Taking DSLRs into the Parks

[starrysky]

I am also planning on taking my DSLR to the world for the first time but as this will be our third time I am only going to take it on the days we plan on seeing the fireworks and doing MNSSHP. I will also be taking my p+s as well as it takes good photos during the day but not so great at night or for fireworks even set to that setting. I have a traveler P+s and a Fuji fine pics DSLR.

Have a great honeymoon, we spent ours at the world and it was amazing, DH first trip too. Make sure you get the free congratulations buttons when you get to the park or at your hotel if onsite.

 

[matt1902]

What kind of DSLR do you have? (Not that it makes a difference - just being nosy)

I have a Canon 400D, lenses I have are a 70-300, 90mm macro and 18-55,

 

[matt1902]

...only going to take it on the days we plan on seeing the fireworks... .

Do you do this with or without a tripod?

If with... where do you put it when not using it?
If without... how do you keep it still?

Thanks

 

[starrysky]

Do you do this with or without a tripod?

If with... where do you put it when not using it?
If without... down do you keep it still?

Thanks

I was thinking of getting one of those small flexible gorilla pod type ones but to be honest anything extra just adds to more things to lug arround.

My camera has a really good anti shake function as well as the option to take more than one shot in rapid succession. I also use the grid function to line up shots this helps keep things straight as well as framing up shots better.

They only time i get blurry shots is at night with my P+S hence the taking of the DSLR this time.

 

[dixonsontour]

We have a canon 450D.

DH uses a tripod sometimes but we have DD's buggy to stick it in - no help to you.

 

[Disneymad]

I was thinking of getting one of those small flexible gorilla pod type ones but to be honest anything extra just adds to more things to lug arround.

I have got one of these and I think they're great. They work a treat and iirc is lighter than my camera with it's lens on. I will go home tonight and do a specialised test* to make sure I'm not mis-remembering though.




*This entails holding the camera in one hand, the Gorillapod in the other and then closing my eyes to 'weigh' them. I will then likely move my aforementioned hands up and down a lot as obviously that helps with the with highly technical process

 

[2Tiggies]

Do you do this with or without a tripod?

Wouldn't even bother without a tripod, unless you accept that they won't be what you would like. If you are critical of your own photos, as I suspect you would be, you may wish you had at least something.

The gorillapod may go into your backpack. Alternatively a collapsable monopod may be easier to stash away when not in use.

 

[Disneymad]

The gorillapod may go into your backpack. Alternatively a collapsable monopod may be easier to stash away when not in use.

The nice thing about a Gorillapod is it's bendyness. If you want you can leave it straight or basically curl the legs up into a ball that's the size of, or very fractionally bigger than a large grapefruit.

 

[2Tiggies]

The nice thing about a Gorillapod is it's bendyness. If you want you can leave it straight or basically curl the legs up into a ball that's the size of, or very fractionally bigger than a large grapefruit.

Sounds brilliant. So you can wear it as a belt, use it as toddler reins and give the 'ball' to the kids to play with while waiting in line ..... pure genius!!

More seriously though, I have been looking at them for some time for the reasons you listed above. I have just never actually had some first hand reviews on it.

 

[Disneymad]

Sounds brilliant. So you can wear it as a belt, use it as toddler reins and give the 'ball' to the kids to play with while waiting in line ..... pure genius!!

More seriously though, I have been looking at them for some time for the reasons you listed above. I have just never actually had some first hand reviews on it.

It also makes for a great stress toy and the like. There's something deeply fascinating about being able to bend and twist and turn and straighten and bend and twist and turn all the little segments all the time

 

[2Tiggies]

It also makes for a great stress toy and the like. There's something deeply fascinating about being able to bend and twist and turn and straighten and bend and twist and turn all the little segments all the time

For us or the kids?

 

[Disneymad]

Yes

 

[matt1902]

Sounds brilliant. So you can wear it as a belt, use it as toddler reins and give the 'ball' to the kids to play with while waiting in line ..... pure genius!!

More seriously though, I have been looking at them for some time for the reasons you listed above. I have just never actually had some first hand reviews on it.

I have the full size gorillapod, it is fantastic, when I went to Egypt I wanted to take a picture of me and my fiance together, so I used the gorillapod to attach the camera to a nearby post!

 

[starrysky]

I have got one of these and I think they're great. They work a treat and iirc is lighter than my camera with it's lens on. I will go home tonight and do a specialised test* to make sure I'm not mis-remembering though.




*This entails holding the camera in one hand, the Gorillapod in the other and then closing my eyes to 'weigh' them. I will then likely move my aforementioned hands up and down a lot as obviously that helps with the with highly technical process

Thank you for your excellent technical review

I am seriously thinking about getting one as the reviews i have read all say how great they are. As i said though it just adds to the things to carry and DH and I prefer to take only the minimal needed for the day and that can fit in his cargo shorts. going bagless is so much easier if you can manage it.

 

[2Tiggies]

Thank you for your excellent technical review

I am seriously thinking about getting one as the reviews i have read all say how great they are. As i said though it just adds to the things to carry and DH and I prefer to take only the minimal needed for the day and that can fit in his cargo shorts. going bagless is so much easier if you can manage it.

Maybe you could persuade him to wrap it around his leg Of course you don't need to carry it every day. I would rather dedicate ONE fireworks night for photos, take a break at the resort that afternoon if possible and pick it up then. I suspect a gorillapod in a pocket may attract some unwanted attention from Disney security

 

[Disneymad]

Thank you for your excellent technical review

I am seriously thinking about getting one as the reviews i have read all say how great they are. As i said though it just adds to the things to carry and DH and I prefer to take only the minimal needed for the day and that can fit in his cargo shorts. going bagless is so much easier if you can manage it.

