I had to write this post to not only thank Jeff Turner for recommending such a great camera, but to show you hands on what this little camera is capable of. Just in case some of you don't know, Jeff is the president of Real Estate Shows (a great tool to showcase your listings to your customers and on your websites - take a look at a show I did to test his product).
So here was my dilemma. I am always looking for ways to improve our marketing and I have a great camera (a Lumix, made by Panasonic), which takes unbelievable photos and has a great optical zoom, etc. etc. etc. and have the ability to purchase a wide angle lens for those smaller spaces or difficult angles. I visited Jeff's website and saw he recommends a tiny little camera that has an ultra wide lens. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the price ($220.00)!! And then Jeff writes on how easy it is to use it. The lens alone for my camera would cost over $400.
So I said, what is there to loose, I am going to trust Jeff's judgment and will buy the camera to test it out. Take a look at these amazing shots -which I took quickly without prepping or fixing and before even reading the manual.
In this kitchen shot I am standing in the same exact spot without even moving the camera. The first shot is taken with the normal lens and the second with the wide angle - talk about a difference!!
This is a narrow cabana bathroom. Again I am standing in the same exact spot without moving the camera and look at the improvement of the second shot.
And lastly, I wanted to do an exterior shot to show you the endless possibilities when it comes to showcasing your properties.
What else can I say but WOW!! and THANK YOU, THANK YOU JEFF! ...and ultimately THANK YOU ACTIVE RAIN (without Active rain, I would have never learned about Jeff, his services and this great camera).
I received the camera last night and first I had to share with you, now I am running out the door to go take more photographs of our listings.
Ravi - the price cannot be any better... and it's a 7.1 mega pixel too.
Monika - it is incredible, and you don't even have to go through the trouble of changing lenses.
Maggie - I do apologize, but it will be worth it - just think of all the money that will come rushing in because you were able to photograph those small bathrooms.
Bryant - the price does not reflect the quality of this camera - take my word.
Carole - you are welcome - go get that manual and figure it out because it's great!
OH! And you can even take panoramic shots with this camera too!
Thanks so much for sharing Rick & Ines. How good is the flash with interior rooms that have poor lighting? I purchased a Canon Rebel a couple of years ago and spent over $1,300 complete with wide angle lens and expensive add on flash. My interior photos are very poor where there is low lighting even when I use my flash!
Please let me know, George
Ines - BIG difference in those pictures, and I like the price, too, knowing it really is a good camera. I have a good one now that I really like, but would love to be able to take wide-angle pics. Thanks for this post!
Ann
I was on the fence because I just bought a higher end camera, but for $220 and free shipping on Amazon.com it wouldn't hurt to have a pocket camera.
:) I'm glad you like it, Ines!
P.S. For all those looking at the reviews on Amazon.com, I've never really trusted them. It's too easy for a competitor to trash a camera. They don't have a way to rate the trustworthiness of their reviews.
Ardell - you always make me laugh...how do you do that?
Mariana - I agree and I was so pleasantly surprised!
Christina - I skimmed through the reviews and can tell you I bought it for the wide angle. Our other camera is great but it's big and this one I figured would be a good compliment - I have not owned it long enough to comment about its battery life and the other comments made in the Amazon review.
Lysa - it's funny how you can buy a great camera and then you want more or something different - I think you are pretty clear about your needs.
George - the lighting in those rooms above is not that great and the flash was not bad at all - you can actually choose the shutter size for lighting as well.
Kay - since you have one of these, feel free to jump in to answer any of these questions, you probably know more about the camera than I do.
Thank you Maureen - glad that others can share in my excitement!
Ann - the way I look at it is that it is a good supplement for your other camera to take those difficult wide angle shots.
Ryan - you won't be disappointed!
I'm glad you think so Lola, I was hoping the pictures would REPRESENT!
Brian- although I love the Lumix, and it takes incredible sports photos, it's refreshing to have a pocket camera now as well.
