Congratulations Paul-Dan Dragoman, March 2025 PFRE Photographer of the Month! The theme this month was "Kitchen".Paul-Dan Dragoman - Entry 1036 Kristine Kohl - Entry 1037 Peter Wingfield - Entry 1044
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The Canon EOS 70D is a feature-packed dual-pixel camera that works for a variety of
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To get the most out of this fantastic camera, I found that the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 lens is the best lens for 70D thanks to its accurate autofocus, long focal range, and image stabilization.
Aside from my top pick, I also have more lens options with varying focal ranges, features, and prices so that you can collect more lenses for real estate
The Canon 70D comes with a powerful image processor and high ISO values that let you capture clearer photos. Partnering it with the Sigma 150-600m f/5-6.3 HSM lens gives you flexibility in shooting tack-sharp images for both close and long distances.
While the EOS 70D borrows the excellent autofocus sensor of the 70D, its dual-pixel sensor design makes the camera capable of phase detection autofocus both in movie mode and live view.
The good thing is that this hyper-telephoto lens includes a customizable AF speed, which provides more focus points with dynamic focusing. The AF also continues to improve as long as you get the firmware patches.
Despite the focal length, the Sigma 150-600mm lens feels surprisingly lightweight yet sturdy. The solid construction also makes it ideal for outdoor shooting. In addition, with built-in image stabilization, you can shoot handheld in good light.
While having a smaller aperture range is the trade-off for being lightweight, this aperture should be enough if you're usually shooting in daylight. However, this means it takes a while to blur the image when the subject blends with the background.
If you prefer a wider and shorter focal range for photographing broader scenes, the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 is another high-end and versatile lens for the Canon 70D.
While the Canon 70D contains a flash and its sensitivity control light settings, the 17-55mm constant aperture helps get more light to enter the sensor.
When attached to a crop-sensor camera like the 70D, the zoom range equates to a 27-88m perspective, perfect for landscape and real estate
The fast and large aperture at every focal length creates a shallow depth of field, resulting in a background blur that draws special attention to the subject.
The Canon 70D is a great walkaround lens, primarily since it works well with a range of ISO values. In effect, the 70D's AF system works across 80% of the frame, improving image contrast, even as you stop the lens aperture down to f/11.
The Canon 17-55mm has high-speed autofocus in live view, yet the speed depends on what shooting mode you're using. For instance, it only takes a second for the camera to focus when using the tracking mode.
Finally, like the Sigma 150-600mm, this everyday portrait lens features image stabilization that compensates for handheld motion, even in dim light.
When you buy any DSLR, brand-new cameras usually come with kit lenses. If you're still discovering what lens to use, you can get a kit lens like the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 for a fraction of the cost of premium lenses.
The Canon 70D mainly caters to semi-professionals and
The Canon 70D features a low-speed mode when you don't want to shoot quite as many frames, yet you still want to be ready for sudden movements. Being an upgrade of Canon's older 18-55mm versions, this lens comes with a quiet focusing motor.
While the Canon 18-55mm lens is more affordable, the consequence of the lower price is that it has fewer optical glasses and thus a smaller aperture range. Likewise, the lens tends to soften real estate images on the corners.
Prime lenses are good choices for real estate
While the 70D's sensitivity ranges from 100 to 12,800, this won't be necessary as long you use the widest apertures of the Canon 50mm. Besides, the 70D's auto white balance typically operates correctly, and you can reinforce it with the 50mm's peripheral brightness.
Furthermore, the Canon 50mm shares the same motor technology as the Canon 18-5mm, providing a fast yet seamless focusing. This prime lens even produces a shallow depth of focus despite shooting in low-light environments.
Since you'll be photographing real estate subjects, which generally need a considerable depth of field, aperture highly matters. Stopping down is essential to attain maximum sharpness. With a 1.4 maximum aperture, more light comes in, enabling you to focus on a lot of things in a scene.
