Camera question?????

[sgirardots]

We also have a Rebel and a Sony Cybershot. In the past I have taken the Rebel on many cruises and to Disney, but I am only taking the Sony on our trip in November. I just do not want to mess with a large camera bag and a couple of lenses. Yes, the rebel takes better pictures, but our Sony is small and has a 16x zoom.

 

[dawnn12]

I have a nikon d5000 and my dd has a p&s nikon also I have a kata cross body bag both cameras fit nicely(and extra room for the extra lens and on the strap there is a spot you can put your tickets/money) only times i had to take it off i put the strap around my leg. the bag comes with a waterproof covering. we did get caught in a very long down pour and i was worried a cm gave me a big plastic bag(one of the bags you get when you buy something) with the kata one and the disney one that was the only thing not wet on anyone of us hth and only time i didnt bring the cameras was to wp's (we did use photopass) i wouldnt go without both and next yr im adding a waterproof camera to it

 

[SrisonS]

I'd say to take both on the trip with you. Use the dslr most of the time, but keep the Sony as a backup (hopefully nothing happens to your Canon though). As far as rides are concerned, you can just strap the camera around you. It most likely won't get in the way. And if you plan to go on something where you might think the camera will be a tight fit (Rock n Roller Coaster), I assume there will be someone with the stroller child, and they can watch it.

You might not even need a bag for it either. If you're big on picture taking, it'll be out most of the time anyway. If anything, just use a tiny bag for that extra lens.

Like photo-chick mentioned, maybe look into getting a comfortable strap too (I like my Crumpler Industry Disgrace). It'll definitely ease the burden.

 

[tndisneyfan]

I think the big expensive camera is easier to keep track of and not lose. I think the smller one would be more easily lost.

We usually take our Canon DSLR but we also bought a small Canon powershot. We plan to take the powershot most park days for snapshots and only take the DSLR for fireworks pictures and the days we were in the mood to take a lot of pictures.

 

[annacali]

I took my Canon Rebel on our trip 2 weeks ago, with only the kit lens. On the rougher rides, I just stuck it in my Bagallini messenger bag, but otherwise it was pretty much out around my neck. I didn't have any problems with it and I LOVED having it...the pictures were so much better than those with my point and shoot in years past. I still got photopass pics just so I could be in some pics (single mom with 2 young kids so without that, I am never in pitures!), and for the magic shots, but I loved having the Rebel there. Take it!

 

[mom2rtk]

Aren't gorgeous and visually interesting places like Disney the reason you have a DSLR?

It would drive me nuts to be in such a beautiful place full of amazing detail withOUT my DSLR.

 

[despina]

I use a small size back pack, its the kind you can roll up and pack in a suitcase and I can get on the rides with it and it so light and small on your back walking around the park or you can put in in the underneath the stroller with a blanket or something on top and it should be fine to park the stroller while on rides. I would want the Rebel, especially for night shots, fireworks, electric parades...

 

[pdmedic]

I have a Olympus dSLR that I carry when we go to the parks. As others have said one of the reason I got a dSLR was to take good pictures of family and things I want to remember and that includes our trips to Disney so I think the extra weight is worth it. If you look there is a photography section on the boards you may enjoy as well look down a ways.

 

[mom2rtk]

I use a small size back pack, its the kind you can roll up and pack in a suitcase and I can get on the rides with it and it so light and small on your back walking around the park or you can put in in the underneath the stroller with a blanket or something on top and it should be fine to park the stroller while on rides. I would want the Rebel, especially for night shots, fireworks, electric parades...

I hope you don't mean with the camera IN it. Never leave anything in your stroller, even under a blanket, that you aren't comfortable losing. My camera (and bag) has been on almost every ride at Disney.

 

[Wadecool]

You will be in one of the most target rich environments in the world for great pictures, and you're considering not taking your best camera? Does not compute.

 

[despina]

I hope you don't mean with the camera IN it. Never leave anything in your stroller, even under a blanket, that you aren't comfortable losing. My camera (and bag) has been on almost every ride at Disney.

NO NO not with camera in it..just saying if your wheeling the stroller around and eating with the stroller next to you, leave it under stroller so you wont like leave it at a table while eating ...for example...agree never leave something like that unattended

 

[MichelleXL]

I would definitely recommend bringing both cameras with you. I carry my DSLR and extra lenses around in a Lowepro backpack (they come in various sizes), and it's never given me any trouble on the rides.

