Digital cameras and publishing

[batchman]

A few years ago, if you wanted to take pictures for publishing in newspapers and magazines, you needed a couple of good 35mm cameras, one to shoot b&w film, and one to shoot color slides.

Has the world of digital advanced far enough to handle the demands of print photography? If so, can one camera now handle both kinds of images satisfactorily? It would be nice, while travelling, not to have to try and carry around 2 to 300 rolls of film.

If the answers to both the above are yes, how much would one likely have to spend to get something of high enough quality to do the job?

I am about to return to doing some travel writing, something I have dabbled with in the past. The digital cameras that I have used are nowhere near good enough for this kind of work (a couple of Kodak models, and a $100 Sony), but since I have stuck to low-end digital, I don't know how good the quality has gotten on the higher end.

Years ago, I had a decent SLR from one of the big names (Pentax, Canon, something like that ... its been long enough I don't remember any more), a flash, and a 70-210 zoom. I was not an expert with it, but I could get some nice shots, taking several pictures to be sure one would come out well.

Trying to take black and white shots for newspapers and color shots for magazines (landscapes, people, not usually high action), what kind of equipment would I need to consider, and how nasty would the pricing likely be. My above kit cost me about $500 from one of the NYC Photography stores with the ads in the magazines, but I am guessing I can't get away with that good of prices on digital.

Thoughts? Advice? Or is film still the way to go?

[Dougjgreen]

Bare minimum for a DSLR with a basic, serviceable lens is around $500 complete, bought new. But for some much more versatile, quality lenses, figure $500 for the body, and $500 for a couple of good lenses that span the range from moderately wide to significant telephoto.

You could easily spend double that if you need the latest and greatest stuff. You could also get something quite good second hand for $500-600.

[mn shutterbug]

I actually just added a second camera and lens combo to my arsenal for $380.