should I bring my digital SLR?

[SandrA9810]

Try being a photopass photographer with a nikon d70 strapped around your neck... that's way heavier in comparison, and every day of the year. I always loved picking up a D40 because it was so light.

point and shoots are just never enough. the delay is horrible. Especially with characters, the cuter moment always happens just after you thought the cutest moment ever happened.

For our engagment at wilderness lodge a co-worker let me borrow her nikon d40 and I had a blast with it. I never stopped wearing it. Pics of everything in that hotel. And if you've got a pool view, well you could even catch a bit of the electrical water pagent from your room.

Just try to buy a really comfortable neck strap. We were issued a neoprene one and those are a lot better than the ones that come with the camera. Of course you'll see some photographers with a back harness... it's alright but gets it in the way when you need to pick the camera up fast.

And don't bother with a lot of lenses an 18-135 or similar lense should work just fine for anything at Disney... if you use an 18-55 you're really limiting yourself to some great shots.

 

[SandrA9810]

And no matter what, bring a memory card that's like 2gigs at the least. Just incase you forget to offload your pics at night. And you'd be surprised at how many shots you can get in a day...
And bring the charger with you every where. Or spare batteries. But it's easy enough to find a seat at a CS next to an outlet. Guest relations will also allow you to leave your camera charging with them... but don't ask if they have any chargers because they don't. And photopass won't do it either. And the only batteries sold for digital cameras are a few kodaks.

 

[DawnM]

I have a Canon 40D, even bigger!

We took ours last trip, but we didn't take it to the parks every day. I decided that we would take it to each park once.

The rest of the trip was a smaller camera.

 

[SSWiand]

I would take the DSLR camera over the point and shoot no questions asked.

I have had far better luck getting the images that I was looking for with my Nikon D70. I know the weight can get a little annoying; however, the effort is well worth it when you review your images and they are sharp and crisp. I know my point and shoot camera is just too slow to capture moving rides and vehicles.

We are going again in August and no doubt my trusty SLR will be with me!!

 

[loydandmel]

We took our cannon DSLR all 4 days to the parks. Dh bought a maxpadetion bag that went across his shoulder and sat on his hip. The camera was within easy use. When it rained-everyday-the bag is water proof but we kept it under the poncho. He said the maxpadetion was a little straining on is shoulder by the end of the day. So this time he bought a crumpler backpack to carry it in. With nice wide straps. We took 700 pics when we got home we loved our pics so much we didn't buy the photopass

http://www.maxpedition.com/store/pc/catalog/0408g_2037_thumb.jpg

www.crumplerbags.com baby anchovy

 

[Manda]

I haven't taken mine for the last few trips, but I have carried my dSLR at Disney w/o problems. Of course, on one trip, my Mom did knock it off the table and Rose & Crown and broke my brand new lens that I'd only had for a few weeks (camera survived though). Thank goodness for American Express purchase protection! I was really glad I had an extra lens in the room, so I at least had a way to take pics for the rest of the trip.

So now, when I do bring it though, I also bring my tiny point and shoot and some days I take a camera hauling break and just leave with the little one. We usually take a mid-day break, so I switch out cameras at that point. I also just carry the camera in a top-loading, holster style case that is just big enough for camera plus one lens and I don't carry around extra anything. I bring extra lens, etc., but leave them in the hotel room and just bring what I need for that day to the park.

 

[karabeunso]

I've been debating this very same thing until I found the perfect camera case/backpack combo! I wanted to take my SLR but also need some room to carry my day-to-day necessities. They are the Lowepro Fastpack 100 and 200. I can't figure out how to post the picture, only a link. When I get home tonight, I'll monkey around with the boards to see if I can figure out how to do the picture thing.

Watch the video that is on the page with the bags so you can see how the whole thing "works". I love how you can open the camera portion from the side to just pull the camera out. I'm so excited to test it out at WDW here in just a few days!

Here is the smaller version:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YIYNOW?ie=UTF8&tag=kasbl00-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000YIYNOW"><img border="0" src="41GcsB3s4zL._SL160_.jpg"></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=kasbl00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000YIYNOW" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;


Here is the next size up:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YIYOJ6?ie=UTF8&tag=kasbl00-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B000YIYOJ6"><img border="0" src="4169-UYIAEL._SL160_.jpg"></a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=kasbl00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000YIYOJ6" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;

I decided on the 200 version just so I would have a little more room in the storage section on top. The 200 has plenty of room to grow for my camera supplies as I am a newbie to the SLR world. The bottom of the 100 version would have held my camera and accessories perfectly...I have a Canon Rebel Xti with the standard kit lens and and additional Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens so I didn't need a lot of camera storage room to begin with.

 

[lumpy08]

I would take it. I debated last year to take mine or not and I am so glad I did. I would invest in a bag that suits you. Here is what I got. I have a D50

http://www.tamrac.com/welcome.htm
I used the tamarac model #519. I loved this bag. I carry two lenses and the base. I also was able to put in the manual along with 8 cards and an extra battery. The part I love about this bag is that it goes across your body and you can adjust the strap. When you open the bag you can continue walking - take a picture and put the camera back in the bag without having to put the bag on something. Hope I am explaining it correctly. I believe you can also connect things to this bag with the Modular accessory system to suit your needs. I was going to get the water bottle attachment, but instead I bought one of those carabiner things from walmart for $1. (it is a metal thing that connects to your water bottle and has one of those clips on the ends like people use for rock climbing). I also got one of those HUGE ziplock bags and folded neatly and put inside for those wet rides or rain.

I had a HUGE bag before and now I take my camera everywhere.

 

[InLoveWithDOTS]

I would NOT go to Disney without my DSLR! Yeah, it's a little bulky, but I would rather put up with that and have GREAT pictures for YEARS to come than miss some great once-in-a-lifetime shots!