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What Camera & Lens Should I Buy for Real Estate Photography?
I sometimes get asked by people who are getting started in real estate photography what camera and lens they should buy. Do you need an expensive camera for real estate? Do you need an expensive lens? Is it better to spend more money on the lens than the camera? What focal lengths are typically used? This article will hopefully give readers an idea of what cameras are currently available, the pros and cons of various cameras, and some info about lenses. This information can be applied to really any genre of photography, and I will also talk a little bit about the state of the industry.
See also: My extensive article/rant about tripods
See also: Real Estate Photography Techniques for Beginners
See also: DJI Air 2S Reviewed vs. Phantom 4 Pro
I sometimes get asked by people who are getting started in real estate photography what camera and lens they should buy. Do you need an expensive camera for real estate? Do you need an expensive lens? Is it better to spend more money on the lens than the camera? What focal lengths are typically used?
This article will hopefully give readers an idea of what cameras are currently available, the pros and cons of various cameras, and some info about lenses. This information can be applied to really any genre of photography, and I will also talk a little bit about the state of the industry.
Let’s get to it!
This page contains links to products, so if you find this site useful and use a link to make a purchase, I’ll get a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks!
Mirrorless vs. DSLR
It’s 2020, and essentially all major camera manufacturers are moving to mirrorless. Sony was the mirrorless pioneer, but now Canon and Nikon are putting most of their efforts into mirrorless. I highly recommend getting a mirrorless camera, which will allow you to use the vast majority of new lenses released by camera manufacturers in the future. If you get a mirrorless camera body with a Canon R mount, Nikon Z Mount, or Sony E Mount, you will also be able to use all of the manufacturers’ older DSLR lenses by purchasing one of their adapters. Camera manufacturers’ newest camera bodies and lenses are going to be mostly mirrorless going forward. (See also: my article about how Canon’s recent mirrorless cameras blow away their previous DSLR’s in shadow recovery)
The best choice: Mirrorless
Full-Frame vs. APS-C
Cameras referred to as “full-frame” have larger sensors than cameras referred to as “APS-C” or “crop sensor” cameras, and so they tend to produce images with better detail and more dynamic range. Full-frame cameras have sensors that are 36x24mm wide, and APS-C camera sensors are around 23x15mm but vary slightly by brand.
In the past, camera manufacturers have released a wide variety of APS-C camera & lenses alongside a wide variety of full-frame cameras & lenses. The two camera sensor sizes and their lenses lived side by side in vibrant and profitable markets, bringing home the Benjamins to the camera manufacturers. Think of how popular and well known Canon’s Digital Rebel series was (APS-C camera)! However, I think that is changing. In my opinion, camera companies are going to be putting significantly less effort into APS-C than they have in the past, and focus most of their R&D efforts on full-frame.
The improvement in smartphone camera quality continues to reduce the market for low end camera bodies, and point-and-shoot camera have plummeted. As smartphone camera quality continues to improve, people will use dedicated low-end cameras in fewer situations. At the high end of photography we have full-frame or medium format. Phone photography can’t touch the high end. In the middle, we have APS-C cameras. Canon has already released a sub-$1,000 full-frame mirrorless camera, which essentially begins to place a psychological cost ceiling for APS-C camera bodies at $1,000. Why would you buy a crop sensor for more than $1,000 when you can get a full-frame sensor for less than $1,000? Sony and Nikon haven’t released a sub-$1,000 full-frame camera yet, but they probably are already working on it. This means we have smartphones replacing more of the low end, and full-frame cameras starting to occupy price ranges previously reserved for the mid-range. APS-C cameras are still cheaper and there are lenses available for a variety of purposes, but I think there will be fewer APS-C lenses released in the future as that market shrinks.
All that is to say, full-frame cameras not only produce higher quality images, but they are probably more likely to be future-proof. If you buy an APS-C camera body and some lenses for it now, you may end up having to sell all your APS-C lenses if you upgrade to a full-frame camera body later, and start over with a bunch of full-frame lens purchases. If you start with full-frame now, you can start building a lens collection that will probably be compatible with your future camera body purchases. People tend to keep lenses longer than camera bodies, because lens technology advances slower than camera body technology.
