That’s a bold statement Ryan, and I completely disagree with you. 
I’ve been delivering pdf reports for 22 years and never once had a complaint or anyone ask if the report was HTML or pdf. Fact of the matter is, the format doesn’t matter, what’s in the report and how clearly it’s written, does.
Well, I try to be bold. Plus, I knew it would generate some discussion, which is always fun. I basically “Trumped” it. Say crazy stuff and watch the sheet fly. 
I am using the OM System TG-7. I take about 300 pictures on an average inspection and write my reports using HomeGauge.
My phone (Pixel 9 Pro XL) takes great pictures, I use Homegauge for software and Fast Image Resizer to reduce the photo size. I found out last week that Spectora and Homegauge are merging. I don’t know what that means but I’m still a Homegauge guy.
Why do you have to reduce the photo size, if I may ask Walter?
For some software, reducing photos size makes some software easier to manage. Depending on the size of the HI report, some software uploads won’t take it due to the file size.
That’s unfortunate. Hopefully Spectora fixes that with HG. I had issues uploading the super high-def pictures my drone is capable of, but that was due to my piss-poor internet connection since I live in the sticks and have limited internet options. I lowered the resolution a bit on the drone and they transfer much faster now, and still plenty good for an inspection report.
Because it happens all the time - your eyes do not zoom, but your pictures do. If you review your photos carefully, you are going to notice more stuff. Shame on you for not reviewing your work product.
Shame, shame…LOL…
…LOL
Too bad you are not more attentive on site. You wouldn’t miss so much.
There are many good cameras to choose from. Some inspectors use the camera built into their phone. I use a dedicated camera because I want the kind of control over my photos that isn’t possible with a phone camera. Good photography starts with a good lens the job of the lens is to gather light. The bigger the lens, the better it can gather light.
The flash on any phone camera is going to be weak. You have little or no control over metering. Home inspectors who use a phone camera also tend to try to make up for the built-in flash’s deficiencies by illuminating the subject with a flashlight. That results in substandard image quality. The flash should do the work.
In difficult lighting conditions, you can use a diffuser or a slave flash with a dedicated camera. The flash on a phone is too weak to reliably trigger a slave. A good dedicated camera will take good photos in complete darkness. A phone camera can’t do that.
As for your Spectora question, I don’t know why any inspector would use Spectora. Inspectors tend to follow the herd. Spectora is cartoonware. I look at a lot of inspections reports. I’ve never seen a report generated with Spectora that I would hand to a client. Spectora is popular with poorly qualified inspectors who put style over substance. They think that dazzling clients with BS is a substitute for substance.
Ultimately, the decision you need to make is whether to run your business like a business or run it like a hobby. Professionals use professional grade tools.
I’ve seen a couple phones mentioned by the “I use my phone and inspection app of choice” people in this thread. But none of the old hands that swears by stand alone cameras has described their rig. I am honestly curious what people are carrying around these days. There are very few decent point and shoot cameras out there now, even used they are becoming scarce, let alone anything remotely rugged.
For the record I use an S21 ultra, and occasionally an iPhone 15 pro max. Those two phones despite being a couple years old now have phenomenal cameras, particularly in low light. They’re both set up for roughly 12mp images, although the sensors are larger. Aim your flash light at the ceiling or an adjacent wall for a bounce flash effect superior to any point and shoot camera flash.
That is not true, I have passed my camera recommendations along many times. Here is a good one. Canon PowerShot SX620 HS
I carry a stand alone camera and write my reports at my desktop for many reasons. For me, I produce a better product in this manner. Another reason, a large portion of my business is commercial inspections. These generally require a camera and a clip board or some note taking scheme and absolutely require desktop writing. I have not found the value in toggling between snap and go onsite reporting and desktop writing.
I have seen some good Spectora reports, though rare. Generally they are full of fluff, color coding, expansive narratives about limitations, homeowner responsibilities, maintenance suggestions, canned narratives and videos of stupid things like a garage door opening. If an inspector can avoid all of that with a snap and go software, good on them.
Primary Camera: Nikon Coolpix A900
Secondary/Backup Camera: Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS70
Dedicated Pole-Camera: Panasonic Lumix ZS25
Note:
All cameras use proprietary batteries and multiple spares are on-hand in protective case(s).
All cameras use SD Cards and multiple spares are carried in a Pelican hard shell case.
I appreciate your response, I was referring to this thread specifically. I have a sx620 that I use on a pole and it’s been great and surprisingly durable. It’s a shame they are no longer in production, used ones now cost more than mine did new.
Like Brian I have posted my cameras many times. I use a 2005 Nikon Coolpix S4. 10x optical zoom, 6 megapixel. Fits in a shirt pocket, swivel lens.
Backup is a 2015 Nikon Coolpix P100, 26x Optical zoom, 10 megapixels.
Both older cameras, without gads of megapixels that can’t be seen on most normal video screens and make the report an unmanageable size.
I have a really great point and shoot camera I use all the time. It has a nice big viewing screen, takes great pictures, has good zoom, built in flash, and both auto and manual picture capture settings. But the best part, it actually can access the internet, make calls and text messaging, run report apps, and other apps, tell me the weather forecast, allow me to look up things in the field, and even has some games and things for when I have some downtime. It’s amazing to have a camera with so much capability.
Here’s the one I’m currently using.
Best yet!
The old Victorian house creaked under my boots as I hauled in my trusty 1920s Graflex camera, its bellows worn but reliable, and a satchel of flash powder—magnesium and potassium chlorate, mixed just right. The realtor, a young guy with a slick suit and a smartphone glued to his hand, raised an eyebrow. “You’re using that for the inspection?” he asked, smirking as he waved his gleaming iPhone 15. A couple of buyers, snapping selfies by the staircase, giggled and whispered, their phones flashing weak LED bursts. They didn’t get it. Nobody did anymore.
I set up the Graflex on its tripod, adjusting the focus with a squint through the ground glass. The house had secrets—cracks in the foundation, water stains hiding behind fresh paint—and those phones wouldn’t catch them. Their tiny sensors and AI filters smoothed everything into a glossy lie. My camera, though? It saw the truth, raw and unfiltered, every shadow and flaw etched onto 4x5 negatives like a confession.
I measured out the flash powder, poured it into the T-bar, and struck a match. The realtor jumped as the room erupted in a blinding whoosh of light, the magnesium igniting with a roar. The air smelled of burnt metal and ozone. “What the hell was that?” he coughed, waving away the smoke. I grinned, sliding a fresh plate into the camera. “That, my friend, is how you light up the dark.”
The buyers stopped their scrolling, eyes wide, as I pulled the first negative and held it to the window. Every splinter in the floorboards, every hairline crack in the plaster, was razor-sharp. “Your phones can’t do this,” I said, tapping the glass. “They guess. They fake it. This is real.” They muttered, skeptical, but the realtor’s face changed when I pointed out a sagging beam in the attic, caught in stark relief by the flash’s brutal honesty. His phone’s photos? Just a blurry mess of shadows.
They’d never understand—the heft of the equipment, the ritual of the chemicals, the way the old gear forced you to see. Phones made it too easy, too clean. My Graflex and I, we were the last truth-tellers in a world of digital delusions, and this old house was singing its secrets to us alone.
