Camera help?!?

[momofboyz3]

Hi ~ boring question I know. Hoping to get feedback from @ least 1 person. Today I will be making my FINAL payment for our vaca late May! Been saving for many years for this. I can't afford a nice camera to take... But, I can buy some disposables I also just upgraded to an iPhone. It's myself & 3 kids so I'm the photographer (also very tech challenged). So I have heard not great things about disposables- but not sure about how great pic from my phone would develop? FEEDBACK anyone?

 

[kayemgi]

iPhones actually take great quality photos. You should have no problem using that as your only camera, especially if your only other option is a disposable! I would use the iPhone if I were in your position.

 

[Pixel Dust]

Definitely use your iPhone over a disposable. It will be much better quality. Play and experiment with the iPhone camera now, so you can get used to how it works. That way you will be faster when a precious moment pops up. Practice turning the phone on, then getting to the camera app, until you can do it in your sleep. Then play with some of the settings, like zooming in, or setting the flash to auto or off.

Also, you may want to think about battery life. Maybe bring a charger, just in case. We have a portable battery charger for our phones. It just makes it easier to charge on the go, and not have to wait by an outlet.

This is the charger we got, but they also make smaller capacity ones that may fit your budget better. It's USB based, so it can charge multiple devices.
http://www.amazon.com/New-Trent-iCruiser-IMP1000-Blackberry/dp/B003ZBZ64Q

 

[JessM]

Use the iphone they take great photos! We got some really nice shots when we took our last year

Disposibles do not take good photos at all, especially inside or at night. Its also quite a bit to get those developed and put on a digital CD (I think).

 

[momofboyz3]

THANK-YOU ALL! I Feel so much better with your advice!

 

[wiigirl]

iPhone...

 

[momofboyz3]

I do appreciate all the replies! I'm "old school" and can't imagine a phone taking such great pix.. But between everyone's input here & a friend who is a photo dept supervisor I'm going to buy the boys a disposable but use the iPhone for my photo taking!

 

[Dan Murphy]

The phone is a MUCH better choice. And far, far less costly as to getting the pictures printed. Plus you can take hundreds, if not thousands of shots with the phone.

Enjoy your well earned vacation and welcome to the dis.

 

[Comeundone87]

Let me just add that iphone pictures print wonderfully. Last year my camera died when we were at Busch Gardens and I was so upset that all my pictures were going to be on my iphone. Well I was very excited that they turned out great. Only draw back to the iphone is it doesn't do real good in low light but other than that it's great.

 

[tjmj9801]

I mistakenly admitted to DH the other day that my iPhone 5 was easier to take pictures with and share (shutterfly, FB, printing, etc) than taking pictures with our Nikon d5000. He then asked what we could get for our Nikon. iPhone picture quality has come a long way since the 3rd generation models and its super easy to print and share.

 

[FortForever]

I do appreciate all the replies! I'm "old school" and can't imagine a phone taking such great pix.. But between everyone's input here & a friend who is a photo dept supervisor I'm going to buy the boys a disposable but use the iPhone for my photo taking!

A friend took some close up pictures of snowflakes, that showed their unique shapes, with her iPhone. It was quite impressive.

As far as your boys go, you can get a cheap digital camera for under $20 for them to share and would enable them to take many more photos than a disposable. Then you could choose the best among them to print.

I've seen digital cameras in that price range at Walmart, Big Lots, and Amazon. Just another choice to consider for less money than buying them all disposables.

 

[BayGirl22]

I agree with not wasting money on disposable cameras. I'd pool up the money you'd spend on that and put it toward the prepurchase of photopass+, then get a family picture taken by every PP photographer you see. You could easily get hundreds of nice pics that way and have the digital rights.

If you have a new iPhone that will take good shots. Just practice so you are ready to use it. For reference, I am a hobbiest photographer and have a pretty nice (amateur) DSLR camera, lenses and other equipment. For Disney I don't bother bringing all that along, I rely on PP+ and iPhones for pictures. Much less to carry around and potentially lose or damage and the quality is fine for personal use.

 

[magicmike200]

I agree that the iPhone is a great camera. I'm an experienced photographer but I'll be leaving my Canon 5D Mark III home for our upcoming trip next week and will be using PhotoPass+, iPhone, and Panasonic ZS7 and ZS10 point and shoot cameras.

Just as another option to having only an iPhone, these are a couple of years old, but great cameras that will probably be a bit better than the iPhone. If nothing else, they will allow you to zoom in quite a bit.

You can try your luck on ebay to find one of these used for a very reasonable price.

 

[mm1971]

Hi ~ boring question I know. Hoping to get feedback from @ least 1 person. Today I will be making my FINAL payment for our vaca late May! Been saving for many years for this. I can't afford a nice camera to take... But, I can buy some disposables I also just upgraded to an iPhone. It's myself & 3 kids so I'm the photographer (also very tech challenged). So I have heard not great things about disposables- but not sure about how great pic from my phone would develop? FEEDBACK anyone?

I would just use your Iphone and the basic Photo Pass. Your iPhone camera is better than any disposable. I would also suggest using Photo Pass so you can get some pictures of everyone together. They'll give you a card when you take your first picture. You'll have to pay for the pictures you want, but it's a great way to get some nice group shots and you can control the cost by only gettign the pictures you want.

 

[WDW1979]

but not sure about how great pic from my phone would develop?

There are several smart phone apps that will help you adjust your photos after you take them (such as if the colors are undersaturated or too dark). There is a free app you can download that finds other free apps for you (new free apps each day) and I have downloaded several free photo apps this way. I'd tell you the name of that app, but a few years ago a board moderator docked me for posting the name of a service I liked in Orlando (I forget what it was) due to it being an "unauthorized advertisement". So I have stopped trying to help people by naming goods or services I found helpful while at Disney. But you can probably find the free app that finds other free apps by searching on "free apps" in the [brand name deleted] App Store.

 

[Tormania]

The only thing a disposable camera is good for is disposing of in the trash.

 

[momofboyz3]

Oh my gosh! I want to respond to EVERYONE! Thank you ALL for taking time to help me. Believe me I'm going to read & re-read your responses over & over. I will not invest in the disposable & consider the photo pass! I'm def confident in the iPhone now since everyone here seems to encourage that! Thank you ALL again!

 

[tjmj9801]

Oh my gosh! I want to respond to EVERYONE! Thank you ALL for taking time to help me. Believe me I'm going to read & re-read your responses over & over. I will not invest in the disposable & consider the photo pass! I'm def confident in the iPhone now since everyone here seems to encourage that! Thank you ALL again!

I would recommend getting an app to upload your pics to as a back up, and do it daily at least. If something happens to your iPhone (lost, water damage) your pictures will be on the website. I LOVE shutterfly. You can print to target or mail order the prints.

 

[momofboyz3]

I would recommend getting an app to upload your pics to as a back up, and do it daily at least. If something happens to your iPhone (lost, water damage) your pictures will be on the website. I LOVE shutterfly. You can print to target or mail order the prints.

Will do! Thanks ~ such a nonproductive day @ work for me!

 

[RustManFan]

and consider the cost if the Photopass vs. a less expensive point and shoot digital...