Camera for structural inspections 5

[milkshakelake]

Anyone have a good solution for taking photos of structures? Problem: My iPhone takes the best pictures, especially in dark places. It doesn't look very professional to clients, though.

I've tried using Fuji X-E1 ISO 3200 F2.8 with shutter 1/125s, but the photos come out grainy and sometimes blurred because of the large aperture. I usually take a shot where my flashlight is pointed. I've also tried Sony RX Vii (more portable for tight crawl spaces and getting behind sheetrock) but have similar results. I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong, because my iPhone simply takes clearer and more focused pictures. It has a mode where I hold up the camera for a few seconds in dark spaces and the results are usually good.

The other thing I was thinking about was using flash, but it would hurt the portability of the Fuji X-E1. And my poor Sony RX Vii can't keep up with recharging its flash with how many pictures I take, like 200 or so per building. It's not about the batteries, because I carry spares; it's about the time between shots.

 

[milkshakelake]

To give a little update here, I've had plenty of success with a mounted flash unit on an old mirrorless camera with wide-angle zoom lens. The results have been consistently better than my iPhone with/without flash and another handheld camera with built-in flash. It took a while to learn how to use bounce flash and manual settings, but the results are a higher percentage of usable photos for reports and such. The flash isn't powerful enough for overall views of large warehouse type situations, in which case I'll use the iPhone by holding it steadily, and it sometimes does a long exposure type thing with software correction magic.