2011 Video Cameras: What Real Estate Pros Are Using

“The Serious VideoGrapher”

Since broker Andrew Mooers, of Mooers Realty in Houlton, Maine, first started using video early last decade, he’s personally recorded and produced more than 500 promoting his slice of Maine and properties there. “Video allows you to conduct open house tours 24/7, and to tell someone everything they might want to know about an area before they even visit,” Mooers says.

With prior experience in TV production, Mooers favors the versatility and performance of a high-end camcorder. He’s currently using Sony’s HDR-XR500V Handycam and Sony’s Vegas Pro editing software for videos with run times from two to 15 minutes.

“You can’t just throw money at the equipment and expect great results,” he notes. “The more you shoot, the better you’ll get at this.” He recommends buying a camcorder that’s comfortable to hold, use, and keep steady, and always bringing it along. “As you’re taking stills of a new listing, think in terms of how you want the video to look, and how you’ll move from room to room. Then, since you’re already there, record your video in that sequence and it will be much easier to edit.”

“Showing the Way”

Debra Dye, a sales associate with Keller Williams Realty in Southhaven, Miss., could be setting the example most real estate professionals will eventually follow for capturing video. Since last year, she’s been recording all the video for her tours with her smartphone, an iPhone 4. “When I bought the iPhone, and saw the kind of video it could record, I asked myself, ‘Do I really want to carry another piece of equipment?’ ”

Dye searched online for tour building tips and found an iPhone wide-angle lens adapter from HD Hard Hat. Rather than edit her tours herself, she decided to subscribe to their tour production services. She records the raw footage and provides that to the company for editing into a final tour. It provides a link she can embed on her Web site and a QR code she features on promotions and flyers so smartphone users can easily launch and view the tours.

“When I show sellers how I am using video, it’s really helping me get listings,” Dye reports. “And for buyers, the videos give them a much better idea of which homes really interest them. The iPhone 4 has been great for what I want from video.”