Too much camera?

[broberts]

Ok, in trying to plan our upcoming Disney Trip (Thanksgiving Week) I am wondering if carrying a DSLR will be too much to keep up with. There will be 5 people in our party (3 kids - 8,7 and 5, 2 adults). Only the 5 year old has been. I am concerned that it will be too much to try to haul the camera around and keep up with the kids especially with the heavy crowds. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

 

[thomas998]

Ok, in trying to plan our upcoming Disney Trip (Thanksgiving Week) I am wondering if carrying a DSLR will be too much to keep up with. There will be 5 people in our party (3 kids - 8,7 and 5, 2 adults). Only the 5 year old has been. I am concerned that it will be too much to try to haul the camera around and keep up with the kids especially with the heavy crowds. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

not that hard to do... I've been there with only myself and 2 kids and it wouldn't have mattered if I had a DSLR on my neck or nothing at all... The camera or lack of wont be a constraint.

 

[handicap18]

All 4 of my trips I've gone with an SLR. The last 2 with my dSLR. The last trip was with 5 adults and 3 young kids (5, 3, & 1) (also brought 6 lenses). I'm glad I took it. I had some time to go out by myself and do some photo stuff and I got a lot of great shots of the kids.

 

[RBennett]

Ok, in trying to plan our upcoming Disney Trip (Thanksgiving Week) I am wondering if carrying a DSLR will be too much to keep up with. There will be 5 people in our party (3 kids - 8,7 and 5, 2 adults). Only the 5 year old has been. I am concerned that it will be too much to try to haul the camera around and keep up with the kids especially with the heavy crowds. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Brian

Shoot, with that many people it sounds like a reason TO take the DSLR!!! With the family going and especially since it's the first time for so many kids, you'll want great shots to have of their first time. TAKE IT!!

 

[mabas9395]

As previously mentioned, I would be more worried about the camera being able to handle the group rather than the group being able to handle the camera.

Take it, and post pictures when you get back.

 

[broberts]

Thanks. That is kind of what I was thinking but just wanted to make sure. Thanks to everyone for their responses. Looks like the D80 will be making the trip.

 

[0bli0]

good choice. a single dslr is quite easy to carry and use throughout the day. if you have a reasonable zoom then you won't have to worry about lenses.

 

[handicap18]

good choice. a single dslr is quite easy to carry and use throughout the day. if you have a reasonable zoom then you won't have to worry about lenses.

Hey 0bli0,,, good to see you around.

 

[pjacobi]

With three kids, you are not going to have much time for photography! The best you can do is to take some quick snapshots. If you want to use a dSLR, then fine. But snapshots are just as good with a high quality P/S camera and it will fit in your pocket.

If you have some time alone or with just one child, you may have time for serious photography.

Do you think a wedding photographer could get good results while watching three kids?

It's all a question of what priority you put on family time vs photography. With a little luck, you can do both during your trip, just not at the same time. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for a conflict: You are thinking about f/stops and the rest of the family is screaming to get in line for space mountain.


-Paul

 

[edolyne]

My DW and I just got back from a trip to disney with our 6 month old DS. With all of the items that we needed for my son carrying my D300 became more of a chore than anything else and as a result I hardly took any pictures. With this in mind I went out and got a Sigma DP1. Now I am not going to advocate that this is the camera for everyone as it does take some getting used to and a good general knowledge of photography. However patience and learning the quirks of this camera will give you great pictures that will rival some of the best DSLR's on the market today. Anyways I would suggest that you get a compact camera so that you have less to carry and worry about in the parks which might also mean that you will be able to take more pictures.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[handicap18]

With three kids, you are not going to have much time for photography! The best you can do is to take some quick snapshots. If you want to use a dSLR, then fine. But snapshots are just as good with a high quality P/S camera and it will fit in your pocket.

If you have some time alone or with just one child, you may have time for serious photography.

Do you think a wedding photographer could get good results while watching three kids?

It's all a question of what priority you put on family time vs photography. With a little luck, you can do both during your trip, just not at the same time. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for a conflict: You are thinking about f/stops and the rest of the family is screaming to get in line for space mountain.