Linda - I totally missed Angus' post - I'm going to look for it, thanks.
Tim - I did not realize it had dropped in price - I guess I got a deal too! Jeff should be getting a cut from Kodak with all this publicity!
There you are Jeff!! Are you kidding me? I LOVE it! Thanks again! - I'm glad you said that about the reviews because that very long one seems to come from a professional photographer trying to get the best device on the market from a point and shoot pocket camera.
Hey guys, great post illustrating the value of wider angle glass. The before and afters are really helpful.
To answer George's question:
Just some general info about the 300D (rebel) related to shooting indoors - it's a 1.6x crop camera...meaning any lens you use is essentially going to operate as if it's focal length is multiplied by 1.6. In other words your 50mm prime is going to become ~80mm, a 24mm becomes a effective ~38mm etc. This in itself is going to make it difficult to get the best results shooting interiors as even your wide angle lenses will be pushed out toward telephoto.
Regarding lighting. If you are using the onboard fill flash it will be very difficult to avoid blowing out a big portion of your image. Assuming you are using a speedlight (i.e. your expensive flash add on in your words) you'll have much better luck...but remember to fire your flash backwards! This is called bouncing the flash and will smooth out the lighting tremendously and provide much more evenly toned images. Look for bright white ceiling or wall to bounce against. This will keep the color temp. in line.
Your third option is more work but can yield much better results. Invest is a quality tripod and cable release. Meter your camera to available light (using no flash) and allow for a long exposure. Keep in mind that if you have high contrast areas (like a bright window or sky) you'll blow these out completely. Don't worry to much about that though as most consumer cameras can't handle that level of detail anyway...and certainly not a P&S that most agents use. Remember, pictures are one of your biggest marketing tools.
The final method is far superior to any previous but requires significant skill to execute properly (also keep in mind it's just not always necessary - you only really need it when you have really bright areas and dark areas). You probably want to avoid this one but I'm throwing it out there for the more adventurous of you. The process is HDR imaging and involves taking multiple exposures (on a tripod of course) and blending them together to get the highs and the lows exposed correctly, beyond what the camera is capable of in a single exposure. The results are are often astounding, but again...probably overkill for most folks. I've included some sample HDR images below. These are shots from the same room where there was tremendously bright light at the windows and not much making it into the room itself (the wow factor here is that the room looks 'normal', as the eye would perceive it).
Cheers, -B
Here are Angus Woodbury's (AKA MOO) posts on the same camera:
Wide angle shots - and A different wide angle trick with the V570
that way you can get a different perspective on my new toy. Thanks again for the heads up Linda.
I am bookmarking this post so I can buy the camara when I have the cash!!!!!
I hope you posted this in gadgets...and tips and tricks....
=-D
R & I, I plan to put out several blogs to help folks better understand how to improve their images (such an underutilized area of marketing for most agents).
Anyway, I don't want to train folks up too well or I won't have any clients. ;)
All kidding aside, I'm happy to help. To anyone with questions...feel free to stop by and ask away. I'm happy to answer as time allows.
Cheers, -B
Wow, what a great post. I figured I'd be spending some big bucks to get anythign wide angle at all.
I've been using my little Canon fro quite sometime, it look slike it might be time to trade it in.
Ines,
I've had the Lumix for awhile now and the first wide angle street shot I took blew me away. I was able to see the leaves on the trees from across the street. When I posted the shot, a lot of people ran out and bought the camera. The Leica lens is wonderful as is the image stabilization and the convertible aspect ratio. I guess you can tell I love the camera.
Oops! It must be late. I misread your post. I see you were touting the Kodak, but I must say I'd be hard put to find a better camera (and I have three) than the Lumix and it's tiny.
Morning Ines. I stopped by with coffe in hand to see what you were up to. :) I am going to buy this camera for sure. Jeff convinced my with his photos when he first starting raving about it, but these side by side comparisons just put me over the edge. This will be so beneficial for appraisal reports, both for interior shots and rear photos (where I normally cant get the entire back of the house due to a small backyard).
