video camera or no video camera???

[gibsontrio]

We are taking our first trip in may. I cant decide If I should bring my video camera or not. The carrying case is pretty chunky but i'd hate to take it without it. I'm also worried our having to bring it on rides. Did you bring yours? Were you glad you did??

 

[Michael_Shannon]

I think it is a personal preference. We take both the video camera and the digital still camera. We were able to take them both on most all of rides. Now days with their size they take up very little space.
Personally I like to watch the video that we made. For me I think the video is alot better than looking a still photographs.

 

[Lovin' Disney]

I vote for yes--we always take it with when we go, for several reasons. It is fun to record your child(ren)'s interactions with the characters, as well as other special things like parades, shows, etc. Also, it is fun to show family members when you get back and it gives them a better visual of WDW than random photos.

As for storing it, we (I) always bring it with on the rides. I put it in between my feet and sometimes put the strap around my leg if it is a faster ride. Our bag for it is bigger as well, but we keep other stuff in it--our digital camera, some wet wipes, my wallet, etc. so it is more like a purse/diaper bag. We don't carry any other bags.

Hope this helps!

 

[ChristusG]

Yep, I take both of them. I love preserving family memories, so I would feel lost without both the camcorder and the digital camera.

What I do is this: Pack a camera bag or backpack that will hold both the video camera and the still camera. Pack a seperate bag to hold anything else you may bring in the parks. That way, when we go to get in line for a ride, all I do is grab the camera backpack and go. Everything else stays in the stroller. I dont know what I'll do when we no longer need a stroller LOL!

 

[gibsontrio]

ok thanks for all your help! video camera it is!! I think the comment about watching the reaction of our childs meeting the character is what got me. I also like the idea of combining the video camera /camera bag, I could probably fit it in my bagaliini on rides or have someone else hold them.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Here's the thing about video.

When you take a video that is an hour or two long....you might watch it as soon as you get home...but you will most likely never watch it again!!! (kinda like wedding reception videos!)

I don't need a video camera because I have a really good digital camera that can take movies AND has a 12x zoom lens that works with the video. So I use it to take short clips of 1-5 minutes long. These become FUN to watch on the computer, and you can just delete the ones that dont have anything interesting.

However, I understand most people dont have this, since the basic point-and-shoot cameras usually take poor video and dont have enough zoom to get the good shots.

If this is the case I recommend that you do the same thing I do, but with the video camera. Don't video tape long sequences. Just do short clips, so that re-watching them remains interesting (and if you can, edit the video on your computer to only keep the good parts...or even separate them into small clips)

My Father used to video tape an entire holiday and end up with 2 hours of tape that no one cared about. Then what he started doing was keeping multiple tapes to use for different things. So he would have "jeremy's birthday" tape, and every year he would only record the happy-birthday song and blowing out the cake candles.......the result was one long tape with a progression of each of my birthdays.