When do you stop lugging the Camcorder around everywhere???

[beattyfamily]

Ok, my kids are finally out of diapers so you'd think we be able to go light at WDW and ditch the backpack but NO!

We still lug both our camcorder and our regular camera, ponchos, sunblock, water, antibactirial gel, wipes, sunglasses etc....

We just can't seem to bring ourselves to not bring our cameras yet...and this Nov will be our 5th trip!

When, if ever, were you able to leave the camcorder at home or at the very least in the resort room????

I want to go light but it's just so hard with 2 DD's and so many memories!

 

[disneydentist]

DD is 13, DS is 4. I still carry a medium sized camcorder (Digital 8), a 35 mm camera with a zoom lens, a large auxiliary flash, and a zoom microphone for the camcorder. Do I sometimes begrudge the weight? Yes. Am I always happy when I get home and look at the results? Yes. In the water parks I swap the SLR for a much smaller waterproof camera (not disposable) but add the weight of a waterproof body for the camcorder. Again, IMHO, worth the wight for the memories.

 

[llane]

Our children are still young and I take lots of pictures. I did upgrade to a digital camera and camcorder for our last trip (birthday and xmas present for myself). The camcorder is a little bigger than a camera. Changing out that one camera in the backpack seemed to make a lot of difference poundage wise.

 

[Kallison]

I stopped lugging after our first trip in 98. Sometimes my son will ask to carry it around, he is a video buff. I like to take it and video around the resort and maybe one character meal. Now that we are stroller less I don't like to be a pack mule in the park. Next trip my Mom will have a scooter so that will help carry the stuff. I do take a ton of pictures, at least one 24 roll per day. I have to say we look at the pictures a lot more than the videos.

 

[Bill From PA]

I've filmed every major ride I could, most of the interesting forms of transport, MK & Ak trains, Dolphin boats, random 'street entertainment, entire Comedy Warehouse and Adventurer's Club shows, even just us eating. I watch these often when I need a WDW fix. Next trip, the whole family, including new grand daughter will be along and I expect to pass the baton, or camcorder, the my son in law. My answer to your question is, when the next generation comes along.

Bill From PA

 

[gonga]

Why not buy a digital camera/cam corder combo? They are the same size as a regular digital camera (small) don't take up the room and much easier to lug around. Most likely will fit in a small fanny pack. It may be worth it for you since you take lots of pictures/videos.

 

[CamColt]

LOL! We are in the same boat. This summer will be our first trip with no diapers since our honeymoon.
I will still be lugging the video camera and the regular, plus a new digital one. There are just too many precious memories not to capture...plus nothing is better for a Disney fix than reliving a trip on video.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by gonga
Why not buy a digital camera/cam corder combo? They are the same size as a regular digital camera (small) don't take up the room and much easier to lug around. Most likely will fit in a small fanny pack. It may be worth it for you since you take lots of pictures/videos.

I just mentioned this to my DH and he thinks that although they get better and better every year and smaller and smaller, that the quality of the digital picture of a camcorder will never be as good as a digital picture from a camera by itself so he's not a fan of this idea, but thank you!

I think our only option is to buy a smaller camcorder than we have now...cause we just can't bring ourselves to leave it behind!

 

[cavepig]

We carry our mini dv camcorder and digital camera almost all the time. Sometimes we won't bring them if we are going to the water parks, but pretty much they always stay in the backpack. They really don't take up too much room and aren't all that heavy, even thought our digital camera is one of the first Sony ones and is rather large compared to what they have out now. We don't even have small children with us anymore, but still they are some things we like to catch on camera.

 

[kinlaw6450]

I couldn't imagine NOT having the camera with me. My kids constantly look at the pictures and videos and we have caught so many "special" things!

I have a mini camcorder and digital camera so the weight is bearable. (SP?)

 

[Kaycee]

We take the digital camera everywhere we go. It's very small and fits in the fanny pack with lots of room for the other stuff we need. But we don't lug the camcorder around the parks. Our camcorder is really small, but if something won't fit in the fanny packs, it doesn't go in the parks. Instead, we make separate trips just to film stuff with the camcorder. We get lots of footage around the resorts, and a little footage of each park. Then we have tons and tons of digital pictures. The boys narrate our camcorder tours of the parks, pointing out their favorite attractions. This might not work for a family that feels they have to capture everything on film, but it works well for us.

Kaycee

 

[mitros]

After our 8th trip we stopped lugging the camcorder. After our 90th trip, we still bring a 35mm camera along in case something unusual pops up.

 

[kayeandjim00]

We don't have any children and have been to WDW at least once a year for the past 5 years but we STILL take the camcorder and camera, everywhere, everyday. Once on an E-Ride Night we left it at the resort and were so sorry as there were characters everywhere. Lesson learned! You never know what you'll see while your at WDW so it's just easier to take it everywhere. It works out ok for us because I don't do the thrill rides and DH loves them so I hold on to the camcorder while he does those type of rides and when we ride together we just throw it in our backpack. We NEED these tapes and pictures to get us through the days until we get back to our favorite place in the world.

 

[Trish5768]

We stopped carrying the camcorder after the third trip. We always, always carry a camera-

 

[shakespear]

Ever see the people lugging around:

a camera

a digital camera

a camcorder

a tripod for said camcorder


All at once?