What's a good camera for Disney?

[lpoeppelman]

I'd like to get a camera for Disney that has a quick shutter speed so we can take pictures fast. Although I adore my small Olympus that fits so nicely in my pocket, it does not take quick pictures and it has no eye lense to see through. That makes it difficult to see what picture you are actually taken in the sunlight.

My 1st priority is a camera that takes quick pictures... one right after the other, does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Grumpy'sWife]

Have you asked the folks over on the photography board? They really know their stuff!

 

[shyjade]

I LOVE my Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital Elph. I bought it based on suggestions by other DISers and it does not disappoint!

It's very fast, even "ready" within about 2 seconds of pushing on the power button. It takes great pictures but is small and compact...actually fits in my pocket!

Also, the battery lasts for around 400 pictures which is awesome for Disney.

I love it so much that I carry it in my purse at all times.

Check it out, it's a great little camera (around $200).

 

[jcb]

The Canon SD1000 sure gets good reviews. I went with the Kodak EasyShare V1253 because it is 12 megapixels (not that I use that too often), it takes panorama shots, records in HD (though not 1080p) and was under $300.00. It also has a large LCD screen on the back. It fits easily in my pocket so I don't have to wait in the bag check line. I've managed to run the battery down to zero a couple of times after a full day of picture taking. I've been very happy with it and the quality of the photographs.

This is the panorama (shrunk down to a smaller file size).

 

[Bete]

I got this suggestion on the Safari ride from a cast member. It really has made a difference for me.

 

[JJMom93]

I LOVE my Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital Elph. I bought it based on suggestions by other DISers and it does not disappoint!

It's very fast, even "ready" within about 2 seconds of pushing on the power button. It takes great pictures but is small and compact...actually fits in my pocket!

Also, the battery lasts for around 400 pictures which is awesome for Disney.

I love it so much that I carry it in my purse at all times.

Check it out, it's a great little camera (around $200).

Thanks for the suggestion. I've been looking for a new camera and I'll have to check this one out.

 

[JJMom93]

Beautiful picture, jcb.

 

[lpizzuro123]

I have a Kodak Easyshare 10 MP (not sure which model) and it seems to take forever for the camera to regenerate itself to take another picture. Do you have that problem also? Sometimes it even takes a while to take the actual picture. I feel like I press the shutter and by the time it takes the picture the shot is gone. Some one at Bestbuy suggested upgrading my chip. Also, does the amount of pictures on the chip have anything to do with it. I love Kodak and really want to keep using it but I seem to have alot of trouble with this camera.

Thanks,
Linda

 

[lpoeppelman]

Have you asked the folks over on the photography board? They really know their stuff!

Thanks. I didn't know there was one. I'll ask them too. Thanks for all the great tips!

 

[Benducci]

I think the key is to get a camera with Sports Mode built in. I got this suggestion on the Safari ride from a cast member. It really has made a difference for me.

What is this? I have never heard of it. What cameras offer this? Thanks!

 

[Ratpack]

If you really want to take pictures fast, you need to look into a DSLR. The Nikon D40 is great starter in the DSLR family. I have the D50 and would never go back to the normal point and shoot style cameras. Speed was a concern for us when we were looking since we have small kids and they are next to impossible to keep still for a photo. With the DSLR cameras, you can take between 2-8 photos per second depending on the model you get. I think the D40 is like 2-3 per second. Of course the thing that kills speed in any camera is flash, the very reason I never use it unless it is very, very dim lighting. Now, DSLR's are a bit more expensive, but it is a camera that will grow with you over the years as you get new lens and accessories.

 

[Disneyonmymind]

I got the new Panasonic DMC-TZ5. My requirements were at least a 6X zoom (but wanted 10X) and also wanted to be able to take pictures quickly. My old Olympus digital was the SLOWEST camera I ever had. I missed so many shots with that thing, I hated it. It made me want to go back to my old film camera.

My new Panasonic is pretty fast and has a lot of great features (many which I haven't used yet) but including a 10X optical zoom which I love. It also has a fairly wide angle lens setting that was very handy at WDW when wanting to get the shot without having to move so far back.

