With the best camera for real estate photography, you can help your property or properties really shine in a crowded market. Whether you're selling your own home, you're an estate agent with a bulging portfolio, or you're dipping your toe into the world of Airbnb, a high-quality real-estate cameras will allow you to capture interiors and exteriors of a property in a way that's accurate but flattering.
Our guide includes multiple different types of camera. We know many real estate photographers will be using their smartphones, and have included our top picks – but we've also added a number of beginner and professional interchangeable-lens cameras for those who want to to produce higher-quality imagery. While it's true that many modern smartphones are equipped with absolutely fantastic camera arrays, having a dedicated camera can give you a lot more to work with.
We've also added 360-degree cameras, a specialist virtual tour camera, and even a drone for creating unforgettable aerial imagery. Our picks are informed by our reviews, and we only recommend cameras we think are worth it.
Where relevant, we've also suggested some of the best wide-angle lenses pair with the camera, as these will allow you to fill the frame with property interiors. So, let’s get started with the best cameras for real estate photography…
Jon Stapley
Jon has written for publications across the photo industry, including Amateur Photographer, What Digital Camera, Photomonitor, Black and White Photography and more. He's one of our go-to specialists when it comes to all aspects of photography, from cameras and action cameras to lenses and memory cards.
You can't go wrong with the camera in your pocket – and the iPhone 15 Pro is one of the best around. Don't worry about the Pro Max; for real estate, you don't need it.
An affordable DSLR that does everything you need it to, the Canon EOS Rebel SL3 (called the 250D in Europe) is an excellent way to get started with real estate.
Light on its feet, and cheaper than rivals, the Nikon Z50 is a silent shooting mirrorless model that's terrific for both stills and video. There are some good lens choices, too.
A high-resolution pro DSLR, the Nikon D850 is a workhorse capable of producing spectacular imagery of properties. Great for those who need and can afford it.
If you're looking to produce video tours on a limited budget, a gimbal camera like the DJI Pocket 2 is a good choice, with effective stabilisation for walking shots.
A cheap option for capturing 360-degree content, the Trisio Lite2 is an efficient way to give your real-estate photography a way to stand out from the pack.
It's a niche proposition to be sure, but GoPro's powerful MAX camera is fantastic for creating 360-degree video content of buildings, with real immersiveness.
If you want to create state-of-the-art virtual tours of your properties, then a specialist camera like the Matterport Pro2 3D MC250 is the way to do it.
For creating aerial real-estate images you don't need a pricey drone – the sub-250g DJI Mini 2 SE will fit the bill brilliantly, and it comes at a very affordable price.
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As the old saying goes, the best camera is the one you have with you, and most people now have a very capable camera in their pocket at all times. One of the best cameras on a phone you can buy right now is the Google Pixel 8 Pro. Equipped with an amazing 50MP wide sensor and a 48MP ultra-wide, you can get large images that will look great on property listings.
Google allows you to capture full-resolution JPEG and RAW images in Pro mode, and you can lock settings like white balance in order to keep your images consistent as you move through the property. However, if you're looking for a showstopper image, you'll want to take a look at the all-new AI-powered Magic Editor feature, which is designed to help you make your photos look your best. The large Android app ecosystem is also available to you, with options for both shooting and editing.
Video is also significantly improved from the previous Google Pixel 7 Pro – it's now 4K 60p, stabilised at maximum resolution. If you want to produce guided tours of properties or stylish walkthrough videos, this is a fantastic phone to do it with.
Many of you reading this likely already own and are familiar with an iPhone – and there's no reason why one of Apple's handsets can't be your go-to real estate camera. If you're looking to get an up-to-date model, we'd recommend the iPhone 15 Pro. It doesn't have the flashy telephoto zoom of its big brother, the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but for shooting interiors and exteriors of properties, you likely don't need this.
The image quality the iPhone 15 Pro captures with its wide and ultra-wide modules will definitely impress. You've got plenty of resolution in the 48MP main camera, and can take advantage of Apple's top-drawer processing for images that look punchy and sharp, every time. There isn't natively a Pro mode, but many real estate photography aren't realistically going to use one.
iPhones are renowned for their excellent 4K video, so if you also need to produce walkthroughs or tours of properties then this is an easy way to add that to your repertoire.
Weight: 451g (body only, with battery and SD card)
Reasons to buy
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Reasonably small and light
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Well-designed controls
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Vari-angle touchscreen
Reasons to avoid
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Lenses will cost extra
Ticking all the boxes at a pretty reasonable price, the Canon Rebel SL3 (known as the EOS 250D in Europe) is an excellent choice of DSLR for real estate photography. It’s not the absolute cheapest in Canon’s range, but arguably offers better value than models like the EOS 2000D or 4000D. Its handy vari-angle touchscreen is great for getting images from all sorts of different angles, and it’s a pleasingly light option, easy to carry around. The generous ISO range will cover you in all different lighting situations, and the APS-C sensor represents a serious step up from a smartphone.
