Do I really NEED...

[ColleenG]

We leave for the World in 29 days! I have a 50 mm lens, but have been looking at some of the great shots Scott took with the 30 mm. Can I get by with my 50 or should I try to take along a 30 also? I'm really hoping to get some good dark ride and night shots. I'm wondering if the 50 mm will not be wide enough?

 

[C&B Young]

We were at WDW recently with a 50mm lens. We don't own a 30mm yet, but I wish we would've had one to take (especially after seeing so many of the nice wide shots others have posted on here!). I found that the 50 was a little too tight at times, especially for parades. If you've got the 30, I'd take it.

 

[WDWFigment]

Take it if you have it. If not, buy it if you can afford it.

 

[ColleenG]

Unfortunatly I don't have it, nor can I afford it. I'm going to call my local camera shop and see if they rent lenses. I just got the B&H catalog yesterday and was checking it out. Right now every extra penny is going towards our trip and for Christmas shopping. The kids don't really need any toys this year, Mommy does!

 

[Groucho]

I don't think that you need it if you alread have a reasonably fast 50. The extra width helps but it's certainly not critical. My first WDW trip with a DSLR, I used my 50mm F1.4 for about 49.5% of the few thousand shots that I took and was very, very happy with the results. Much of the appeal is just having a very fast, sharp prime lens.

Oh - and throw that B&H catalog right in the recycle bin, no good can come from flipping through that thing! I haven't even opened mine yet.......

 

[ColleenG]

I have the 50 mm f/1.8. I don't think we are going to be able to catch SpectroMagic on this trip the way our plans are working out . So I mostly want a fast lens for the dark rides and basic night shots around the parks. That is if the rest of the family will let me set up the tripod and the shot. They really need to get the shutter bug that I have. It would make my life a whole lot easier!

 

[WDWFigment]

Unfortunatly I don't have it, nor can I afford it. I'm going to call my local camera shop and see if they rent lenses. I just got the B&H catalog yesterday and was checking it out. Right now every extra penny is going towards our trip and for Christmas shopping. The kids don't really need any toys this year, Mommy does!

Save the money, just use the 50. I use the 50 more for Spectro than the 30, anyway.

 

[ColleenG]

Thanks for the input. I'll keep the 30 mm on my wish list for now.

 

[disneyboy2003]

The 30mm lens has been on my B&H wish list for over a year now.

On darker rides, I've been using the 50mm f/1.4 lens. You're right in that the lens may be too close for Spectromagic. However, it especially comes in handy on rides where the characters are just slightly further away (like It's a Small World, Pirates, Gran Fiesta Tour (in Mexico at Epcot), Snow White's Scary Adventures, Winnie the Pooh, Splash Mountain, etc).

Whenever I use my 50mm lens, there's always 1 particular spot where I always wish I had a 30mm lens instead. It's at the end of Haunted Mansion, right when the doors open to reveal the Hitchhiking Ghosts. I always feel like my 50mm lens brings me too close to them, and we pass them by so fast.

 

[Groucho]

Whenever I use my 50mm lens, there's always 1 particular spot where I always wish I had a 30mm lens instead. It's at the end of Haunted Mansion, right when the doors open to reveal the Hitchhiking Ghosts. I always feel like my 50mm lens brings me too close to them, and we pass them by so fast.

...true, but conversely, the 30mm is just too wide for a decent Madame Leota photo (much less Little Leota, just before the hitchhiking ghosts.) The solution, of course, is to go ride multiple times. Maybe once with an fast longer prime, like a 77mm F1.8 or 85mm F1.4 or F1.8.