The best choice if your budget can swing it: Full-Frame
Canon EOS R5
Canon EOS R6
Canon EOS R
Canon EOS RP
Nikon Z5
Nikon Z6
Nikon Z7
Sony a7R IV
Sony a7R III
Sony a7R II
The real estate photography cameras for a limited budget: APS-C
Camera Brands
Canon, Nikon, and Sony have been the primary three camera manufacturers in recent years. In 2019 Canon had about 45% of the overall camera market, Sony had about 20%, and Nikon had about 18%. Sony has been doing extremely well with full frame and mirrorless sales, however. Sony has been in the full-frame mirrorless game since 2013, with Canon and Nikon entering in 2018. Canon’s first full-frame mirrorless offerings were not good enough to match Sony, but now that they’ve released their flagship EOS R5 and EOS R6 in 2020, their mirrorless cameras are among the best.
Nikon has not released a new “flagship” full-frame mirrorless camera since 2018. They recently released the Nikon Z5, which is simply their cheapest full-frame mirrorless camera. But as I am writing this article, Nikon has an event scheduled where they will release information about their new Z6 II and Z7 II full-frame mirrorless. Hopefully they will continue to remain competitive with Canon and Sony, because competition makes cameras better for photographers!
As I mentioned earlier, Canon is currently the only brand making a sub-$1,000 full-frame mirrorless with the Canon EOS RP. Even though it’s the cheapest full-frame mirrorless you can get, any Canon RF lenses you buy to use with the RP will work with Canon’s future high-end camera bodies when you want to upgrade. It will be interesting to see how long it takes Sony and Nikon to follow Canon in breaking the $1,000 price point. Keep in mind that if you get a more expensive full-frame mirrorless than the $999 Canon EOS RP to you can get more features, better dynamic range, more megapixels, more photos per second, etc. But you don’t need any of those things for real estate photography! The camera’s dynamic range is not as important as in many other photography genres because your subject doesn’t move, and you can exposure bracket your scenes. You can put your camera on a tripod and take several photos that are 1 stop apart, then manually blend them in Adobe Photoshop or quickly merge them to HDR in Adobe Lightroom. You don’t need fantastic autofocus because you aren’t photographing birds in the Amazon. Buying the cheapest full-frame mirrorless available to get started in real estate is not a bad idea, especially with a limited budget. If you are going to be using the camera in multiple genres, like weddings or night photography, you might start to run into a cheaper camera’s limitations more quickly than a high-end model.
Camera Body Price Point Winner: Canon
One of the reasons people go with one camera brand or another is available lenses. I’m not going to jump into the world of 3rd party lenses right now (Sigma, Tamron, Rokinon, Zeiss, Samyang), but here are some lenses that will be able to get you through any real estate photoshoot, whether interior or exterior. All of these lenses can be used on the corresponding camera brand’s mirrorless camera bodies without an adapter, and are (in my opinion) the focal length sweet spot for your first real estate photography lens purchase. Keep in mind you can’t use a lens made by one brand with another brand of camera body (e.g. you can’t use a mirrorless Sony lens with a mirrorless Canon body or vice versa).
Full-Frame Mirrorless Lenses
Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM
Sony 16-35mm Vario-Tessar T FE F4 ZA OSS
Canon’s lens is faster (f/2.8 vs f/4) than the Sony or Nikon lenses I selected above and has the biggest zoom range. As a result it’s about $1,000 more expensive. Canon does not currently have a cheaper full-frame mirrorless (RF mount) do-it-all real estate lens. They do have an older EF-mount lens (for their previous DSLR’s) that you could use with an adapter for a similar price point (below), but since Sony and Nikon have cheaper mirrorless mount real estate lenses I’ll give them the price point win.
Canon EF 16-35 f/4 IS USM
Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R - the adapter required to use a Canon EF lens with one of their mirrorless camera bodies
Full-Frame Mirrorless Do-It-All Real Estate Lens Price Point Winners: Sony & Nikon
APS-C Mirrorless Lenses
If you end up going with an APS-C mirrorless camera body, then here are the lenses you could use. Notice the focal lengths all seem shorter than the full-frame lenses. That’s because APS-C (crop sensor) cameras have a 1.5x or 1.6x crop factor, so in order to be as wide as a full-frame camera you have to have wider focal ranges in the lenses.
Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 STM
Since Nikon’s mirrorless APS-C real estate lens doesn’t exist, I’ll give the win to Canon and Sony. You can still use the Z50 for real estate but you’d have to use an older lens with an adapter.
Nikon Mount Adapter FTZ
Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR
APS-C Mirrorless Do-It-All Real Estate Lens Winners: Canon & Sony
Understanding Focal Lengths in Real Estate Photography
The reason I chose specific lenses for this real estate specific article is their focal length ranges. Most real estate work can be done from around 16-17mm up to around 30-35mm (when dealing with full-frame focal lengths). When you are trying to capture an entire bedroom or the expanse of the main living areas, you may find yourself wanting to be below 20mm. When you are photographing the details, the kitchen, or exteriors of a home, I tend to like to be at a longer focal length, like 24-35mm. Having a single zoom lens that allows you to handle any of these focal length ranges will allow you to move quickly through a photoshoot without changing lenses. If you get to a point in your career where you get to spend more time during photoshoots you could start using specialized lenses like tilt shift lenses or longer focal lengths, but for anyone who is just getting started it is extremely valuable to have your workhorse lens that can handle the entirety of any job.
Wider focal lengths tend to exaggerate the size of whatever objects are close to the camera, and longer focal lengths tend to make everything in the frame a more appropriate size. If you can fit everything you want in a shot at a longer focal length the composition will probably be more pleasing, but in many cases a realtor will want you to show the whole room or make rooms look big. If you look at real estate photos on Zillow or your local MLS the interior photos tend to be fairly wide in general. If you are just starting you should probably provide wide photos that show the whole room to the realtors that hire you and use longer focal lengths on the exterior. As you practice composition you might start finding ways to capture rooms using longer focal lengths in ways that the realtors appreciate, but you will probably start out with lots of clients that want wide interior photos for selling houses.
Summary
Hopefully this article gives you enough information to get started. You really could get started with any brand of camera and lens, but I would definitely go with a full-frame mirrorless if you can make it work. Not only will full-frame cameras produce better images, but they are cheaper than ever before and full-frame lenses can be used on your next few camera bodies as well. I will try to update this article as new products come out in the future, but for now here is a summary of the products mentioned in this article. If you found it helpful and use one of these links, I’ll get a small commission. Thanks!
Products Mentioned in this Article
Canon Cameras
Canon EOS R5
Canon’s Best Full-Frame Mirrorless
Canon EOS R6
Canon’s Mid-Range Full-Frame Mirrorless
Canon EOS RP
Canon’s Cheapest Full-Frame Mirrorless
Canon EOS M50
A Canon Mirrorless APS-C (Lower Cost than Full-Frame, but compatible lenses are probably less future-proof)
Canon Lenses
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM
A very fast, expensive, sharp full-frame mirrorless lens that can handle everything from real estate to astrophotography.
Canon EF 16-35 f/4 IS USM
An older, cheaper canon lens that you can use on a full-frame mirrorless with an adapter.
Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM
A Canon APS-C lens that is only compatible with the M50
Sony Cameras
Sony a7R IV
Sony’s Highest Megapixel Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera
Sony a7R III
A mid-range Sony Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera
Sony a7R II
A lower-cost Sony Full-Frame Mirrorless
Sony a6100
A Sony Mirrorless APS-C (Lower Cost than Full-Frame, but compatible lenses are less future-proof)
Sony Lenses
Sony 16-35mm Vario-Tessar T FE F4 ZA OSS
A reasonably priced lens for your full-frame mirrorless Sony camera that can handle any real estate job
Sony E 10-18mm F4 OSS
An APS-C lens for your Sony a6100 with an ideal real estate focal range
Nikon Cameras
Nikon Z7
Nikon’s Best Full-Frame Mirrorless
Nikon Z6
Nikon’s Mid-Range Full-Frame Mirrorless
Nikon Z5
Nikon’s Cheapest Full-Frame Mirrorless
Nikon Lenses
Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 S
A lens for Nikon full-frame mirrorless with a good real estate focal range
Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR
An APS-C lens to use with the Nikon Z50, but it requires an adapter
Don't Let an Inadequate Tripod Do *This* to Your Photos! (Highly Detailed Rant)
An inadequate tripod can cause you problems you didn’t even know existed. This article looks at what types of tripods are available, and what you can expect at different price points.