Also, it's pretty small for a camera with that size zoom but not as small as those tiny 3X zoom cameras. I really did a lot of searching and reading reviews and was down to either this camera or a Canon. I'm glad I got this one. It also has a movie mode that came in handy at Disney.

The Panasonic has a rechargeable battery that easily lasted all day for my purposes. If you use the picture review feature, it seems to eat the battery so I avoided that. I will look into getting a second battery for my next trip so I don't have to worry about that.

As far as speed, it is fairly quick when not using the flash. I had no problems getting all of the pictures I wanted. When using the flash, it is a bit slower and I had to wait a couple seconds but still nothing like my SLOW Olympus, but still not as fast as my old film camera. My understanding is that the only way to get really fast digital camera is to get a Digital SLR, which are not small and not what I wanted (as I wanted a point and shoot).

 

[jcb]

Linda,

I don't have the same problem. My easyshare is not as fast and never will be as fast as my nikon d200 slr but I've no complaints about its speed.

I think you have probably been given good advice. If you do not have a high performace digital memory card, it takes a long time for the file to write to the card. I have the Kodak "high performance" 2 gigabyte sd card in mine.

 

[lpizzuro123]

"I have the Kodak "high performance" 2 gigabyte sd card in mine. "

I purchased a 4 gigabyte card at BestBuy and took a few shots but not any action shots so I will have to check that out, but the funny thing is I always print my pictures at CVS at the Kodak Kisok they have and I went in with my 4 gigabyte and the machine could not read it. The tech there said their machine could only read up to a 2 gigabyte - their software was not advanced enough to read a larger card - so now I can't print out my pictures. I went to the local Target and the tech there said the same thing.

Linda

 

[RllngRckBrw]

While I am no camera guru, we love our Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS It is 7.1 megapixl with a 12x optical zoom. Yhe stabilization on it is great (especially at far distances) and the shudder speed is realtively good. I also found a great feature on it, (other cameras may have it but I just happned upon this recently) in wich you can hold down the button to take up to 30 pictures then when you capture the action shot you are looking for just release the button and it will keep the last 6. This has helped us catch many things that we would have missed with our older camera.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Yes, my Kodak has the "burst" feature and I just love it, especially for catching fireworks photos. When you watch them on the camera after you take the photos it is almost like watching a video of the fireworks. The problem with my new Kodak camera as opposed to my old Kodak camera is that there are SO many new features, by the time I scroll through them looking for the one I want, I have missed the picture. But I agree with you, it is a great feature.

Linda

 

[Rustysmom]

If you really want to take pictures fast, you need to look into a DSLR. The Nikon D40 is great starter in the DSLR family. I have the D50 and would never go back to the normal point and shoot style cameras.

Me neither. I have a D50 and it took awesome pictures with no shutter lag. It was the first time that just about every picture came out great when we've gone on vacation. It's not something you can just stick in your pocket, but it was worth it to me to carry it around.

 

[RalphMouth]

I have the Nikon D50 as well

think the D40 replaced it-
it's about $599.00- $699.00
but it's a camera you may keep for the rest of your life-

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

ITA with spending a little more money for the DSLR

We went with the Nikon D50 and I have to tell you that we will never, ever use our point and shoot again. The quality is amazing and I love that we can actually snap those sweet shots in a second with it and not miss them. My DH is so excited to take it to WDW with us. We actually just got it a few weeks ago, and we still cant put it down.

 

[jaineparr]

The downside to the DSLR is the size, not to mention the cost. But, you have the option with those of turning off the screen and just using the viewfinder, letting you see what you are taking pictures of in bright sunlight. The newer point and shoots with only a screen have brighter screens, which work better in bright sun. You can also wear a ballcap, which will give you some shade. And don't forget to take off your sunglasses.

What you are probably looking for is a higher ISO setting in the camera, which will allow you to take pictures 'faster' meaning less blurring of people and things in motion. The shutter speed ranges for cameras don't really change that much. Check your camera manual and see if you can set the ISO, instead of using an automatic setting. Try setting the ISO and then take a bunch of pictures of your furniture, the dog, trees, passing cars, whatever. Look at the pictures on your computer and see if that helped. Digital is easy and cheap to experiment with.