The only "scare" that I've had with it was actually on Pirates of the Caribbean. My brother and I were sitting in the front row, and the first hill completely soaked us. I'm talking "Splash Mountain soaked." I've never had that happen before, and it drenched my backpack. Not the best way to find out if your camera bag is waterproof, haha! It was though, and the contents were completely fine.

 

[ducklovr]

We are taking our Nikon d90 on this trip. The P&S did not work well w/our fast little 3 y/0 DD.

 

[BigGreen73]

I am not a big fan of carrying a lot around during a WDW vacation. Always been that way, usually just carry around a P&S style camera and not much else. This is why I never got a DSLR.

But the last few trips, I found myself bringing and carrying around small shoulder bags and not really minding at all. Took them on pretty much all the rides with no issues.

I took the leap and purchased a Sony A55 in May of this year and love it. It takes better pictures and gives better creative control over what I want to do at a much faster frame rate. This will be going with me on my next WDW trip along w/ my Panasonic P&S.

It comes down to this..regret. I have heard too many say that they regret not bringing their DSLR. If you have it, bring it. If you don't and just bring your P&S, you will find many, many times saying to yourself that you should have brought it and you'll find situations where the DSLR would have done a better job.

My advice is practice with it. Not take pictures w/ it practice, I mean carry around practice. Try different bags, carry it around with the differennt lenses etc. See what works and what is most comfortable. I have spent days just carrying the camera around my neck at small events, at the coast etc with a bag over my shoulder for 4+ hours at a time. any you know what, I didn't really notice after awhile and I almost forgot it was there.

 

[basketlacey]

I asked this same question before one of our last trips because lugging that camera around gets heavy! I got some of the same great advice you have gotten here. The one that hit home with me was why have a great camera if you aren't going to use it. I bought my camera specifically to get great pics of my family and kids. WDW is one of the best places to take pictures.

Anyway, I loved the idea of having my camera with me and then deciding day to day whether or not I wanted to take it to the parks. For example, looks like rain? Maybe leave it in the hotel room. Quick trip over to ride a couple things - maybe the P&S is all you need. But parade time, character meals, etc, I definitely wanted the good camera and was really glad I had the option!

Good luck and have fun no matter what you decide!

 

[SarahJN]

I have a Nikon DSLR that goes just about everywhere with me. Yes, sometimes I feel like I have another child but I can't imagine not bringing it. I don't even own a P&S.

 

[Kevin_W]

I think the big expensive camera is easier to keep track of and not lose. I think the smller one would be more easily lost.

This is a good point. We lost our Canon Powershot somewhere between getting off the safari at AK and our hotel last trip...

which in turn led to us buying a DSLR. I'm glad to hear that so many people ahve good experiences taking one into the park. (We are still of stroller-age, so the extra weight to lug around isn't a big deal.)

I was disappointed to have taken ~500 pictures at the world and have maybe 4 come out there were of printable quality with the Powershot. Indoor pictures (1900 PF, Akershus, etc.) came out particularly badly.

 

[Ryansdad0727]

We take a big sony camera and a JVC HDD video camera in the same case. We take 90% of our pictures with the sony but my wife carries a small cannon camera incase we are at different places she can still take pictures. We want the video camera with us at all time so they are both in the same case. It's about 8" X 4" X 6" so its not huge.

 

[atp]

I also vote for taking the DSLR. That's what I did last year and it didn't bother me at all. I wore it around my neck pretty much the whole time, only put it in my purse when going on rougher rides. When I went on water rides, I either put my whole purse inside a plastic bag, or put the camera inside a plastic bag and then inside the purse. Never had a problem with it, didn't even feel like I was wearing it and I was ready to take pictures at a moment's notice.

The camera was always on, so I didn't have to wait for it to turn on like you have to with a regular camera and it's so much faster to take pictures with a DSLR. Battery lasts forever too, and it's not like I didn't use it a lot. I took over 3000 pictures over the course of 10 days. Not counting the bad ones I deleted.

For those reasons I would opt for the DSLR. You will get great pictures and not miss things due to the camera being slow. The only thing I wouldn't do on a daily basis is bring extra lenses. I would just go with a lens similar to the kit lens (18-55mm) that allows you to zoom in some, but also lets you take good landscape photos.

 

[disney_bob]

I always bring my DSLR along to parks... but I might not bring them every day. I would question my spending habits if I invested that much into a camera to catch memories but didn't use it to do that very thing.

My tip would be to stick with one lens.