To camera or not to camera

[Eswift]

I regret every time I leave my camera in the hotel, let alone if I didn't bring it on the trip. I choose one lens per day though and make that work. I'm not half bad with a camera for a hobbyist. I use a wrist strap and have a bag that fits the camera and a lens if it needs protecting, otherwise it sits on my wrist and I don't notice it. A Canon R with a 24 240 is a really good all purpose, I use primes for sharper shots if that's what I want that day.

How many "good" point and shoot cameras can get this shot I got with my phone camera (Samsung Note20)?
View attachment 536395

But please feel free to remain biased against phone cameras.

I'm sorry, this is not a good picture. At all. Were you trying to show us something blurry with poor balance as an example of a good picture? You proved my point. When I saw the picture I honestly thought there was going to be a second one, the "good" one.

It's not your fault, but this is beyond what that camera can do. I have a s10 by the way. They're great in the daylight for non zoomed shots if you don't care about sharpness and don't mind having no ability to edit it because it's not raw.

To be clear, I'm not saying everyone should have a camera, but don't get up and say phones are equivalent. Maybe to people that don't shoot mirrorless/dslr they don't see the difference, than do whatever you want.

 

[mom2rtk]

I regret every time I leave my camera in the hotel, let alone if I didn't bring it on the trip. I choose one lens per day though and make that work. I'm not half bad with a camera for a hobbyist. I use a wrist strap and have a bag that fits the camera and a lens if it needs protecting, otherwise it sits on my wrist and I don't notice it. A Canon R with a 24 240 is a really good all purpose, I use primes for sharper shots if that's what I want that day.



I'm sorry, this is not a good picture. At all. Were you trying to show us something blurry with poor balance as an example of a good picture? You proved my point. When I saw the picture I honestly thought there was going to be a second one, the "good" one.

It's not your fault, but this is beyond what that camera can do. I have a s10 by the way. They're great in the daylight for non zoomed shots if you don't care about sharpness and don't mind having no ability to edit it because it's not raw.

To be clear, I'm not saying everyone should have a camera, but don't get up and say phones are equivalent. Maybe to people that don't shoot mirrorless/dslr they don't see the difference, than do whatever you want.

Totally agree. Phone pics are fine if they end user is happy with them. But that doesn't make them the same as DSLR photos. Anyone who has looked at them side by side on a computer screen can tell that.

 

[Eswift]

Totally agree. Phone pics are fine if they end user is happy with them. But that doesn't make them the same as DSLR photos. Anyone who has looked at them side by side on a computer screen can tell that.

This is all that matters in photography. Is the end user of the picture happy with it? Use the least expensive and least amount of gear to make that happen.

Phones get some great shots. Anything fast moving, far away, or low light though, not good enough for me.

If your camera is detracting from your vacation, drop it! Vacations are about fun.

 

[mom2rtk]

This is all that matters in photography. Is the end user of the picture happy with it? Use the least expensive and least amount of gear to make that happen.

Phones get some great shots. Anything fast moving, far away, or low light though, not good enough for me.

If your camera is detracting from your vacation, drop it! Vacations are about fun.

Exactly. Lugging around a DSLR detracts from enjoyment for some. Not having my DSLR detracts from enjoyment for me. This is a very individual assessment.

 

[B-Ride]

In my opinion a good camera is for composing real pictures. Photography at WDW is more about capturing memories. A good phone camera does that just fine. If however, you want a lot of low light shots like fireworks then unless your phone is fairly recent you won't get great shots.

 

[BoatDriver]

I would leave it. Many of the shots you would take would involve masks, and nobody wants to remember this time. At the very most, I would use your phone and print through free prints.

I feel the same way. I'm not going to haul 15 pounds of DSLR body and lenses just to get shots where I have to guess who's behind the masks. Not interested, thanks.

 

[ECUDrummer]

Truly a YMMV moment. For most, your phone camera would be fine. Personally, I like having my camera and we always book the Memory Maker for our trip (which I find to be mostly good and very convenient). I bring the camera along because that's what I feel comfortable shooting with the most. My setup is pretty minimal anyways, fuji x-t3 with the kit lens (even smaller than the Nikon D7100, which is what the disney memory maker photogs were using last time we went, coincidentally also owned this and took it to Disney a few times).

When I go to WDW, I typically rely on MM for family pics and I do my own artistic type shots of the kids and random things.

 

[gharter]

When I go to WDW, I typically rely on MM for family pics and I do my own artistic type shots of the kids and random things.

Totally agree. Using MM makes it so much easier for the family pics. Depending on what I'm doing and looking for, some of the other photos are DSLR and some are phone.

 

[MrsPete]

In my opinion a good camera is for composing real pictures. Photography at WDW is more about capturing memories. A good phone camera does that just fine. If however, you want a lot of low light shots like fireworks then unless your phone is fairly recent you won't get great shots.

This makes a lot of sense. You're probably not shooting pictures for a magazine cover at Disney -- you want to remember your child's face when she met Mickey Mouse.

I maintain that the "happy medium" of a point-and-shoot is the best option for Disney. The quality is better than the camera phone, and Disney pictures -- unless your goal is to capture fantastic fireworks pictures or photograph an engagement -- don't really require the speed and advanced features of a fancy camera.

And I'll say again: knowing how to use your camera, knowing how to compose pictures goes a long way.

 

[partypug]

I have a DSLR and sometimes rent out a locker at the beginning of the day for my camera bag. We hit rides in the morning when the wait times are low, and I go back at grab it when we're just wandering around the parks at slower times. That way, if we decide to go on a ride spree again I can just go put it back in the locker.