Should I take my larger camera???

[CruznHunter]

I'm not a photographer but recently bought a nicer camera, probably with more features than I'll ever dream of using. I cannot imagine going to Disney without it because I LOVE pictures & it takes great ones - the problem is it's bigger than the average throw-it-in-your-purse camera (has a neck strap) & 2 lenses, a shorter for zoom & the longer 1 it came with, both of which I think I want to take & use. Does anyone have any ideas/tips about doing this? I'm not going on any water rides or large roller coasters, probably the fastest thing will be Thunder Mtn RR, but I am going with my young family, so I know it won't be that easy. I'm a little worried about hurting my camera or feeling limited on a ride, but I think others have done it with success. Thanks for any tips!

Me(35) DH(37) DS(8) DS(5)

 

[Scuttle]

It's so funny that you posted this, because we were just discussing this exact same thing!

We made the decision not to take it, but I am not 100% sure that I agree!! My second choice is a good little camera, but NOTHING compares to the pictures that comes out of the big camera.

If I take the big camera, it will be my burden to bear, but if it's not the camera, it's going to be all the other stuff right?!

HAHA, I think that I just convinced myself to take the big camera!

My only suggestion would be to buy one new lens that can do both the close up and the zoom. It's a bit of an expense, but you will lessen your load a little and protect your camera from damage from switching in between the different lenses while on vacation!

Good luck with your decision, and thanks for helping me to make mine!!

 

[Poohbear5]

I took both my DSLR and point and shoot on our 10 day trip. There were a few days when it was hot and I just did not want to deal with the bigger camera in the parks.

On days I took the DSLR, I ended up leaving on the 18-55mm lens. The only place I regretted not having the longer lens was at Animal Kingdom.

Now that I am more comfortable with the DSLR, I rarely use the point and shoot and my kids have claimed it as their own.

 

[3pletprincesses]

I would bring it because the pictures are much better. I love my DSLR but I too only bring my smaller lens.

 

[Wadecool]

It's funny that this thread came up because I've been debating purchasing a DSLR to replace our little "point & shoot". The little one is nice but when I'm trying to capture our DD3 doing something cute, it's feels kinda like I'm bird hunting when I'm having to "lead" her because of the delay. Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced DSLR? I have absolutely no idea what to look for.

 

[Big Kid]

My wife and I were wondering the same thing after getting tired of lugging our big camera around and then leaving it in the room on several days. I got a compact camera for our last trip but was disappointed in both the image quality and the slowness with which it focuses. I'm often trying to catch our three-year-old doing something cute, but by the time the compact camera focuses he's doing something less photogenic.

I saw a suggestion somewhere on these boards recently to get an adjustable, quick-release shoulder strap for larger cameras that will allow you to hang it over your shoulder instead of around your neck and still bring it up quickly to snap pictures. I found one at our local chain electronics store for 20 bucks that I think will do the trick.

We'll take both cameras with us on the next trip, but I'm thinking it will be worth it to me to haul the big one around most days. I probably wouldn't use a second lens unless I was going by myself and had time to play around with them without slowing the whole group down.

Have a great trip!

 

[Big Kid]

... Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced DSLR? I have absolutely no idea what to look for.

fwiw, we bought a Nikon D40 four years ago and have been really happy with it's ease of use and image quality. I have no idea about newer models though.

 

[mamaLori05]

We have a larger SLR camera and we brought it on our last trip. I didn't regret bringing it at all. It takes great pics and I ended up with some great shots of the kids. We just carried around our heavily padded camera bag. Sure it was large, but didn't slow us down at all. I used it quite a bit and was glad I had it.

 

[Poohbear5]

The Nikon D3000 is running about $500 on Amazon. My friend just got this camera and is pleased with it so far. This is her first one and she founds it pretty easy to use out of the box.

 

[AmandaNied]

My DH and I were just debating this earlier today

We took our larger camera on our last trip in April, and it wasn't too bad. I was impressed with the photo quality, but it seems like it got heavier over the course of the day.

We are going to take our little point-n-shoot camera this trip. I want to be hands free as much as possible, so I have a small cross-body bag and i'll slip my camera in there. It's a Fugi Fine Pix and takes decent photos- we bought it in Maui- when we had gotten there and realized the camera was on the kitchen table...at home.

After our last trip to DW, I have a bunch of great photos...but thought, geeze I spent a lot of time taking pictures. This time we are going to go and not worry so much about the photos, but more about the fun My point-and-shoot will be great for that!

 

[SarahJN]

I would take the DSLR. I have a pretty camera bag that doubles as a purse. It's big and bulky but it fits under the stroller. I don't own a P&S so my DSLR goes everywhere with me. Granted I'm a hobbyist photographer - I couldn't imagine going to Disney w/out it.

