• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 22:47
CEST 04:47
KST 11:47
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Serral wins Maestros of the Game 21ByuL, and the Limitations of Standard Play3Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview12TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection7
Community News
MC vs IdrA, Boxer vs Nal_rA to be Legacy Matches @ BlizzCon265.0.16 Hotfix (June 30) - Balance + Bug Fixes30Weekly Cups (June 22-28): Zergs thrive in new patch2[TLMC] Summer 2026 Ladder Map Rotation05.0.16 patch for SC2 goes live (8 worker start)99
StarCraft 2
General
5.0.16 Hotfix (June 30) - Balance + Bug Fixes Serral wins Maestros of the Game 2 MC vs IdrA, Boxer vs Nal_rA to be Legacy Matches @ BlizzCon HomeStory Cup In Early July 5.0.16 patch for SC2 goes live (8 worker start)
Tourneys
HomeStory Cup 29 Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League RSL Revival: Season 6 - Qualifiers and Main Event Douyu Cup 2026: $20,000 Legends Event (June 26-28) Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule !
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
New Map Maker - Looking for Advice - Love or Hate Work In Progress Melee Maps [D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 532 Nuclear Family Mutation # 531 Experimental Artillery Mutation # 530 One For All
Brood War
General
BW General Discussion Starcraft vs Retro Category on Twitch ASL 22 Proposed Map Pool First season(s) of tastosis gomtv gsl vods? Best thing happen to StarCraft since Remastered?
Tourneys
The Casual Games of the Week Thread [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL21] Grand Finals [BSL22] GosuLeague Casts - Tue & Thu 22:00 CEST
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Creating a full chart of Zerg builds Relatively freeroll strategies Why doesn't anyone use restoration?
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Dawn of War IV ZeroSpace at Steam NextFest - Last free demo Path of Exile
Dota 2
Looking for a Dota Mentor Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Power Rank TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread The Games Industry And ATVI Men's Fashion Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The HerO Fan Club! The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! Series you have seen recently... [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books [TV/BOOK] *SPOILERS* Game of Thrones Discussion
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion McBoner: A hockey love story Cricket [SPORT]
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
How to clean a TTe Thermaltake keyboard? Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Listen To The Coaches!
TrAiDoS
An Exploration of th…
waywardstrategy
I'm an arrogant trash talke…
FlaShFTW
Gauntlet SC2: A Retrospectiv…
Ctone23
ramps on octagon
StaticNine
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Evil Gacha Games and the…
ffswowsucks
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 5361 users

Camera for Architecture

Blogs > joohyunee
Post a Reply
joohyunee
Profile Blog Joined May 2005
Korea (South)1087 Posts
February 11 2010 18:55 GMT
#1
Hi, I'm looking to invest in a good camera for architecture school (for documentation purposes under controlled light settings, but flexibility to take outdoor pictures would be great too).

I have about $300-400 to spend, but I don't really know anything about cameras other than the basic more megapixels = better resolution type of thing.. Can some people who know this stuff well shed some light on things I should know about a camera (like ISO settings etc)? And do you have any recommendations for a camera in that price range?

Any help would be greatly appreciated..

tiff
Profile Joined May 2009
United States5 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-02-11 19:44:24
February 11 2010 19:40 GMT
#2
Well, these days, "more megapixels = better resolution/quality" isn't strictly true anymore, but it's a tactic salesmen will always use to get you to pay more. What you want for architecture is a wide-angle lens, which are pretty pricy for DSLR-type cameras. There are also wide-angle point and shoots that are better suited for your price range.

I cannot think of a single page on the internet that can help you more than this one: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm
I suggest noting what he says about resolution no longer being important, and he also points out a great wide-angle point and shoot that he discusses in depth here: http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/compacts/sd980.htm.