Being a real estate photographer means you need to show more of the space in a single image, letting you establish a massive perspective. With the Tokina ATX-i 11-16mm f/2.8, you can use the Canon 70D to keep real estate photos sharp and well-exposed.
You can raise the ISO even up to 6400 for a crop sensor camera like the Canon 70D. Moreover, since the Canon 70D is exceptionally responsive, you can easily adjust the narrow zoom range of the lens for the ultimate depth of field control.
While the Tokina 11-16mm's aperture isn't as tack sharp as the Canon 50mm, the maximum aperture helps the autofocus work fast even when shooting in a live view. This results in superb control in a dim light shooting.
Real estate photographers must use leading lines to draw viewers into the image. However, the challenge of using a wide-angle lens is that the broader perspective may distort lines. The good thing is that this lens contains low-dispersion glass elements to control light fall-off and contrast across the entire shot.
While you can use the Canon 70D for shooting real estate in low light, note that this isn't the camera's most vital asset. However, you can mitigate this by partnering with a kit lens like the Sigma 18-35m f/1.8.
As long as you know how to modify the exposure settings of the 70D, the Sigma 18-35mm can automatically account for the camera's settings to adjust exposure.
With a large aperture of f/1.8, the Sigma 18-35mm is ideal for shooting close-ups, still life, and landscapes. If you love shooting with bokeh, the rounded diaphragm blades of this lens create a more circular opening in the aperture, improving the out-of-focus effect in real estate images.
This is one of the first kit lenses to provide a focal range that bridges between wide-angle to standard zoom, making it a versatile lens for different kinds of
While it's uncommon for real estate photographers to use a macro lens, investing in one like the Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 would give another unique way of capturing detailed shots of interiors.
It's ideal for keeping the ISO value as low as possible when doing macro
By default, the Canon 70D has a conservative dynamic range, enabling it to collect bright light while retaining details in the highlights and shadows. What's more, the 70D features an auto lighting optimizer, which provides a more balanced tonal response.
If you're shooting macro subjects at a distance, you may most likely need to use tiny apertures. Although the Tamron 90mm's maximum aperture is slightly bigger than the Sigma kit lens, its aperture opening still gathers large amounts of light to help you shoot incredibly sharp real estate photos.
The Canon 70D is a highly responsive camera, and what better way to maximize it than by using an equally flexible gear in the form of a zoom lens. With the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L, the wide focal range offers greater freedom in varying shooting angles and perspectives.
Similar to a kit lens, a zoom lens is popular for being a general-purpose lens. The main difference is that you can quickly modify the angle of view without the need to change the lens setup.
While this zoom lens has the same maximum aperture as the Tamron 90mm, the difference in the focal length enables it to provide a much better light transmission. As a result, it creates a remarkable contrast even as you shoot at f/2.8.
Even if its focus distance isn't as close as that of the Tamron 90mm macro lens, the Canon 24-70mm can still shoot at short focus distances while giving maximum magnification. In effect, you get excellent control of color, saturation, and contrast.
If your real estate
While the 70D's megapixel sensor lets you use low ISO values to control image noise, it doesn't do well in recording more details in deep shadows. However, if you're usually shooting highly lit spaces, the aperture of this lens should be enough to correct exposure.
Although this super-telephoto lens offers the ultimate flexibility for zooming, its downfall would be the maximum aperture, which is the smallest on this list. Hence, you may still need to use up to ISO 6400, depending on the lighting conditions.
When you're shooting real estate properties with the city skyline or mountains in the background, the outdoor lighting can support the aperture. As a result, the effect appears as if you're pulling the viewers closer to the main focal point.
Despite having several impressive features, the Canon 70D doesn't shoot in 4K, let alone RAW recording. If you want to offer real estate videography services, the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 has the necessary light-capturing abilities to support the 70D's sensor.
