I use a Canon PowerShot A640 (great camera btw). I need to be able to take pictures of way-tall buildings. In Manhattan. On narrow streets. I figure a fisheye or wide-angle lens of some sort should do the trick. What should I get exactly? Do I need some kind of adapter too? Thanks!

I hope you realize that you're going to get major converging lines. Large format is more suited to architecture, but I'm guessing you're not gonna run out and buy a 4x5 camera anytime soon. If you use a fish-eye lens, you're going to have to do an awful lot of cropping (unless you're going for that fish-eye effect). They make lenses that have movements somewhat like a LF camera, but I don't think those are widely available, nor do I think they make them for digital cameras (I don't know squat about digital though, so I could be wrong). The Powershot is not an SLR as far as I know..how do you propose swapping lenses? What are you using the photographs for? It may be worth it to rent a proper outfit to take the pictures, if you're using the photographs for print work.

The photos do not have to be perfect. They are for real estate industry purposes, not art or photography per se. The 640 is not an SLR but has a screw thread that accepts lenses and filters to affect the built-in lenses. I realize a fisheye will cause things to get distorted, but that's just a fact of life in this case. Better a distorted building than half a building!

Maybe lay on your back to take the pic?

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NICE!!!! Canons are the best cameras!!

You should be asking the non-photo people. The photo people will tell you not to take that picture with that camera since it just won't work.

You need 4x5 with a 90 mm or 110 lens...maybe you could get lucky with a 72mm...

Sure, that won't get me in any trouble in Manhattan. And it wouldn't help anyway.

It wont.
Why not?

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Sure it would.

Yes it helps a little, but when I am only getting the lower half of the building in the frame, lying down is not going to get me the whole thing. Might get a few more stories at most.

For around $1,000-2,000, you could buy a tilt-shift lens.

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article...shift_ts-e.html

http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/EFLenses...chitecture.html

http://shutterbug.com/equipmentreviews/lenses/0801sb_tilt/

You don't need to lie on the ground. Either invest in lenses as Bezalel mentioned (than again I odn't think the model you have lets you interchnage) or just use your flip-out LCD! Flip the screen, position it for a portrait photograph and take the picture. If not, just use yours while it's positioned on the ground and experiment with the results.


You're totally able to capture the whole thing.



(rent here from Adorama on 18th street, between 5 & 6th iirc)

And I'm not even a camera person.

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