What lens are you using for architecture?

[captura]

I'm sorry, I don't like the 100% perspective control and I don't like the over processed HDR-look of your image.

HDR has it's place, too. I prefer the HDR results I get from my Olympus E-PM1.

 

[jack scholl]

Henry and OP,

Sorry to you both . . . I missed the A7 reference. "The quick read before posting" technique is not a recommended approach.

My fault.

Jack

 

[Euell]

I wouldn't forget the SEL1018 for architecture. We have used it quite often for that purpose. And it is great for indoor shooting as well with the OS. Not cheap, but a very nice lens.



Jack

Agreed, but the OP's question was for the A7, as in FF. I would not recommend the E1018 for this, even though it does cover the FF sensor, but only around 13mm and with some edge/corner softening (and likely no correction).

I do find 24 in FF, and 16 in APS-C, to be about the 'widest' that works for architecture. You can frame wide, as in your image, and place building on center-line to mitigate the effects, but the distortion is usually detracting, and encourages cleanup in post.

24mm on FF (16mm on APS-C), framed wide - showing geometric distortion, which gets worse if wider FL

Using Tilt function in image above.

--
Cheers,
Henry

Sure it's not the shift function, rather than tilt?

 

[Tuloom]

I have the chance to shoot architecture photos on a regular basis for a potential client using my A7 and I need to get a good wide lense. I need to keep the price as low as possible at this point so I'm asking what lens would be my best choice? My first thought is the Minolta 20mm f2.8 with the LAEA4, which I already own. I would love to be able to afford the new Zeiss FE 16-35 but that's a $1k price difference for something that may not pan out.

TIA for your response!

You will lose some resolution, but you can do a lot with Lightroom's Lens Correction tools. If this is for web sized use, I'd have no issue with just using simple software corrections. Completely depends on what the output is, the subject, and, of course, your client.

 

[steve vida]

Im sorry too Paul,but these are PP`d in Lightroom from a single RAW file,Im not sure if I should take your comment as criticism or a complement.What part of the correction process is 100%?

The capture of the Dorrigo Hotel only needed a few MM of shift from were I was positioned to include the top of the buliding.Once youve used a PC lens of some kind its hard to just use corrections in PP & loose all those valuable pixels.Do you do any PP or are you happy with OOC Jpeg`s?

 

[ronald weissman]

For real estate interiors, I've tried the following full frame lenses on an A7R w tripod and an A7S handheld (just to see what I could get away with in if a tripod was impractical):

1) Leica WATE 16-18-21 w M adapter

Incredibly small and light, optically superb, not as easy to focus in dim interiors, but very flexible as focal length actually transitions smoothly from 16-21mm and all lengths in between (e.g., it is not limited to just 16-18-21 lengths). Focus peaking helps but is the hardest of all four to focus (at least for me, YMMV). But expect the architectural distortion associated with an ultra wide angle--but there has been little that I could not correct using Lightroom's perspective correction.

2) Sony Alpha mount 20mm f2.8 w A to FE adapter (v4)

An underrated good quality lens that is light even with the adapter, focuses easily, keystone distortion is easily corrected in Lightroom. You need to stop it down to F5.6 for best results

3) Alpha mount 16-35mm w A to FE adapter

This combo is huge, heavy and really requires a tripod; optically better than the Alpha 20mm, often needs Lightroom correction, but not as well suited to traveling light as the WATE or Alpha 20mm.

4) Canon 24mm T/S II w Metabones adapter

By far my favorite choice for interiors especially when using 2 or 3 frame stitched shifts. Incredibly sharp, easy stitching via Photoshop, little distortion. Hardest to use (it is fully manual and requires some T/S operating experience), but after a half day of interior shooting, it became second nature to use and Sony's focus peaking & magnification work well. Stitching multiple 24mm shots yields the same perspective but avoids much of the the distortion of a single photo shot with a much wider lens. The 24MM T/S works beautifully on a tripod and even yielded acceptable results (single shots, not stitched shots) handheld with an A7S, bumping the ISO to enable higher shutter speeds given the weight of this combo. But you can't stitch hand-held shots (or, at least, my hand held shots don't line up well enough to stitch), so, for real estate, this really requires a solid tripod for shifting.

I also tried the optically superb (on a Leica) Leica R 15mm (famed for its rectilinear, low-distortion properties) but my copy plus my R adapter on my A7R did not yield consistently sharp results. Not sure where the fault lies but the other lenses yielded consistently better results and, as a result, I put far less effort into testing this lens after early shots yielded inconsistent and not very sharp results.

Given the distortion of most ultra wide angles, my preference is a high quality 24mm T/S lens shifted and stitched (trivial to do) to get lower-distortion and higher resolution images to work with. But expect (a bit) more work in physical setup, shooting and post processing--this is not a run and gun solution if, for example, you have a short shooting time window and need to take many shots quickly.

My two favorites, based on different shooting contexts:

Simplest and easiest for quick shooting without tripod: Sony 20MM w LAE4 adapter. At F5.6 quality is acceptable, if not brilliant.

Best quality: Canon 24mm T/S II with Metabones adapter and solid tripod. Amazing sharpness and flexibility. (Once you've gotten used to T/S it is hard to go back to traditional AF lenses.)

I'd be curious in how others have comparatively evaluated these lenses.

