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Ruth Gabbard Licensed Real Estate Broker, Honolulu, HI

Date: September 19, 2007

9/19/2007 @ 7:14 PM HST

Larry Rogers wrote:
>>> With today's digital cameras, there is no cost for film developing, so take some extra pictures from different views. If you don't like them later, just push the delete button. No harm, no foul, no cost. BUT, you just might get a really good one that you wouldn't have otherwise tried if you had to pay for film. <<<

Aloha Larry:

Even before digital cameras, I always took A LOT of photos. I've never claimed to be a great photographer, but I've always known I have much better odds with lots of photos. Sometimes I'll shoot 20 shots moving an inch to the left (or right) for each shot because you never which one is "the money shot". I know AM is better than PM for taking photos (at least in Hawaii unless you're trying to get sunset or specialty shots). On average, per listing, I take about 200-300 photos to produce 10-12 good results. Sometimes my clients ask if I photographed the right property. LOL

Re: Orchid - just a fast test shot to check close-up feature - no aiming.

Re: Building - my father was an artist and I did learn a few things about space, color, and angles from him.

Still my biggest frustration: shooting into a large expanse of windows (we have a lot of condos here with that narrow rectangle with windows at the end). Someone said to focus away from the windows, but that didn't solve the problem for me. If you've got any suggestions, "I am listening". :-)

Have a Happy Hawaiian Day!

Ruth A. Gabbard (R), CRB, CRS, SRES, PB
Gabbard Hawaii Properties | Honolulu, Hawaii
808-534-1850 | 877-ALOHA HI (256-4244) Toll Free
E-mail: realtalk@hawaii-properties.info

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Steven Hong Licensed Real Estate Agent, minneapolis, MN

Date: September 20, 2007

Hey Larry, I have the 420ex, which costs considerably less (about $179), but I never use it for Real Estate photography. I almost always use natural light for all of my real estate photography. That gives the rooms so much more character and feel, than flash photography.Â

Ruth, I, too, checked out the house pic and orchid pic. The orchid pic looks good, but there is less detail than what is in the house pic. If you look at the house pic at 100% crop, youâ€™ll see that the grass is really less defined and splotchy. But the most important thing that I find wrong with this camera (v570), is that the photos are not sharp. Look at the edges between the sidewalk pieces, or the edges of where the roof meets the sky, or anywhere else there is contrast, and itâ€™s just not very sharp or clear. Â

A friend of mine has the V705. Iâ€™ll try to get out with his camera and my camera and shoot the same scene side by side in the near future. Iâ€™ll also take a couple shots with my cheap/old digital camera the Canon PowerShot A75. Â Iâ€™ll bet that most people will be able to notice a difference between the V705 and the Canon Digital Rebel (the first affordable dslr). The V705 right now costs about $299. The Canon Digital Rebel Â costs under $400 with the 18-55. The Digital Rebel can only be purchased used because it is 3 models old.

Digital Rebel XT with lens $530

Digital Rebel XTi with lens $680

Nikon D40 with lens $499

Nikon D40x with lens $699

Prices are from www.BeachCamera.com .Â Â All the above lenses are the 18-55 canon or Nikon lenses. They have other package prices with better lenses for more $$$.

Steven Hong, e-PRO Realtor

RE/MAX Associates Plus

Minneapolis, MN

612-990-9009 cell

952-915-2252 direct

952-884-3021 fax

http://www.SearchingMinneapolis.com

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Larry Rogers

Date: September 20, 2007

Steven
I too, only use natural light to shoot houses. Open the windows, turn on the lights, set up the tripod. Oh, wait. I don't use the tripod any more. I just use the mono stick with the OS lens. Sorry. Still learning. Old dog syndrome.

About Ruth's house picture.... yea, it has "the wobblies" along the roof line, but I wonder if the picture was reduced before posting. It is only about half a meg. If that is full resolution, then yea, it isn't too good to my eyes. But then again, it is only going to be used on flyers that will be thrown away and a web site that people won't spend ten minutes looking at. But for me, personally, I want better stuff. Having said that, I also think she took a good picture. It has good composition and it shows the house well. People will see that picture and be favorably impressed with the property. That is the goal of taking a good picture..... Getting the people interested in the property.