(Why starting out with a better tripod than you think you need will save you time, money, and frustration)
When I first thought I might want to try part-time real estate photography in 2012, I had the same thought as many beginners: “I’ll put all my money into a sweet camera and lens! Oh, and I guess I should stop at Best Buy and grab a $20 tripod or something.” Ha! If only I could go back and give my younger starry-eyed self some help. =) I suppose that’s what I’m doing now for others who might be getting started in some type of photography that is new to them, whether for money, fun, or both.
This page contains links to products, so if you find this site useful and use a link to make a purchase, I’ll get a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks!
The dreaded “Single Exposure Jiggler”
Before buying a new tripod, it’s important to think about why you are buying a tripod, and what you want the tripod to do. Is it so you can take longer exposures in low light or in the daytime with a Neutral Density Filter? Are you going to be shooting multiple exposures from the same spot with varying shutter speeds in order to create High-Dynamic-Range (HDR) photos? Are you going to be compositing images in Photoshop and need multiple images to line up precisely? Do you want to capture star trails in the night sky over the course of 2 hours? Do you need to quickly move through a house and compose 30 shots for a real estate photoshoot?
Whatever your intentions may be, consider the basic function of a tripod: to consistently hold your camera still enough for the amount of time required to capture the photo(s) you want to take.
When you hold a camera with your hand and take a photo, you have to use a shutter speed fast enough for the camera sensor to capture light before your hand moves too much. The general rule for a full frame camera (with no image stabilization in the lens or camera body) is a shutter speed “number” that is at least twice as high as your focal length. If you have a focal length of 20mm, your shutter speed should be at least as fast as 1/40th of a second. If you have a focal length of 50mm, your shutter speed should be at least as fast as 1/100th of a second. This is just a general rule… if you happen to move your hands too much (or sneeze) at the time the photo is being taken, it can certainly still end up being blurry.
If your hands move too much or your tripod jiggles while your camera is capturing light, you can end up with a blurry photo.
Camera manufacturers have tried to address these shutter speed limitations with stabilization mechanisms built into both camera bodies and lenses. If your camera and/or lens has stabilization built in, you can slow the shutter speeds down a little bit and push the limits of shutter speed guidelines. But even then, shutter speeds will be a limitation in many scenarios. There is a solution to the problem of shutter speeds though, and the solution is… use a tripod!
By mounting your camera on a tripod, you can keep the camera in one place and take very looooooonnnnng exposures or take multiple exposures to your heart’s content, and they will all align perfectly for compositing in Photoshop… right?
The answer is… it depends.
Here are some considerations:
How heavy is your camera?
Is your camera DSLR or mirrorless?
How heavy is your lens?
What focal length is your lens?
Are you using the camera in a windy environment?
Are you planning on extending the center column for additional or quickly adjustable height?
What is the weight limit of the tripod?
What is the tripod made of (typically $ aluminum or $$$ carbon fiber)?
Do you need to composite multiple images?
Will you be taking a very long single exposure or compositing multiple exposures taken over a long period of time?
Is the tripod built by a company that is known for making great tripods?
When I first started part-time real estate photography in 2012 and used super cheap tripods, I had tripods that would actually “jiggle” when I took a photos, even if I was using a remote trigger. This is because the mirror mechanism in my DSLR at the time would cause vibrations, and combined with a raised center column, the little vibrations from the mirror were strong enough to “jiggle” the tripod & camera. This was especially noticeable when I upgraded from APS-C sensor DSLR camera to a full frame DSLR. This dreaded jiggle would occasionally result in a completely unusable photo! Fortunately, I was taking multiple exposures and could edit my way out of those situations, but when it happened it disrupted my workflow and wasted time. Cheap tripod jiggles can also occur if you’re using a flimsy tripod outdoors for longer exposures when it’s windy.
