Do you still bring your nice camera even if you’ve purchased memory maker?

[StageTek]

I always bring my DSLR. Memory Maker cannot take the pictures I treasure the most.

I don't take it to the parks each day but I love the control a good camera with a great lens give me for special pictures.

WOW! mousehouse, that's one hell of a great picture!

 

[mousehouse23]

WOW! mousehouse, that's one hell of a great picture!

Thank you! It was a gorgeous day, so I just had to be patient and wait for it.

 

[Micca]

My nice camera is my phone.

Me too! My iPhone is the best camera I've ever owned and it always goes with me. When you start decreasing the amount of "stuff" you carry along on a WDW day you'll never go back. (Unless you add small children or folks who need various supplies.) Who wants to deal with the fear of damage or loss of expensive photo gear?

 

[jwolfpack]

I most often carry my DSLR with a 24-70 lens - it gets heavy, but the pictures I get are so much better than with my phone or those taken by Disney photogs. I’m very picky and love photography. Now that my kids are a little older (very few “firsts” for us anymore!) and we’ve been several times, I will probably give myself some “days off” from the DSLR on our next trip. At minimum, I’m going to use a lighter, smaller prime lens on some days.

We’ve also always had a stroller and a child under 40” who can’t ride everything, and I think both make a difference. Having the stroller basket to tuck the camera in at times is very convenient.

 

[Beprepared]

Photography is a hobby for me but I don't bring my dslr. I buy memory maker and stop everywhere I see a photographer. It's definitely a personal decision but for me, I love not lugging around my camera bag or worrying about my gear. I haven't regretted it yet!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

My iPhone takes good pics. I also get MM. Last trip my SO brought his big camera after i told him to leave it. I think he brought it to the park one day before he found it to be completely annoying and left it behind.

I used to bring a camera when the kids were little and we had a stroller. Pre good cameras on phones. Now i would never imagine bringing a camera. We go bagless!

 

[AcuraTL]

Couple of shots from my camera (not full resolution) one at Disneyworld and one at Disneyland. These were taken hand held without tripod.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I shoot video a lot with my DSLR and my iPhone too. And for when I REALLY want to get the shot, I have a cold shoe mount for my DSLR that holds my iPhone so I can film and take stills at the same time! I have a toddler who loves every character she meets so I'm in the capture it all phase of life still ;-)

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

I took my Nikon on my last trip with two lenses as we were staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge in Magnificent view room! I mostly just used it around the resort to capture the animals and the family. I can't remember if I ever brought it to the parks. I use my crappy cell phone and a fuji waterproof for candid shots. I've learned from years of lugging it around and living behind it to use it for a short period of time and put it away. Bring it, and don't always use it!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

It's very much a matter of personal taste and priorities. I love taking being creative with my photography in such a scenic place. I would be lost without my DSLR along. Others would be annoyed with carrying the camera along all day. The question is ...... which you will regret more? Taking it? Or leaving it home?

Believe in Holiday Magic by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Small World Holiday by mom2rtk, on Flickr

So Long Redhead! by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Drop Time! by mom2rtk, on Flickr

 

[BellaandMickey]

Yes, I still take my DSLR. I like memory maker because we can get all the ride photos and family shots without anyone missing. But I still love taking pics myself. I don’t want to be “stuck” with only pictures where we can find a photographer. I also still take some pictures with my iPhone. We also have a water proof camera that we use. And the kids have cameras that they like to use. And we have a video camera and Go-Pros that we use too. What can I say, we are a family of photographers. We have a device for any situation

 

[gatorlisa]

I love photography and take my DSLR everywhere with most of my vacations. Disney is where I pretty much leave it behind. I drive to Disney, so I do normally take it with me to Orlando, but very rarely use it. I go to Disney primarily for rides and attractions and much prefer packing light and taking just a small bag into the park. I used to take a small point and shoot but in recent trips I find my iPhone to be sufficient.

 

[NickC]

We do Memory Maker every time, but there are so many great spontaneous moments that happen each trip. My phone is so convenient....it’s always right there in my pocket, ready to capture those candid moments. We used to bring a digital camera (not dslr) and a video camera, but rarely used them. In fact, the only reason we would use them is that we felt obligated after lugging them around all week.
Of course, if I could take pictures as well as the ones in this thread, I would bring a DSLR everywhere I went.

 

[DizneyMommy]

It’s been a while since we were at WDW, but at DL the photopass photos I get from photographers are so bad, like you would laugh bad, and bad quality. I stopped bothering because I found that if I handed them my iPhone I got better quality at least. I can’t hand over my camera because I keep it in full manual mode (and I probably wouldn’t be brave enough to do that anyways!)

 

[seshat0120]

I always take my DSLR with me in addition to having Memory Maker. Most times I use my 18-55 mm lens but when I go to Animal Kingdom I bring the 55-300 mm lens to use on the safari. For me, photography is a part of my vacation.

Here are a few shots from my camera. The one taken at Illuminations was handheld without a tripod.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

I just bought an iPhone X for the better camera, so that I don’t need to take my big camera to the parks every day. I hope to avoid taking a bag most days, which is at the root of my decision. However, I will still take my big camera from time to time, and certainly whenever I am bringing a bag.

I would rather not use it than regret not having it, and I’m also aware from what Craig said in the podcast, that the Photopass photographers will have varying levels of skill. My in laws went to WDW a couple of years ago and I had to do a lot of editing of their Photopass photos to get them looking good. I think Photopass has its place, and I definitely intend to use it, but I suspect that anyone who is into photography in the slightest will want to take some photos themselves.

Get the Camera+ app for your iPhone 8. I took my DSLR two trips ago, and used that app for my most recent trip, and I swear I got nicer landscape photos this time around. Portraits are solid, too. It has a focus and exposure feature that really help. The downside is the zoom, low light, and action shots.

Honestly, though? It was a huge relief not carrying the big, bulky DSLR this time around. And I didn't feel like I was slowing up my family as much, either.

ETA Camera+ photo (though I substantially reduced the image size: there is a RAW capability with this app):

This app looks great! Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[mousehouse23]

It's very much a matter of personal taste and priorities. I love taking being creative with my photography in such a scenic place. I would be lost without my DSLR along. Others would be annoyed with carrying the camera along all day. The question is ...... which you will regret more? Taking it? Or leaving it home?

Believe in Holiday Magic by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Small World Holiday by mom2rtk, on Flickr

So Long Redhead! by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Drop Time! by mom2rtk, on Flickr

All of these are fantastic, but I'm especially amazed by that Splash Mountain shot! Wonderful capture.

 

[chris benton]

If you have a decent phone cam, the Fla sun will help you out a lot with great shots. If you are concerned about NIGHT shots, that's a different story.
I'm no pro*, but I have a Note 5 or 6, and it did pretty darn well.

* I know the words aperture and vignetting!

 

[DizneyMommy]

Is there a thread or blog somewhere with ideas for spots to get some of these awesome shots you guys are sharing?

 

[Betty Rohrer]

im trying to decide if I need my dslr since we have memory maker or my phone is good enough. Are big cameras just in the way? Will I get annoyed by lugging it out of my book bag? I’m really thinking out loud on this. Lol. So do people bring their real cameras or just phone it?

I bring a small point and shoot camera beside my phone as there a few characters that do not have photographers. I use phone for internet, FPs, while in park so I don't want to use battery of phone for photos. I do not bring a dslr or anything big