making a nice panoramic shot when defished.

TS lens are nice too, but with you're correct that you can do perspective control PP.

The 24-105 will not be wide enough for interiors. If you want to do interior panos you will have to get a pano rig. You will not be stitch shots just be rotating your camera on a tripod. Too much distortion, one shot to the next, because everything is too close.

As suggested above the 16-35 would be a great lens on the 5D

Check the FM reviews on Sigma 15-30 (can be used on 5D).

Thanks for the input everyone.

coreypolis wrote in post #2957187
its a great lens, and will work ewll for this. I think you might be in for some headaches trying to stitch them together though, if you made any chages to the perseptive that is.

I would rent one first though, its a very specialized lens and a big investment.

I usualy use a 16-35 on a 1.3x body and fix the distortion if I have to

Renting is a good idea. I would practise a bunch in my own home first no matter what lens I plan on going with.

drjiveturkey wrote in post #2957238
for the inside of the house, I'd go with a fisheye. 180 degree coverage making a nice panoramic shot when defished.

TS lens are nice too, but with you're correct that you can do perspective control PP.

Can a fisheye be corrected well enough to look 'normal'? Would it not stretch out some parts of the image so it looks odd? I have been playing with getting a Peleng 8MM. Might that be too wide?

blueM wrote in post #2957289
The 24-105 will not be wide enough for interiors. If you want to do interior panos you will have to get a pano rig. You will not be stitch shots just be rotating your camera on a tripod. Too much distortion, one shot to the next, because everything is too close.

As suggested above the 16-35 would be a great lens on the 5D

I agree on the 24-105. It would only be useful with detail shots. I did plan on dumping my 17-85 and 10-22 and getting a 17-40 or maybe a 16-35 once I get a FF body. I would prefer the 17-40 for its lighter weight and would think it would still do fine with adequate ligthing.

Honeybee wrote in post #2957308
Check the FM reviews on Sigma 15-30 (can be used on 5D).

Not familiar with this lens, will look at it though. How does it compare to the 17-40 for image quality?

drjiveturkey wrote in post #2957238
for the inside of the house, I'd go with a fisheye. 180 degree coverage making a nice panoramic shot when defished.

TS lens are nice too, but with you're correct that you can do perspective control PP.

Yes post processing can straighten out converging verticals, but they have to spread the existing pixels to do so...the results are easily horrible looking! There was a thread showing such an example, and you understand rapidly why that should only be done in verrrrry moderate amounts -- or fix it in the shooting! I can't find that example of horrible pixel spread and exaggeration of the limited resolution within that area, but on another thread comparing the TSE result vs. Photoshop lens correction, the guy state, "The last shot in the series is an edited version of photo 1 above. The lens correction filter was used to bring the verticals more upright. I noticed that contrast was lost and softness introduced where the pixels had been compressed and stretched. The image was then cropped to give a regular rectangular frame."


You MUST have a perfectly level camera and lens in order to avoid converging lines, with a rectilinear lens. A shift lens permits a level camera while altering the framing so that you get an optimal shot. Otherwise you would have to climb the ladder a lot more, to avoid converging lines without a shift lens.

With a fisheye, ANY LINE which does not pass exactly thru the center of the frame will be BOWED, not merely converging lines!

There's always this fun guy:
http://0-360.com/

for use with the 5d i'd get the 17-40L or the new 16-35L when it comes out.

ed rader

Great input Wilt.

coreypolis wrote in post #2957702
There's always this fun guy:
http://0-360.com/

That does look neat, though most of the image is quite distorted.

I would use the 16-35L 2.8 or the 10-22.

Wilt wrote in post #2957553
Yes post processing can straighten out converging verticals, but they have to spread the existing pixels to do so...the results are easily horrible looking! There was a thread showing such an example, and you understand rapidly why that should only be done in verrrrry moderate amounts -- or fix it in the shooting! I can't find that example of horrible pixel spread and exaggeration of the limited resolution within that area, but on another thread comparing the TSE result vs. Photoshop lens correction, the guy state, "The last shot in the series is an edited version of photo 1 above. The lens correction filter was used to bring the verticals more upright. I noticed that contrast was lost and softness introduced where the pixels had been compressed and stretched. The image was then cropped to give a regular rectangular frame."


You MUST have a perfectly level camera and lens in order to avoid converging lines, with a rectilinear lens. A shift lens permits a level camera while altering the framing so that you get an optimal shot. Otherwise you would have to climb the ladder a lot more, to avoid converging lines without a shift lens.

With a fisheye, ANY LINE which does not pass exactly thru the center of the frame will be BOWED, not merely converging lines!

What Wilt said. If you're serious, I think the TS-E 24mm is the only real choice. Rent one like Cory recommended.

ed rader wrote in post #2957728
for use with the 5d i'd get the 17-40L or the new 16-35L when it comes out.

ed rader

Word to your mother!

I use the 5D & TS-E24L/17-40L combo for architecture all the time and I do not foresee changing any time soon. The 10D & 70-200L handle the exterior details.

If Canada is like the US, anything you purchase for your business is a deductable expense.

Have-a-ball

Thanks again for the input everyone.

I am going to a local camera store to pick up a new tripod tomorrow and will see if they rent the TS-E 24. I will give it a go. I realize that it has a steeper learning curve than most lenses. Does anyone know of any instructional pages or review pages on that lens.

I will do a bunch of practice with my other lenses and play with the images in PS to see what kind of results I can get.