I will be taking a tour of south america in a few weeks and plan on taking many landscape and upclose architecture photographs. Not only am I looking for a camera that can handle these particular situations well, but I want to be able to make sizable, high-quality prints of the pictures. After years of traveling I see that most of my images from compact cameras are nearly useless, and so I want to get this right. Size isn't an issue really, and I am looking for something less than $1000.

Any suggestions for me to look into?

Thanks

I'm going to guess you don't want to haul a large camera since you mentioned past experience with compact cameras. It sounds as if you require a higher quality lens whether fixed or zoom. With that in mind:

There is always film in a high end small camera. You'd probably have to order one if you had enough time. Some of the posh models as they were called at one time, though not all in production are still available new ranging from $100 to $700 and produce fine photos. Particularly slides. Most of these use a fixed lens in the 28-40mm range. Leica, Rollei, Olympus are among manufacturers who recently produced a very good 35mm camera that was quite compact.

In terms of digital there are numerous good choices now in the 5-8 MP range. Look for cameras that have a high quality lens, F2.8 or better on the low end. Remember, the more zoom the lens offers, the more possibility of high end image degradation.

Check the reviews for both types here at Photography Review.

Depending upon the length of your trip, the camera you select may also have some battery issues. Some batteries easily available here (US) such as the CR3, or C123, etc. are not available as readily elsewhere. So take plenty of batteries be they disposable or proprietary or rechargeable. Take your own film or plenty of memory cards. 4 or 5 smaller memory cards(256-512Mb) might be better than 1 or 2 larger (1-2Gb) in case of loss or damage.

If you have something particular in mind or more specific questions, please don't hesitate to post more questions.

I will be taking a tour of south america in a few weeks and plan on taking many landscape and upclose architecture photographs. Not only am I looking for a camera that can handle these particular situations well, but I want to be able to make sizable, high-quality prints of the pictures. After years of traveling I see that most of my images from compact cameras are nearly useless, and so I want to get this right. Size isn't an issue really, and I am looking for something less than $1000.

Any suggestions for me to look into?

Thanks

I just purchased this camera about a week ago and I am very happy with it so far. As far as the lens it goes from 24mm to 140mm on the lens. The wide angle would be great for lanscape and buildings. Take a look....
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/p880.html