I have been researching digital cameras and trying to figure out which one would be the best for interior photography - mostly Real Estate Photography. I have looked at the Nikon CoolPix 950, the Olympus C-2000 Zoom, and the Canon PowerShot pro 70. I have looked at these because they meniotn being able to use a wide angle lens and external flash. I am also hoping to spend under $1000 so I think I have a problem. Can you tell me what you think of the ones I mentioned, and are there any other ones out there a little cheaper that might be suitable? Thank you very much for your help. D. Baker

-- Deb Baker (DMEBaker@aol.com), April 10, 1999

Answers

I'm doing the same thing with a Nikon CP900 and an inexpensive wide angle lens with excellent results. I've added a slave flash recently and it's even better. I would think you could get a used CP900 or CP900s in good condition for $500 to $700. The CP950 is just out and will be a little more expensive for a while. Good Luck

-- Bob Benson (benson@gbasin.com), April 10, 1999.

A used CoolPix 900s would probably be the cheapest route, if you can find someone willing to part with one. The PowerShot and Oly C-2000 both *excellent* pictures, and each has its advantages. The Pro70's lens is wider "out of the box", better for indoor shots without an auxiliary lens. Flash interface on the Pro70 is very good, as it works with the dedicated Canon strobes (more $$ to spend!), but the Oly C- 2000 gives you exceptional control, with 1/3 f-stop resolution on the lens aperture setting, and lots of controls to play with like slow sync (let in more ambient light), fairly subtle color-balance things, variable ISO (another way to play with how much room light gets in, if you're using slow sync and getting a long shutter speed), etc, etc. The 950's great too, and the Nikon dedicated strobes are fantastic. Again, though, lots more money on the strobe. In just playing around with the eval unit of the Oly '2000, I was exceptionally impressed with the degree of control I had over flash exposure, just using my little Sunpak cheapie auto strobe... (Full review on the C-2000 hopefully up by mid-next week.)

-- Dave Etchells (hotnews@imaging-resource.com), April 13, 1999.

Save your money and get a Kodak DC210, it zooms to a pretty nice wide angle (29mm equivalent) without having to buy any extra lens. I use it for indoor shots all the time and it also takes excellent quality pictures.

-- Mike Roda (mroda@ipass.net), April 20, 1999.