You are here: Home > Articles > Best Digital Cameras For Real Estate Interior Shots

Best Digital Cameras For Real Estate Interior Shots

Taking interior shots of houses and commercial buildings for real estate purposes poses a number of challenges:

1. Most consumer digital cameras have a lens with focal lengths starting at 35mm, which does not cover a wide enough angle to show off an interior properly;
2. The interior may not be lighted well enough.

These two challenges can be addressed a number of ways, e.g.:

1. Take a number of panoramic shots and later stitch them together;
2. Set up professional studio lights.

The above solutions are not very practical for the majority of real estate sales agents and interior designers who need an easier and less time consuming alternative.

Fortunately, there are alternatives:

1. Purchase a digital camera that comes with a wide-angle lens as standard (at least 28mm) or accepts an optional wide-angle converter (be aware that converters may cut off your viewfinder view, in which case use the LCD monitor to compose your shot);
2. Ensure the digital camera also accepts a powerful external flash which provides the full wide-angle coverage.

The following non-DSLR digital cameras and accessories are presented for your consideration as a starting point for further research. Of course, purchasing a DSLR and the appropriate wide-angle lens is now an affordable option. As usual, do your own research and try them out at a store (try for a similar indoors situation) before you purchase. In alphabetical order of manufacturer:

	Fujifilm FinePix S100fs IS 8.0 megapixels 28-400mm 14.3x optical zoom Max. Aperture F2.8 Accepts optional external flash units Accepts filters more... 133.4 ×93.6 ×150.4 mm / 5.3 × 3.7 × 5.9 in. Approx.918g / 32.4 oz. camera body only
	Leica M8 Digital 10.3 megapixels Interchangeable wide-angle lenses available Optical Rangefinder Viewfinder Accepts optional external flash units more... 139 x 80 x 37 mm 545 g
	Nikon Coolpix P5100 12.1 megapixels 35-123mm 3.5x optical zoom Max. Aperture F2.7 Accepts optional external flash units Accepts optional wide-angle converter (with adapter) more... 98 x 64.5 x 41 mm / 3.9 x 2.5 x 1.6 in. 200 g (7.1 oz.) without battery and storage media
	Nikon Coolpix 8800 8.0 megapixels 35-350mm 10x optical zoom Vibration Reduction reduces incidence of blurred shots due to camera shake Max. Aperture F2.8 Accepts optional external flash units Accepts optional wide-angle converter (with adapter) more... 116H x 85W x 121D mm / 4.6H x 3.3W x 4.8D in. 21 oz. without battery and storage media
	Olympus SP-570 UZ 10.0 megapixels 26-520mm 20x optical zoom Max. Aperture F2.8 Accepts optional external flash units more... 118.5 x 84 x 87.5 / 4.7 x 3.3 x 3.4 445g / 15.7oz without batteries and media card
	Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 10.1 megapixels 24-60mm 2.5x optical zoom with image stabilization Max. Aperture F2.0 (fastest lens around) Image Stabilization Technology reduces incidence of blurred shots due to camera shake Accepts optional external flash units more... 108.7 x 59.5 x 27.1 mm / 4.28 x 2.34 x 1.07 in 229g (0.50 lb) body only 265 g (0.58 lb) with Battery and SD Memory Card Leica version should not be far behind

Other digital cameras you may want to consider but that do not accept optional wide-angle lenses or external flash: Fujifilm FinePix S8100fd (27-486mm equiv.), Fujifilm FinePix F100fd (28-140mm equiv.), Panasonic Lumic DMC-FZ28 (27-486mm equiv.), Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150 (28-100mm equiv.), Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX37 (25-125mm equiv.).

DSLR prices have gone down quite a bit but remember that a good wide-angle lens can sometimes cost as much -- or even more -- than your DSLR! But if you can afford it, a DSLR paired with an appropriate wide-angle lens is the way to go.

Are your indoors shots coming out underexposed (too dark)? One reason might be that it's just too dark and your digital camera cannot handle it (i.e. missing the ability to use slower shutter speed, faster lens, larger aperture, higher ISOs, more powerful flash). Also remember that if a bright light source (such as a window or patio door) is included in the picture, be sure to expose for the interior not the bright light source [point the center of the camera to a dark area, half-press shutter release button to lock the exposure, recompose, and take the picture].

If this article has been helpful to you, why don't you send it to a friend? If you are in real estate or interior design and have a digital camera and accessories you want to share with our readers, please give us your feedback.