First time to WDW

crasher11

Off to never never land
Joined
Mar 25, 2005
Messages
266
We are headed to WDW in 14 days for our very first visit, have a canon XSI and only 2 lenses( 18-55 and a 75-300) would you suggest taking both to the parks? I have not a clue what would be better just getting into Photagraphy.. Appreciate your suggestions..

Thanks
Scott
 
I would bring both. If you can spare around $100, I suggest picking up the 50mm f/1.8 as well.
 

Good suggestions all around. If you use your zoom inside for shows, you will lose some low light speed, so I'd suggest shooting in RAW so you can work out the lighting and WB issues post-processing.
 
so I'd suggest shooting in RAW so you can work out the lighting and WB issues post-processing.

Agreed about RAW. But don't be intimidated by it. I know Raw can be intimidating, but as a Canon user I found the Canon Zoom Browser software to be invaluable to me. Yes, I do my post processing in PSE6, but as or a viewer and organizer I like the ease of the Canon software. RAW is much more forgiving then JPG. If you have the ability to offload your images daily to a laptop or other storage device, I would definitely go RAW. However, if you have space limitations you may need to shot JPG.

I would bring both lenses. A pp mentioned a nifty fifty. I have one, some days I use some days I don't. It all depends on the situation for me.

A lot of what you will carry (particularly when you own more lenses) depends on your personal photography style. Some days, I will put a lens on a body and take nothing else (except for CF, and batteries) . It forces me to think out my shots due to the limitations of the lens I chose.

Also, since you mention just getting into photography, two other suggestions.
1. Don't be afraid to use your flash. Even if it is in daylight.
2. Play with your camera. When standing in a line or sitting taking a rest, play with the settings. Take the camera off auto and play. Joy of digital, there is a delete option.
 
If this is your first time at Disney and you are not a die hard photographer, my suggestion is to first have a great time. I believe you may be visually overcome with the coolness of the place. Take all the family shots you can and look for the kodak picture spots.

I would not worry about gatting ghosts in the haunted mansion. Leave that for us photogeeks. Take more time to take it all in! You will have a great excuse to come back for the shots you miss. Your zoom will be used best at the Safari at the Animal Kingdom.

Once again, take it all in. The pictures will follow naturally.
 
Thanks everyone, I plan on taking a laptop and two 4g cards, just started shooting in RAW so way far away from understanding the whole concept :eek:. I plan on enjoying the first trip but real excited about getting some nice pics. Being on the bottom of the learning curve, I know it will be a lot of auto shots and then when i have time waiting for attractions or the family to do other things I will play with all the settings and trash the bad ones later. LOL thank goodness for digital.

Again thanks for the help, I am sure I will be asking some more questions in the near future... plus sharing a few (Hopefully good) pictures when We get back.
 
Take both lenses to Orlando with you, but for most of the parks just take the 18-55 and leave the longer lens locked in your room safe. Take the longer lens to Animal Kingdom and use it on Kilamanjaro Safari to get pics of the animals.

Since you're new to photography, stick to the basics and keep it simple at first. Carry no extra lenses, but always carry extra memory cards and, if you have one, an extra battery. Don't bother to shoot raw at this point; just shoot jpg and look over your pics when you get the chance. Don't bother to look at every pic on the camera - that just sucks away battery life - instead, shoot as if you're shooting film and review your pics after you get back to your room at night. This forces you to concentrate on framing the shot in the viewfinder, and you don't waste time or miss follow-up shots by constantly chimping.

But the most important thing in getting good pics is to actually look through the viewfinder. Many people simply point and shoot, then chimp, and wonder why their pics don't come out. Look before you shoot; take the extra few seconds to really look at the scene through the viewfinder before snapping the pic, and you won't need to look at the pic afterward.

I bought my first SLR, a 35mm Canon Rebel G, in 1999, just before my 8th WDW trip (first solo trip). I had only one lens, a Sigma 28-80 that gave me exactly the same zoom range as your 18-55 gives you, and I used that lens through my entire trip and got the best pics I had ever gotten.

If you use the 18-55 as a walkaround lens through your trip, you'll probably come home with some fantastic pics.
 
have the 18-55...

remember that you are still starting on your adventure to the fascinating world of photography. keep the other part safe with you on your trip.

you can have them both so that you can have options. do not just stick on one.

have a nice trip! :banana:
 
I'd suggest adding to your memory card collection. Pick up an 8gb (you can find them easily for under $20). I know you plan on downloading each day, but if you have an exhausting day, you may not get to download.

I know your trip is soon, but if you have time, take some pictures around your neighborhood in both RAW and with the P button in JPEG to see how the camera will automatically select certain settings and then see how much you can improve in converting from RAW.

The software that comes with the XSi is a great free program for converting and manipulating RAW. It isn't that difficult to learn either, IMO.

But, I would get an 8gb card, another 4gb at least, just in case.
 
I'd suggest adding to your memory card collection. Pick up an 8gb (you can find them easily for under $20). I know you plan on downloading each day, but if you have an exhausting day, you may not get to download.

I had that happen once.

We were at Universal. At the end of the day I downloaded the picutures to my laptop but did not delete them. I was going to reformat the card in the camera. Halfway through the next day the card was full and I did not have a spare. I had to manually delete a bunch of pictures before I could take any more pictures.
 












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