We’re going to cover every major camera brand, so no matter what camera you use, we’ve got you covered. And of course, if you have any questions feel free to DM me, or comment below!

In short, you’ll need an ultra wide angle lens, and if you want to increase your revenue, you’ll need a drone and a 360 camera as well (both of which you can find for sub $500 each).

The TL;DR – You Need an Ultra Wide Angle Lens

You probably heard this one before but I’m going to say it again anyway. Your lenses will have a greater impact on your images than any camera body. It’s not even close. This is especially more true with real estate work.

That said, you don’t really need to spend a fortune on high end glass. There are a lot of incredible lenses out there that are more than good enough to last you most of your career, if you know where to look.

So if you’re thinking of becoming a real estate photographer, but are unsure whether your current gear can cut it, you’re in the right place. Today, we’re taking a look at the best value lenses you can get for real estate photography to get you started.

A bit of terminology. Generally, an ultra wide angle lens is any lens that falls below 24mm, with respect of course to crop factors. Ultra wide angle lenses, or UWAs, let you capture a wider field of view, giving you a lot more of the foreground than what you’d get with standard lenses.

Ultra wide lenses pull elements in the foreground and push the background further, creating that dramatic “stretched” effect on the image. This is often used creatively in landscapes etc., but in real estate work, UWA lenses serve a more utilitarian purpose: to get everything in a tight space in your frame.

You’re going to be working with interiors, small rooms and bathrooms a lot and you’re going to want all the range you need to cover the most cramped of spaces. As a general rule, a 16-35mm lens (and the equivalent) should cover most of what you’ll need when shooting real estate photos.

Wait – what if I’m using a crop sensor camera?

No problem.

Before we go any further, let’s briefly touch on crop factors just so everybody’s on the same page. The crop factor refers to the field of view you’re getting from a lens and sensor combination.

For full frame cameras, it’s pretty simple. A 16mm lens will give you a 16mm field of view.

For APS-C cameras, a 1.5x crop factor is applied. A 16mm lens (16 x 1.5) will give you a 24mm field of view.

For Micro Four Thirds, a 2x crop factor is applied. A 16mm lens (16 x 2) will give a 32mm field of view

If you want to understand the difference between crop sensors and full frame, checkout our in-depth guide on Micro Four Thirds vs Full Frame.

Do You Need a Tilt Shift Lens for Real Estate Photography?

Tilt shift lenses are what you may call “specialty” lenses. They are quite a rare find because tilt shifts are primarily used by architectural photographers, some real estate and landscape photographers, and rarely by anyone else (though portrait photographers might whip out a tilt shift every once in a while for a unique “miniature” effect on their images).

But what’s exactly a tilt shift lens and what does it do?

It gets its name from its ability to tilt, as in to either look up or down, and shift, to physically shift vertically or horizontally, without you having to mess with your tripod or camera’s angle.

Now imagine setting your tripod at a high angle with your camera aimed down to capture the entirety of a relatively small guest bedroom. You’ll be getting everything in the frame, but the edges will look stretched out and disproportional. Your verticals will also converge into an inverted pyramid at this angle.

A tilt shift lens will correct for this distortion by adjusting the perspective of your subject relative to your sensor, letting you straighten out converging verticals. That might sound a little too technical, so check out Natalia Robert’s easy-to-digest article on tilt shifts, complete with helpful diagrams and side by side comparisons to help you wrap your head around this specialty lens.

So do you really need to get a tilt shift lens for real estate photography? You could make strong arguments for and against getting a tilt shift lens, but since you’re here, you’re probably just starting out in the field. In that case, I recommend passing on a tilt shift lens for now and focus on a good quality lens and supplemental gear for your real estate work.

You can always get a real tilt shift later on when your volume of work grows and you start getting high end clientele. For now, you could start with learning the “fake tilt shift” method of fixing erring verticals on your shots (up to a point, of course) in post.

The Best Value Real Estate Photography Lenses

Now with all that out of the way, what exactly makes a “good value real estate photography lens”? Personally, that’s a lens that gives me everything I need and less of what I don’t, which translates to better bang for my buck.

Fast UWA zooms are usually the first ones I cross off my list if we’re talking about the “best value” real estate photography lenses for a very simple reason.

You probably won’t need a fast f2.8 zoom in this line of work because you’re going to be spending a lot of time shooting at f5.6 to f8 to get everything in focus. Shooting at wide apertures, like f2.8, could risk leaving a part of the frame out of the plane of focus, even when you’re shooting wide. You’ll also be shooting a lot on a tripod which gives you the ability to drop your shutter speeds to compensate for your slower aperture.

Next is stabilization. If you find a good deal for an ultra wide angle zoom without image stabilization, I say go for it. Again, you’re shooting with a tripod most of the time, you won’t need stabilization which will normally just add more cost into a lens purchase.

Speaking of good deals, I’d look into the used market and third party lenses like Rokinon/Samyang, or even better, Tamron lenses. Finally adapting legacy lenses onto your mirrorless cameras is a valid choice if you’re willing to take a little more time when setting up your shot.

