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Your Camera Already Has a Wide Angle Lens

While thinking about responding to Lee Jinks' post on What would be the best first digital camera for a new agent I prioritized what I thought to be the essential needs of an interior photographer. For me, the essentials are (in order of necessity) -

digital camera (obviously) and wide angle lens. These are the big two that I would need to function. Next on the list are tripod (almost listed as an essential), image retouching software (like Photoshop) and a flash. Yup, a flash is absolutely at the bottom of my list (topic for another post?).

A wide angle lens is an essential piece of equipment. I'm no expert on digital point-and-shoot cameras, but as far as I'm concerned, none of them are capable of taking a wide angle picture...in a single shot. Aha! There's the caveat. Almost all digital point-and-shoot cameras come with stitching software. Usually people stitch together 4 or 5 images to make a long, highly distorted panorama. But an intrepid real estate agent with a little extra time could easily stitch together just 2 photos and get a fairly undistorted wide angle shot from their 24mm point-and-shoot...

stitched shot of a living room

Here's an image from a shoot for an agent the other day who wanted things "bright and wide!" "OK," I said. This shot is actually 3 frames stitched together but there was so much overlap it probably could have been done with just 2 frames. It covers about a 180 degree field of view. We didn't end up using the shot for the listing, but it's a good example of what a digital camera and stitching software is capable of.

The next time you are shooting a listing, set aside a few minutes at the end and experiment with taking some "2 shot panoramas." You may not need to search high and low for that "perfect" digital camera after all.

**Post your best 2-shot panoramas here!

Posted by Aaron Leitz on 01/10/2007 11:55 AM

Comments (52)

photography, listings, camera, real estate

Post is included in group: Photography
Post is included in group: Stage It Forward...

52 Comments on Your Camera Already Has a Wide Angle Lens

JAN

2007

Aaron,

I would never have thought of using the stitching feature of my camera for interior shots. Great idea!

Veronica

Aaron: Would you best suggest using a tripod so that the 2 or 3 photos would be on the same "elevation" from the ground?

Fabulous idea. I will try it!!!

Dawn

Home Squad

Aaron, I tell my story with pictures. They are key to what we do and the story we tell about what we do.

So while stiching captures the whole story, it also distorts it. To be honest... I don't know if capturing a whole "distorted" picture is better than capturing a smaller view that you can pan across is better.

Good thing is you got my brain thinking...

So thanks

There are some point and shoot cameras that come with wide angle lenses that produce great photographs... and undistorted for the most part.

I use the Nikon 8400, which is discontinued but an incredible 8 megapixel camera... you can pick 'em up on Ebay periodically for about half price ($400-$500).

AND sometimes I use it to stitch 2 or 3 photos together (and yes you MUST use a tripod) for a beautiful shot of a room.

Thanks for the great post. I never heard of stiching before. I can't wait to try it.

I bought MS Digital Image Suite, 2006. Ebay, $32.00 delivered. It says it has a stitching tool. Haven't tried it.

Might have to test it for a Localism photo.

I'm always looking for ways to better my photos. Thank you sooo much for the information. I do use Visualtour.com to stitch my photos together. Sometimes they still look distorted. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the great suggestion. I knew about stitching with regard to on-line softward for setting up a virtual tour but not for simply taking a wide-angle photo.

Thanks for all the great comments!

Loreena: While not necessary, a tripod would reduce the amount of work you'd probably have to do on the computer to make the image look good.

Fred: I wouldn't put the Nikon 8400 into the category of inexpensive first camera for an agent. 24mm isn't that wide in my book (is there a crop factor on the 8400?) and for almost the same price, one could buy a new Nikon D40 slr with a 18-55mm kit lens.

Craig: You bring up a very interesting point that touches on a number of issues, namely - where does the subject of real estate photography fall on the continuum of photography as art vs. photography as documentation. I'd like to push the issue a bit and more fully unpack the meaning of the word "distort." Your thoughts as a professional stager would be especially interesting, considering that one could argue that stagers and photographers are in the business of distorting homes.

