What kind of camera do you take with you

[cyclenut]

Most of the time I rely on my camera phone, however I have been able to get some great pictures of Fantasmic and Aladdin that you cannot get with any P&S or camera phone, but it required a 50mm 1.4.

One thing that makes taking the camera in the parks doable for me is the Lowe Pro topsider camera bag. It has a couple of small zipper pouches for incidentals and it includes a waterproof cover for wet rides or rain. The camera is easily accessible for quick pictures.

I most often take only one lens. The universal standard 18-55 kit lens works well for most shots. I tend to use Tv most often with a fast and continuous shutter and no flash. While I can get good pictures with the Canon SX120 or Nikon AW100 I have, the dSLR does the best job.

My belief though is that the best pictures are the ones you actually take. Which means, take whatever camera you will actually take with you.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

We are asking ourselves the same question, I have a Canon 60D and really want to bring my 50mm lens to get some great photos of the children and also maybe the wide lens too.

I am reluctant to bring more than two lenses, the 50mm is light and easy, the wide one for the fireworks and general ride shots maybe...

We will also bring a P&S have a Canon S95 so it does HD video and has afew manual options.

How do you all carry the DSLRs? I checked out the body strap posted in this thread and it looks good and I am considering doing that witha neoprene cover rather than the huge camera bag.

We will have a stroller so can put the extra lens in the bottom of that maybe...

C

I use a Canon backpack for my 40D, and various lenses.

I am like Mikey, I pack everything in. Lenses I carry: 50mm, 24-105, 10-20, and 70-300. I often leave the 70-300 in the room when in the parks, but it can create some pretty cool shots with that focal distance.

I have no doubt this pack weighs all of 20 lbs when fully loaded. My back feels every pound too, but when I look at the pics later I know it was all worth it.

Never had any issues storing the pack on rides, usually between my legs. Only tight spot is Soarin storage.

 

[KCmike]

I got the Disneyland/Disney camera strap on our last visit. My souvenir for the trip.

 

[viaggiamo]

tffnyjean, I will check out amazon, good to know they are worth it. I figured I could just leave it around my neck but it would be protected and I also have a very large handbag!

Krispin41, great idea with the ziplock bags, I never even thought of all the water.

I really want to take only two lenses with us I think. Definately the 50mm 1.4 and which one would you choose:

100mm 2.8

70-300mm

18-55mm

10-20mm

And I think I will buy a shoulder strap and one of those neoprene covers and that should be done!!!

C

 

[DarthMole]

Interesting point, hadn't thought about day/night. But actually our first day will be afternoon/evening and most of our other days will end earlier because it's fall hours. We are focusing on shows that first day so fewer rides to worry about with it. I'm not one to try to capture fireworks, I'm more into portraits and getting my kids expressions their first moments in the park. So bringing the DSLR that day still makes the most sense, then I can ditch it the rest of the trip if I want.

My question in another forum was which lens to bring for different day/night situations. I feel like a prime lens is too hard to frame in a crowd or a restaurant. Any other suggestions for specific DLR situations?

(sorry to hijack the thread but hopefully the info would help the OP as well)

These are for my crop sensor Nikon D90. If you have full frame, someone else would need to chime in. I love my Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 OS for a walk around lens but the limited reach can be a bit limiting and it can only do so much at night even with the f/2.8. We also have a travel zoom, a Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 VC PZD. It's a nice lens for daytime shots and it's super compact for the zoom range. For daytime I'd be torn between these two. I'm not sure how much zoom you'll need if it's mostly getting pics of the kiddos. I never needed more than the 5x zoom (24-120mm equivalent) and kept it on the wide end most of the time.

I hear you on the prime. They are fast and fun but composing a shot is tricky and you may be missing a lot of shots while trying to get the right framing. Maybe take one prime and one travel zoom to cover you on both fronts. Good luck and have fun.

 

[Monica D]

I normally take my DSLR, but next time I'm taking my new Canon PowerShot SX40. It has almost all the same features as my Canon Rebel and incredible zoom. I'm curious to see how it does.

 

[Tiradan]

I don't own a DSLR (yet, I'm planning on getting the T4i), but I can't imagine lugging one around Disneyland, those things are bulky and expensive. I just bring a point and shoot I got for $200, and it seems to do ok.

 

[katejc]

I have a Lumix DMC LX5 that I LOVE! It is bigger than my old point and shoot, but still a lot smaller than my DLSR and super easy to carry around and tuck in a small bag.The lens is great, and it has an easy setting for point and shoot, but is very customizable, so you can get some really interesting shots. Even has a setting for fireworks, which got some great shots on our last DLR trip! I've taken some amazing pictures with this camera and highly recommend it.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

For our next trip I'm seriously considering picking up a micro 4/3rds with a 27mm lens (techno mumbojumbo meaning: it's thin, and it takes great people shots). These 4/3rds cameras fit in your jeans pocket, and they have much bigger sensors (and better electronics) than most compact cameras like the Powershots. These cameras take amazing pictures at half the size.

I'm hoping one of these semi-pro cameras and a few ziplock bags will make for fun shots on Splash Mountain and The Grizzly River Run.