Here are some of my lens recommendations for real estate photography work:

The sleeper pick – Micro Four Thirds Lenses for Real Estate Photography

For the majority of my work (portraits, family photos, etc.), I currently use full frame Sony cameras.

But for ultra wide work, I use a Panasonic G9 with the 8-18mm f2.8-4.0.

Think about it. A Sony 16-35 GM f2.8 is $2000, you can get my very same camera for that same price. And it’s a better video camera (in my opinion). You could even save more if you want to opt for the 7-14mm.

With real estate work you’ll be shooting on a tripod, so you don’t need the low light prowess of full frame cameras. It’s a much lighter setup as well… an extra perk if you start adding real estate video and you want a less expensive gimbal.

I’ve already covered ultra-wide lenses for Micro Four Thirds in-depth, so I’ll be brief. My pick is the Panasonic-Leica 8-18mm. You could save a little more and get the 7-14mm (which I started with), but you can’t adapt filters without hacking it up a bit so I opted to upgrade.

Panasonic Leica DG 8-18mm f/2.8-4 ASPH – (Amazon)The Pana-Leica 8-18mm is hands down one of the best ultra wide angle lenses you can get for the micro four thirds system. It’s very light and compact, weather sealed, and has immaculate image quality that peaks at f5.6.

Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm f/4 ASPH – (Amazon) The Lumix 7-14mm f/4 is a great option if you need the extra millimeter on the wide end. It’s got impressive sharpness that plays within the same ballpark as the Pana-Leica above, though it won’t be taking conventional filters thanks to its bulbous front element.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 8-25mm f/4 PRO – This latest gem for Olympus beats the Leica in sharpness overall especially in the corners. It’s honestly a toss-up between the 8-25mm f/4 and the 8-18mm f/2.8-4, and it’s up to you whether you’d want that extra stop of light on the Leica or the extra boost in sharpness and the longer reach on the Olympus.

The Best Sony Lenses for Real Estate Photographers

Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD (Amazon) – You guys know I’m a huge fan on this exclusive Tamron-Sony partnership. First with the 17-28mm f2.8, 28-75mm f2.8 and now the 35-150mm f2-f2.8. Tamron has brought a set of unique lenses to the market that compete the GM line, but at half the price. This is an outstanding real estate workhorse lens for under $1,000. It maintains stunning image quality even at f5.6 to f8 and checks all the boxes for a real estate photographer.

Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS (Amazon) – This is a great alternative if you want a first party UWA lens. It’s got a slightly longer reach and an extra millimeter on the wide end, good contrast and amazing edge to edge sharpness, though it’s $200 more than the Tamron and a stop slower. You could opt for the GM version, the 16-35mm f2.8, but remember, with real estate photography you’ll be shooting on a tripod so you don’t really need it unless you’ll be using it in other means.

Sony E 10-18mm f/4 OSS *APS-C ONLY*  (Amazon) – For the APS-C guys out there, It’s the only first party UWA option for your a6000-series body. A little pricey at $800 considering its age but still a good lens to have if you plan on sticking with E-mount.

The Best Canon Lenses for Real Estate Photographers

Canon EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM (Amazon) – Easily the best value UWA lens you could get for any Canon body, both EF and the newer RF mount. It’s sharp wide open, but it’s in the corners where it really shines. If you’re on the RF system, get the 16-35mm f4 with a first party EF to RF adapter and you’ll be set.

Canon RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM (Amazon) – We’ve touched on this in our guide to best ultra wide lenses for Canon RF cameras, not quite as good a value as the previous lens, though it’s a good option if you don’t like using adapters. The RF 14-35mm f/4L is still fairly new to the market, however, initial reports suggest that it’s a well-rounded performer with consistent sharpness throughout the range.

Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM (APS-C ONLY) – Don’t let the bog-standard kit lens appearance fool you, the 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 is more than capable of producing quality results. It’s light, compact, extremely affordable at $300, and has IS to boot. And if you want to save a little more Amazon has it refurbished for $259.

The Best Ultra Wide Nikon Lenses for Real Estate Photography

Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S (Amazon) – If you’re on the Z-mount, this is the lens to get. It’s very sharp wide open and gets a major bump at f5.6. Surprisingly light and compact, too! The 14-30mm f/4 S drops the stabilization and puts this gorgeous, modern UWA zoom at $1,300.

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G VR – It’s the same story as with its Canon counterpart. While it’s no 14-24mm f2.8, it matches the more premium lens at f8 and that’s where you’re mostly going to live as a real estate photographer anyway. Works great with the Nikon FTZ adapter, too!

Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II VC (APS-C ONLY) – A bit pricey at $500, but if you’re sticking with your DX system, this Tamron has both ultra wide F-mount DX lens options beat. It’s so good that it’s neck and neck in terms of image quality with its more premium 15-30 VC at f5.6.

Lastly, while this post is dedicated towards real estate photography, you shouldn’t turn your head at the money you can make with real estate videography. Start there, open this Camera Guide for Real Estate Videographers in a new tab.