Recommend me a camera for my business

[TheThingIs]

Hi peeps

I've just restarted my fitted bedroom business after quitting it 10 years ago. What I need is a camera that will take good photo's of the bedrooms that I fit as I then use these to show potential customers different designs and colours. So these photos are extremely important as without them I couldn't even sell a thing. The problem that I always have is that there is often not enough room in the bedroom to take a decent shot and get everything in. If you can imaging wardrobes at either side of a double bed with a bridging unit over and the furthest away I get is standing at the bottom of the bed. I think an slr is needed to get the best photo but what lens would I require to get as much in the photo as possible? I don't want to spend a fortune but enough to do the job. I also have problems with the colours of the wardrobes coming out badly...without a flash they are generally too dark or blurry and with flash the colours are washed out and often with bright spots on the doors as the flash is reflected back...so how to best get around this?

thanks

[dpSparhawk]

Canon EOS 400D . I say that because I have one and I love it and many others here either have the 350D, 400D or a higher model such as the 40D

The 400D's are anything from £350 for the body only to £479 with an 18-55mm lens.

As for the lens to take room photos, I believe a Wide angle lens is what you need.

http://take-tour.com/_wsn/page3.html

With regards to colours, you'll find most people will do some post processing in applications such as Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop (or Aperture for the MAC). Exposure, colour levels, saturation etc. can all be tweaked a little to bring out the colours.

If you are not going to use a flash, you have to use a tripod and a remote shutter release or use the 10 second timer to avoid camera shake and blurring. You can get some excellent shots if you set the exposure right. Longer exposure but smaller aperture or a wider aperture and shorter exposure without the need to increase the ISO above 100 or 200. Personally, I like to avoid using anything other than ISO 100 or 200 if I can because the digital noise is irritating. I know that by using a tripod, setting the exposure long enough or aperture wide enough, I can get the level of light I want with no noise.

If you do use a flash, use a Circular Polarising filter too, you can reduce the reflective glare on surfaces. Alternatively, I believe you can reduce the glare by diffusing the flash with some tissue or a special diffuser that clips over it. Using a diffuser can also increase the light and provide similar results to a studio without the nead for umberellas etc.

[BertRoot]

Keep your eye on HotUKDeals as you tend to see the 400D having some ripping deals every so often. Also have a look at the sticky in the Photography Hardware section for places that do good prices.

edit: Try this.

[{{909}}]

i wouldn't say you need an slr for the job, there may be some point n shoots with even wider angle than 18mm (lower = wider), with some you can get a cheap screw on lens that makes the camera see at a wider viewpoint.
Id goto a camera shop and ask them.
You could get a 350d or similar slr, but getting a wider angle lens would be very expensive that way, although 18mm is quite wide, in this case the wider the better.

In this case, getting a small point n shoot has its advantages as you could sit the camera almost anywhere with a gorillapod or beanbag mount, On top of wardrobes, doorframes etc and some come with infared remotes so you could trigger the shutter out of the way.

Another option would be to take a number of shots and stitch them together on the PC, you can get very wide shots this way and with practice they can look very natural. If you went this route theres also the option to make a 360degree virtual room, which when hosted on a website can give a potential customer a much better feel for the room.

If i was doing this, I'd borrow a camera off someone (if you don't own one already) and try the stitching option before you go out and spend loadsamoney.

[dpSparhawk]

Good points 909 I'd contemplated a point and shoot but didn't know any that could do the job as I've not really looked into them much.

[TheThingIs]

thanks to all, good points. tbh the slr is a little on the steep side esp with a lens on top, although i till get one if it does the job. I think i'll do what 909 says and pop into a camera shop and see what they can talk me into

[neo2810]

Get an SLR, get a 10mm wide angle lense, take all your bedroom shots, and then use the thing in your spare time to take some nice landscape shots.

If you buy a DSLR just to take shots of a few wardrobes, I'll find you and wrap the fucking thing around your neck...