I am looking to break down and buy a digital SLR. I had the old Canon EOS 10s back when it was the serious semi pro camera. What a camera that was! Not digital, but the best camera I have ever owned. 6fps motor drive, best there was back 10 years ago.

I then sold it. I have been using a nice Canon point and shoot, but have the same issue you bring up, I need a much wider angle lens.

I can hardly believe it, I just looked on ebay and the Eos 10s is going for 50 bucks. That thing cost me 1k 10 years ago. Amazing how technology makes things so much cheaper...

JAN

2007

Aaron :: I did a post a few weeks ago on a digital point and shot that does the stitching in the camera, and you're right, the two photo stitches are actually excellent. This is good advice! Here's the post for those who are interested.

Hadn't thought about using stitching before. That might work well with some of the open floorplans we have in Las Vegas.

I agree with Jeff, go with the Kodak

I do that. It works for me. I hate don't like the fish eye pictures either.

The only low/midrange digital with a wide angle lens is AFAIK one of the newer Kodak's with the dual lens.

The cheaper low end wide angle lenses that clip on to a digital camera are likely to take not-so-great pictures with the fish-eye effect because they are too wide angle. By the time you get down to 12-18mm lenses the fish eye effect can be quite pronounced.

Stitching pictures vertically might work as well. Take photos with the camera on it's side and stitch them together and rotate the stitched picture. I've never tried it but it could geve a new perspective.

Nigel

I bought a camera that Jeff Turner recommended a few weeks ago, the Kodak 705, and I love it.

Here's a post where I showed some side by side comparisons

I have found that stitching can give you strange looking results. wide angle lenses are important if you want a professional looking image.

I just got a Kodak EasyshareV570 & it has an ultra-wide angle lens that really is a wide angle. It is 5MP which is fine because unless I want to print a larger 20x30 picture I don't need more than that. I also have a 8MP Rebel SLR and to be honest, my Kodak puts it to shame! It was $199 at Walmart.com and it came with 2 GB of memory! What a deal :)

I have a newly aquired wide angle lens, and it's been great. I had never really heard of stitching before, but I'm going to play around with it with our other camera just for kicks. Thanks for the info.

Well, since you asked.. ;

mbrook

This is one of my favorites.

Dawn and Matthew - Sweet pics!

I'm interested in seeing what luck people are having stitching 2 normal shots together to make one wide angle shot.

Aaron that you for a great suggestion, I will be using the stitch function from now on.

Dawn & Matt: Great work. Got me to motivating myself to do one too...

I use a Nikon 5400. It has a 28mm lens at the wide end. So when I add the wide angle adapter, it gets me down to 22.4mm equivalent. Granted, the picture has a good amount of barrel distortion, but I can fix that in Photoshop Elements (requires free plug-in).

Stitching is great under many conditions. I don't know about your MLS, but my MLS database will squeeze or stretch whatever photo you submit until it is in the 3:2 format. This means portrait photos look really fat and wide screen photos, like stitched wide angles, get squeezed and look very thin.

A good wide angle lens will keep those proportions correct while capturing the whole room or shot you wanted. I guess one alternative would be to take 4 photos; two high and two low. Then crop to the appropriate size format after stitching.

JAN

2007

I am blown away as it just never occurred to me that this would be such a simple process...cool! Thanks a million I take ALOT of pictures personally and for Real Estate and think this is going to expand my portfolios and really make a great impression! who knew!! ?

Personally, I don't care for stitched images. They are not natural, and provide a distorted view of the property. Using a good wide-angle lens is much better, IMO.

Awsome information!!! I'm just finding out that I'm starting to take an interest in taking scenic photos here in Hawaii to post online. Stiching photos together is something I am going to look into. Thanks for opening my eyes. Aloha

JAN

2007

Where on your list would you include a tripod? Before or after the flash?

JAN

2007

David - Tripod is the most important after a camera. Flashes barely even make my list. I use them for fun when I have the time or when the actual sun is in a window (sunset).

JAN

2007

Great Idea, I will try it! Thanks

JAN

2007

dang - why dont my pics every look this good!

