Debating whether or not to take camera. Your opionions please!

[jackirkh]

Long time reader, WDW fan and first time poster. Haha

My girlfriend, her sister and myself are visiting Disney in May. We are debating on taking our camera or not. Its a Canon Rebel T2i and my GF uses it as a hobby and also to make a little extra cash sometimes doing shoots, etc. We are worried that taking it will be more trouble than its worth (one more thing to carry around, one more thing to keep track of. Of course it would not be fun to missplace it!) Its quite bulky when being carried in the camera bag. We have a smaller standard pocketsized camera that would serve us perfectly well.

Also, considering myself not even a "camera amuteur" I would think that the humidity may harm the camera??

So the question is: Should we take the Canon and capture higher quality photos (with the added burden) or just settle with our lower quality camera (which wouldnt be a disaster if we lost it and of course is pocketsized)?

All experiences and opinions are welcomed and appreciated! Thanks!!

 

[JoShan1719]

I'd say if your not very concerned with picture quality, then leave the big bulky one at home and stick with your pocket sized cameras. If you're concerned about losing your pictures, I've heard of people changing the memory card out everyday, the idea being that you'd only lose one day of pictures as opposed to a whole trip's worth.

 

[DisneyStoryMania]

We Take a small camera and change and load pics to the computer when the cards are full, works great for us and My DW loves Disney scrap-booking so that works well for her to get the Disney bug out of her for a week or so...

 

[DaniB]

I didn't want to take my camera with us. I knew I would be the one to carry it around my neck all day. But I'm so glad I did!! I already knew it is better than my husband & daughter's camera, but didn't realize how much I would use it.

Heck, we came home with 8 GB of photos (not including the PP photos) for a 10-day trip. And there's still many shots I regret not taking!

Same scenario this trip... I hate the idea of the weight, but... I know I'll use it.

 

[sjs314]

I bought a new P&S camera specifically for my next trip, I got so tired of lugging around my bigger camera and bag my last trip where this one I can fit in my pocket or bag easily. I am a little concerned about picture quality not being as good or not having as much zoom but hey overall I feel I will be much happier.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I bring my little "purse camera" and leave my Rebel at home. I'm sure I could get some gorgeous pictures, but I find that I am more likely to just sit back and enjoy the vacation when I am just taking snapshots with the point and shoot. The memories come home either way.

ETA: We are also not one of those families that bring the kitchen sink into the park. I carry the smallest bag I can , and DH and DD carry nothing. I wouldn't carry a bag at all if I didn't have some medical supplies.

 

[CathieArms]

Long time reader, WDW fan and first time poster. Haha

My girlfriend, her sister and myself are visiting Disney in May. We are debating on taking our camera or not. Its a Canon Rebel T2i and my GF uses it as a hobby and also to make a little extra cash sometimes doing shoots, etc. We are worried that taking it will be more trouble than its worth (one more thing to carry around, one more thing to keep track of. Of course it would not be fun to missplace it!) Its quite bulky when being carried in the camera bag. We have a smaller standard pocketsized camera that would serve us perfectly well.

Also, considering myself not even a "camera amuteur" I would think that the humidity may harm the camera??

So the question is: Should we take the Canon and capture higher quality photos (with the added burden) or just settle with our lower quality camera (which wouldnt be a disaster if we lost it and of course is pocketsized)?

All experiences and opinions are welcomed and appreciated! Thanks!!

Yes and no. That is to say that you should take both cameras. Take the pocket camera with you to the parks, but bring out the big camera for other photo possibilities.

I'll take my pocket camera to the parks, but there will be several days that we're only going out to dinner or whatnot, and then I'll take the big camera. Or, for not shots that I know I won't be able to do justice on the little camera.

 

[martyshoney]

I, too, am in the same boat as her, I have 2 nice cameras that I do shoot with for a little extra money from time to time. I brought one of them with me 4 years ago and after the first day I was sooo thankful that my parents were with us and they had their point and shoot with them, it was just entirely too heavy to lug around all those days. Also, to me that is a LOT of "money" to lose, you just never know! It is hard to use a point and shoot after using those nicer cameras but you will enjoy your vacation more w/o that worry!

 

[Ratatosk]

Our trip a couple years ago I took along our bigger camera, carried a messenger bag into the park with meds for DS, extra clothes for him -- health issues at that time made him hurl at inopportune times, water bottle, my purse and with the bag check and extra weight it got a little tiresome.

So in February, I took along a ps nikon coolpix camera -- which hooked onto my beltloop and wore cargo shorts with pockets for a small wallet, hand wipes and a small pill container. Best decision ever! We also did photopass.

 

[ZoZo]

I bring my nice little Canon point-and-shoot. I'm not that into taking pictures, so can't imagine dragging around a really good quality camera with me, but I know lots of folks do! Remember that you're going to be bringing your camera with you onto rides - if you're at all worried about it, I wouldn't do it.
Mine easily fits into a pocket or a small purse. It's all I need!