One of the biggest advantages of good equipment is better pictures at ANY size or resolution!!! Normally, the pics I take are Large JPeg. When I post them to MLS, they are shrunk to 640x480. But because they are good to start with, they look good when they are small. If you start with a bad large photo, you will wind up with a bad small photo. Most of my pics start out between 3.5 and 4.5 megs. Then I shrink them to about 300K to 325 K using Microsoft Picture Resizer. It's cheap and easy. Not rocket science.

As Ruth's house picture demonstrates, it is more important to get a "good" picture than it is to have a "technically correct" picture. At least in this business. Why? Because most people that are looking at houses just see the house. They aren't looking for the "best photo." If the house looks good to them, then they will express interest in seeing the property. If you don't have a decent picture, then you have lost them.

Some of us are Ansel wannabees. Or at least wishwecoulds. But everything has to be taken in context with the individual. For example, some people have a "green thumb" and can grow any kind of plant with spectacular results. Other people are like my sister. She has a rock garden. Last week, two of them died.

For some people, taking pictures is like that. It wouldn't matter what kind of camera they have, the picture will still turn out bad. So for them, a simple point-n-shoot is the best answer. More important is trying to get them to see the house better. Instead of standing in front of the driveway and taking a picture of the garage door, walk across the yard and take it from that angle. After they get better shots, then they will be more interested in better equipment.

Larry Rogers
Avon Park FL

PS -- Steven.... I don't have the 580 either. I use a 430. Only difference I can tell is the Master/Slave remote capabilities of the 580. For me, that is not worth the extra two hundred dollars. (Nice way of saying "I ain't good enough to utilize it.")

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Ronny Geenen Licensed Real Estate Agent, Glendora, CA

Date: September 20, 2007

Ruth A. Gabbard wrote:

Do not use a flash.

Put the camera on a tripod, put the camera on manual and use different time settings.

Ronny Geenen
Southland Properties
211 N Glendora Ave
Glendora, CA 91741
Http://CaFoothillsRealEstate.com
Mailto:Ronny@RonnyGeenen.com
Cell: 626-278-2205

"The degree of civil liberty is not measured by the way the state treats millions of those who agree with it, but rather how it treats a dozen who don't". by Ludvík Vaculík

If you received this email in error, please contact the sender via e-mail or at 626-914-6999 and destroy all copies of this message and any attachments. Thank you.

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Ruth Gabbard Licensed Real Estate Broker, Honolulu, HI

Date: December 9, 2007

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12/9/2007 @ 10:31 AM HST

Steven Hong:

Ruth, I, too, checked out the house pic and orchid pic. The orchid pic looks good, but there is less detail than what is in the house pic. If you look at the house pic at 100% crop, you'll see that the grass is really less defined and splotchy. But the most important thing that I find wrong with this camera (v570), is that the photos are not sharp. Look at the edges between the sidewalk pieces, or the edges of where the roof meets the sky, or anywhere else there is contrast, and it's just not very sharp or clear. "

Aloha Steven:

You obviously know a lot more about cameras than I do so I will defer to your expertise.:-) That said, using the same camera, I have had many buyers offer on our listings based on seeing only the photos.

I have, however, found one major flaw (for me) with the v570 - it takes horrible night photos. It looks good on screen but usually turns out almost black. Perhaps I am missing a setting? - but that would mean actually reading the manual. LOL My old Sony Cybershot is much better for night shots. I can practically shoot in the dark and it comes out great. But I still like it for the other great things it does.

Since I am not a "camera buff", my interest in cameras is strictly the end result: Do my photos look awesome and help sell my listings? For me, the v570 does exactly that.

With Warmest Aloha,

Ruth A. Gabbard (R), CRB, CRS, SRES, PB
Gabbard Hawaii Properties | Honolulu, Hawaii
808-534-1850 | 877-ALOHA HI (256-4244) Toll Free
E-mail: realtalk@hawaii-properties.info

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gallagher4you@earthlink.net

Date: December 10, 2007

Larry rogers coment on Ruths Camera,just Fine at 160.00 What is the Name of Camera?

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