Bringing along SLR camera a bad idea?

[Bongi22]

I asked this elsewhere but seeing all these responses I would like your opinions here as well Ds is bring his SLR..he has the slingshot aw..so all good there. For those that have that bag--do you store your camera in it and take it on Splash or Kali? Those are the 2 rides he is concerned about..and man-who wants to trek ALL the way back to the lockers to stash it for that alone!

As I mentioned I use a different Lowepro AW. I am not personally knowledgeable about the slingshot. But for what it is worth my thoughts on this are....

A. If you are planning on hitting those rides repeatedly, I'd say leave it behind. If it's more of a one shot deal, go ahead and make sure you have it zipped up tight and make sure the raincover is fitting well AND will be in a position to protect the bag from the direction of water.

B. As soon as you get off the ride, open up the bag and check to see if moisture got in. It does happen and the bag isn't waterproof. But in my experience I've never had enough water to get in to be a concern. If there is any blot it with napkins or paper towels ( as I assume your clothes will be wet ) and hand hold the camera for a while with the bag zippers open as much as you can to let the moisture evaporate.

C. If you keep the camera and lenses in the bag while not at the parks it's a good idea to either leave the zippers open to let air circulate or to toss in a bag of desiccant if you can get your hands on it.

D. Even though it is the AW bag, it would never hurt to have a plastic shopping bag that can be stored away in one of the pockets that can be wrapped around the outside as an added layer... then disposed of after the ride. ( I don't normally suggest tossing the bag after one use because it isn't eco friendly, but if it's wet you aren't going to get it dry enough to fold up and put back in your bag for future use. Think of it as having already done double duty by your "recycling" it for use as a camera bag rain poncho. ) You could use the old trick of placing a strip of duct tape on cardboard the length of the bags open end and layering on 3 or 4 more strips which can then be pulled off when needed to seal the bags edge... it isn't waterproof where I would submerge it, but I've done this at the base of Niagara Falls in the spray and if it works there it will work on Kali River.

To sum up... yes I would take the camera with the bag on the ride.... but doubling up on the protection is never a bad idea.

 

[Danauk]

I took my lowepro slingshot 200 on kali river rapids in Disneyland. I popped the waterproof cover over the bag, I got soaked through (like tidal waves over my head and I had to go straight back to the room to change after the ride!!), but the camera and bag were bone dry.

 

[Bongi22]

Now I just have to decide whether or not to bring one lens or two! I have an 18-105mm lens and a 50mm f/1.8 lens.

I'd go with the 18-105 only. The 50mm is a sharper lens and the quality of the shots has a noticeable difference when analyzed closely. I'd be inclined to be carrying the 18-105 on the body all the time to have a better chance of catching a spur of the moment shot.

The real benefit of carrying the 50mm would be if you plan on shooting indoors a lot without flash... If you don't have a flash... by all means bring the 50mm ( and become familiar with your ISO setting on your body and be aware of what image degradation will happen at each higher setting... and what you are willing to live with ). But if most of what you plan to shoot is outside or well lit, save the weight ( admittedly not much ) and leave the 50 home.

I have to admit, I've gone lazy and ended up with the 28-200 and though it's heavy, I tend to go with solely that instead of carrying around more specialized ( if not technically better ) lenses 90% of the time.

 

[ILuvCrush]

I never go without my DSLR. I also take a small 'cheap' digital camera (sony cybershot). The one time I didn't have the 'cheap' camera with me...it was POURING...monsoon-like weather. I didn't want my DSLR to get damaged so I didn't take it to the park. As it turned out...the rain eventually settled enough, that there were characters under the porticulis near Tony's that we've never gotten to meet....no photopass photographer available, so no pics

Now I have the small one I can stick in my pocket for those rare occasions!

I also only ever take my 70-210 lens to AK...I find I never use it (well once to get Tink at the start of Wishes) at the other parks, so I don't mess with it anymore.

Stop over at the photography boards...there's always lots of advice available there

paula