Camcorders?

[jenr812]

Does anyone bring their camcorder in the parks? Part of me wants to, but another part of me thinks it would be a huge hassle. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[sc9500]

Absolutely ! on both points - its great to have those wonderfull moments yet a pain carrying it around. Even though I have a mini dv its still heavy at the end of the day !

 

[henrylovespooh]

We did - we didn't tape that much, and I wish we had taped more. My kids are 2 and 3 so I wanted to catch their impressions of what they saw. I did videotape parts of the Beauty and the Beast show, the parades, and just some walking around stuff. At the end, we asked each kid what they liked best.

Some days we took it to the park and some days we left it in the room.

 

[bdrex95]

I am planning on taking our camcorder on our trip in April.

But I'm buying a new one first

We have an old 8mm that we got before our DS6 was born, so it's over 6 years old. They have gotten much smaller and more portable since then.

If I had to take my old one, I don't think I would. That's why I'm getting a new one. I really want to take a camcorder to preserve the memories, but I don't want to lug the big old one around. I was wrestling with this decision for a while, until I just decided to go buy a new digital one!

So, FWIW, that's my plan.

 

[Lynn4Mel]

I've brought mine in the parks . It's not too big of a hassle unless it's the older ones that are large, then it can be tiring. Just don't drop it or get it wet... I've done both.....

________________________________

1976-1990 various family vacations when young
1998 First trip with husband and daughters Off Site
2001 All Stars Music
10/2005 CBR and 1st MNSSHP!!!

 

[Ilovestitch]

We have a little digital one that I can carry in a waist pack. I never really feel like bring it to WDW cuz I don't like carrying it around and I'm scared i'll break it or lose it, but my bf always wants to. He likes to video tape and then hook it up to the hotel room t.v. and watch it right away.

 

[Destination Disney]

We take ours and it is tiny, a little palm one.

They are good for certain things such as getting a childs reaction when meeting the characters in the judges tent, or riding a ride, or even filming a unexpected event or interaction with a character on the street. Depending on what size camera you have will be a big determining factor. Are we talking action news camera, 8mm camera, or small palm camera!

 

[MagEpcDisAni Voyager]

I have a small camcorder I carry around in a small bag. many rides I put it to my side and on rides like Rock N Rollercoaster, I put it at my feet and wrap the bag around my legs.

 

[daannzzz]

I bring mine each day including the camera bag. It can be a bit of a hassle on a couple rides and at restaurants. But having the camera bag has been great to carry ibuprofen, water bottle and snacks. You'd be surprised how many souveniers can fit in a camera bag.
There are some incredible shots that I have gotten on the spur of the moment because I almost always have my camera out and ready.

 

[2MuchOhana]

I vote for the fact that it more of a hassle. We brought it on our first trip and barely used it. With that in mind plan to use the video feature on our digital camera. We will make sure to bring extra memory cards with us! Seems like the best of both worlds to me!

Jodi

 

[ccgegg]

We videotaped a lot of stuff..... rides, shows, etc. And our DD watches that videotape more than ANY Disney movie we own.

 

[jenr812]

Thanks so much for all the replies so far!

I have a JVC VHS-C, so not huge but not terribly small either. I also have the Kodak DX7590 Digital Camera, which is an INCREDIBLE digital camera. It takes video clips with sound, but there isn't any zoom on the video part (you can zoom in before you start filming but once you start, that is where it stays) and it would eat lots of memory. I have a 512 mb card and plan to get another, but I am a picture taking freak and I know it won't take long to fill it. Heck, I just about filled it on Christmas(when I got it!). I am going to pick up another card but still... I guessI want the best of both worlds, have my cake and eat it too LOL


Anyway, thanks for the input. Any advice on keeping it dry/safe?

 

[Idahomom]

We took ours everywhere. My dh even had it out videotaping on Splash Mt even while going down the big drop! No problems. While we weren't using it we kept it in a backpack.

 

[BostonRob]

I just got a good deal on a Panasonic GS120, which is a nice small mini DV, to replace our older, bigger camcorder, specifically to take to Disney with us. I plan to tape a lot, I hope to edit the best footage down to a 1 hour DVD for us to enjoy and for all the grandparents (who are pretty jealous that they won't get to witness their princess's first trip to Disney.) I got a reasonably sized padded camera bag which will double as my wife's pocketbook, so we'll take that with us everywhere.

I'd certainly appreciate any tips others have on this subject, whether it be related to the camcorder itself, or good stuff to film, or whatever.

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

Good post, OP. We're bringing our Kodak Easyshare DX4530 digital camera which can also take video -- and just ordered an additional 512MB SD memory card + 2 batteries. Alternative would be our really big camcorder (7 years old and not reliable), which would never leave the hotel.

Have never shot real video (just tested out 20 seconds here and there), so it'll be interesting to see if I can get Fantasmic and kids riding. It says that with a 256MB SD we can get approx. 16 min. of video. Ours also limits the optical zoom to before (but not during) video recording.

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

Oh, you also asked how to keep dry and safe.

Well my digital camera with video didn't come with a case, but my cheapy regular camera case fits it, so that's what I'm going to use. I'll be wearing one of my children's school backpacks (smaller than adult one and slings over one shoulder) and will put it snuggly inside with our other things. Want to travel light through parks.

 

[dpuck1998]

FYI for those of you talking about taking video with your digital cameras. You can only take short clips and the quality is no where near a digital video camera. I myself have both left the video camera behind and brought it. I now have a Canon Optura 30 for video, its small enough to bring with and I use it more and more each time I go. The first time I made a short DVD of the small amount of video I took and it was priceless. Last time I went I took more video and made an even better DVD to share with grandparetns and siblings. I taped the fireworks, parades, a few rides and character meetings...ohh and a cool MK haircut. I also take a ton of photos but the video is so much nicer when you want to relive all the fun!!