Recommend a camera for undergraduates majoring in architecture?

Architectural photography needs a wide-angle lens.

What kind of camera to buy depends on your budget.

If the budget is limited, recommend Lumix LX3 or LX5, which has a super wide angle of 24 mm ..

Because architectural photography often encounters the need to take photos of Gao Fancha, the11.63-inch photoreceptor used in LX3 or LX5 has more advantages than the ordinary card machine using 1/2.3-inch photoreceptor in dealing with the details of Gao Fancha photos.

If the budget is sufficient, it is recommended to use a SLR camera.

Canon 550D, 60D or Nikon D7000 are all good choices.

As for the lens, Canon 15-85mm or Nikon 16-85mm can be considered, and the wide-angle end is 24mm when it is converted on APS-C model, and the focal length covers the standard and portrait focal length, so other photographic subjects can be photographed except architectural photography.

Of course, you can also look at super wide-angle lenses like Canon 10-22mm or Nikon 10-24mm, but the daily usage rate of these lenses is not very high. The subject is only the undergraduate study stage, not professional architectural photography, and the purpose of taking photos is only to learn the construction and appearance design of buildings, not to take professional architectural photography photos for real estate developers. Personally, I don't think it is necessary to consider such a lens or the more advanced architectural photographic equipment mentioned below for the time being.

If the budget is sufficient, it is recommended to use a shifting lens.

Canon's TS-E lens or Nikon's PC lens are very useful when shooting buildings.

Generally, buildings are photographed from the bottom up. In this way, the two sides of the building converge towards the center, that is, the two sides of the building are inclined. At close range, buildings are also prone to "bow effect". Variable axis lens can correct this perspective distortion effect to some extent.

If the budget is very sufficient, the camera behind the camera is the best choice.