to bring video camera or leave home?

[daycaremomjen]

would like some opinions on weather I should bring our video camera this week or leave it home, I love to scrapbook and know i will take tons of photos but wonered about the v.c. thanks in advance,
Jen

 

[bellebud]

I have a camera that also takes videos - not the best videos in the world, but good enough. Our first couple of trips, we brought the separate video camera, and dh and I would debate over who had to carry it around (and it wasn't huge or anything, but still a pain). Maybe bring it, but plan on not bringing it into every park, every day??? While I enjoy having our movies, we honestly never watch them, and I also don't like experiencing everything from behind the lens. It was very worth it to me to invest in my camera that video's too (i have a sony cybershot), and I've also started only taking very short clips of video - not taking the 'whole' parade... we'd NEVER sit and watch that... I just take 20 - 30 seconds here and there.

Also, depends on if it's your first trip... there are many *firsts* you might want on video... but if you've btdt, don't video and just enjoy being in the moment instead of videoing it.

Have fun!

 

[my2princessgirls]

Oh, I have to say, bring it!! We love having the video of the kids with the characters, playing on the playgrounds, walking down Main Street, riding Goffy's Barnstormer with Goofy, then holding hands with him all the way to the Toontown Hall of Fame! We have also video taped a few rides and the castle stage show and the girls love to watch them. Last trip we didn't record as much, and now regret it!

I am also a scrapbooker, but I know that in10, 15, 20 years that they will love having that footage to look back on! We have a camera bag that has a soft devider in it, so we can have the still camera and the video camera in one bag (along with extra batteries and such), and we also carry a baggalini, but I think this year I am going to figure out a way to fit everything we need into one backpack.

 

[lizally]

Bring it!

What I love about video is that it able to capture the sounds of WDW too, like the music playing in the background, etc., or your child laughing and squealing. My girls sceamed with delight when they met Goofy, something which would not have been captured by still camera alone.

My husband and I have a system of swapping cameras every day, so that one of us doesn't end up in all the still shots and the other on all the video. When we get home, my husband makes a dvd for the girls to watch of their trip and they love it! They especially liked the part where I filmed them on the Mad Tea Party for the whole ride. It is so fun to watch.

 

[tmatthews]

i usually end up bringing the video camera w/ us on vacation but very rarely bring into the parks...just one more thing to carry!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LAH LAH]

Brought ours last year and never used it...and I am a picture and video freak!!!!

 

[Mickeyherewecome123]

I also say bring it. DH and I took lots of video when we honeymooned in Disney and we enjoy watching it on occasion.
I cant wait to get video of our boys when we go the first time with them in May.

 

[4Ollies]

Bring it. I bought a small one just to take to Disney with us two years ago. The boys like watching all the fun we have had at WDW.

 

[misricsmith]

We Took Ours And Never Took It To A Park!

 

[PollyannaMom]

One year we took one of the little "disposable" ones from CVS:

It wasn't expensive (they go on sale every so often), so I wasn't worried about it all the time.
It was so tiny that it fit in my fanny pack, so I would actually take it to the parks, and pull it out and use it.
And it's a screen, not a small lens, so I didn't feel I was missing things as I was taping them.

I think it shot a half-hour or hour of video, which is just right to watch, and as someone else said, I would just shoot little clips of this and that, not the whole day.

You take it back to the store after, they process it and mail you the DVD.

 

[holly7347]

We will just be taking our camera.

MIL got us a video camera when I was pregnant with our first DD. DD will be 5 this month and I think we have used the thing 3X's. DH gets all excited about it but I really prefer pictures. I like to scrapbook. Plus I think it is more fun to look at photo albums even regular non scrapbooked ones rather than watching a video. And I like that digital pictures are so easy to email to distant family members. DH always wants to take the video camera and I say ok you are incharge of that and I will be incharge of the camera. He either never bothers to even turn the video camera on or he gets 2-3 minutes. DH decided to tape DD's first extended family member Easter Egg hunt and got a couple minutes of stuff then he started talking to the neighbor and forgot to turn off the camera - we had 15 minutes of the grass and his feet and a conversation with the neighbor

MIL is disappointed that we never use it but it is just so big and bulky I can't exactly throw it in my purse like a camera.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

We recently bought a new video camera and it's pretty darn small - about the size of my hand. I think we might take it with us this trip just so that DS has something to look back on when he's older. I don't know that I'll ever do it again. At least not until we have another child. My parents never had a video camera and I so wish they had because I would've enjoyed looking at events from when I was younger.

 

[dstiles]

Definitely take it, I think it captures some things much better than photos.
We love looking back at the videos we've taken. We took our DD to Disney last December and although we've got some great photos, watching the video of her is much nicer.

 

[ecuagoddess]

I say take it if it is small. I had mine for our 2004 trip, got some great stuff on the cruise but it malfunctioned after 1 day in the parks. To this day I regret not having more video of that trip. We do watch our old videos, DD loves it.
I am taking my new videocamera on this upcoming trip, which is DH's 1st time. I have selected maybe 1 thing per day to tape- I don't want to live behind the thing either. When I get home I will make an awesome movie using Windows Movie Maker. I can't wait to edit, add in songs, use the video effects, etc.

 

[jnsma]

I've pretty much dumped the video camera for a good digital camera with movies. I'm definately carrying the camera for all the reasons mentioned. Our camera does pretty good movies assuming good light and decent sound.

Our problem that we never think to set up the video camera to watch the video afterwards and we've got a pile of digital tapes to transfer to dvd.

My laptop always (sadly) seems to be around and is more convinient to "watch pictures" as the kids say. It does mean taking the laptop on vacation to download the pictures so the camera memory doesn't fill up. Those 5minute movies do chew up the memory cards.

 

[hammie59]

We have a small camera that does both. The video quality is excellent. So we're just taking that. But if we didn't have one like that, we'd take both. Maybe not always take the video camera everywhere, but at least have it with us sometimes to capture certain things.

 

[Tinkermommy]

I received a Flip digital video recorder for Christmas. It is very small and fits in my camera case. We do take into the parts and we love it.

It plugs right into your laptop (no cables are needed). It uses regular AA batteries so we just carry extra.

Our older video recorder is big, and bulky and we never took it because it was one more thing to lug around.

I highly recommend the Flip and it is very inexpensive (about $150). Not sure how much the disposable ones are, but I could see the Flip paying for itself pretty soon.

 

[momof3girls6712]

we bring 2 ditigal cameras (1 for each of us for when we seperate) and the camcorder. We have small cameras and camercorders so they are not a hassle at all. We start each day with the cameras in our pockets and the camcorder in its case attached to our backpack. I do eack gallon ziplocks in the backpack incase it rains or we go on wet rides.

We do not video tape everything. Mostly we tape the rides, character interactions, resort, and dinning experiences. This year we tapped the fireworks but only half as DH got tired of watching through the camcorder.

I think the tapes are great to watch at home. The kids are always pulling them out to relive our vacations. Last trip they even hooked the camcorder up to the dvd player in the van and watch Disney the whole way down to Disney.

I say it is a must.