 

[captura]

I wouldn't forget the SEL1018 for architecture. We have used it quite often for that purpose. And it is great for indoor shooting as well with the OS. Not cheap, but a very nice lens.



Jack

Agreed, but the OP's question was for the A7, as in FF. I would not recommend the E1018 for this, even though it does cover the FF sensor, but only around 13mm and with some edge/corner softening (and likely no correction).

I do find 24 in FF, and 16 in APS-C, to be about the 'widest' that works for architecture. You can frame wide, as in your image, and place building on center-line to mitigate the effects, but the distortion is usually detracting, and encourages cleanup in post.

24mm on FF (16mm on APS-C), framed wide - showing geometric distortion, which gets worse if wider FL

Using Tilt function in image above.

--
Cheers,
Henry

Sure it's not the shift function, rather than tilt?

As I posted before, the 10-18 + about 1.1X or 1.2X Clear-View will take off the rough edges and still give you about 20 mp on an A7. No need to do anything as drastic as using the crop button.

 

[tesch]

Thanks for the insiteful testing and write up, Ron. This was big help to me and has swayed me back to the Minolta 20mm w/post processing the perspective corrections in LR.

I'm still waiting to get paid for some jobs I did this week, so I have a little time to switch back and forth a couple more times.

I agree that the T-S would be the optimal config here but at this point I'm still exploring whether or not I even want to go in this direction. I currently have no income so this has to be the cheapest entry point possible. I'm not sure I will even like working in this arena or like the type of clients. I'll slowly upgrade to better gear as I become more framilier with the process and get what suits me best. I like to take things slow and pay cash for new gear as I make money. Everything I buy has to pay for itself. That's how I roll!

 

[tesch]

Ok, quick update. I'm renting a Canon 24mm TS from Lens Rentals with the Metabones Smart Adapter IV. Thought I would start at the top and build a nice portfolio.

 

[Lightshow]

I have the chance to shoot architecture photos on a regular basis for a potential client using my A7 and I need to get a good wide lense. I need to keep the price as low as possible at this point so I'm asking what lens would be my best choice? My first thought is the Minolta 20mm f2.8 with the LAEA4, which I already own. I would love to be able to afford the new Zeiss FE 16-35 but that's a $1k price difference for something that may not pan out.

TIA for your response!

It really depends if you need to correct for verticals, a shift lens will let you keep the sensor plane parallel to the subject, it can be done in post processing but you will lose resolution.

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[chiane]

I wouldn't forget the SEL1018 for architecture. We have used it quite often for that purpose. And it is great for indoor shooting as well with the OS. Not cheap, but a very nice lens.



Jack

Agreed, but the OP's question was for the A7, as in FF. I would not recommend the E1018 for this, even though it does cover the FF sensor, but only around 13mm and with some edge/corner softening (and likely no correction).

I do find 24 in FF, and 16 in APS-C, to be about the 'widest' that works for architecture. You can frame wide, as in your image, and place building on center-line to mitigate the effects, but the distortion is usually detracting, and encourages cleanup in post.

24mm on FF (16mm on APS-C), framed wide - showing geometric distortion, which gets worse if wider FL

Using Tilt function in image above.



--
Cheers,
Henry

That focal length rule of thumb works in a pic like you have shown when you can stand a football field away to get the shot. Try that focal length shooting a bathroom and you will be frustrated.

 

[tesch]

So as you know I'm just starting out in real estate photography and I have a question about copyrights. I'm starting to work with a start up company who wants to use me as a photographic source but after the first test shoot they sent me a legal document to sign that gives them all of the copyrights to the images. It does allow me to use the photos in my portfolio but other than that I have no usage rights.

So my question is, is this a common practice in Real Estate? Is there any futures profits for me in these images and is it even worth pursuing this relationship with the start up company? Basically is it the right thing to do to sell my copyrights?

 

[darkdirtydwarf]

"they sent me a legal document to sign that gives them all of the copyrights to the images. It does allow me to use the photos in my portfolio but other than that I have no usage rights."

I'm under the impression you'll be working for a company that has a website where people can put their places up for rent... but I might be wrong.

So my question is, is this a common practice in Real Estate?

it is the standard contract that the company I'm referring above uses and offers its photographers.

I can say for sure and may be different in different parts of the world, but I'm quite confident that when I pay for an image, I surely don't want you to use it again for something else.

Well, unless I'm Getty. Wait, no, in that case it would be me using your image over and over again paying you peanuts...

Is there any futures profits for me in these images

even if the company would allow you to use the images again, who's gonna pay for the pictures of an apartment, other than who commissioned the job with a specific purpose (showcase the property on a website or something)? I'm not sure there is much extra profit you can get out of those images.

and is it even worth pursuing this relationship with the start up company?

Are you interested in the job? Can you learn something doing it? Do you have the time to invest in it? Do you need the cash?

You can quit any time (well, most serious jobs force you to give a three months notice), so even if it goes wrong, I don't see any problem, the worse that can happen is wasting few weeks doing something you realize you didn't want to do.

Basically is it the right thing to do to sell my copyrights?

For the right amount of money I'd sell all my pictures and promise never to look at them again

Well, not those of my boy, but you know what I mean

But if I'm right about the company, you won't probably get much money, you'll cover the costs and have change for a pizza on the weekend. It up to you to decide whether you want the pizza or not!