The Treacherous “Multiple Exposure Drooper” (aka Long Exposure Droop)
Let’s say you have a lovely clear night ahead of you, so you pack some snacks and drive 2 hours to a dark sky park. You figure out the perfect composition, and you setup your new camera with a nice sharp lens. You prepare to take 30-second exposures continuously for 2 hours to create star trails, or maybe a 60-minute single exposure in the dark sky park. So you adjust the tilt of your fancy camera & fancy lens on your (inadequate) tripod head so your composition is perfect and begin shooting. But, by the time you’re done shooting, gravity has pulled your lens down noticeably (or not-so-noticeably) from it’s original position! Bummer, now that image will either be a pain to edit or no good at all! At least you brought snacks to eat while you drive home crying. =)
“Multiple Exposure Droop” can affect your images even if you’re composite shooting with an inadequate tripod head over a short period of time, such as for real estate or architecture. You take a few natural light shots, then you walk around while taking a few flash-lit shots, and unbeknownst to you, the flash-lit shots are slightly misaligned with the natural light shots. Now you have to spend extra time messing around in Photoshop! This happens when your ball head, 3-way head or geared head falls down slightly because of gravity and/or vibrations.
When your tripod head can’t maintain a precise position for a long period of time, misaligned or blurry images can be the result when composite shooting or taking very long exposures.
When I first started I merely intended to shoot simple HDR with no compositing, so I wasn’t aware of “Multiple Exposure Droop” or “Single Exposure Jiggles.” The first tripod I owned (tripod model #1) was super cheap and flimsy, and eventually a leg lock mechanism broke, so I bought another super cheap one, which also broke. I upgraded to a better tripod (tripod model #2), though still relatively cheap (around $75 at the time). One of those legs broke, and the company sent me a replacement leg. But that tripod was flimsy and jiggly, so I upgraded to a name-brand tripod (tripod model #3) that was around $175. That tripod still jiggled with the center column up (which I used frequently for quick adjustments during real estate shoots), but by this time I was doing more compositing with flash and discovered that ball head suffered from “Multiple Exposure Droop.” So, I upgraded to a super heavy duty tripod (tripod setup #4) with a 3-way super heavy duty head (around $500 total) and assumed I was all set. I solved the issue of jiggle, but discovered that despite the tripod and head having maximum payload weights many times higher than the weight of my camera + lens, it still suffered from lens droop when setup for a long period of time! So, I sold that, and a got heavy duty carbon fiber tripod with a heavy duty geared head (tripod setup #5)… and now the camera seems to sit still. No drooping or jiggling. =)
I often think about how much time I would have saved if I had started out with my current tripod and head. I created around 34,000 finished images over the past several years in the realm of real estate & architecture, and most of them were created with inadequate tripods & heads. Since I often composite images, I think about all the time I previously used to spend aligning images that were misaligned due to the tripod head drooping, the tripod legs sliding around, or the occasional workflow interruption caused by a tripod jiggling. Photoshop’s “Auto-Align Layers” doesn’t always work perfectly. I also think about how much faster geared heads are for real estate & architecture and how much time I would have saved if I had a geared head from the beginning. While everybody has different goals and different situations, I ultimately would have saved time, money, and frustrations if I had bought a high end tripod up front, rather than discover the inadequacies of multiple tripod setups as I progressed through various models.
“I ultimately would have saved time, money, and frustrations if I had bought a high end tripod up front, rather than discover the inadequacies of multiple tripod setups as I progressed through various models.”
That being said, not everyone needs a high-priced, heavy duty tripod. If I had been content shooting HDR photos for real estate without doing any complex compositing and used a wide angle lens with an APS-C mirrorless camera, I could have easily gotten by with a sub $200 tripod.
In an effort to help others trying to figure out what types of tripods are available, I have a few categories of tripods listed below, along with what you could expect from each based on my experiences. Most of the categories reference using them for professional work, but if you’re looking at tripods for your photography hobby, the sky (and your checking account balance) is the limit! =)
The $20 Sunpak Special
This is about as cheap as it gets for something that can technically be called a tripod. It may break after moderate use, but if you are playing around with a lightweight camera for fun, you could technically buy a tripod for around $20, probably from Sunpak or Amazon Basics. Its legs will probably slide around, it will probably jiggle, and it probably won’t be able to hold a camera in precise position for an extended period of time or for multiple exposures. Maximum payloads for this category of tripod will probably be 4-6 lbs.