JUL

2007

I would vote for my own CANON POWER SHOT G6 and Photoshop Elements program~both gifts from my children in an effort to tear me away from 35MM format.

Can anyone out there give a list of steps to do a virtual tour?

AUG

2007

What are you using for your stitching?

SEP

2007

Aaron

Good photos. I have been trying to learn the stitch thing but have problems with the exposure mostly. I use the tripod and take the pictures but the exposure is different. Any help there? Maybe not using the flash might help but I have a simple P & S at the moment.

Whoa Aaron, who knew? I still can't effectively operate my digital so I take pics in both digital and 35mm. But now I'm wondering how it would work if I used a disposable panorama camera? Think that might work?

I think this technique is awesome, however as someone with NO time to do this type of work I LOVE my wide angle lense! Sometimes time is money & my money was better spent buying a great wide angle than splicing together photos. Now, if I was more tech savvy and enjoyed that type of thing I might feel differently.

MAR

2008

That photo is just sweet... The one that you took at the top aaron!

MAR

2008

There is a stitching feature on my camera and I'm definitely going to give it a try. It really hadn't occurred to me to use it for indoor shots, but I'm looking forward to seeing the results. Thanks for point this out to those of us who are not photography savvy!

Aaron,

What a great post... I agree 100%, even though I'm not a pro photographer I researched and asked enough questions that I found I did not need the Kodak v5 or v7 series 23mm wide angle lens camera.

I have the canon SD power-shoot with a wide angle snap on lens, I first use my photo-shop to enhance then use my zoom program to stitch them, takes me less then a couple minutes per pic.

I also agree you NEED a tripod if you intend to stitch your photos, very high on my list after trying to take pic's without one...LOL (also stitch only 2 photos at a time otherwise it comes out to long and walls and polls tend to start to worp and bend) sorry if I repeted anything I didn't read all the comments do to time.

Great post

This is three photos stiched together.

I regularly stitch photos together. The biggest problem I've encountered with interior shots, however, is that the crown moldings often don't stitch quite right.

The key to getting things to stitch together right it to rotate the camera around the nodal point (the point in the lens where all the light beams cross or come to a point). A tripod is the first step, but to truly rotate around the nodal point will require a VR head and some adjustments. I'm far from an expert on this, so just google nodal point.

PTGUI (www.ptgui.com) looks like it does an amazing job of stitching....anyone had an experience in using it?

MAR

2008

I bought a Nodal Ninja 3 which is supposed to take care of the nodal point. I could not get any better picture then without it. I tried the ptgui but it really doesn't do interior shots very well. It gave me a nice straight shot in the middle but really distorted the edges. I am finding that if I just take pictures in small steps in works ok. The pictures look ok in the Visual Tour but don't look good in regular pictures.

Don, you really have to be careful and make sure you use a tripod and the camera is level.

APR

2008

I LOVE this post. I hadn't thought of using the stitch feature. It's not that hard I did play around with it once. It is a great "make do" until times are better and I can afford that Kodak v570.

Great post Aaron, and you have lead to some great discussions :)

Also, there are certain advantages and disadvantages for using stitching and a wide angle lens.

MAY

2008

Don't laugh, but I am still confused or should I say not that tech savvy. What is a stitching feature is it a software that I should purchase. Thank you in advance.

JUN

2008

Great Post Arron,

Do you know of any software that makes up for the slight distortions?

So glad you posted this. I am taking a photography class to learn how to take better photos of interiors and was wondering which camera to buy. Not enough time in my day to sort through all the myriad of choice out there. Thanks again for sharing! Michelle

MAY

Wow...this a great information...I will to try that out...

OCT

Overcoming Parallax when taking panoramas is very important more so for interior shots. the use of a Pan-head helps to target the nodal point of the lens to eliminate paralax. I use the Panosaurus, I believe its one of the cheapest pan-heads on the market, a bit bulky but it gets the job done.

Here is a Panorama taken from the inside of the master bathroom.Taken with the trip legs spread around the toilet and myself hiding behind the camera. it was a tight fit believe me.

taken with 5 shots in portrait.

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