Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

Some are better, some are worse. An interchangeable lens can cost anywhere from a used prime or zoom lens for $100 to a telephoto prime or zoom costing more than $5,000. Your question has to point to specific lenses to get an answer.

Generally though I agree that skill in taking the photo (selecting the right iso, aperture, shutter speed, filters, lighting, composition, tripod, etc.) and post processing it is the most important factor.

texashill Loc: Texas Hill Country

I like to use a lot of post processing fill light for difficult interior shots. My Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II with 1.5″ sensor gives me much better capability with shadows than my previous smaller sensored cameras and makes me speculate that a full frame sensor would be even better. Presently, the Sony Alpha 7 series, S would be my choice, combines a full frame sensor with titling view finder capability.

Such a camera would force me into the world of interchangeable lenses :-)

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

You do one type of photography so one lens works for you. As long as it is the right lens.

If besides real estate you also were into photography for a hobby or side business you would quickly find why multiple lenses become useful. Yet still some people get by just fine with a fixed zoom of high quality.

But to name a few, a high speed lens for indoor sports, a macro lens for very small subjects that need very high definition and magnification and of course very long lenses for those birds and other distant subjects (often distant and small) and last, very high definition lenses and sensors for large prints as opposed to real estate brochures or net pages neither of which are really high def media.

texashill Loc: Texas Hill Country

I see. Thanks :-)

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

All three. And better lighting.

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

Well I would say both will. I started with film too. I have always had Nikons. And when I went to digital all of my newer lenses worked on the D300s. I have upgraded to the D600 and now the D750. And I have also up graded to better lens too. I can tell a big difference with every up grade. It was well wroth the up grades.

Kuzano

You threw us off a bit when you mentioned you had a 4/3 camera. 4/3 sensors are not in the P&S realm. Camera's with 4/3 sensors (actually micro 4/3 mirrorless) already have interchangeable lenses. Olympus and Panasonic are the only mfrs using the original 4/3 and micro 4/3 sensor.

The sensor in your camera is similarly sized to the 4/3 sensor.

Interestingly, the camera you do have was upgraded to a sensor that is just slightly larger than a 4/3 sensor, but otherwise the camera is the previous G series Canon, and is fixed lens, which you clarified by telling us the actual camera halfway through this thread.

You cleared the air on that when you indicated you have a fixed lens with a 1.5 sensor.

With that in mind, some of the posts made to your question have been off the mark a bit.

Wondering at this point if you are still confused by the potentially erroneous information.

So, to clarify.... there are "bridge" camera's out there that can very likely give you superb image quality with what you have, particularly for the market you are using your camera in. Your camera falls more easily into a Bridge Camera category, but with a bit larger sensor than most bridge models. The sensor is the camera's strong suit. I am going to link the conclusion page on your camera's review at DPreview, a well known an popular camera review site, at the end of this post.

Yes, larger sensors and interchangeable lenses add flexibility to the process, but they also add complexity to the craft of photography. The question is, how much time and money do you want to invest to become a more proficient photographer, or do you want to simply take good enough images to increase your income from selling/brokering Real Estate.

The first is photography and the second is "marketing" Real Estate.

It's quite likely that if you learn more about the craft of photography, and as much as possible about the camera you now own, you will be able to enhance your images to be as good as what you see from others in your business.

I was confused at first on your post, and only began to understand your confusion upon finally finding out what camera you do own. Not a 4/3. A 4/3 sensor camera... Olympus or Panasonic with the ability to change lenses would be an excellent option for you.

However, the camera you now have may do you just as well purely for the reason you seem to want to upgrade your skills. Not necessarily your equipment.

The review at DPreview:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong1x

I generally go to the Conclusion page for the summary by DPreview, but this is their whole review.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

As in everything else, some lenses are better than others - sharper. And, of course, they cost more.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Just a minor correction: The older 4/3 cameras and newer M4/3 cameras use exactly the same size sensor.
There's a difference in the lens-mount size: M4/3 is smaller than 4/3, and consequently, M4/3 can use lenses of smaller design than a 4/3 camera can.
This does not mean that the M4/3 lenses are also of smaller capability...

