Taking personal photos and videos while in the World...how do you do it?

[scrappinannie]

Hi, all! Looking for some tips and tricks to getting both still photos and video during our upcoming trip to the World. My husband isn't much of a camera guy so it's usually me who's documenting our travels. That being said, how do I handle doing both pic and video? Should I take 2 seperate cameras or just go with one (the one camera is far superior in both depts) I've also seen a lot of videos taken while in or on the rides. Does Disney allow for this? For some reason I thought you couldn't??? Maybe I am thinking of another park......

Anyways, for water rides, do have a water proof camera case or do you just plastic baggie it?? Any tips and tricks you have would help me out immensely! DH may have to become a "camera guy" after all! Thank you!

 

[MEK]

If it was me, I would go with one camera. I'm not big on video, but I really enjoy my photographs since it allows me to go back and see details and scenery.

You can also video with your phone.

As far as rides - no you probably aren't supposed to video, but its very easy to conceal a phone or small camera for videotaping. I don't think I would blatantly video something. There are also specific instructions at the start of every ride regarding photos/flash/video.

Consider using photopass for your next trip. Even if you don't order the photo pass you can ask the photographer to take pictures with your camera. Get a photo pass card at the first photographer and bring that with you every day. Then ask the photographer to take a pic with your camera. Photopass is a lot of fun and its a great way to get pictures of your entire group at once.

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

I like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004FLL5BI

Waterproof HD camera for video and stills. Shoots 1080p and 720p at 60 fps. Same size as a small cell phone.

Video quality is not as good as a full sized cam obviously, but it is very good for the size and good if capturing memories is your priority. It takes up so little room it is easy to include in your "arsenal."

I like using cameras and cell phone as well. Those get baggied on water rides.

 

[havoc315]

I don't take a ton of video, but certainly don't feel the need to take both simultaneously. And in a snap, most smart phones can take very good video.
On rides.. I've never tried taking video. Taking photographs alone can be very challenging on rides (though I do enjoy the challenge).

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

As far as rides - no you probably aren't supposed to video, but its very easy to conceal a phone or small camera for videotaping. I don't think I would blatantly video something. There are also specific instructions at the start of every ride regarding photos/flash/video.

There's no need to sneak a camera into an attraction. Photos and videos are either permitted or they aren't. As you said, there are specific instructions at the start of every attraction regarding photos, videos, flashes, and external video lighting.

I'm very blatent about taking photos on rides because I only do so when I haven't been asked not to. In cases where they say "no photographs or video taping," I don't. If they ask for no flash photography, I turn off the flash. I have photos and videos from many rides and have never had a cast member indicate I'm doing something wrong. I've even taken shots on rides like Big Thunder Mountain and Everest with a DSLR. You can get some great pictures from the top of Dumbo or Astro Orbiter. One of the favorite things I videotape every trip is going down the water slide at whatever resort we're visiting. The rule of thump is to make sure you're following the rules and that you're not infringing on anyone else's enjoyment of the ride.

 

[photo_chick]

Hi, all! Looking for some tips and tricks to getting both still photos and video during our upcoming trip to the World. My husband isn't much of a camera guy so it's usually me who's documenting our travels. That being said, how do I handle doing both pic and video? Should I take 2 seperate cameras or just go with one (the one camera is far superior in both depts) I've also seen a lot of videos taken while in or on the rides. Does Disney allow for this? For some reason I thought you couldn't??? Maybe I am thinking of another park......

Anyways, for water rides, do have a water proof camera case or do you just plastic baggie it?? Any tips and tricks you have would help me out immensely! DH may have to become a "camera guy" after all! Thank you!

I go with the plastic bag approach on water rides and in the rain.

As far as pics or video... I do stills and DH is the video guy so we have separate cameras. He doesn't let me take any video... something about it looking too much like the Blair Witch Project.

 

[scrappinannie]

I don't take a ton of video, but certainly don't feel the need to take both simultaneously. And in a snap, most smart phones can take very good video.
On rides.. I've never tried taking video. Taking photographs alone can be very challenging on rides (though I do enjoy the challenge).

Yes, I would think it would very challenging, what with trying to HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE and all!!! Oh, and to the kids, too!! I really just want few clips of our kids enjoying themselves and being silly. Not looking to win any awards or anything. My phone takes decent video (no light or flash) but it's sucks battery power big time. I would not be able to keep it charged long at all if I took several videos a day. Not to mention my memory would flip out.......(I have an LG Enlighten and for the most part I like it, but sometimes the memory claims to be full and I have next to nothing on it. But that's a whole other thread). I might be able to convince DH to help out with taking ride vid. He always has his hands up in the air anyway, why not put them to good use?

 

[havoc315]

Yes, I would think it would very challenging, what with trying to HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE and all!!! Oh, and to the kids, too!! I really just want few clips of our kids enjoying themselves and being silly. Not looking to win any awards or anything. My phone takes decent video (no light or flash) but it's sucks battery power big time.