If you want a DSLR, you can expect to pay at the very cheapest, $400-500 for the body, most likely with a kit lens. (Nikon kit lenses are usually very good, some are downright excellent. Canon's kit lenses in general aren't quite up to par with their stand-alone lens offerings, but aren't terrible.) If the widest angle of the kit lens isn't wide enough for you, wide-angle lenses are generally pretty pricy themselves, and run at least $400+ for the off-brand lenses, (for instance, Tamron makes an excellent wide-angle) and double that for Nikon or Canon lenses.
More wide angle info: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/digital-wide-zooms/comparison.htm

Now, you'll probably be able to find camera bodies and lenses for cheaper than I've listed here, but you'll often be trading resale value or long-term durability for a lower pricetag up front. You have to figure out what's most important for your needs and base your purchases on that.

As for ISO, it's a measure of how sensitive a camera's sensor is to light. The higher the ISO, the more light the sensor picks up in the same amount of time as another shot at a lower ISO. Unless you're doing nighttime architecture photography (which you would probably be using a tripod for anyway, in most cases) it's not particularly relevant to your area of interest. But if you want a good all-around camera for everyday use as well, any DSLR is going to outperform a point-and-shoot in low-light situations.

Also, lens aperture/f-stop is a measure of how wide the shutter opens, and shutter speed is how long the shutter is open. All three- ISO, lens aperture, and shutter speed- make up the overall exposure of the image.

So, if you want a wide-angle P&S, (point and shoot) I recommend the one I linked above. If you want an inexpensive DSLR, I say look on Ebay and other places for the now-discontinued Nikon D40 with it's excellent kit lens, and see if the widest angle on the kit lens is wide enough for you. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40.htm The D5000 is it's current replacement, but it's a few hundred dollars more for not a whole lot more camera. (Sidenote: Avoid the Nikon D3000 like the plague. It's cheap, but for good reason. =/ )

I hope this helps.. I'm sure others can chime in with recommended Canon DSLRs, but I think Nikon's DSLRs offer more value-for-money, so that's where I've focused all my attention. Canon Point & Shoots, however, blow Nikon out of the water on every level.

I've tried not to bore you to tears, but if you have any more questions, I love dragging people kicking and screaming into the world of photography. ^_^
jetpower
Profile Joined July 2007
Poland85 Posts
February 11 2010 22:47 GMT
#3
http://www.dpreview.com
Best site for camera reviews. I also would try asking your question in their forums.
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 7h 13m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
ProTech123
RuFF_SC2 119
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 3574
GuemChi 3072
Artosis 579
NaDa 48
Noble 34
Dewaltoss 23
Bale 22
Dota 2
NeuroSwarm152
League of Legends
Doublelift2894
JimRising 641
Counter-Strike
summit1g9377
C9.Mang0501
Super Smash Bros
hungrybox574
Other Games
ViBE787
ToD298
Maynarde134
UpATreeSC59
Mew2King40
JuggernautJason16
Organizations
Other Games
BasetradeTV231
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream191
StarCraft: Brood War
UltimateBattle 56
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 137
• davetesta20
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Jankos555
• Stunt248
Upcoming Events
The PondCast
7h 13m
HomeStory Cup
8h 13m
Replay Cast
21h 13m
HomeStory Cup
1d 8h
Replay Cast
1d 21h
HomeStory Cup
2 days
OSC
2 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
3 days
WardiTV Weekly
4 days
The PondCast
5 days
[ Show More ]
Replay Cast
6 days
CrankTV Team League
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

YSL S3
Douyu Cup 2026
Murky Cup 2026

Ongoing

IPSL Spring 2026
Acropolis #4
CSL Season 21: Qualifier 2
Escore Tournament S3: W1
SCTL 2026 Spring
HSC XXIX
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026

Upcoming

CSL 2026 Summer (S21)
Escore Tournament S3: W2
ASL Season 22:Wild Card Qualifier
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Revival: Season 6
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
Light Tournament 2026
Eternal Conflict S2 Finale
Eternal Conflict S2 E3
Eternal Conflict S2 E2
Heroes Pulsing #3
Eternal Conflict S2 E1
FISSURE Playground #5
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.