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Let me try to offer a simple option if you want to explore this a bit. I will suggest that you rent a full frame camera and a lens or two for a week and invest some time in using them. Then you will have a better feel for what they can do for a minimal investment. I would suggest lens in the 20-35mm wide angle range and if a Canon maybe their 40mm STM lens. A very nice inexpensive lens.

If you are using this for business only or for that plus to photograph other things also is another question. Certainly you probably don't want to invest $5,000 to start out. If you decide to buy I think you could get a decent used FF camera and a couple modestly priced lenses for about $1,000-$1,500.

There may be other options in the bridge camera market that would fit your needs and interests too. But that is outside my knowledge base. So, I would leave those suggestions to others.

Best,

Todd Ferguson
Harrisburg, NC

PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach

Sensor size, like film size, has a direct effect on the rendering of subtle gradations. It is easier for a larger sensor to capture image quality. Going the other way requires higher and higher quality lenses to attempt to miniaturize the capture process in a good way.

In short, before I huff and puff... for small format sensors, get the best lenses you can. It makes a world of difference.

When I shot a lot of real estate back in the film days, 4x5 inch film was the order of the day. The quality over medium and small format film cameras was instantly apparent.

Another issue is bit depth. Below 14 bit capture is problematic and can result in gradation banding. This is a widespread problem the prepress community knows of, and they generally fix banding when they see it.

I was shooting with a top Canon DSLR a few years back doing stuff for a trade show booth, and ugh, there it was, banding. As a long-long time Photoshop user, I knew how to fix the banding like the prepress guys, but, really...

I actually quit the Professional Photographers of America when I saw printed banding on their magazine cover. Plain as day, and a testament to settling for mediocrity in a digital world which believes ubiquity lowers people's standards. There will come a time when the glory which was the analog world will be forgotten, and the fleeting, temporary digital world will be something plentiful and disposable.

Now that M-Disk has grown up to 25GB and 100GB Blu Ray discs, it's time for we digital users to properly archive. M-Disc is the "archival analog film" of the disposable digital age.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

My take on this is that you should not expect to see the "superiority" of the large sensor over other sensors of small size except for the tiny sensor of a p&s camera. If it comes to noise performance the large sensor will do better and also slightly better when it comes to dynamic range.
Interchangeable lenses allow the photographer to select the lens for the job, in your particular case a wide angle could improve your photographs. Professionals have the skills to turn out good shots because they have the training and the gear to produce the photographs they need for their clients.
The M43 system, although not perfect yet has come a long way. I never enlage beyond 13x19 and the little cameras are doing as well as my other cameras with a larger sensor.

SonyBug

So you want to list a house and only spend 1 to 5 minutes on the photos, even when it is proven that better pictures sell houses faster and for more money. You need to demand more time, as it will equate to more money. Unless you don't want more money and just want to flip houses!

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Understanding *photography* and how to control all the variables precisely is most important.

Having lenses *appropriate* for the task at hand is very important.

Having a *decent* camera body is important.

Professionals can make GREAT images, even with mediocre cameras. They know the limits of the gear, and stay within those limits. Give them GOOD gear, and they can out-shoot most amateurs with the most advanced cameras.

Follow this link and scroll to the bottom of the page and play the real estate video on the right. Will Crockett shot this with Panasonic Lumix GH3s and a blend of Panasonic and Olympus lenses. His secrets? He understands exposure, lighting, composition, and post processing. I know this is a video, but I've seen stills from the same shoot, and they look the same.

http://www.willcrockett.pro/eproducts

RichieC Loc: Adirondacks

Yes... A professional will make use of and get more of of all three of these "tools".

The last thing you don't mention, but is MOST critical, is light. Bringing it, or making use of what is there, and the ability of controlling it... I'd suggest using a tripod and a release, and you can make a dark room look well lit, but you need to learn where the aperture delivers the best DOF, and the shutter speed needed, how to control either. Some point and shoots don;t have this level of control.

Like Itzhak Perlman and a Stradivarius, In the hands of a beginner, the Stradivarius will sound like a beginners instrument, While Itzhak can make any instrument sound it's best, when he picks up a Strad- only then does both reach their potential... You don;t have to become Itzhak, but you will have to develop skills- thank god, if it was easy, then the hours and years of honing photographic skills, gathering expensive equipment... would all be pointless & worthless! :)