In photos from the 1940s, the press camera is always an iconic image. These big 4x5 cameras were used by all the pro news photographers.
In the coming decades, twin-lens reflex (120mm film) and then single-lens reflex (35mm film) became widespread, and the big, heavy 4x5 press cameras were obsolesced. But how long did they continue to hold on? Were there old-timers who still insisted on using their old press cameras?
Also, on a related, but secondary, note, how widespread were medium-format (120mm) film cameras among press photographers during the 1980s?
I know it’s not really an answer in the spirit of the question that was asked, but there are still some photographers working with them (myself included). David Burnett is probably the most well known.
Oh yeah, that guy, he took the famous photo of Al Gore with the Holga. But that guy’s really a special case - he’s a big time stud with an established reputation who can basically get away with doing what he wants. He’s not a run of the mill newshound.
I used a 4x5 with a film pack into the '70s. I had a 2 1/4 Rollei and a Hasselblad, but for some stuff like big architecture, the swing front and the big negative was unbeatable. I ditched mine when I started to shoot a lot from helicopters and the bellows on the 4x5 wouldn’t take it. As I recall, a Mamiya 6x7cm took over.
On the plus side, I was cleaning up the garage today and found the long-missing box with my stash of flashbulbs. Maybe I should take the hint and go shooting.
This isn’t daily news, but at the NBA Championships in '97 and '98, I remember seeing Hasselblads on the floor at the corners, on remotes. I believe it was Sports Illustrated using them. Hell, here’s SI’s Phil Rosato in 2004 setting up a Hassie remote. Those weren’t for daily deadlines, though. The newspapers and wires (whom I worked for at the time) were all using 35mm and the Kodak digital backs at the time (just for the first quarter, to get some pictures out really quickly. Digital was still pretty marginal in quality then, and nothing but a full-frame shot was good enough to go out on the wire.)