RealTown's RealTalk

For any of the Camera Experts
 

I just bought a Sigma 10 - 20 Lens for my Canon Digital Rebel. Very pleased
with the Field Of View in comparison with the 18 - 55 Lens. Not so pleased
with the Color of some photos.
 

Question is - do you need to have auxiliary lighting / strobe other than
camera flash to support interior photos with a lens of this size?
 

Thanks.
 

JIM
The Jim Cummings Team



Jim,

No, you need a monopod or a tripod. Change your ISO to 200 and change your lens opening 2 stops to 4 stops.
I use the Canon 40D and the Canon Lens 10-22mm and I take every time 3 pictures from the same point with monopod and use the standard opening, next 2 stops and the following another 2 stops.
Turn the lights on and play with the incoming window lights.
You bought a good lens and it was my second choice on my list.

 

JIM

Jim, what Ronny is telling you to do is shoot in "brackets" or better known as "HDR". You can Google HDR and find more information than you will ever need.
HDR is not something you can just pick up and run with. It takes a lot of practice and time to learn. You will also need software to put the brackets together. If you don't what to spend all of your time in front of your computer working with pictures I would suggest a good wide angle flash/strobe. I can't help with the Canon as I shoot Nikon. But stay away from HDR unless you are really into photography. Yes I shoot HDR as well as flash but I use up to 5 flashes at a time for proper coverage. Or if you really want to get into it, you can combine HDR and flash for some really cool stuff.

Jerry Bridges

Jerry Bridges wrote:

Jim, what Ronny is telling you to do is shoot in "brackets" or better known as "HDR". You can Google HDR and find more information than you will ever need.
HDR is not something you can just pick up and run with. It takes a lot of practice and time to learn. You will also need software to put the brackets together. If you don't what to spend all of your time in front of your computer working with pictures I would suggest a good wide angle flash/strobe. I can't help with the Canon as I shoot Nikon. But stay away from HDR unless you are really into photography. Yes I shoot HDR as well as flash but I use up to 5 flashes at a time for proper coverage. Or if you really want to get into it, you can combine HDR and flash for some really cool stuff.


Jerry:
I do not advised him to use HDR. Way to complicated.
Just take the same picture with different opening with iso 200 and use the best one for your work. It is that simple.

 

Ronny Wrote: I do not advised him to use HDR. Way to complicated.
Just take the same picture with different opening with iso 200 and use the best one for your work. It is that simple.

Ronny, looking back over your reply I see that you did not advise him to use HDR but your comments point in that direction. You also did not tell him to select the best of the images! Your answer is very misleading. You told him to take 3 pictures, 1 standard, 1 at 2 stops and another at 2 stops. 2 stops will be way to bright if shot at 2 over. If shot a 2 under it will be way to dark. Your suggestion will not result in an acceptable image IMHO. I think ISO 400 would be a better choice for inside shooting. If he is looking to get the best of the highlights and the best of the shadows he will have to shoot HDR or with a quality wide angel flash. The other option is to do a lot of Photoshop work. And then again he could shoot at +- 1/3 stop and maybe find an acceptable image that he will be satisfied with. Shooting with a Canon presents a problem because it will allow you to shoot only 2 bracket shots, 1 over and 1 under, so you would have to manually change each shot. But the best way is to just hire a professional "real estate" photographer.

Jerry Bridges

Realtor, ABR, ePro

What opinion do you have about www.giroptic.com a single shot 360 video with HDR?

Jerry Bridges wrote:

Ronny, looking back over your reply I see that you did not advise him to use HDR but your comments point in that direction. You also did not tell him to select the best of the images! Your answer is very misleading. You told him to take 3 pictures, 1 standard, 1 at 2 stops and another at 2 stops. 2 stops will be way to bright if shot at 2 over. If shot a 2 under it will be way to dark. Your suggestion will not result in an acceptable image IMHO. I think ISO 400 would be a better choice for inside shooting. If he is looking to get the best of the highlights and the best of the shadows he will have to shoot HDR or with a quality wide angel flash. The other option is to do a lot of Photoshop work. And then again he could shoot at +- 1/3 stop and maybe find an acceptable image that he will be satisfied with. Shooting with a Canon presents a problem because it will allow you to shoot only 2 bracket shots, 1 over and 1 under, so you would have to manually change each shot. But the best way is to just hire a professional "real estate" photographer.

I fully agree with "Just hire a professional............."

But I have very good results by using 200 ISO settings and increasing the 1/3 stop 2,3 and 4 times. It all depends on the amount of available light and the colors of the walls. While have the camera on a monopod I just shoots 3 shots with 3 different stops. This method is simple and should work for many Realtors who are using a camera and inter-changeable lenses.
In front of the computer I checked which one is the best to use and if needed, make some corrections.
The people who hired me are very happy with the results. The pay for a minimum of 25 pictures on a CD.