Am I bringing too much?

[SpencerOrg]

This time next week we will be in Florida, we are heading over from the UK for 17 days! We last came in 2000 where I only managed to take about 3 x 36 photos back in the pre-digital era. I am an avid photographer and film maker in my spare time and am worried that I might be going over the top with my gear.

Essentially I will be bringing

* Canon DSLR
* GoPro Hero 3 (with various harnesses)
* iPad
* iPhone 6
* Digital mic for iPad

I've written a blog post about what I am bringing here

I guess my two questions are -

Am I bringing too much?

How do I prevent the risk of missing out on family moments if I am too busy documenting everything?

We have paid for Memory Maker too.

 

[McNs]

You are more likely to regret not bringing something than bringing it. Nothing look unreasonable, and I'm guessing you won't be packing it all for the parks each day?

As for the family moments, this is something I struggle with, finding that balance between capturing the moment for future enjoyment and living in the moment. I think not forcing it is the way to go, not trying to get EVERYTHING, not making people redo things because it wasn't framed right. What you get is what you get.

Memory Maker (I'm guessing this is the same as PhotopassPlus at DL?) is great, it means I get to be in the photos too, something that is missing from so many of our other vacation photos...

 

[havoc315]

Doesn't seem like much at all. Just 1 lens? No tripod. It seems pretty light.

My family bag for next vacation:
Nikon d750.
14/2.8
24-70/2.8
85/1.8
300/4
1.4 and 2.0 teleconverters
Filters, sd cards, extra batteries
2 iPhones, 2 iPads
Sony rx100
Nikon j3 with 2 lenses.
Tripod

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I agree with Havoc, seems pretty light to me, especially no extra lenses for DSLR and no tripod. Those are musts for any vacation I take. I am leaving for Washington D.C. in a few days and so far here is the list.

DSLR w/battery grip
17-50 f2.8
28-70 f2.8
50-200 f4-5.6 (unless the 70-200 f2.8 is back from repair, then it will go instead)
30 f1.4
Maybe 100-300 f4 (haven't decided on this yet)
External flash
P & S
Tripod
And equipment to support the kit

 

[dmaxphil]

I'm debating on what to take with me on our upcoming August WDW trip.

I have the following to choose from...

Nikon D700 + MB-D10 battery grip
50mm f/1.8G
24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G
80-400mm f/4.5-5.6
14-24mm f/2.8
55mm f/2.8 AI-s
105mm f/2.5 AI-s

Fuji X-T1 Graphite Silver
Fuji X-E2 Silver
23mm f/1.4
27mm f2.8
35mm f1.4
56mm f1.2
10-24mm f4
18-55mm f2.8-f4.0
50-140mm f2.8
55-200mm f2.5-f4.8

Sony a7II
FE 55mm f/1.8

I'm thinking of leaving the Nikon stuff home and taking everything else. The Sony and Fuji stuff will all fit in one backpack. I'll be taking a tripod, spare batteries, external drive, macbook, sd cards along with a tough, waterproof camera for waterparks and pools. Each day I will decide which individual items to carry based on plans for that day.

 

[jec6613]

Am I bringing too much?

Not really. The iPad is questionable, I wouldn't bring that into the parks, it's just annoying to everyone if you start recording video with it. But as a non-photographic device, well, you have a plane right over, right? Plus, you have the iPhone 6, which will do a better job. If you have an extra SLR lens, throw that in, too.

How do I prevent the risk of missing out on family moments if I am too busy documenting everything?

Discipline and not caring if you document everything.

You may wish to order some SD cards shipped from B&H, Adorama or Amazon shipped to your hotel room when you arrive there. Memory card prices both in the UK and in the parks are pretty atrocious compared to a good discount US price - I recommend either Sandisk or Lexar.

 

[bob100]

I too bring everything including a tripod and more lens, e.g. Canon DSLR and a zoom and several primes. That doesn't mean you have to take it all everyday, leave some back in the hotel. I would also bring my small pocket size mirrorless, sometimes it feels good to travel lightweight.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless/

 

[SpencerOrg]

Not really. The iPad is questionable, I wouldn't bring that into the parks, it's just annoying to everyone if you start recording video with it. But as a non-photographic device, well, you have a plane right over, right? Plus, you have the iPhone 6, which will do a better job. If you have an extra SLR lens, throw that in, too.

Discipline and not caring if you document everything.

You may wish to order some SD cards shipped from B&H, Adorama or Amazon shipped to your hotel room when you arrive there. Memory card prices both in the UK and in the parks are pretty atrocious compared to a good discount US price - I recommend either Sandisk or Lexar.

I think the iPad is definitely for content creation later in my room etc. I really hate it when people are recording video and holding up their iPads.

I will try very hard to be disciplined - it feels hard knowing that we will probably never come back again.

 

[SpencerOrg]

I'm debating on what to take with me on our upcoming August WDW trip.

I have the following to choose from...

Nikon D700 + MB-D10 battery grip
50mm f/1.8G
24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G
80-400mm f/4.5-5.6
14-24mm f/2.8
55mm f/2.8 AI-s
105mm f/2.5 AI-s

Fuji X-T1 Graphite Silver
Fuji X-E2 Silver
23mm f/1.4
27mm f2.8
35mm f1.4
56mm f1.2
10-24mm f4
18-55mm f2.8-f4.0
50-140mm f2.8
55-200mm f2.5-f4.8

Sony a7II
FE 55mm f/1.8

I'm thinking of leaving the Nikon stuff home and taking everything else. The Sony and Fuji stuff will all fit in one backpack. I'll be taking a tripod, spare batteries, external drive, macbook, sd cards along with a tough, waterproof camera for waterparks and pools. Each day I will decide which individual items to carry based on plans for that day.

I had a look at what I took on holiday last year in the UK and it was a kit similar but quite as much as that. When I told my wife I wanted to take things like a flash / tripod etc she kept reminding me about our baggage allowance!

 

[jec6613]

I will try very hard to be disciplined - it feels hard knowing that we will probably never come back again.

Well, the other solution to that, is use your DSLR and just fix it in post. It'll focus fast, then just take the picture and make sure it's sharp and in focus, and the rest can be fixed later. For me, my rule of thumb is if it takes more than 30 seconds to take, I'm taking too long - unless I'm just sitting and waiting, anyway, in which case I can spend the time looking for different ways of looking at things.