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Great solution for wide angle shots

By
Real Estate Agent with Troop Real Estate Inc.

Wide angle lenses and architectural photography have always gone hand in hand. The problem is that most point and shoot cameras can only shoot so wide.

I found a reasonable solution is the magnetic wide angle lenses available from Magneticlenses.com.

https://www.magneticlenses.com/

lense These lenses attach magnetically to your point and shoot camera. I have one for my Sony DSC and it works great. They will dramatically improve both your interior and exterior shots. Great for landscapes as well

Rudy

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Heather the Realtor Orlando, Lake Mary
LemonTree Realty - Orlando, FL
First Time Home Buyers, Bank Owned Homes

I love wide angle lens while I forget my camera that has the wide angle lens a lot no home should be shot without one.

Dec 08, 2009 09:45 AM
Lana Robbins Realtor ® Licensed Real Estate Broker
Aloha Kai Real Estate - Clearwater, FL
Licensed in Florida, Washington, and Hawai'i

Hi Rudy. They're reasonably priced. Thanks for the heads up. ~ Lana

Dec 08, 2009 09:56 AM
Gene Allen
Fathom Realty - Cary, NC
Realty Consultant for Cary Real Estate

I have always heard they are not so good.  Could you post some pictures.  Pictures are worth a thousand words or so.

Dec 08, 2009 11:56 AM
Rudy Detgen
Troop Real Estate Inc. - Moorpark, CA
Realtor, Real Estate Agent, Homes, REO - Moorpark, Simi Valley

Hi Gene, Here you go.

Here is a "standard" shot of my living room with the camera at it's widest angle setting,(zoomed out).

standard shot

Here is the "wide angle"shot.  wide angle

I just shot these in ambient light, no flash. They were both shot from the same exact spot while leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room. I don't notice any loss of clarity in the sizes I commonly use like MLS and brochures. Notice how much more of the room you can get in the shot? For around $40 these things work great.

Rudy

Dec 08, 2009 04:05 PM
Lee Jinks
Jinks Realty - McAllen, TX

The photos I've seen from this lens are quite soft at the edges.  Your photos are so dark it would be hard to tell.  What's odd is that I detect barrel distortion in both photos and the converging verticals is usually not so noticeable at longer focal lengths.  The first photo looks more like a cropped version of the second.  What camera and what focal length was the first photo taken?

Dec 08, 2009 11:51 PM
Rudy Detgen
Troop Real Estate Inc. - Moorpark, CA
Realtor, Real Estate Agent, Homes, REO - Moorpark, Simi Valley

Hi Lee,

The first photo is with a Sony DSC W5 with the zoom backed all the way out. The specs say the camera has the 35mm equivalent of a 38 to 114mm lens.

In the second shot nothing changed except the addition of the magnetic wide angle lens. The lens says on the side of it "0.45X". I know there is distortion at the edges which could probably be minimized by camera height, angle, and composition. There are even wider lenses available but with vertical lines the distortion starts to look like a fish-eye lens is being used.

No cropping on either shot, just sized them up to fit on the post.

Dec 09, 2009 02:01 AM
Lee Jinks
Jinks Realty - McAllen, TX

Great!  38mm X .45 = 17mm  That's good for real estate.  Rudy, have you used this lens on any of your listings?  I have a wide angle adapter for my Coolpix 5400 and I've written a blog about correcting the barrel distortion it causes.  I now shoot with a D5000 and 10-24mm lens.  What's cool is the camera knows which lens is attached and automatically corrects the distortion caused by the lens.

Dec 09, 2009 03:34 AM
Rudy Detgen
Troop Real Estate Inc. - Moorpark, CA
Realtor, Real Estate Agent, Homes, REO - Moorpark, Simi Valley

Hi Lee,

I hadn't thought about it but you're right 17mm. That's pretty wide, almost bordering on a fish eye.

Yes, I've used this lens on my listings. The only issue has been on interior shots using the flash on the camera. The wide angle lens protrudes just enough that it partially blocks some of the light from the flash. This may not be a problem on other models. I get around it by turning on all of the room lights and using a portable flood lamp. I have two photo floods mounted on stands if I need them.

I'll check out your blog about the distortion issue. Thanks.

Rudy

Dec 09, 2009 05:03 AM
Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Hi, Rudy

I won the magnetic lenses and blogged about it....turned out that some folks who ordered the lenses encountered problems getting the lenses, etc.

See: Wide-angle magnetic lenses for pocket digital camera. Pros and Con

Dec 09, 2009 06:15 AM
Rudy Detgen
Troop Real Estate Inc. - Moorpark, CA
Realtor, Real Estate Agent, Homes, REO - Moorpark, Simi Valley

Hi Pacita,

Maybe there is more than one company and manufacturer? I ordered mine and didn't have a problem. I don't seem to get the dark corners with mine even without zooming in. As Lee pointed out, with my camera/lens combination I'm shooting at 17mm. They might make a lens that's even wider than mine. Maybe different camera/lens combinations shoot wider or the camera's lens just can't take it all in.

Until I buy a DSLR with interchangeable lenses this will have to work.

I read your blog about zooming in a little, great tip. Thanks.

Rudy

Dec 09, 2009 06:37 AM
Kevin Vitali
EXIT Realty Beatrice Associates - Middleton, MA
Helping Massachusetts Home Buyers and Home Sellers

Heres a great example of the difference between a wide angle lens and a point and shoot lens....

Wide Angle Lens

Wide Angle Lens

Same room different agent!!  The first photo you are limited by the focal length of the lens.  You end up photographing furniture and not the room.  The second shot you can get the feel of the room and your are not highlighting furniture.

Dec 13, 2009 05:37 AM
Gene Allen
Fathom Realty - Cary, NC
Realty Consultant for Cary Real Estate

Thanks for the pictures.  They do a pretty good job for the price.  A bit of photo shop would do wonders.

Dec 14, 2009 01:51 PM
Rudy Detgen
Troop Real Estate Inc. - Moorpark, CA
Realtor, Real Estate Agent, Homes, REO - Moorpark, Simi Valley

Kevin,

Big difference from the first photo to the second photo. Looks much better.

Gene,

I agree. About $40 and a little photo shop and they work pretty good for MLS picures.

Dec 14, 2009 05:03 PM
Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Wow that's quite a good "Fix" for a cheap price!  A lot less than what I just spent on my 10-14mm ultra wide angle lens too.

Dec 28, 2009 01:56 PM
John Novak
Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace - Las Vegas, NV
Henderson, Las Vegas and Summerlin Real Estate

Wide-angle capabilities are definitely on my list for 2010. It's nice to know there are inexpensive options to getting a completely new camera.

Dec 28, 2009 02:02 PM
Sam Miller
RE/MAX Stars Realty - Howard, OH
Knox County Ohio Real Estate Specialist

Going wide for interior shots makes a huge difference in both print and online marketing.  Consumers want to see the inside and not just fractional view and this is where the wide angle really shines.  Casio just came out with an attractive point and shoot digital camera with a fairly wide angle lens (24mm) if you are looking for a nice pocket camera.  

Jan 30, 2010 12:12 AM
Mark Gridley
eXp Realty, Reinventing the National Real Estate Office! - Fountain Hills, AZ
TecKnow Real Estate Agent, Fountain Hills, AZ

Super info and comments

Jul 09, 2010 06:32 AM