There are plenty of good lens choices for the EOS Rebel SL3/250D, including Canon’s own EF-S 10-18mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, or the Sigma 10-20mm F3.5 EX DC HSM lens, both of which are highly affordable. With one of these lenses, the Canon EOS 250D will provide a highly effective setup for real estate photography.
ISO range: 100 to 51,200 (extended: 100 to 204,800)
Image stabilization: No (in lenses only)
Weight: 395g (body only)
Reasons to buy
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Extremely beginner-friendly
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Excellent value
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Strong image quality
Reasons to avoid
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Fixed rear screen
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Budget extra for a lens
If you're looking for a portable camera for real-estate that still delivers the goods image-wise, a mirrorless model is a sound investment. Lighter than a DSLR, with silent shooting and fast focusing, the Nikon Z50 is an excellent choice. Its APS-C sensor produces brilliant images even when light levels get low – and it's also great for video, capturing 4K using the full width of its sensor (so there's no nasty crop that'll make it harder to get wide shots). Price-wise, the Z50 also offers excellent value, coming in cheaper than rivals from the likes of Sony and Fujifilm,
Lens-wise, you'll be looking at the Nikon Z-mount range. We'd say its best to get a lens that's specifically optimised for smaller-sensor APS-C cameras – Nikon refers to these as 'DX' lenses. The Z50 is often bundled with Nikon's Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR lens, which would certainly do the job. For a wider perspective though, we'd recommend considering the Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR. It's relatively inexpensive, and will give you a little more room in the frame for capturing interiors and exteriors.
Weight: 1,005g (body only, with battery and memory card)
Reasons to buy
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Superb full-frame image quality
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Uncropped 4K video
Reasons to avoid
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Needs fast (expensive) cards
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Might be more than you need
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You'll also need a wide-angle lens
If you’re looking to produce real estate photography at serious, professional quality, then a full-frame DSLR like the Nikon D850 will be just what you need. This workhorse camera is beloved by professionals around the world, and with its astonishing image quality thanks to its full-frame sensor, it’s not hard to see why. Low-light quality, focusing speed, megapixels – everything here is a serious step up, and as you’d imagine, that does come with a price tag.
The uncropped 4K video here is a gift too, allowing you to create sumptuous footage of your properties. It may all be more than you need, but if the utmost in quality is what you want, then this is a superb choice. In terms of wide-angle lenses, we recommend the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art or Nikon's own Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4G ED VR. It is also a perfect partner for more specialist perspective-correcting tilt-shift lenses, such as the Nikon PC-E 24mm f/3.5D ED.
Lens: Field-of-view 93°, f/1.8 (roughly equivalent to 20mm)
ISO range: 100-6400
Image stabilization: 3-axis gimbal
Weight: 117g
Reasons to buy
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Superb stabilization
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Pocketable
Reasons to avoid
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Not great in low light
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Struggles with high contrast
The DJI Pocket 2 is something entirely different – a small gimbal camera that’s popular with vloggers. A gimbal is a 3-axis stabilization system that compensates for camera movement to produce smooth video footage; for a walk-through of a property, this is an ideal choice. It’s small enough to take every with you, and can capture a pleasing amount of detail. Its wide field of view also means it’s a natural choice for interior room shots.
The small sensor of the Pocket 2 is the only real drawback – it causes the camera to struggle in low-light and high-contrast situations. Basically anywhere other than a well-lit room, you might run into problems. It could be worth picking up a portable LED light to give yourself a burst of illumination where you need it.
DJI has since released a successor to this camera, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. While this new version adds a few welcome improvements like a larger LCD screen that rotates to facilitate vertical shooting (good for TikTok). However, it also comes with a significant price jump, so we're sticking with the Pocket 2 as our budget-friendly option.
This clever little 360º camera has clearly been designed with virtual tours in mind, offering a lot of similar functionality to the Matterport Axis in a more self-contained package. The Trisio Lite2 may have "8K" imprinted on the front, but don't be fooled – it doesn't shoot 8K video. This instead refers to its ability to stitch together photos to make an image that measures 8000x4000 pixels, equating to 32MP. These images are rich and full of detail, ideal for immersing potential customers in a new property.
When we reviewed the Trisio Lite2, we also praised its ability to shoot in HDR – high dynamic range, which blends multiple images to create a balanced exposure of the overall scene, and is ideal for moments when the light gets a bit challenging. We could have done with a microSD card slot though, as when you're creating these big immersive images, that 8GB of internal storage is going to fill up quickly.
With the introduction of the Max, GoPro was determined to make 360° accessible to everyone and arguably succeeded. The Max is extremely straightforward to use, and thanks to the sophisticated app integration, it’s very easy to shoot a 360° clip, edit it on your phone and share it. For quick real-estate clips with 360° immersiveness, it’s arguably the smartest choice. It’s not the cheapest around, and some of this cost comes from features that a real-estate shooter won’t particularly need – waterproofing being the most obvious. Also, be aware that there isn’t really an option to just shoot “normal” 4K footage, so you may want to pair it with another camera or smartphone to ensure all your bases are covered.