The $100-200 “I-Just-Broke-My-Sunpak-Now-I’m-Upgrading” Tripod
For when you’ve broken the legs on your $20 Sunpak and know some realtors who want to pay you to take HDR photos of their listings, the $100-200 tripod/head combo can be adequate for many purposes. If you’re not doing a lot of complex compositing or long nighttime exposures, you could get a decent tripod for your mirrorless camera without breaking the bank. Brands to look at would be Benro or Manfrotto. As a side note, Benro monopods with feet are great stands for 360 cameras. Tripods in this price range might have a maximum safety payloads of around 9-17 lbs. I would not use a DSLR camera on one of these because the vibrations caused by the mirror will shake these tripods a bit… but a mirrorless APS-C camera should work fine for simple exposure bracketing.
The $300-900 “I’m-A-Professional-Photographer-and-Want-High-Quality-Support” Tripod
At this point, you’re serious about photography and are willing to spend at least a few hundred bucks for a functional tripod & head that project professionalism to your clients. You don’t necessarily need the tripod head to maintain a precise position for hours, but you’d like it to be stable and durable. At this level, you have to decide if you want carbon fiber or aluminum. Carbon fiber tripods are about 20% lighter than aluminum, and the legs are more rigid, but they are more expensive than aluminum. Manfrotto currently sells its 055 3-Section Tripod (legs only, no head) as aluminum or carbon fiber. They both have a 20-pound safety payload with the same height, but the carbon fiber version weighs 4.41 lbs whereas the aluminum version weighs 5.51 lbs. The carbon fiber version is currently $320, whereas the aluminum version is $180. Carbon fiber will probably be more pleasant to use in cold environments. Benro also sells the Mach3 2 Series Carbon Fiber Tripod (TMA27C) for around $310 with a 30 lb load capacity.
With tripod setups in this category, you might be buying legs separately from the head (instead of purchasing a kit), so make sure both will meet your needs.
If you’re doing a lot of architecture and real estate, you will definitely want to consider a geared tripod head. The more times you setup your camera and level it per hour, the more time you will save during each job with a geared head! With a ball head or standard 3-way head, you have to loosen the head and adjust the camera each time, which can be an imprecise and tedious process. One thing that can happens with many cheaper non-geared heads is that the camera moves slightly from the position you want when you are locking it down. For example, if you’ve gotten your composition perfect and it’s time to tighten the ball head, the act of tightening the head can move the camera slightly, and it won’t be precisely where you want it anymore. I found this to happen even with a heavy duty 3-way head with a 26.5-pound load capacity! With a geared head, you don’t have the problem of unlocking it, setting the position, and then locking it down again and hoping it stays in place… you just make the precise adjustment you want to make, quickly, accurately, and easily. Any real estate shooter should definitely consider it! Some geared heads in this price range would be the Manfrotto 405 Geared Head, the Manfrotto 410 (Junior) Geared Head, and the Benro GD3WH Geared Head.
If you’re looking for a good ball head, you could look at a Really Right Stuff BH-55, Gitzo GH3382QD Series 3 Center Ball Head, ProMediaGear BH-1 Ball Head, or the Arca-Swiss Monoball Z1.
At the upper end of the sub $900 tripod setups, Gitzo also has the Series 1 Traveler Carbon Fiber Tripod with Center Ball Head. Gitzo is the same company as Manfrotto & Bogen, but probably represents their higher-end products vs. the Manfrotto lines.
The $1,000+ “I-Want-To-Capture-2-Hour-Exposures-At-Night-In-High-Winds-At-600mm” Tripod
OK, so the title of this category of tripods is a mild exaggeration, but it summarizes some of the reasons you’d be looking at this class of camera support. Whether you’re shooting architecture, landscapes, star trails, or the milky way, you want your tripod and head to be durable, stable, “beefy,” and precise in a variety of environments. Some of the brands that produce the $1,000+ photography tripod legs are Really Right Stuff, Gitzo's Systematic Line, and ProMediaGear. The legs are all carbon fiber, and they are designed for stability when using big lenses and heavy camera setups.