The sensor phase detection of the 70D allows faster focusing for both video mode and live view, letting you see an accurate recording of your subjects. Additionally, the camera determines where to focus even when shooting low-light spaces.
More than that, the Canon 70D allows full HD recording at 30 fps and 720 HD at 60 fps. As the focal length increases, the sharpness improves to make frames appear as vivid as possible.
Since this standard wide-angle lens has a small amount of linear distortion, framing real estate spaces with lines won't be much of a challenge. However, it might be pretty tricky to produce out-of-focus effects.
While the Canon 18-55mm has a narrow aperture opening at f/4-5.6, this is still significantly smaller than the Lightdow telephoto lens' maximum aperture.
When it comes to
If you are a beginner, you can check the following table to see the key things you should look out for in the lens.
| Lenses | Aperture | Diaphragm Blades | Image Stabilization |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sigma 150-600mm 5-6.3 | f/5-6.3 | 9 | Yes |
| Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 | f/2.8 | 7 | Yes |
| Canon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 | f/3.5-5.6 | 6 | Yes |
| Canon 50mm f/1.4 | f/1.4 | 8 | No |
| Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 | f/2.8 | 9 | No |
| Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 | f/1.8 | 9 | No |
| Tamron 90mm F/2.8 | f/2.8 | 9 | Yes |
| Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 | f/2.8 | 9 | Yes |
| Lightdow 420-800mm f/8.3 | f/8.3 | 4 | No |
| Canon 18-55mm f/4-5.6 | f/4-5.6 | 7 | Yes |
The wide maximum aperture refers to how wide you can open the aperture, which is a physical opening that allows light to get through the lens to reach the sensor of the camera. Just like the way opening the window of a room allows more ambient light to enter, opening the aperture allows more light to reach the sensor.
The aperture is measured in f-stops, which is a fraction of the focal length. Like in normal mathematics, a fraction with a larger denominator is smaller than one with a smaller denominator. That means an aperture of f/1.8 is wider than that of f/4.
When choosing lenses for shooting in poor lighting, or taking pictures of a subject in motion using faster shutter speeds, consider getting a lens with a wider aperture, such as the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4.
A zoom lens is one of the lenses you don't want to miss in your real estate
You can also vary the zoom and capture broader photos that feature the entire backyard and the property in a single shot. If you are shooting videos, this gives you the flexibility of setting up a tripod from a spot where you have a clear view and then taking videos with varying magnification without moving the tripod.
This flexibility makes a zoom lens such as the Sigma 150-600 f/5-6.3 the best option if you want a unit you can use in a wide range of
The autofocus performance plays an important role in the overall performance of the lens, especially when shooting videos. If the autofocus is not good, you might need to constantly adjust the focus using the focus ring. This can be exhausting if you are shooting a fast-moving subject.
There are also chances that you won't focus fast enough, especially when focusing and zooming. This increases the chances of taking videos with the main subject out of focus. Fortunately, you can avoid this by getting a lens with an excellent autofocus system, such as the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3.
Yes, Canon 70D is a professional camera, as you can use it to shoot quality landscape and portrait images. The camera comes with a 20.2-megapixel sensor, capable of capturing seven frames in a burst, and it offers excellent performance in low light due to its high ISO.
No, Canon 70D is not capable of shooting 4K videos, RAW recording, or 1920 x 1080p at 60 frames per second. However, the camera comes with the Dual Pixel CMOS AF is a phase detection mode that offers smooth and high performance when shooting in Live View mode, allowing you to capture high-quality videos.
Canon 80D is superior to Canon 70D because it comes with a higher pixel density. Canon 80D has a 24 megapixels resolution which is slightly above that of Canon 70D, which comes with 20.2 megapixels. However, both cameras cannot shoot at 4K.
A camera body determines the number of pixels in your real estate photos, yet the lens influences the exposure and artistic effect. With a high-end camera like the Canon 70D, it would be best to use the best flashes and any of the lenses we recommended to guarantee overall image quality.