*dons white coat and nerdy spectacles*

And the results of my scientific analysis is in!

With eyes shut and arms waving I'd say that my little portable Gorilla pod was even less than half the weight of my Olympus 520 with it's 14-42mm lens attached.

Being the thorough professional that I am I then moved into stratospheric levels of research and pulled out my kitchen scales, dusted off the left over flour and actually did it properly because I was curious.

Camera+lens+strap = 898 g

For context, a full can of Pepsi = 358g

Lil Gorillapod = 244g

So yeah...it's very light!

Never to miss a challenge and because I'm a bit weird like that I also decide to act on this...

Maybe you could persuade him to wrap it around his leg

Ok, no, I'm not quite mad enough to wrap it around my leg. I did try to wear it on my arm like a rather fashionable forearm bangle thing - that didn't quite come off but if you've no objections to having a weird, cheap looking bobbly plastic thing stuck to you with a companion funny tan line, it's actually doable

On a more serious note, as the principle lugger of camera I totally hear you about the desire to travel light. Personally I found that I just got a bit cheesed off carrying a bag everywhere, even if it wasn't very heavy.

What I did last year is - aside from normal stuff like making sure I had it along when there was fireworks I wanted to catch etc - I tried to alternate trips out with it. As we always tend to pop back to the room in the afternoon anyhow then go back out for the evening, so if I knew I wanted to take the camera out at night, then I'd have the day portion camera free. And vice versa.

Seemed like a good compromise and plan to do similar this year.

 

[2Tiggies]

Disneymad, I see you use a mini gorillapod for your DSLR. There are different types though. Do you seriously need to have a rough idea of the weight of your camera with the lens to before buying one? Did you get a DSLR 'pod or just one of the mini ones? I want to use one with my camcorder which is one of the lightweight ones, similar to the Flip Mino. However I don't want to buy two separate tripods for this purpose. I assume the one that will take a DSLR will be find for the camcorder too, or am I wrong?

Also, I am curious as to whether you had to stake out spots really early to make sure you had somewhere to attach the 'pod with an unobstructed view of whichever show/parade you were shooting. As you can see, if you were getting commission for these little gadgets you would be quids in!

 

[Disneymad]

Disneymad, I see you use a mini gorillapod for your DSLR. There are different types though. Do you seriously need to have a rough idea of the weight of your camera with the lens to before buying one? Did you get a DSLR 'pod or just one of the mini ones? I want to use one with my camcorder which is one of the lightweight ones, similar to the Flip Mino. However I don't want to buy two separate tripods for this purpose. I assume the one that will take a DSLR will be find for the camcorder too, or am I wrong?

Also, I am curious as to whether you had to stake out spots really early to make sure you had somewhere to attach the 'pod with an unobstructed view of whichever show/parade you were shooting. As you can see, if you were getting commission for these little gadgets you would be quids in!

The one I got was the SLR-Zoom, Picstop sell it for £10 less than direct from Goby and they're on Quidco. Might be others cheaper now but I bought this a year ago and that was the cheapest I could find in stock at the time. It can hold up to 3kg though so pretty hefty.

As for the stake outs. Well last year was the first time I'd ever tried to photograph fireworks at Disney with either the 'pod or the camera as I'd always had a point n shoot before which couldn't cope.

The only time I really tried the fireworks was during the Xmas party. I got a spot outside Crystal Palace by the iron fence which what I thought was a great spot about 25 mins or beforehand without any problems at all...and it was, view wise - quite low on the horizon, looking up at the castle and sky, no people in front because it was a flower bed. What I learned when everyone rolled up 10 mins later was that people lean and move against the fence, and kids climb and bounce on it - so whilst it originally felt pretty solid, once the crowds turned up there was all sorts of vibrations going through. It wasn't too bad once the fireworks started but I'd definitely pick a different spot next time with a stone base or simply something without the big surface area.

I also tried some night time shots of the castle from the top of a trash can. Some can be a bit wobbly when you put some pressure on them though so it's worth putting it through a little field test beforehand before committing to making it a stake out spot.

I got some ok shots which were great compared to anything I've ever managed before but not anything super-fab - largely because I'm not so smartz and was quite inexperienced - not just with the camera itself, but with timing the shots which was harder to get 'just right' than I imagined, hehe. I'm looking forward to taking what I learned from last year though and am hopeful I can improve and get some proper 'keepers'.

 

[Disneymad]

Nyeh, it's one of the better ones I took but still not exactly David Bailey

However, gives you an example of where I was positioned - the 'pod legs were wrapped through the top of the iron wire garden fence. In my defense, as I say - I'd a) never taken firework pics of any kind before, let alone a DSLR and b) I actually don't believe in living life behind a lens. I wanted to watch the fireworks with my own eyes therefore I did just that - the camera was about waist height and I er, very professionally just hit the shutter while standing there, aside from when I positioned it beforehand, I didn't look through the view finder at any point.

It could be said that my techniques are a little slap dash

 

[2Tiggies]

Now everyone is going to have different compliments and criticisms depending what appeals to them, but I love the smoky, streaking effect across the sky with the one clear burst of light. I really like this picture. I have been called 'strange' on more than one occasion, lol, but you have to be fair and let my opinion count: I like it!!

I was thinking about the wobbly factor (specifically with the trashcan as a solid surface). I was looking at shutter remote controls. They are relatively inexpensive. In fact, they are really in the small change category if you just want something basic to do the trick and avoid unnecessary handling of the camera in low light.