Just back from Disney - lens suggestions

scgalloways

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
12
I asked about lenses before I left and first let me say I am sooooooooooo glad I took my DSLR and not a point and shoot. Any female used to carrying a purse will do fine carrying a DSLR and bag in the parks. That said:

I brought my new shoulder bag (backpack is too much trouble to get in and out of quickly). I left my canon 20d and 30d at home and opted for my new Canon T2i as it's lighter and is said to work good in low light.

for my lenses I brought my canon 70-200 f4, the 17-55mm IS f3.5-5.6 kit lens, a 50mm f1.8, and a sigma 10-20mm uwa lens. Here are my suggestions:

At Magic Kingdom, I took 3 lenses the sigma, the canon 50mm and the 17-55 kit lens. The 17-55mm IS was all I needed for most of the day, it's fine for candids with the characters and on rides. Some rides required the 50mm f1.8 as it was too dark for anything else, I used this on It's a Small World, for shooting video with me t2i in the Haunted Mansion, etc... I also found the 50mm f1.8 and the 70-200mm f4 to be my best options at night for the light parade and fireworks and I was able to handhold for the fireworks!!

At Animal Kingdom the 70-200 f4 was indispensable and I captured some great pics of the animals with it. Only other lens I brought this day was the 17-55mm and it worked great for the candid shots.

At Epcot, I only brought the Sigma wide and the standard 17-55 mm, I later wished I had included the 50mm f1.8 again because of the low light but the IS on the 17-55 helped with getting like 1 out of every 3 shots sharp and with no blur. So if you go to to Epcot the wide angle is great because of the countries and how much you can squeeze in, but i'd also include a low light lens in that day.

At Hollywood Studios, I brought the 70-200 f4 and the 17-55 mm again. the 70-200 or a long lens is great at Hollywood studios because of the shows like Beauty and the Beast and Indiana Jones Stunt Show you get the performers really close up. Again I wish I had brought a low light lens like the 50mm f1.8 instead of the wide or standard. Many shows are indoors like Little Mermaid and the low light capability is a must.

I think the 50mm f1.8 or a like lens capable of low light is good for all 4 parks. The 70-200 or a long lens like this is a must for animal kingdom and offers great options at Hollywood Studios. The 17-55mm is fine at Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney unless you will be shooting at night then definitely include a low light lens. and lastly Epcot is best captured with a ultra wide angle and a low light lens for shooting at night.

that's just my two cents worth after my trip and can't wait to go again!
 
Thanks for the report, as a fellow Canon shooter I am glad of the info.

Hope we get to see some pictures also :woohoo:
 
Sounds similar to my recent trip and the lenses I took except I had the Tokina 12-24 f4.0 with me, which I wish I had used more than I did.

I love my 70-200 f4.0. It provides such crisp pictures.
 


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