Besides the legs, the tripod head is super important. Some of the ball heads mentioned in the previous section will be great options. Some high-end geared heads to consider would be the Arca-Swiss C1 Cube (probably the best tripod head available), the Arca-Swiss d4, or the Manfrotto 400 Geared Head.
Test Your New Tripod Setup During the Return Period
Since there are so many tripod legs and heads available, it’s a great idea to test out any new tripod during the return period to make sure it will do what you want to do. Don’t simply take the shiny new tripod out of the box and say, “looks good, and it wasn’t damaged in shipping.” Remember, as I mentioned previously, I discovered after it was too late that my $500 tripod setup allowed the lens to droop down slightly over time when doing complex compositing! (I did not link to that tripod in this article so as not to lead others astray, ha!)
If you’re going to be compositing images taken over the course of 10 minutes for architecture or milky way photography, set up the camera you’re going to be using and take pictures for 10 minutes. Then, see if the first images you take at the start of 10 minutes align with the last images you took over 10 minutes in Photoshop. If they don’t line up perfectly, is it close enough that you will be happy using it?
If you are going to be using the tripod with a super telephoto lens, setup the camera with that lens and take 10-20 photos, indoors and outdoors, at slow, medium & fast shutter speeds with the stabilizer both on & off to see if the camera vibrates too much for your purposes. Zoom into 4x in your editing program to see if the photos have motion blur.
Test any cameras and lenses you have with a new tripod, doing things that you will be doing for your job or for fun. Try to discover the limits of the tripod! If you find the tripod or head have trouble doing what you need to do or you’re already pushing its limits with normal tasks, it’s best to discover the issues and decide what to do when you still have the option to return them.
If the tripod setup is vibrating too much, the culprit usually would be the tripod legs and/or center column. If the camera lens seems to lose altitude while taking lots of exposures over the course of time, the culprit is probably the tripod head.
If you push the limits of your new tripod with long focal lengths, long exposures, and windy conditions and it does a great job in a variety of situations, you’re good to go!
I hope the frustrations I’ve experienced with several tripods over the years can be helpful to someone who is just getting started. There’s a lot of options, but if you buy a little more tripod than you need up front, you won’t regret it! =)
Nikon Announces the New D6 Full-Frame DSLR
Today, Nikon Inc. has unveiled the D6, a new professional-grade DSLR built for those in need of extreme reliability and ultimate performance. The D6 addresses the needs of professionals and press agencies and is faster and more powerful than ever before. Offering the most powerful AF system in Nikon’s history, this flagship DSLR camera delivers crucial improvements to modern workflow while also accelerating file transfer capabilities. Promising unparalleled low-light performance, powerful agility, advanced 4K UHD multimedia capabilities and a mechanical shutter frame rate boosted to a staggering 14fps, the D6 will redefine the way pros work.
From the Nikon Press Release:
“Today, Nikon Inc. has unveiled the D6, a new professional-grade DSLR built for those in need of extreme reliability and ultimate performance. The D6 addresses the needs of professionals and press agencies and is faster and more powerful than ever before. Offering the most powerful AF system in Nikon’s history, this flagship DSLR camera delivers crucial improvements to modern workflow while also accelerating file transfer capabilities. Promising unparalleled low-light performance, powerful agility, advanced 4K UHD multimedia capabilities and a mechanical shutter frame rate boosted to a staggering 14fps, the D6 will redefine the way pros work.
“The D6 is purpose-built and inspired by the valuable feedback of professional users,” said Jay Vannatter, Executive Vice President of Nikon Inc. “The world relies on photojournalists and professionals to document every corner of the globe through impactful images; Nikon cameras are trusted to stand up to any job and help photographers capture the shot, time and time again.”
