Need help with what type of Camera to use

[MOTORTRENDS]

I am in the Automobile industry and we take pictures of cars to post online for sale. We shoot anywhere from 40 to 100 pictures of every car and keep about 80 to 100 cars online at any one time. What I am looking for is a good all around camera that works well in indoor situations with white flourescent lighting. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[D-50]

Definately a D3 you can just set it on a tripod and it automatically adjusts everything and then shoots the photo for you. It then wirelessly transmits the image to your computer, edits it and uploads it to you site. All you need to do is buy it and insert the battery and memory card.

No cmaera is the correct camera to shoot with. You need to learn HOW to photograph a car i.e. aperature, shutter speed, white balance, tripod or no tripod, lighting, Do you want the car to be moving or statoinary, etc. These aspects and more are what you need to learn. If all you need are simple photos or cars for the internet just buy a P&S and use the on camera flash. but if you want beautiful images you are goig to need to learn or hire someone to do if for you.

A camera has little to no bearing on the quality of a photo.

 

[tjdphotos]

I have been taking photos of cars as a job for 3 years now. I started out with an Nikon cool pics and used that for a year and then moved up to my first SLR a Canon Rebel XTI (my personal camera). I have used this camera for the past two years and I use it in many modes to get quality shots. I have still yet to out grow the XTI's capabilities, My Job of taking pictures of cars and putting them on line has turned me into a photographer. I learn new things every year and I love what I do. We don't have the room to photo cars indoors so on that I have very little experience to share.

For your needs of taking as many photos as you do there are services that give you a specific camera and tools that can integrate with your website and upload the car info and photos. It is a little pricey. I believe this Dealership uses this tool. You will see it is a pretty cool tool.

1. I would take a hard look at the way your indoor photo area is set up. The best set up I have seen Is at this dealership As you can see they are invested in a great presentation. I would recommend an SLR for indoors because the standard SLR lens will be able to shoot wider than a hand held point and shoot.

2. Make sure your workflow is as streamlined as possible. If your largest online photos are going to be no larger than 1000px then dont shoot at maximum mega pixels. If you need to resize all your photos then get a program like photoshop elements to do it for you.

3. My recomendation the Canon Rebel XSI SLR kit, you can find them on ebay, get a popup flash diffuser, a circular poleriser filter (it helps with the reflections). You will also need a lot of patience to learn. Keep hitting the forums!

Our industry could use some good photography out there and not another person with a point and shoot camera and no care in the world! If you have ever been shopping online for a car, then you know what I mean!
Keep hitting the forums MOTORTRENDS you may become a photographer after all.

peace ~ tjd