Camera for school newspaper

[Joe@theMess]

So, I'm a student photographer in college and I am in charge of photography and photo/graphics editing for our school newspaper. Our executive editors have just allotted me somewhere between $3,000-$5,000 to update our horrifically old/inefficient photo equipment. This is a serious weekly paper for a smaller, private, liberal-arts college, and the photographers that we employ range from those seriously pursuing photography as a career to hobbyists.

We've come to realize that our paper would really benefit from taking more advantage of digital photography (efficiency-wise especially), so we want to invest in a DSLR that we could share amongst some of our better photographers who could benefit from high-quality equipment (college students = decent talent, no money for goodies of our own), and also a decent, advanced compact digital for the photographers who are less experienced, or are in a hurry (a frequent thing!).

I'm kind of starting from scratch buying equipment: I'm allotting about $200-$300 to two decent tripods (or maybe a tripod and a monopod...maybe), between $300-$400 for an okay flash unit and memory cards, and about $1,500 for a 28-70 or so and a 100-300 zoom (maybe next year we'll go for a wide-angle =)

So, that leaves about $1,500-$2,000 for the two cameras. ...So, ANY SUGGESTIONS?? I've always been an avid fan of Canon, so, naturally I've looked at the Rebel and the 10D for SLR's, and the S50 and A80 for compacts. Would these fit the bill? Are they overkill? Not enough? Is Canon not the way to go? Did I budget "accessories" poorly? I'd love advice!

Thanks in advance!
-Joe M.

 

[TommyWoo]

Joe,

How many photog are you talking about?
Do you have any AF lens now?
Do you really need the tripod? do you have any old tripods?

If you are starting from scratch, the Canon 300d (999 with lens18 to 55 mm) x 2 =
2000.00
420 ex flas x 2 (179)
358.00
card reader
30.00
cf cards (512 mb x 2) 240.00

sony p&s dig (sometimes free memory stick)
300.00
about $3000.00

Do you already have Photoshop?
Also, if you are not covering sports, a 2.8 lens will not be needed.

If you have to cover the drama department (ie musicals, play, show choirs, etc) then a fast lens will be needed.
Hope this will help.
Tommy

So, I'm a student photographer in college and I am in charge of
photography and photo/graphics editing for our school newspaper.
Our executive editors have just allotted me somewhere between
$3,000-$5,000 to update our horrifically old/inefficient photo
equipment. This is a serious weekly paper for a smaller, private,
liberal-arts college, and the photographers that we employ range
from those seriously pursuing photography as a career to hobbyists.

We've come to realize that our paper would really benefit from
taking more advantage of digital photography (efficiency-wise
especially), so we want to invest in a DSLR that we could share
amongst some of our better photographers who could benefit from
high-quality equipment (college students = decent talent, no money
for goodies of our own), and also a decent, advanced compact
digital for the photographers who are less experienced, or are in a
hurry (a frequent thing!).

I'm kind of starting from scratch buying equipment: I'm allotting
about $200-$300 to two decent tripods (or maybe a tripod and a
monopod...maybe), between $300-$400 for an okay flash unit and
memory cards, and about $1,500 for a 28-70 or so and a 100-300 zoom
(maybe next year we'll go for a wide-angle =)

So, that leaves about $1,500-$2,000 for the two cameras. ...So, ANY
SUGGESTIONS?? I've always been an avid fan of Canon, so, naturally
I've looked at the Rebel and the 10D for SLR's, and the S50 and A80
for compacts. Would these fit the bill? Are they overkill? Not
enough? Is Canon not the way to go? Did I budget "accessories"
poorly? I'd love advice!

Thanks in advance!
-Joe M.

 

[tom kern155840]

420 ex flas x 2 (179)

better go with sigma 500 super here.

cf cards (512 mb x 2) 240.00

maybe 2xmicrodrives for the same price?

sony p&s dig (sometimes free memory stick)
300.00

wouldnt it be smarter to go with compact flash on the p&s too ?

If you have to cover the drama department (ie musicals, play, show
choirs, etc) then a fast lens will be needed.

50mm 1.8 is nice and fast and cheap (about USD 90)

HTH
thomas

 

[tom kern155840]

for a 28-70

have a look at tamron's 28-75 2.8, its an amazing lens and 1/3 of the price.

thomas

 

[Rob214601]

I'd say beef up to the 10d(Canon), for a school paper, it'll last a lot longer.

Then get some super fast USM len's. you'll never miss a photo