-Paul

For me... I disagree with this. We went with 3 kids (5, 3 and 1) and had plenty of time for "photography". DW would get up early and do the Morning EMH at the parks by herself. I would get up with the kids, eat and wander around the resort. Got some great "photography" and candid shots that way.

While in the Parks if one kid needed to stay asleep, I would take that one in the stroller and wander around by myself.

Since DW did morning EMH by herself, I got to do a few evening EMH by myself.

I also got some great candids that I could not have gotten with a PnS. For example, the water that shoots up out of the ground in ToonTown at Donalds boat. My PnS would not have gotten the water splashing directly into my DS face because of shutter lag. Would also have been harder to get some of the shots of them going down the slides with a PnS again shutter lag and smaller sensors yielding worse higher ISO performance.

So long as you work with your significant other and let each of you have some alone time you can do what ever you want.

I didn't get all the shots I would have liked, but I'm happy with how our vacation turned out. DW got to do a lot of shopping and I got to do a lot of photo taking and the kids had a lot of fun.

 

[Steve's Girl]

With three kids, you are not going to have much time for photography! The best you can do is to take some quick snapshots. If you want to use a dSLR, then fine. But snapshots are just as good with a high quality P/S camera and it will fit in your pocket.

If you have some time alone or with just one child, you may have time for serious photography.

Do you think a wedding photographer could get good results while watching three kids?

It's all a question of what priority you put on family time vs photography. With a little luck, you can do both during your trip, just not at the same time. Otherwise you are setting yourself up for a conflict: You are thinking about f/stops and the rest of the family is screaming to get in line for space mountain.


-Paul

Like Kyle, I disagree with this. We have taken two trips to Disney with 3 kids (the first trip they were 3, 5 & 7). I had plenty of time for photography with my family! DH and the kids would sometimes keep walking while I snapped a few photos, but since the kids walk slow, it really wasn't a big deal. There are so many great candid shots that I was able to get that our little point and shoot would have missed due to shutter lag, slow start up time, etc.

Personally, I wouldn't even think about going to WDW without my DSLR. My family loves looking at the photos as much as I enjoy taking them. Our Disney photo album sits on the coffee table and the kids look at it at least a couple of times a week. I guess I wouldn't be happy with just a few snapshots of our trip. I want good quality photos that capture everything we shared together.

 

[broberts]

Thanks to all. I will bring both my p&s and the dslr just in case.

 

[WillCAD]

There is no such thing as too much camera. But sometimes there is too much camera gear.

An SLR is a great choice for a WDW vacation, but a lot of people take three tons of extra lenses, flash units, filters, meters, tripods, and kitchen equipment. I stick with a spare battery, a pocket-size tripod, and one walkaround lens.

For me, the secret to getting around with an SLR is keeping it simple, and keeping it light. Minimalism is the order of the day. This can present a challenge, but it also presents an opportunity - instead of reaching for a specialty lens any time you want to take a pic, you'll stretch the lens you have and learn a thing or two in the process.

So take your SLR. Just be sure to post those pics here when you get back!

 

[Groucho]

Man, this topic has come up a lot lately!

1) What's the point of buying a DSLR if you're not going to bring it somewhere like Disney?
2) The faster focusing and shutter of the DSLR means that you'll be able to take much quicker photos without slowing people down.
3) Disney is dark in many places and nearly pitch black at night. The DSLR will handle this much better, and when you do use a flash, it will have a better, stronger flash that is less likely to cause redeye.
4) Most PnSs start at a relatively narrow 36mm equivalent focal length, which isn't always wide enough especially if taking pictures at a character meal or similar upclose situation.
5) Easy to leave "on" all day long. It will go to sleep happily and be ready to go instantly. Unlike the PnS, which will retract its lens and grump and complain when you turn it back on before it'll let you take a photo again.

The only reasons to choose the PnS instead? Smaller, potentially more zoom (if you have a 12+x zoom lens), ability to take video. But ultimately, I think the PnS is more bother, much slower when you do need to change settings, slower to take the photo (hold the camera out in front of you instead of just put it to your eye), and will have worse image quality.

 

[fishynancy]

Take it, and post pictures when you get back.