topic New to Photography. Question about settings. in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

New to Photography. Question about settings.

clark77494 — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 22:06:30 GMT

I just purchased a Canon EOS Rebel T5 to do Real Estate photography. For outside photos I want to set it to ISO 400, f/5.6 and let the camera determine the shutter speed. On the inside I want to set the camera to f/7.1 ISO 200 wih no flash, and also let the camera determine the shutter speed. I have a tripod so slow shutter speeds should not be a problem. I have a 18mm-55mm lens that came with the camera. I have two years video production training so I know how to setup a motion picture camera, just never took stills except with my Iphone.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

RobertTheFat — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 23:26:32 GMT

@clark77494 wrote:
I just purchased a Canon EOS Rebel T5 to do Real Estate photography. For outside photos I want to set it to ISO 400, f/5.6 and let the camera determine the shutter speed. On the inside I want to set the camera to f/7.1 ISO 200 wih no flash, and also let the camera determine the shutter speed. I have a tripod so slow shutter speeds should not be a problem. I have a 18mm-55mm lens that came with the camera. I have two years video production training so I know how to setup a motion picture camera, just never took stills except with my Iphone.

Canon's more expensive cameras give you the option of defining sets of settings, so that you can set them all with one turn of the mode dial. But I've never seen a Rebel with that feature, so I think you'll have to change those settings manually when you go indoors or outdoors. Check your manual, of course, to be sure I'm right about that.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

Waddizzle — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 01:01:23 GMT

@clark77494 wrote:
I just purchased a Canon EOS Rebel T5 to do Real Estate photography. For outside photos I want to set it to ISO 400, f/5.6 and let the camera determine the shutter speed. On the inside I want to set the camera to f/7.1 ISO 200 wih no flash, and also let the camera determine the shutter speed. I have a tripod so slow shutter speeds should not be a problem. I have a 18mm-55mm lens that came with the camera. I have two years video production training so I know how to setup a motion picture camera, just never took stills except with my Iphone.

For serious professional work, a Rebel T5 will require careful shooting to get professional results. With a Rebel T5, I would not let ISO get above ISO 200, if you want to achieve critical focus, sharpness and low noise. The T5 does begin to show noise at ISO 400, while not much, it is there and you would need to be removed in post. While the noise can be easily removed, your sharpness will suffer a bit.

I own a T5, and it is a great little camera, provided I keep the ISO at 100. The 18-55mm lens that comes with the T5 camera kit, is not professional grade. You will always want to shoot at ISO 100 with that lens. You will always want to manually focus the lens using Live View, also. It is a rather fragile lens, also. It lacks manual focus override, and many new users will accidentally turn the focus ring, instead of the zoom ring, which throws the autofocusing motors out of alignment.

If you're doing professional real estate work, then I suggest that you consider a better lens. I'd recommend the super wide angle EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens. It has image quality that rivals Canon's "L Series" of professional grade lenses.

Finally, invest in a professional grade tripod, one with a detachable, interchangeable head. You will not find a professional tripod at the Big Blue Box store. I recommend looking on line at retailers like B&H Photo Video. I recommend getting one that can support close to 20 lbs, if not more. Tripods tend to shake and vibrate in the wind.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

TTMartin — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 01:31:42 GMT

@clark77494 wrote:
I just purchased a Canon EOS Rebel T5 to do Real Estate photography. For outside photos I want to set it to ISO 400, f/5.6 and let the camera determine the shutter speed. On the inside I want to set the camera to f/7.1 ISO 200 wih no flash, and also let the camera determine the shutter speed. I have a tripod so slow shutter speeds should not be a problem. I have a 18mm-55mm lens that came with the camera. I have two years video production training so I know how to setup a motion picture camera, just never took stills except with my Iphone.

You'll want Av mode.

In Av mode you set the Aperture and ISO and the camera determines the shutter speed.

No problem for the T5 and no problem getting professional Real Estate photos with ANY modern dSLR.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

clark77494 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 02:11:52 GMT

TTmartin,

Thank you for the advice. The information is not in the user’s manual. If it is it is buried somewhere. I found a work around in manual mode by holding down the shutter button halfway and dialing in the proper shutter speed. Your method will make it a lot faster so I don’t have to dial in the shutter speed. Here is the link to the current photos. After I shoot the house tomorrow. I will let you know, and see if there is any room for improvement.

The Amenity photos were taken by a professional photographer.

http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_rent/20110-Wrights-Crossing-ST-Katy-TX-77449_rb/?fromHomePage=true&shouldFireSellPageImplicitClaimGA=false&fromHomePageTab=rent

Clark,

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

ScottyP — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 02:49:33 GMT

As you and Tim both say, if you have a tripod, you are gold. Real estate shots present some of the least challenging requirements asked of cameras. No moving subjects. No need for sophisticated autofocus. So no need for bright lenses, large sensors for high ISO oerformance, nothing.