I was wondering when someone was going to mention mirrorless! FYI the new Olympus OMD EM5 is water resistant.

 

[silence]

I got the Disneyland/Disney camera strap on our last visit. My souvenir for the trip.

The best thing I did was buy the small strap and carry my small Canon PS around every day. Having the camera OUT meant taking more pictures.

Used to take the DSLR every trip, carrying it around in the backpack. It was heavy and not used nearly as much. This was the first trip we left it at home, between our phones and the PS, we got plenty of good pics.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

tffnyjean, I will check out amazon, good to know they are worth it. I figured I could just leave it around my neck but it would be protected and I also have a very large handbag!

Krispin41, great idea with the ziplock bags, I never even thought of all the water.

I really want to take only two lenses with us I think. Definately the 50mm 1.4 and which one would you choose:

100mm 2.8

70-300mm

18-55mm

10-20mm

And I think I will buy a shoulder strap and one of those neoprene covers and that should be done!!!

C

Well, if you are set on only bringing two of those lenses, I would go with the 50 and the 18-55, though you are going to be short on a lot of shots.

 

[Disco]

I have a Lumix DMC LX5 that I LOVE! It is bigger than my old point and shoot, but still a lot smaller than my DLSR and super easy to carry around and tuck in a small bag.The lens is great, and it has an easy setting for point and shoot, but is very customizable, so you can get some really interesting shots. Even has a setting for fireworks, which got some great shots on our last DLR trip! I've taken some amazing pictures with this camera and highly recommend it.

They just came out with the LX7 too. I think that this prosumer based camera series along with similar brands is the best route to go.

SLR=too big, too heavy, have to bring multiple lenses, expensive if damaged. Excellent image quality, very fast, great in the dark.
4/3=too big, have to bring multiple lenses, expensive if damaged. Great image quality, very fast, great in the dark.
Prosumer=Might not fit in pocket (depends on model and how big your pockets are), expensive if damaged. Good image quality, can fit in pocket, fast, good in the dark, decent zoom range.
Superzoom=Bad performance in dark, can be slow. Great zoom range, pocketable.
Standard or P&S=Poor performance in dark, can be slow. Decent zoom range, pocketable.
Phone=Very bad in the dark, can be slow, sub standard image quality, bad zoom range. Very portable and convenient.

 

[CamoMama]

I love my Canon ELPH. It's small and takes great pictures. I try to travel very light at the parks, so a big camera would really cramp my style.

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

We took the Kodak Playsport zx5 for our trip in June. A little video-blogging style camera that is $100 or less, smaller than most cell phones, drop "proof," and water proof. Does video at 720p, 720p at 60 fps and 1080p. Got some good water ride footage! Also takes stills.

It's not bad for night shots such as fireworks, F! and WoC, and does well on rides that aren't too dark.

But next time I'm also taking my Lumix DSLR to get higher quality shots. Decent hand-me-down

Also I use my Galaxy Nexus - panoramarama!
I learned on this trip how to efficiently use my Nexus' touch-to-focus. I was in Cars Land at night. I would touch the screen on a light source - such as Flo's neon signs and it would darken then screen to adjust for taking in so much light. If I touch on the night sky next to Flo's, it brightened the picture - which made the neon a bit over powering.

I did this when standing on the TL Monorail station. The sun was setting behind Matterhorn. If I touched on the mountain, it brightened and I could see the detailing of the snow on the slopes. When I touched on the sun, it darkened the picture and turned the Matterhorn into a silhouette with sun rays coming out from behind it - my favorite picture of the trip!

Anyway, maybe everybody knew about this already, but I felt like a genius.

 

[SplashMo]

I use the Canon S95. A very nice camera for the parks. The SONY NEX-5 with included 18-55 lense would also be nice and a step up but is twice the price...

 

[bonedoc]

Totally different depending on trip. Family outings with S95. Perfect for the day.

5Dmk2 with 24-105 and 70-200 on picture outings. Totally separate trips.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

But next time I'm also taking my Lumix DSLR to get higher quality shots. Decent hand-me-down

This is also a micro 4:3/mirrorless camera.

 

[KCmike]

I was wondering when someone was going to mention mirrorless! FYI the new Olympus OMD EM5 is water resistant.

Are you headed for a Disneyland visit?

 

[Patrick in Oregon]

This is also a micro 4:3/mirrorless camera.

Dang I got caught! I don't know the terminologies/technologies well and like I said it was a hand-me-down so I didn't do much research. I guess when I said DSLR, I was thinking not-a-pocket-sized-point-and-shoot. But with your input and some wiki knowledge, I now know better

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Are you headed for a Disneyland visit?

I am hoping so, one of these days!

Dang I got caught! I don't know the terminologies/technologies well and like I said it was a hand-me-down so I didn't do much research. I guess when I said DSLR, I was thinking not-a-pocket-sized-point-and-shoot. But with your input and some wiki knowledge, I now know better

No biggie - I only brought it up because there are a lot of questions about the different types of cameras around and I thought it might be helpful to clarify. I use 4:3 and micro 4:3 cameras. BTW, the Lumix is a really nice camera!