The best professional camera that's specifically designed for virtual tours
Specifications
Camera type: Professional 3D camera
Sensor: Structured light (infrared) 3D sensor
Megapixels: 134MP
Lens: Not specified (360° horizontal x 300° vertical field of view)
ISO range: Not specified
Image stabilization: No
Weight: 3.4kg
Reasons to buy
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Gold standard for 3D
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Immersive virtual tours
Reasons to avoid
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Expensive
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Very heavy
If you’re looking to create virtual tours of properties, it’s worth investing in a proper camera for the purpose. The Matterport Pro2 3D MC250 is designed for exactly this, with a powerful 3D sensor and extremely large field of view, with lots of megapixels for capturing every detail. It is expensive to buy, and requires a monthly subscription to make the most of its various connected features, like schematic floor-plan generation. This isn’t something you buy on a whim – it’s a highly technical tool. But if you want something that will tick basically every box for real-estate photography, here it is.
A fantastic way to make a difference to your real-estate photography can be to take to the skies. Getting dynamic aerial images of a property is an excellent way to produce unique, striking imagery – and you don't need a terribly sophisticated or expensive drone in order to do it. The DJI Mini 2 SE is realistically going to fit the bill for most real estate photographers. Not only because it's cheap and easy to use – though it is – but also because its ultra-light weight means that it slips under the 250g cut-off that in many territories is the maximum for a drone to be permitted to be flown in built-up or residential areas (and without any kind of licence). Producing 12MP stills and 2.7K video, the DJI Mini 2 SE is realistically going to give you more than enough to work with for any online property listing.
When you're photographing a property for an online listing, you want it to look as good as it can (while also being captured accurately). This means it's worth investing in a decent-quality camera, with a reasonable amount of resolution and a good-sized sensor. However, there is an element of perspective to maintain here. You probably don't need the latest and greatest cameras, as there are lots of features that simply won't be necessary. For instance, houses aren't going to run away, so you're hardly likely to need fast burst modes and AI-powered autofocus. As such, we've not made a list of the newest and most expensive cameras, but have instead compiled a list of suggestions that we feel offer real-estate photographers the best value for money.
A smartphone will certainly fit the bill, providing good-quality images and a wide-angle perspective to fit everything in. We've provided a couple of recommendations. An interchangeable-lens camera is better if you need flexibility for photographing lots of different types of property. You may also want to consider ways you can create unique and striking imagery to show off your property in a different way – things like 360-degree cameras, virtual tour cameras and drones. We've included some suggestions.
Also, with video tours expected by clients nowadays, it's worth paying attention to a camera's video spec to ensure it can handle this side of things. Look at the maximum resolution it can shoot – Full HD is okay, but 4K is definitely preferable.
How we test cameras
We test cameras both in real-world shooting scenarios and in carefully controlled lab conditions. Our lab tests measure resolution, dynamic range, and signal-to-noise ratio. Resolution is measured using ISO resolution charts, dynamic range is measured using DxO Analyzer test equipment and DxO Analyzer is also used for noise analysis across the camera's ISO range. We use both real-world testing and lab results to inform our comments in buying guides. Learn about how we test and review on Digital Camera World.
Real-estate cameras: frequently asked questions
What camera do real estate agents use?
These days, many real estate agents do what most people do and use the camera that's in their pocket – their smartphone. This is the quickest, easiest and simplest way to get useable photos of a property. We're not going to say you shouldn't do this; indeed we have included a couple of smartphones in our guide. However, if you want your images to stand out and look professional, using a dedicated camera (or at least a high-quality smartphone) will go a long way. Even a beginner DSLR like the Canon EOS Rebel SL3/ EOS 250D will allow you to produce images that are a cut above the norm.
Do I need a full-frame camera for real-estate photography?
This depends on the type of photography you're doing. For simple listing shots of interiors and exteriors, designed to put online – no. A full-frame camera with a larger sensor probably isn't necessary. However, if you are producing images to print for a physical brochure, then a full-frame camera will likely give you the level of quality required, as it will offer higher resolution and a better signal-to-noise ratio.
Another often-overlooked advantage of full-frame cameras is that they can use lenses without a crop factor, making it easier to shoot at wide angles. This is hugely useful in real-estate photography, where you're often trying to get a lot in the frame, and sometimes are limited as to where you can stand.
So while you probably don't need a full-frame camera, they certainly can be useful.
Jon spent years at IPC Media writing features, news, reviews and other photography content for publications such as Amateur Photographer and What Digital Camera in both print and digital form. With his additional experience for outlets like Photomonitor, this makes Jon one of our go-to specialists when it comes to all aspects of photography, from cameras and action cameras to lenses and memory cards, flash diffusers and triggers, batteries and memory cards, selfie sticks and gimbals, and much more besides.
An NCTJ-qualified journalist, he has also contributed to Shortlist, The Skinny, ThreeWeeks Edinburgh, The Guardian, Trusted Reviews, CreativeBLOQ, and probably quite a few others I’ve forgotten.