 

[rotlex]

Every trip, I say I will not lug the DSRL around again, and yet, I do. Why? I am just never, ever happy with the P&S shots. Especially anything having to do with movement.

I say bring it. You won't be sorry. Even the cheapest DSLR is going to get you better shots than the most expensive P&S. As far as lugging it around, while I usually bring more than one lens on the trip, I generally only take one to the parks. I wear a backpack anyway, so throwing the camera in there is no different than anything else.

 

[Wadecool]

Ok, so now I've convinced myself to purchase a DSLR in advance of our trip. I'm looking at the Nikon D3000 (entry level DSLR). Does anyone have any experience with this one?

 

[mamaLori05]

Ok, so now I've convinced myself to purchase a DSLR in advance of our trip. I'm looking at the Nikon D3000 (entry level DSLR). Does anyone have any experience with this one?

When we bought ours we were told that the Cannon's were better at taking pics of kids because they tend to move around more. They recommended Nikon if you were taking pics of things that sat still. Not sure if it is true or not, or how much of a difference it really is, but just what we were told by the camera shop. We bought a Cannon Rebel T1i and we absolutely love it!! Couldn't say enought good things about it.

 

[tricia]

When we bought ours we were told that the Cannon's were better at taking pics of kids because they tend to move around more. They recommended Nikon if you were taking pics of things that sat still. Not sure if it is true or not, or how much of a difference it really is, but just what we were told by the camera shop. We bought a Cannon Rebel T1i and we absolutely love it!! Couldn't say enought good things about it.

I have a Canon and my dad has a Nikon, and I do somewhat agree with this, although for different reasons. I find that the Canon handles reds and yellows better, and thus makes it better for people photos as those are warm skin tone colors. We find the Nikon handles blues and greens better, so is better for landscapes etc. I don't think you can go wrong with either as both Canon and Nikon are great camera makers.

 

[tricia]

Also, the decision to take the DSLR into the parks or not depends on how much you want to carry of course. When the kids were younger I never minded taking the big camera cause I was always lugging around a bunch of extra stuff for them, and prob. a stroller too. The last 2 trips I went on I ended up just stuffing DS's PnS into the cargo pocket of my jeans, cause we went into the parks carrying nothing but stuff that would fit in our pockets and 2 water bottle straps.

 

[BuffaloJason]

I've been wrestling with the same question relative to my upcoming trip (next week, woo hoo!) with DW and DD (2). I've decided to bring both my DSLR (a Canon T1i which I would highly, highly recommend as a great "upper entry level" SLR) and a Nikon Coolpix P&S. I be bringing my big padded camera bag with extra lenses etc along on the trip but I picked up one of these compact over the shoulder type cases to bring into the parks on days I carry my DSLR: (Amazon: Opteka-Camera-Holster-Adjustable-Shoulder/dp/B000MISEI0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1295548347&sr=8-2)
I haven't used it yet but it looks very convenient. If it becomes too much of a hassle, the SLR will sit in the room and the P&S will go in my pocket.

 

[3pletprincesses]

we have a Canon Rebel T2i that we bought this past x-mas to replace our Rebel XSi. We love both DSLR except the T2i can record too, which is the reason why we got it

 

[SarahJN]

Ok, so now I've convinced myself to purchase a DSLR in advance of our trip. I'm looking at the Nikon D3000 (entry level DSLR). Does anyone have any experience with this one?

Okay, both Nikons and Canons are excellent cameras. You will not go wrong with either one. The person at the camera store who said that Canons were better for moving kids really didn't know what he/she was talking about. I have 3 3 year olds and a 4 year old Nikon and moving kids are not an issue. All entry level cameras will be able to give you fast shutter speeds.

The Nikon D3000 is a good entry level camera. If you become serious about photography, you will find some limitations with it. There is no auto focus motor in the body, so you have to purchase lenses with the auto focus motor built in. This will limit your lens selection. If you plan to just use the kit lens(es) and keep the camera on auto, you won't know the difference.

 

[dizneechic]

We just returned yesterday and brought our Nikon D90 with the 18-200 VR lens as well as our Lumix ZS3 P&S. I couldn't imaging doing Disney without the DSLR, while our P&S is a fabulous camera there are limitations and the DSLR just produces much better images. You also have way more control and features using a DSLR, provided you step out of auto mode and practice a little before hand.

I have a sling bag for mine that went over one side which held both cameras and then my park bag is another sling style that went across my other shoulder so I looked like I had a big X on my chest with both bag straps. I had to do this though to balance the weight, otherwise my back and neck would hurt from carrying around the larger camera & lens. The only day we ended up bringing only the P&S was when it was torrential rain and I knew I wouldn't be pulling the DSLR out anyway. I wished I had it at one point, but made due.