The Most Powerful AF in Nikon’s History: The D6 leaves nothing to chance. To maximize hit rate, it is equipped with a newly developed, densely packed 105-point AF system in which all the focus points utilize cross-type sensors and all points are selectable. Through the new focus point layout and the use of a triple-sensor arrangement for each focus point, the D6 achieves AF coverage that is approximately 1.6x denser than that of the D5. The D6 also sports an expanded focus detection range which increases the detection area for single point AF and dynamic area AF, making it easier to achieve focus on a subject even when slightly outside the focus point.
Improving upon Nikon’s popular Group AF mode, this function has evolved with support for 17 custom arrangements from which users can choose according to the scene or subject movement. The D6 also demonstrates superior low-light AF performance. The center focus point works down to -4.5 EV1 and the others to -4 EV, making autofocus possible even in dark situations or with low-contrast subjects.
Unparalleled Performance: The new EXPEED 6 engine's superior image-processing capabilities combined with the vast amount of information provided by the new dedicated AF engine drives high-level performance in any situation. To help capture the decisive moment consistently, the D6 boasts a 14fps2 mechanical shutter with full AF and AE. The D6 can also shoot completely silent for sensitive situations, capturing full resolution at 10.5 fps. For faster frame rates, the Nikon D6 is able to take 2-megapixel images at approx. 60 fps and 8-megapixel images at 30 fps in Live View mode.
The D6 leverages a 20.8-megapixel FX-Format CMOS sensor, creating images that pop with stunning detail and true colors and exhibit incredible dynamic range. The ISO ranges from 100 to 102,400, which helps to preserve sharpness and subtle details in even the most challenging light. Additionally, ISO is expandable up to 3.2 million, giving photographers the ability to truly conquer the dark.
Concentration on Workflow: Building on Nikon’s history of serving professionals, the D6 is the most customizable Nikon DSLR yet, designed to speed up the workflow of any user during and after capture.
-Recall shooting functions create combinations of settings that can be assigned to a specific button to get the perfect shot in a pinch
-The D6 excels in connectivity and supports the same 1000BASE-T Ethernet standard as the D5, with an approximate 15% increase in transmission speed. The camera also supports a number of options for wireless networking, offering built-in 2.4- and 5-GHz*3 Wi-Fi®4 or traditional wireless transfer using the WT-6 Wireless Transmitter (optional)
-Includes 14 customizable buttons, assignable to any of 46 unique function choices and a new intuitive menu system
-Priority Image Transfer gives the ability to move an important image to the front of the queue when speed is of paramount priority, which can easily be done by swiping the touch LCD during playback
-Security Lock compatibility supports connection of anti-theft cables to provide maximum security for remote applications or when the camera is unattended
-Built in GPS5 gives accurate time, date and location information for just about anywhere on the planet
-Dual CFexpress6 slots offer blazing fast read/write times and have the ability to overflow, copy or separate file types
-JPEG functions allow for the simultaneous recording of two JPEG images with different image size and quality settings, which is convenient for separating images that will be transmitted from those that will be edited
-Creativity options for multimedia creators including a new interval timer mode to retain the best resolution and enable in-camera time-lapse movie file recording providing professionals the ability to create exceptionally sharp 16:9 4K Ultra HD video
Absolute Reliability: Nikon’s flagship cameras remain trusted in the industry and have been proven on the sidelines, in the studio and even in outer space. With a magnesium alloy camera body and extensively weather-sealed design, the D6 is as tough as the professionals who use it, ready to take on the harshest shooting conditions. The camera offers long-lasting battery life, delivering the safety net and energy-saving performance that pros need on daylong outings. The D6 also employs a USB-Type C connector for faster direct-to-PC file transfer rates than previously possible with the D5.
Endless Lens Choices: By pairing the D6 with Nikon’s extremely diverse selection of F-Mount NIKKOR telephoto lenses, professionals have the most advanced imaging solution in Nikon’s history. No matter the job, the client or the location, there’s a NIKKOR lens, from the ultra-wide to the super-telephoto. The D6 is also compatible with Nikon’s line of creative Speedlights, offering extra creative freedom to enhance natural light and add artistry and drama to any scene.
Pricing and Availability
The new Nikon D6 will be available in April 2020 for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $6,499.95 for the body only configuration.”