QUOTE (timk519 @ Nov 22 2007, 08:45 AM)
I got a Rebel XT DSLR a year ago Christmas, and I've been surprised at the number of doors having a camera can open. If you spend some time learning the craft, have a good body / lense, photography can help with property marketing as it can make the place look really good to the end user. Personally, I'm amazed at the crud that passes for some RE pictures I've seen, especially considering what's possible with a little time and training.
Photography also helps you learn how to look at things, and notice facets of the image you may not've noticed otherwise - almost like you're looking at the subject from someone else's eyes.
The Rebel XT does a great job, and since it's been out for a while you should be able to get it - and a copy of Adobe Lightroom - for under $1K. If you're new to photography, then take a couple of courses on how to use the camera ($150), and the editing SW (maybe another $150), and you'll have some skills and equipment that'll last you a lifetime.
I would have to agree with you on a few points here! Firstly, if you're looking at bad pictures of a property (or any product), you won't be inclined to look to closely.
Something like a Rebel XT body will be great, but I would pass on the kit lens that normally comes with it - there's a reason they're almost the same price as just the camera body itself
. For indoor real estate pictures, you'll really want to have a fast lens (Big aperture - look for something around f/2.8), since it's hard to get enough light in certain areas inside, and you definitely don't want to ruin your pictures with the onboard flash. The other option for this would be to buy a separate flash, but the only way to use this effectively would be to diffuse it, which is a completely different story.
Wide angle lenses are always a plus, too, since it'll let you make the most of each picture you take and cram as much in - that being said, if you're going to be using this for family portraits etc, you don't want to just have one ultra wide-angle lens, since those have a habit of making people's noses pretty big
I'd also like to second the use of lightroom - it's a great program that can save poorly exposed or blown out pictures, not to mention the ways that it can enhance good pictures you've already taken (especially if you shoot in RAW mode and not regular JPEG), although it is a fairly large investment to make intially, and you may want to stave off until you seriously want to get into photography.
As for the virtual tour aspect... it's certainly possible, but I think you would find a lot more value in straight-up real estate photography: with a wide enough lens, you won't need to have to do the 360 degree tour, and I would much rather be able to click on a picture labelled "kitchen" or "living room" and check it out than navigate around a potentially clunky flash or java or whatever interface.
I do know that I would personally have a lot more confidence in a place if I were able to see clearly what was inside/outside of the building instead of a few grainy/blurry shots or nothing at all.
If you'd like to chat more, feel free to send me a private message
