Media photographers - question
 

This might sound stupid but I just saw something on TV that made me wonder.

There was a story about some sick kid and then they showed him sitting in the park being photographed by some newspaper. Now this photographer had some huge camera (zoom lense or whatever), but he was standing about 5m away from the kid.

My question is why do these guys use such expensive cameras for what in the end will be some tiny black&white picture in the newspaper? Any cheap digital camera would be enough for the typical newspaper shots.... :?

Yup, in fact you're right, but luckily high-end camera's offer more than just bigger pics. :)

Yes I know they offer more than that, but will you really notice those differences in a grainy, small, black and white newspaper photo?

then what do you show when you get asked to submit your photo for something like the pulitzer prize :wink:

What if that expensive cam belongs to the photographer and not to the newspaper ? I mean he'd probably prefer to take pics with his equipment than whith a crappy p&s cam :bah: Especially if he also covers some major events.

Most of those pics (grainy, w&b etc) are actually taken with some cheap cams (I noticed that last year when 2 of them came to a local event; oh god those were amateurs ...)

i doubt he only uses that camera to take pics like that. Say if he goes to a sporting even or somethin with action. A crappy camera isnt gonna cut it. There is also big color pictures in newspapers too.

My guess is that he uses the camera for other purposes as well.

Indeed, when you have a big balled camera, you can take basic pics you could take with an IXUS, but on a mighty camera you can bump onto it a 1200mm lense and shoot an hyperquality pic of a turd on the moon :D

mmmm moon turd.

Well, I guess you need to dump them up there too every now and then ;)

The question is how you get it out of your spacesuit ;-) :P

Ok guys, I realise it was a stupid question - even I ask them sometimes. :D

have you got any examples of this, please?

Nope dang, as realized by AL, all the turds dumped on the moon got stuck in astronauts' boots.. dang :D