The Lens(es)

As always, the better the glass, the better the image. So try not to skimp in this department. You can buy a stellar camera, but if your lens is only so you won’t get stellar results. In most photogrammetry applications you’ll want to choose a prime lens with next to no distortion. Not only will this give you the sharpest results, but photogrammetry software will not work with zoom lenses. However, in the field, a zoom is sometimes necessary. Whichever you choose (and it’s easy to have one of each), make sure the lens has as little distortion as possible. (Standard lens correction software can’t be used in this process.)

Popular Photogrammetry Lenses

For full frame Nikons, both the AF‐S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G and the Nikon 20 mm f/2.8D come highly recommended. The Nikon 20 mm f/2.8 AIS works on both FX/DX cameras and outperforms the Nikon 20 mm f/2.8D, but has no autofocus. So if manual focus is your thing, his is probably the best affordable prime lens to work with. As far as DX-only lenses go, the 40mm f/2.8 “Micro” comes highly recommended. (It’s often used for reproduction jobs.) If you want stellar edge-to-edge sharpness and you’re shooting smaller objects, the 105mm 2.8 Macro is a good option, depending on the amount of working space you need.

For a full-frame Canon, the Canon 20 mm f/2.8 has superb performance. For cropped-sensor, the EF-S 10-22mm and EF-S 10-18 IS STM comes highly recommended. The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens is also a favorite. Standard all-purpose prime lenses like the Sigma 85mm and 50mm 1.4 Art lenses also work great.

Other Considerations

When you’re out shopping for a camera, keep these qualities in mind:

Able to shoot in Raw

Has a fairly high frames-per-second ability (in Raw)

Long battery life (remember, you’ll be taking lots of photos)

Exceptional low noise performance with a native ISO of 100 or lower

Will this camera be dedicated to photogrammetry or will you be using it for other applications?

In the end, the main considerations will obviously be your project requirements and your budget. If you’re a beginner just looking to try it out, don’t let the specs get in the way. The best camera to use is the one you have with you, so if you want to try it out on your smartphone, by all means, do so. There are plenty of tutorials out there. But once you become more serious, you’ll definitely want to consider the cameras and considerations listed above.