PS. Nick says hi! :)
Bryce - a lot of us will take you up on that - there are small things we can do to improve our shots, but just remember to keep it simple, for those of us that are not into the technical aspects of photography.
Kaushik - I'm not sure either, but if you have a wide angle option, you should be OK.
Tara - you've heard it now from different people recommending the camera, it may not be a bad idea.
Geri - I love my Lumix also, and the zoom is fantastic, but I don't have a wide angle option.
Frank- That's what I call a broker! good for you.
Bill - you are right about photoshop - Craig Schiller is the king of photoshop here and has taught us a lot - he not only stages properties, but his pictures as well.
Chris - and to think I stood in the same exact place and did not move the camera....not bad, uh?
Nicky Mississippi - I hope you brought me some CAFE as well - your reports are going to be stunning! :)
Diane - it's a no brainer for that price, that's why I did it.
the pics look great. I have a Lumix also but I am opting for a wide angle lens from Ebay. $35 so I don't have to pay the $220+ unless I have to. The pics make me want to buy one now but I will try the lens first.
Thanks for the tip! Looks like something else I need to have. Since today is my birthday I will buy one for myself.
Rick
Sean - I don't have "Ebay patience" - good luck with the new lens
Christine - a photo idiot??? LOL! I don't think so....this one will work just fine.
Rick - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Talk about timing, now you can buy yourself a great birthday gift.
Don - I always feel like I'm talking to the Godfather when I read your name - talk about powerful! I really hope those helped, and take a look at Angus' shots too to get a better idea.
Ines...
Thanks. I was looking for a reason to shop :)
TLW...ROAR!
I think I am going to be buying one of these as well. We should have seen if they offered a bulk discount if we all had bought one at the same time...lol. Although the price is unbelievable affordable.
Christy, that would have been hilarious! What kind of discount would you get for purchasing 200 of these thingamabobs?
Kelly - you are quite welcome.
Rick and Ines,
I have the previous model. Can't say enough good about the camera...the software , on the other hand, is something else entirely. Advise everyone to make sure they download updates to the software..at least the updated versions are slightly better.
How do we know which one of you is blogging???? Or, are you like my partner and I. We are so closely linked that we are very often thinking the same thoughts at the same time. We were born on a couple of days apart and it is really remarkable how often this happens.
Ines, good point...I tend to blab on and on...I'll try to keep things simpler on the blog. :)
No worries about asking questions...it's getting me to stop talking that's the tricky bit. :)
Bryce - sounds like you're into sharing and educating, I like you already!
Ines
Rick & Ines of the Miami Shores Real Estate Professionals,.this is a well thought out tribute to Jeff Turner and his tireless contribution to AR. I am also using the realestateshows and have had quite a lot of success with it. The camera's wide angle does wonder.
There is a Kodak V570 and a v705. The only difference is the # of megapixels. You can buy the more expensive one but for Real Estate it isn't needed. Make sure NOT to buy the V610 series, it does NOT HAVE THE SAME WIDE ANGLE
I bought 5 of the v570 cameras for all of my agents, they are a MUST have. But damn, Amazon just dropped the price to $150!
$150 on Amazon Kodak Kodak V570
Frank Borges LL0SA- Virginia Broker/ Owner
Ines -- Christy Powers here on AR just bought the 705 and has problems/questions. Maybe you can think of some answers for her ... Here's her blog http://activerain.com/blogsview/57748/I-followed-AR-advice
P.S. I don't suppose I could talk you into adding this blog to Photography Group? http://activerain.com/groups/photography -- We have a growing collection of Photography lessons by Bryce Mohan and others there http://activerain.com/blogsview/54962/Photography-1-1-List
Brad - the zoom on the Lumix is amazing - I have the best close-ups of my kids.
Tim - let me know how you like it.