Get a solid tripod. Use the 2 second delay to make sure any vibration from your finger pressing the shutter stops before the picture is taken.

Use Av mode, which is Aperture Value or aperture priority. You set the aperture, camera sets as long a shutter as needed.

Go go ahead and use ISO 100 if you are on a tripod. You will see degredation in image quality by ISO 400, and since you are on a tipod there's no need for higher ISO.

If you need a wider wider angle lens, Canon has a 10-22 and a 10-18mm lens. Both are good according to the reviews and the newer one, the 10-18, is half the price of the 10-22.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

ScottyP — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 02:54:32 GMT

Funny your listing is in Katy. We lived there for 10 years before moving up to PA 7 years ago. Loved it, but we went back for a visit this year and almost didn't recognize the place for all the growth.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

clark77494 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 02:55:47 GMT

Waddizzle,

I did purchase a Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens for $279.00. Also, I have a sturdy Tripod that I use with my Sony FX7 Mini-DV camera. The Tripod that came with the Canon kit was questionable. I will take your advice and shoot it at 100 ISO. The professional photographer I used for Real Estate is using a Canon EOS 5DS-R camera. It seems he must have had a more sensitive CMOS sensor since my camera is taking 1-2 seconds per shot. Versus his less than a second at f7.1 at 200 ISO. I am using Corel PaintShop Pro X6. Which probably wouldn’t do it for wedding photography. Neither would the camera for that matter. I will send you the link to the house I’m shooting tomorrow once it is completed. The Professional photographer charged me over $2,000 last year and had a two week waiting list. We had a lot of redoes last year since the contractor said the house would be ready and I would schedule the shoot two weeks out and the contractor would be behind. This way I can photo them as soon as the houses are completed and not have a scheduling problem. My contractor said the Professional Photographer only took 20 minutes to complete the house.

Clark

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

clark77494 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 03:08:47 GMT

Scott,

I was able to get it working in AV mode. What I was doing wrong is there is a light scale in the middle of the menu that goes from minus 4 to plus 4. I moved the pointer from minus 4 until it was at Zero on the scale and that fixed the lighting problem. Now the shutter speed is 4.5 seconds, except now it is taking phenomenal photos. I haven’t reduced the photos yet, will work on that tomorrow.

Clark,

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

RobertTheFat — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 05:28:40 GMT

@clark77494 wrote:
Waddizzle,
I did purchase a Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens for $279.00. Also, I have a sturdy Tripod that I use with my Sony FX7 Mini-DV camera. The Tripod that came with the Canon kit was questionable. I will take your advice and shoot it at 100 ISO. The professional photographer I used for Real Estate is using a Canon EOS 5DS-R camera. It seems he must have had a more sensitive CMOS sensor since my camera is taking 1-2 seconds per shot. Versus his less than a second at f7.1 at 200 ISO. I am using Corel PaintShop Pro X6. Which probably wouldn’t do it for wedding photography. Neither would the camera for that matter. I will send you the link to the house I’m shooting tomorrow once it is completed. The Professional photographer charged me over $2,000 last year and had a two week waiting list. We had a lot of redoes last year since the contractor said the house would be ready and I would schedule the shoot two weeks out and the contractor would be behind. This way I can photo them as soon as the houses are completed and not have a scheduling problem. My contractor said the Professional Photographer only took 20 minutes to complete the house.
Clark

For no good reason except curiosity, which of the photos in the link you posted were taken by a professional?

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

clark77494 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 09:01:53 GMT

The outside photos. The inside photos were taken by the Realtor.

Clark

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

clark77494 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 09:02:46 GMT

Robert,
The Outside Photos. The inside photos were taken by the Realtor.
Clark,

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

Waddizzle — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 09:59:01 GMT

@clark77494 wrote:
Robert,
The Outside Photos. The inside photos were taken by the Realtor.
Clark,

Those inside photos are terrible, IMHO. They look a bit rushed. The camera does not look like it was carefully leveled, at all.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

ebiggs1 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 10:41:50 GMT

clark,

You got good advice and you got bad advice in this thread. I am going to guess you know which.

"No problem for the T5 and no problem getting professional Real Estate photos with ANY modern dSLR."

This is correct. You have all you need with the addition of a good tripod.

Av is the answer.

