Photographers, tell me about your "disney/travel" setup?

[todzwife]

What camera(s) do you bring? What bag do you use? What lens? Tripod? Other "accessories".

 

[silence]

Well, I have ANOTHER new camera. Just crazy, I know.

This trip, I will be bringing the following:

My video camera (Sony HD, LOVE IT)

My Canon 40d (not all days, but this is my NEW toy, so it is a MUST) though I will not be allowed to bring in my 300mm lens, kinda bummed about this.

My Canon SD (pocket sized) camera, the model escapes me at the moment. This will be with me every day.

My Canon S3. This will be with me on the days I don't lug around the 40d.

I do not use a tripod, I don't want to carry it around. I usually have one in my pocket, and one I am carrying in just a smaller camera bag. For Halloween Treat this year, I plan on bringing in my big camera bag. I will be trying out my external flash on the 40d.

 

[Disney_Villain]

You might want to read up on a problem that guests are having with Zoom lenses over 6" long and tripods/monopods that are too large to fit in a backpack - these are being branded "professional equipment" and not being permitted in the DL parks.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1966875

 

[civileng68]

As Villain said, my setup will be changing but here's my experience.

As you can see in my siggy, I take photos all the time in the parks.

However, I'm changing things voluntarily too.

Here's my typical setup:

Nikon D300
17-80 lense
20mm prime lense
70-200 VR lense
tripod

Camera backpack. I carry a large, camera setup backpack with all of these materials/tools. I then carry my tripod on the strap of my backpack by simply putting one of the handles on it around the bag strap.

My viewpoint/experience: Though I've done this probably 100 times, lately I've found it really takes away from my park experience. It's just too heavy and too much to lug around.

This next trip, I'll be taking ONLY my 17-80 lense with my D300 (the long lense is no longer allowed anyways). I'll still take my tripod most likely but i'm going to decrease the size of my bag and hopefully really be able to enjoy myself a bit more.

 

[NostalgicDad]

These are the bodies, lenses, and tripod I carry in my luggage for our trips to DL....

Nikon D300
Nikon D80
Nikon 70-200VR f/2.8
Nikon 70-300VR
Nikon 50 f/1.8
Sigma 18-50 f/2.8
Sigma 10-20
Manfrotto 3021 tripod w/ballhead


I'll typically decide on days/half days where I will shoot wide, short, or long. And, I'll decide which days of our trip I will dedicate some night shots with the tripod. And, believe it or not, but I will also dedicate time with no camera at all. So in other words, I try to keep some sort of agenda with regards to my shooting style in the parks. I used to carry a Lowepro Slingshot 200 but have recently used the Kata DR465 for toting things in the park. For my carry-on luggage, I use a Think Tank Airport Acceleration.

Now, with the "new rule" of not allowing long lenses in the park, my whole outlook is changing. First and foremost, Disney needs to make an official statement as to what the actual rule is. So far, it's been a random thing with some people getting stopped and others not and us on the forum having to speculate on what this all means. Leaving it up to security people to decide what is considered "pro" equipment and what is not is going to be a huge problem. I, for one, will not plan a trip to DL knowing that I may or may not be seriously inconvenienced every single time I go through bag check for several days on end. That will ruin my vacation for sure. That being said, WDW isn't experiencing this so maybe changing our family trips to there instead is the answer for us.

 

[todzwife]

Thanks!!

I've got the D90 coming w/ its kit lens (18-105 I think?) which was all I was planning to bring. I bought a gorillapod so I don't have to lug a tripod around but that said, I probably won't bring it the whole time because it's not exactly light.

 

[Phalene]

YMMV, but this was my experience from my Oct 7-12 trip.

I had rented a Nikon 70-200VR f/2.8 lens before the post referenced above talked about the new enforcement of professional equipment. When the lens came I measured it and it was 9 inches long! My inexpensive 70-200 lens has been tempermental lately, so I didn't want to rely on it so I decided to bring both of the lenses just so I would have something.

I carried the camera in a Tamrac sling bag, with the f/2.8 lens attached. It fit in the bag, lens down so the back of the camera was visible when the bag was opened. Security looked in the bag each time, usually pulling the bag wall away to look down to the bottom of the bag. They never asked me to take the camera out, and they never questioned me about the lens. I used the lens throughout the week and never had an issue.

I did make sure to have a back up plan, and would have put my other lens on if they made an issue of it (although I probably would have tried to point out that both lenses were 70-200mm to show them that just because one was longer than the other didn't mean it was a longer focal length) but for me it was a non-issue.

 

[perlster]

A report from another board:
The official policy, according to guest services, is that guests who are bringing in lenses six inches and longer will be questioned by security about their intentions in the park, and will most likely be asked to take the lens back to their car or hotel. So...the ban is still in effect as of 10/14/08, but it will be up to the discretion of the person at the bag check area. If your 70-300 lens is your favorite lens and it's the only one you brought and you are with your family or friends, they might let it slide, but it is up to them and the manner in which you answer their questions. If you give off the vibe that you are a professional photographer, they simply don't want you with your camera in the park. Period.