The "challenge" I was referring to, was indoor rides, where you don't have much light. There aren't that many thrill rides at Disney... but those are generally outside in the light, and are pretty easy to photograph/record... as long as you can hold on to the camera!
I had fun taking pictures on Tower of Terror... Hold on tight, and snap-snap-snap-snap whenever we were hitting the top of the tower.

Flash is irrelevant on Disney ride photography -- You don't need it outdoors in the sunlight. And flashes are forbidden on indoor/low light rides.

In terms of draining battery with video... really depends on how much video you intend to take. It's a personal thing. To me, a good video is a few seconds of silliness at a time. I wouldn't have interest in taking 10-20 minutes of video at a time. Maybe the fireworks show 1 night, though I prefer to photograph it.

 

[mikegood2]

Hi, all! Looking for some tips and tricks to getting both still photos and video during our upcoming trip to the World. My husband isn't much of a camera guy so it's usually me who's documenting our travels. That being said, how do I handle doing both pic and video? Should I take 2 seperate cameras or just go with one (the one camera is far superior in both depts) I've also seen a lot of videos taken while in or on the rides. Does Disney allow for this? For some reason I thought you couldn't??? Maybe I am thinking of another park......

Anyways, for water rides, do have a water proof camera case or do you just plastic baggie it?? Any tips and tricks you have would help me out immensely! DH may have to become a "camera guy" after all! Thank you!

Are you looking to shot photos and videos simultaneously, or just have the ability to do both? If its the later I would go with just one. Their are cameras that allow you to shoot pictures while taking video, just make sure they it doesn't stop the video when you shoot. I believe they also have some p&s cameras with a video diary (?) feature that will shoot a few seconds of video when you take a picture.

A GoPro might also be a nice addition, it worked great on rides because it has an incredible (170 degree?) ultra wide angle lens that worked great on rides like BTM, just realize that you do get some fisheye effect. It was my nieces favorite rode and i got some great video of her reactions. It Also comes with a waterproof housing, so you can use it on water rides or in a pool. I attacked mine to our stroller every day and it just shot us walking around. We ended up with some really nice video when my niece got her Minnie ears, which poked out just enough to make it look like Minnie Mouse was walking with us.

Sent from my iPad mini using DISBoards

 

[scrappinannie]

Are you looking to shot photos and videos simultaneously, or just have the ability to do both? If its the later I would go with just one. Their are cameras that allow you to shoot pictures while taking video, just make sure they it doesn't stop the video when you shoot. I believe they also have some p&s cameras with a video diary (?) feature that will shoot a few seconds of video when you take a picture.

A GoPro might also be a nice addition, it worked great on rides because it has an incredible (170 degree?) ultra wide angle lens that worked great on rides like BTM, just realize that you do get some fisheye effect. It was my nieces favorite rode and i got some great video of her reactions. It Also comes with a waterproof housing, so you can use it on water rides or in a pool. I attacked mine to our stroller every day and it just shot us walking around. We ended up with some really nice video when my niece got her Minnie ears, which poked out just enough to make it look like Minnie Mouse was walking with us.

Sent from my iPad mini using DISBoards

I guess I'm not exactly sure about that! I mean, in most cases I don't think that I'd be wanting to do both at the same time, but I love to make slideshows of our vacations and I want to include some video clips this time instead of just still pics. I'm a scrapbooker, as well, and really treasure my prints so can't really see myself giving up too much of those. I just think it would be cool to get some more moving video of the kids on a few rides, meeting their favorite characters, tasting the sodas in Epcot, etc. It will be our son's first trip (he's 3) and our daughter's 2nd (she's 6). They don't stay little for long.

I want to check into that GoPro. Might be a good option. Thank you!

 

[mikegood2]

I guess I'm not exactly sure about that! I mean, in most cases I don't think that I'd be wanting to do both at the same time, but I love to make slideshows of our vacations and I want to include some video clips this time instead of just still pics. I'm a scrapbooker, as well, and really treasure my prints so can't really see myself giving up too much of those. I just think it would be cool to get some more moving video of the kids on a few rides, meeting their favorite characters, tasting the sodas in Epcot, etc. It will be our son's first trip (he's 3) and our daughter's 2nd (she's 6). They don't stay little for long.

I want to check into that GoPro. Might be a good option. Thank you!

Cool, I wasn't sure about that from your initial post. I also realize that it's probably best not to read and post right before bed.

If your husband isn't much of a photographer than I would say one camera is more than enough. On our last (first) trip in June 2011, even though I brought my DSLR with me, I left it back in the room almost every day. I shot almost everything, photos and videos, on a nice P&S and the convenience of it was great. Also, height 90s every day and lack of video on the DSLR made that decision easier.

As much as I like taking photos, you might shoot video more than you would think. While my family like the photos I shot, my nieces love the video. Surprisingly, the video I shot of the Beauty and the Beast Musical is my 3 year old nieces favorite. She usually needs to watch it at least once every time I visit.

I would also suggest, if you don't already, bringing an extra battery, more memory card that you think you need (can get them for under $1 a gig with some looking) and possibly a laptop or netbook to back your photos up.

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