One thing I will add is be careful with the 'sliders' in post. This is a case of less is more. Just because a little looks good doesn't mean a lot looks better.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

TTMartin — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 12:17:50 GMT

@clark77494 wrote:
Scott,
I was able to get it working in AV mode. What I was doing wrong is there is a light scale in the middle of the menu that goes from minus 4 to plus 4. I moved the pointer from minus 4 until it was at Zero on the scale and that fixed the lighting problem. Now the shutter speed is 4.5 seconds, except now it is taking phenomenal photos. I haven’t reduced the photos yet, will work on that tomorrow.
Clark,

When in Av mode the 'light scale' becomes your exposure compensation display. You use exposure compensation when there is lighting that confuses the camera's built in metering. If the built in metering is giving you too dark a photo add some + exposure compensation, if portions of the photo are over exposed you would use - exposure compensation. Canon's evaluative metering is pretty good, so you won't need to mess with exposure compensation very often.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

clark77494 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 12:20:18 GMT

Robert,

I stand corrected the last four photos are the professional ones. The Club House, the two photos of the swiming pool and the playground. The picture of the front of the house was also the realtor, along with the inside photos.

Clark,

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

clark77494 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 12:34:55 GMT

Good to know. Also I noticed there is a setting for light Temperature. Most houses have CFLs I tend to replace the lights with Halogen lights which tend to last longer and don't contain mercury. I'm thinking of leasing Photoshop for $10 per month. The Software that came with the camera "Picture Style Editor" Works really well except it saves the photo in an unusable format. It puts the photo in PF3 format which I cannot view in any other program. I tried opening it in Corel PaintShop Pro and the software won't open it.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

clark77494 — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 12:58:16 GMT

Ebiggs,

I noticed that some people said I need a high-end rig to take professional quality photos. The way I see it is my realtor was using an IPhone to take snapshots of houses to put online. I figured an $800 DSLR would be a major improvement over an iPhone. The IPhone is great for taking snapshots to show my contractors what needs to be fixed and to Email over the photo, (something a DSLR camera can’t do.) The one thing I did notice about the T5 is you can’t change the aspect ratio. It has the setting, except it shows you a box inside the viewer of what in the photo will be removed. I guess the higher end cameras can change the aspect ratio automatically.

When a person looks at my houses online there not going to care that the photo is square instead of 16:9. Some Realtors think a picture is a picture and why spend the money on a DSLR? In a tight Real Estate market, photos can get you more showings. I proved that by using a Professional Photographer. When the Professional Photographer took photos I would go from 1 to 2 showings a week to 10-12 showings a week!

Clark,

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

RobertTheFat — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 13:04:34 GMT

@clark77494 wrote:
Good to know. Also I noticed there is a setting for light Temperature. Most houses have CFLs I tend to replace the lights with Halogen lights which tend to last longer and don't contain mercury. I'm thinking of leasing Photoshop for $10 per month. The Software that came with the camera "Picture Style Editor" Works really well except it saves the photo in an unusable format. It puts the photo in PF3 format which I cannot view in any other program. I tried opening it in Corel PaintShop Pro and the software won't open it.

1. LEDs are more efficient than halogens and are a good value, now that their prices have plummeted.

2. The Picture Style Editor is not a photo editor; it's a way of creating idiosyncratic "picture styles" that can supposedly make editing go faster. I've never used it, and you don't need it either. Canon's photo editor is "Digital Photo Professional". It comes with Canon's DSLRs and should work well for you, especially if you shoot in RAW mode. If you process a huge number of pictures, or get tired of DPP's slowness, you could try Adobe's Lightroom, which isn't prohibitively expensive. Many people who use Photoshop don't need it. Those who do need it tend to be high-end graphics designers or photographers doing fairly specialized work.

Re: New to Photography. Question about settings.

TTMartin — Mon, 21 Nov 2016 13:12:44 GMT

@clark77494 wrote:
Good to know. Also I noticed there is a setting for light Temperature. Most houses have CFLs I tend to replace the lights with Halogen lights which tend to last longer and don't contain mercury. I'm thinking of leasing Photoshop for $10 per month. The Software that came with the camera "Picture Style Editor" Works really well except it saves the photo in an unusable format. It puts the photo in PF3 format which I cannot view in any other program. I tried opening it in Corel PaintShop Pro and the software won't open it.

There is also a Canon program called Digital Photo Professional (DPP) that comes with your camera. It will allow you to shoot RAW, adjust your white balance in post processing, and export in the JPG format you need to use the photos.

You can also get the Adobe Photographers bundle with Lightroom and Photoshop. Lightroom and Canon DPP perform similar functions, and either one will do most everything you need. Photoshop is a very complex program with a pretty steep learning curve. Your time would probably be better spent doing your primary job (Real Estate) than learning Photoshop.