 

[ppjluvsdvc]

I am one that is torn with this question too. I love the quality of the pictures you get with the nicer camera but hate having to carry it around all day. I bought a new small sony p&s and it actually takes great pictures too. The best thing is to just use the small camera. The another big advantage is you don't have to go through bag search and can get into the parks faster.

 

[BitofSugar]

I'd bring both, but that's because I rather shoot in RAW format. I bought an Olympus EP-1 for my Tokyo DL trip and it was perfect - it's a little heavier than my point and shoot (Samsung NV7), but the pics are sooooo much crisper. If that's not an option, maybe you can bring the Canon on the first day you're at each park and bring the point and shoot on subsequent days.

 

[Ninnygunk]

I wish I could just take a small camera! It would be so much easier than my Rebel. I am unfortunately a complete photo snob & want that "Magic shot". I also have 2 little boys who can move quicker than a bolt of lightening & missed a lot of shots with a small camera. Yeah - it's definately bulky & sometimes a hassel to lug around, however, once I'm home looking at my photos I'm so glad I took it. I've actually had dreams that we got to WDW & forgot it! I'm such a nerd...........

 

[momH2the4th]

Took my Canon 50D last year and am so glad I did! I also had my Panasonic LUMIX for the days I didn't feel the need to take the Canon. Having both worked great for me. Yes, the Canon 50D is heavy at times, but I didn't have to worry about missing any shots that I always seemed to miss with the P&S. I loved having it with me. I carried it in my Baggallini sling bag and it took away some of the bulk of my camera bag.

 

[Sorcerer's Dad]

I used to take a larger Canon camera but now really like taking a small - pocket size - Canon SD960 camera to use. It does have a lot of customization available, and the small camera is just so much more convenient. I give up 10X optical zoom for 4X, but that's about it.

 

[Wadecool]

Long time reader, WDW fan and first time poster. Haha

My girlfriend, her sister and myself are visiting Disney in May. We are debating on taking our camera or not. Its a Canon Rebel T2i and my GF uses it as a hobby and also to make a little extra cash sometimes doing shoots, etc. We are worried that taking it will be more trouble than its worth (one more thing to carry around, one more thing to keep track of. Of course it would not be fun to missplace it!) Its quite bulky when being carried in the camera bag. We have a smaller standard pocketsized camera that would serve us perfectly well.

Also, considering myself not even a "camera amuteur" I would think that the humidity may harm the camera??

So the question is: Should we take the Canon and capture higher quality
photos (with the added burden) or just settle with our lower quality camera
(which wouldnt be a disaster if we lost it and of course is pocketsized)?

All experiences and opinions are welcomed and appreciated! Thanks!!

The backpacker in me hates to lug the extra weight of my Nikon DSLR, but the photo bug in me can't imagine a better place than WDW to have it. In the end, I'd rather get a bunch of quality shots with my Nikon and just deal with a
sore neck from carrying it all day.

 

[bearlyanne]

My xsi goes around my neck with a basic lens attached. I carry an extra SD card and battery in a ziploc bag. And I carry a larger ziploc folded up in my pocket to put the camera in case it rains or for wet rides.

I tried one day at the park with just a p&s and I was miserable. It became evident that I need the speed of a good camera, especially since I am mostly shooting my daughter and interactions with charcters.

I leave all the other gear behind....except for one night where I bring in a gorillapod and remote for Wishes and one morning where I take my telephoto to the Animal kingdom for the safari.

(carrying the camera all day is not that bad; the only downside is that I ended up with a camera strap tan line!)

 

[lsenquiz]

If you preorder a photopass ID you can get all the pictures that are taken by disney cast for $99.00 on a disk at the end of the trip. The cost is usually $149.00 so it is a huge saving to order it before your trip(must be ordered before your first day). I find that I can take my small camera as long as I take advantage of the PP. Last trip I came home with over 300 pictures taken by Disney cast.

 

[Lumiere Lover]

Take the smaller camera with you. You will always be able to look at pictures that the Cast Members take for you.

Enjoy!!

 

[MichaelColey]

We stopped taking our camera to the parks several trips ago and now just use our iPhone 4's. The picture quality has improved considerably (nowhere near DSLR quality, but perfectly acceptable for vacation photos and even blowing up to an 8x10). The nice thing is that I can easily have the best pictures online on Facebook the same day.

Here's one (shrunk down to 1/10th size for the forum) that was four separate iPhone pictures, stitched together into a panoramic with the Autostitch app:

Here's one (shrunk down to 640x480 for the forum) of my daughter in front of her favorite ride:



We always get the PhotoCD (usually through a photo share for about $25), and there are always good shots on that as well.

One big exception I'm going to make, though. On our next trip, we'll be staying at Animal Kingdom Villas in a Savannah View suite. I'll DEFINITELY be taking my camera for that.