Pros go digital as quality improves

For years now, digital cameras have been nice gadgets for the amateur photographer. They offer instant gratification in viewing or sending, without the cost of film or development. And they lend themselves to all sorts of other possibilities once the images are transferred to a computer.

But for many professional photographers -- the photojournalists who shoot for newspapers and magazines, and studio photographers who specialize in portraits or advertising work -- digital cameras have been a harder sell. Some resisted because they found digital cameras insufficiently versatile to justify the cost of professional-quality models. And some remain convinced that only film can provide photography worthy of a magazine cover or a museum wall.

There are increasing signs, however, that digital cameras are gaining a secure place in the professional camera bag. More and more photographers have experimented with them as an adjunct to film. Some favor digital cameras for certain situations or effects; a few use them exclusively. And digital work was prominent in the memorable photojournalism that emerged from the attack on the World Trade Center last month.

Newspapers, wire services and even glossy newsmagazines made extensive use of digital images from their own photographers as well as amateur shots from witnesses. Dirck Halstead, a longtime photojournalist who runs a Web site called The Digital Journalist (www.digitaljournalist.org), estimates that two-thirds of photographers at the scene were shooting digitally.

Chaotic settings

"The advantage of digital in this case was the initial ability to see the photos right away" on a camera's LCD screen, he said, "and also to transmit from nearby delis or drugstores" by transferring the images to a laptop computer and then connecting the modem to a phone line. Digital photographers, moreover, did not have to open their cameras, in a chaotic setting filled with smoke and ash, to reload film, although they did have to change memory cards.

Many professionals who shoot with only digital cameras were impressed with their results on that difficult day. David Handschuh, a staff photographer for The Daily News of New York, was blown a block away by the force of the implosion at the trade center. He credits emergency workers, who pulled him from the rubble three times that day, with saving his life.

"I lost my glasses, my cell phone, my pager, but not my cameras," said Handschuh, who is recovering at his home in New Jersey. "They were filled with dust, but the disks were OK and the pictures were fine." Overall, the day was a "true test of digital photography in recording history," he said, "and it definitely passed the test. The images will stand the test of time."

The digital road has been a bumpy one for photographers. Early digital cameras offered poor resolutions, suffered shutter delays, became obsolete in months and ran into the tens of thousands of dollars to buy -- and repair. Only recently have the standard Nikon D1 models used by professionals come down to US$3,500 (the new D1x is about US$5,300).

"It's right on the cusp right now," Maggie Hallahan, a San Francisco-based photographer who shoots both advertising and editorial assignments, said of the professional tendency toward film or digital cameras. "This new generation of pro digital cameras will make a huge difference."