Many Realtors use Camera phones to take photos for their listings; however, the camera on a cell phones still can’t compete with even the point-n-shoot cameras on the market today because camera phones don’t have many control functions so the picture quality is not as good. Although we carry our cell phone everyday to everywhere we go, we still need to invest in a good compact camera if we want to have better photos.
For Real Estate photos (interior and exterior), wide angle is a must but there are not many compact cameras that come with 24mm wide angle capability. I did some research, luckily there are four pretty good ones, and two of them are new on the market to choose from.
1. Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3, 24-60mm, $500
2. Canon PowerShot G9 with a Wide Converter, 24-210mm, $600
3. Ricoh Caplio GX100, 24-72mm $440
4. Samsung NV24HD, 24-86mm $350
Update (8/13/08): The newest camera with 24mm wide angle lens is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. It has F2.0 24mm ultra-wide-angle Leica lens, Large 3.0 LCD, Raw, HD Video Recording
and slideshows, ISO 3200, approx. 2.5 shots per second, Face Detection
(up to 15 faces). Optional items such as Wide Conversion Lens brings
the maximum wide
angle to 18mm; ND Filter and PL Filter, aluminum External Optical
Viewfinder (DMW-VF1), and the GN22 Compact
Flash. If you were consider Canon G9, you might want to take a look
this camera because it can do about everything G9 can do and a 24mm
lens without converter and under $500.
The second one is the Canon PowerShot G9
with Raynox HD-6600 Pro 58mm Wide Angle Converter, 24-210mm, $620. This is a alternative
version of a DSLR because it has features like Raw, AP and TV modes,
special scene modes such as aquarium, underwater, kids and pets, color
accent and swap. It has the biggest LCD screen (3.0 inch) among all,
hot shoe for external flash, record movies, ISO 3200, f/2.8 to f/4.8,
and 12.1-megapixel. A new Face Select and Track function enables the
user to manually select and track an individual face from up to 35
faces detected in frame. Other useful features include an in-built ND
(Neutral Density) filter, AEB (auto exposure bracketing), focus
bracketing and a live histogram display. The only drawback is a littler bigger (4.2 x 2.8 x 1.7 in) and heavier (13.1 oz).
The 3rd one is the Ricoh Caplio GX100, 24-72mm $440. What I like about is that it comes some features that you normally see in SLRs, including Raw, AE and AP modes, 1 cm macro mode, Exposure bracketing, f/2.5 to f/4.4, and hot shoe for external flash. If you want wider than 24mm, you can purchase 19mm DW-6 Wide Conversion Lens and HA-2 Adapter. The best part is that you don’t need to sacrifice your wallet or convenience to have an SLR-like quality camera. The only drawback is that it’s 10-megapixel images sensor is pretty noisy above ISO 400 but I don’t see it is a problem for Realtors. (Update 08/13/08: New GX200 is 12-megapixel, $599)
The last one is the Samsung NV24HD, 24-86mm $350. Other than wide angle, its Face Detection technology can detects up to nine faces and automatically adjust focus and exposure to ensure better composition and image quality that makes taking pictures of family and friends a snap. By utilizing Face Detection technology, it automatically detects the user's face, adjusts focus and exposure, and will only allow a photo to be taken if the subject is centered in the frame. Additionally it includes the ability to shoot at ISO 3200 and 14 scene modes to choose from -- Night, Portrait, Children, Landscape, Close-Up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Café, Food, and Self Portrait.
You can buy these cameras on Amazon.
Finally, there is a Food Styling book for Photographers. I took 2 food styling classes in LA before - the purpose was to understand how food was prepared for the camera and also to see how food photographers setup their lights. I love food photography and read many popular food blogs with their work. So when I know this Food Styling for Photographers by Linda Bellingham and Jean Ann Bybee came out, I can’t wait to order a copy and I was very happy after flipping through the book.
This book gives you many tricks of the trade and notes from photographers with lots of setup photos, both food setup and camera/lighting setup. The printing quality and the page layout are very good - the font size is easy to read, the color pictures are clear, clean and colorful. They gives you details on how to buy the food, how to prepare the food, how to assemble the food, how to plate the food, how to decorate the food, etc. They gives you before, during and final photos. 
I also own Digital Food Photography by Lou Manna and Working with Plate by Christopher Styler and David Lazarus. In my opinion, if you are interested in food photography, buy Food Styling for Photographyers and Digital Food Photography and you are good to go. Highly recommend these two books. 
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