Can the World Press Photo be won with a point-and-shoot- or a camera-phone?

Asked by rebbel (35553

) November 4th, 2011

The question was born after reading this thread about how and with what camera the bird photo was taken and the times that I see people walking around with mega lenses and top quality cameras.
And of course the photo journalists that sport multiple cameras and other stuff.
In these days, with ordinary people who can record news iReport from CNN, is there a chance that a photo, made with a point-and-shoot or camera-phone, will ever get chosen to win the World Press Photo?
Is the image the main factor for the judges?
Or is technicality and quality of hardware as important?

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1 Answer

There is no reason that a point-n-shoot couldn’t win it. Better equipment will allow for more versatile shooting (increased depth of field, longer lenses, more shutter speeds… etc) which are likelier to get a good image. However, press photography is often about being in the right place at the right time. A lot of great pictures have been taken with extremely basic SLR’s, and many of today’s p-n-s cameras have similar capabilities.

Also, professional photos include the equipment and settings for the benefit of other photographers.

GladysMensch (6506

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