Which digital camera do you all suggest? I have an old fuji that has served its purpose, I am ready for a new one. I am willing to spend a max of $350.

Thanks for the info.

I recommend checking out Best Buy's website for one of their Cannon's. Anything with 5+ Megapixels will give you plenty of clarity for listing and such. Make sure you go to the store though and compare the "wide-angle". Went you tuck yourself into the corner of a room to take a picture of a listing, you'll want to get as much room in the shot as possible. A good close-up featured camera is good for taking pictures of breaker boxes too.

Tip:

research cameras online, read customer reviews. Then go to ebay and look for them! I have purchased 3 different Olympus digital cameras (but only from a seller with thousands of transactions and at least 99% positive feedback) for a fraction of the "list price."

For real estate purposes, (i.e, online pictures, and small brochure/advertising pictures) you don't even need a 5+ megapixel camera - 2.5 to 4mp will do...unless you're planning on lots of large print advertisements/billboards, etc. A wide angle lens, however, is a must.

Just an idea. I have purchased three cameras from the user/store Olympus Auctions (I believe they are directly affiliated with Olympus USA) and have only been THRILLED with my cameras - at "list price" my cameras each would have been $700 +. I got them for under $275 each. (I required optical zoom on mine...purchased them for my own photography habits...were I to purchase a camera purely for my job, I would spend even less.)

a great website full of digital camera help:

http://www.digicamhelp.com

Excellent resource!

I have a Kodak Easy Share Z740 5 megapixel, 10x optical zoom digital camera.

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-locale=en_US&pq-path=6549

I have had fancier cameras in the past but I was never able to be in the picture because no one but me could use it; so I decided to step down a bit.

Is this good enough for real estate and BPO purposes?

Thanks for your opinion.

Sounds good to me. You don't need fancy bells and whistles for your standard real estate stuff (I have a kick-a$$ camera because I'm a shutterbug at heart).

If the camera is too confusing to use it's worthless. As long as it delivers good quality pictures and allows some flexibility in exposure, has a flash and a little zoom it should suit your purposes fine.

The thing that annoys me with my camera is it has everything BUT A STINKING WIDE ANGLE LENS!! When I bought the camera I wasn't too worried about it cause my 35mm had wide angle and I always took both cameras with me on vacation...but with this kind of work juggling two cameras is a PIA, especially if one is a dinosaur (even if it is a Canon...lol). So I'm thinking of downgrading myself, for work...just so I can have the wide angle lens!

Thanks Perky.

I used to travel a great deal and that is why I had the super duper camera but for taking pics in the real world nobody could find the button, focus, etc.

So for the real world I got this one. And with all of the money I am laying out as I begin my real estate career, I am glad that I don't have to spend even more money on a camera.

Take care

Try to get a %megapixel camera with a good optical zoom.
Do not make the error of focusing on a digital zoom.

Kodak v705 camera is great for real estate: it is a small camera with an ultra wide angle lens. I got mine a couple of weeks ago (eBay of course) and LOVE IT.

It takes BEEEE YOU TEEEE FULLLL pictures.

I like the Canon Powershot S1, S2, S3 models with the big zoom lenses and SLR viewing, which means you actually see through the lens, not through a separate viewfinder. They also have a swing-out LCD display like the digital camcorders, image stabilization, etc. There are plenty of other good brands such as Olympus, Kodak, Nikon, Sony, etc.

I just saw the new Olympus 550 which has an incredible 18x (optical) zoom with 28mm on the wide-angle end, for the interior pics. It's priced at around $500.

When you compare the zoom factor (example: 5x ), compare only the optical zoom figure, which is inherent in the lens optical design.

I don't think you can beat the Canon S3, and it's priced right at $350. Has a high quality movie/video mode too. You'll love it. If you have Windows XP, DO NOT install the Canon software, XP will take care of it. If you plan to use the movie/video mode, get a high-speed memory card with at least 1GB of memory, in addition to your regular memory card, and record the video strictly on the high-speed, high-capacity memory card. You'll have close to mini-DV digital camcorder video quality, but the video recording time on the camera is much shorter than a camcorder mini-DV tape. In high-resolution movie mode, you'll get maybe 10 minutes of video on the camera.

Wide angle lens for sure. But listen, most cameras take the same picture, and good interior pictures come from good lighting,not the camera brand/model. The most expensive/technically advanced camera won't overcome the light imbalances found in naturally lit or flashed interiors.

The first statement does create a problem however, in that wide angle isn't readily available in the bulk of point and shoot cameras. You can find them in the 35mm slr film cameras that still outperform most digital cameras (re picture quality).

Quite frankly, $350 is going to get you a good quality point and shoot, but the end results aren't going to impress your sellers, Unless you become very good at lighting and are a bit creative in your image selection.

well Olympus i think is one of the best in terms of that of product.. as i research a digital camera for my self usage and i found that its the better choice in durability and cost. he..

Which is why the Kodak v705 is a great choice for real estate agents - it has an ultra wide angle lens.

And reading the following blog you will see that the camera DOES make a difference. The top pictures were taken under the same conditions with two different cameras. The one on the right is significantly better, not only because it's a wide shot, but because it's a better photograph. The pics were not doctored up in any way.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/23119/Sell-Your-Camera-On

I LOVE all the Canons, especially the Powershots (Digital Elph) for "pocket" cameras. You can get an SD-500 (7MP) for a little over $100 on eBay and get a Square Trade warranty for a few bucks more.

They have great optics, decent video features, and are generally pretty easy to use.

Perky Realtor, I checked out the blog on the activerain ref the camera EasyShare V705, I thought I had decided on the Fuji S6000 but now I am thinking twice on it.

Does anyone have the Fuji FinePix S6000? I am in my last stage of research ready to purchase, once I decide. I liked the Fuji because it looks awesome also for trips. I want to use the camera for both real estate & personal trips.

Sorry, I don't know anything about that camera. I do like Fuji products.

My main criteria is the ultra wide angle lens. It really makes a difference when it comes to interior photos - and yard photos too. The Kodak is very small and very easy to take "on the go." I've never had such a small camera - even my old Kodac Disc camera was gigantic compared to this. (Remember those junky cameras? Wow, talk about horrible pictures! LOL)

I'm in the market for a new camera - going to have to check out that ultra wide angle. Might be just the ticket I've been looking for.

I am partial to Nikon personally. Regardless, it is imperitive that you are able to attach aftermarket lenses.

I purchased a wide angle lens from eBay for around $30 and it made all the difference in the world.

Additionally, if you have a camera that will accept lenses, you can purchase a 360 degree lens for it and do your own Virtual Tours.

With that said, $350 is not going to go far if you want a high grade camera. However, it will buy a stellar snapshot camera. For that purpose, I recommend the Casio Exlim. I recently picked one up and immediately fell in love with the thing. It is much smaller then my wallet (in size ... It retails for about $300) and fits nicely in my pocket. It weighs next to nothing and with a whopping 10 megapixels it takes print-worthy photos, no problem. It is a good choice, if you want a camera to take with you all the time.

One last thing regarding megapixels ... Although Megapixels are the yardstick by which the quality of your images are judged by. HOWEVER, the size of the CCD chip (Charge-Coupled Device) is also extremely important. With a larger CCD chip you will get a larger Field of View. This will allow you to do all sorts of things if you really want to get serious.

Yes, I realize that I am a complete nerd ...