Hi Tincho,

Now the journey begins......this is a road many have traveled. And many here are still traveling.

I use the the D70s and it is a great camera. Others use the Canon 20D. Either camera will be a good choice. Just decide if you want to buy Nikon or Canon.

I think the Sigma 8mm would be the best lens to choose .

You could go the Coolpix route but as you become more experienced you will just be wishing you had a DSLR.

With a DSLR you can take high quality images that will make very good panos. If you have non real easte customer that wants some full screen panos or need some stills to go with the pano then you are ready to go.

For the cheaper real estate panos you can make panos just as fast and much better than the competition using the one shot lens stuff and the FC-E9 users.

Pretty soon you will be wanting a Mark II like the rest of us....LOL

I have bothe a D70s+Nikkor 10.5 and a Coolpix 5000+FC-E8. The Coolpix is a great little camera and makes great panos. BUT I hardly ever use the Coolpix because my D70 can do ANYTHING I need it to do. Once you become familiar with your camera and learn a little about photograpy....meaning exposure,bracketing, HDR, and so forth you will find that a DSLR is just a much more powerful tool.

I would not recommend the Nikor 10.5 as a beginner lens. It is a very good lens but requires a little more skill to shoot with and it is more time consuming in post production.

In realeaste tours time is money and you will need to shoot in a timely mannor and have limited post processing if you want to make any money.

Good luck

General Lee

Tincho,

If you plan only ever to do cheap real estate work then the Coolpix will be fine. But if you have the slightest inkling that you will want to do full screen work with clarity and learn photography then a DSLR will be your best bet.

For ease of use the Canon 350D and Sigma 8mm Fisheye is the easiest and best bang for your buck. (4 shots in rotation Minimum) The D70s and Sigma 8mm Fisheye (4 shots in rotation Minimum) The D70s and Nikkor 10.5mm (better lens) Fisheye (6+1 minimum).

Coolpix 8700 + FC-E9 (3 shots in rotation minimum) very soft lens and best suited to those learning and not expecting high quality full screen results.

If it was me with a low budget I would opt for the Canon 350D and Sigma 8mm Fisheye. Because you will need to learn the manual settings of the Coolpix to get the optimal results anyway and you will, like most others here on the forum grow out of it very fast and wish you went DSLR in the first place.

Regards, Smooth

I agree.  We use a Canon 350d and Sigma 8 as a backup camera.  We also take singles images with it using a Canon 10 -22mm.

Our primary panorama camera is a Canon 20d and the Sigma 8.  Yes we display full screen imaging (for broadband connections) in different formats like java, qtvr and flash.

I also agree that the Nikon d70 with the Nikkor 10.5 is a bit more work but definately better final quality imaging.

Dave

I am using the same kit: 350D (Rebel XT), Sigma 8mm fisheye, Manfrotto 3021 tri-pod.  Don't forget to get a quick tilt head leveler.  This is a must ! When ordering your tri-pod and quick tilt leveler go ahead and get a spirit level that will fit in the hot shoe.  Level is a big key for shooting panos.

Good Luck and happy shooting,

Pixel