Disney Lenses

[hound dog]

So, we're off to our first trip to Disney World with my 3 and a half year old. I've searched the forum and gotten lots of good information on equipment, etc., but didn't have two questions answered that I've been pondering:

• whether to bring the new (thanks to Dell) 70-200L IS 2.8. My choices are 24-70L/4, 28-135IS, 50 mm 1.4, Sigma 70-300 and the beast from Dell. I generally get great results w/ the sigma and it's not nearly as heavy, but I lose what may be important low light capability. Carrying all these things (particularly creating duplicate coverage of focal lengths) seems like too much. My thoughts, after reading multiple posts, are the 24-70, 50 mm and 70-200.

• whether to bring a tripod for night stuff. I've never been, so I don't have a good feel for all of this fireworks/parade stuff, etc. I can't imagine carrying the tripod around the park (while chasing my daughter and keeping my wife happy).

• of course, any and all other pre-disney photo (and non-photo) advice is greatly appreciated. I'm carrying a 10D w/ a BG-ED (which I love, despite its heft). No money for lenses this year - it's all going to DW.

--
Hounddog

 

[merlin70]

So, we're off to our first trip to Disney World with my 3 and a
half year old. I've searched the forum and gotten lots of good
information on equipment, etc., but didn't have two questions
answered that I've been pondering:

• whether to bring the new (thanks to Dell) 70-200L IS 2.8. My

choices are 24-70L/4, 28-135IS, 50 mm 1.4, Sigma 70-300 and the
beast from Dell. I generally get great results w/ the sigma and
it's not nearly as heavy, but I lose what may be important low
light capability. Carrying all these things (particularly creating
duplicate coverage of focal lengths) seems like too much. My
thoughts, after reading multiple posts, are the 24-70, 50 mm and
70-200.

Went to Disneyland for the first time with my kids on October. I didn't bring my full kit, just the 10D with big ed, and 24-70l. I think you will be in very good shape with the 24-70 and 70-200 with IS. I was able to get indoor show pictures with the 24-70 at 2.8 so you might not need the 50.

whether to bring a tripod for night stuff. I've never been, so I

don't have a good feel for all of this fireworks/parade stuff, etc.
I can't imagine carrying the tripod around the park (while chasing
my daughter and keeping my wife happy).

Personally I wouldn't bring a tripod. Sure it would be nice to have but reality is that it would be a pain and any benefits would be minimal. I have found the parades typically crowded and you would run a very large risk of people tripping on the tripod and/or knocking it around. I just braced myself against one of the many lightposts along the route for low-light pictures. I saw others using the top of trashcans for stability, probably worked well. Especially with the IS on the 70-200, you should be fine for parades/fireworks, just find a lamppost!

• of course, any and all other pre-disney photo (and non-photo)

advice is greatly appreciated. I'm carrying a 10D w/ a BG-ED
(which I love, despite its heft). No money for lenses this year -
it's all going to DW.

have a great time, the biggest thrill for me was spinning the kids as fast as I could on the teacups! I think my ears are still ringing from their screaming

 

[Stephen Jones]

Took 1200 photos in 6 days in May, used 17-40l and a 75-300is.

I don't own both lenses anymore,but the 300 is perfect for Animal Kingdom without having to cart around that very beatiful pink lens (I have one too). so take the sigma.

The 17-40 is a great walk around general lens. you don't have of those so take your 28-135, why, because my daughter was also three when went and you really don't have alot of time to be changing lens when she starts running over to Mickey .and your wife runs into the T shirt store

The 135 will give a little extra length and 28mm is not much different from you 24mm. and the IS will come in handy.

So, we're off to our first trip to Disney World with my 3 and a
half year old. I've searched the forum and gotten lots of good
information on equipment, etc., but didn't have two questions
answered that I've been pondering:

• whether to bring the new (thanks to Dell) 70-200L IS 2.8. My

choices are 24-70L/4, 28-135IS, 50 mm 1.4, Sigma 70-300 and the
beast from Dell. I generally get great results w/ the sigma and
it's not nearly as heavy, but I lose what may be important low
light capability. Carrying all these things (particularly creating
duplicate coverage of focal lengths) seems like too much. My
thoughts, after reading multiple posts, are the 24-70, 50 mm and
70-200.

• whether to bring a tripod for night stuff. I've never been, so I

don't have a good feel for all of this fireworks/parade stuff, etc.
I can't imagine carrying the tripod around the park (while chasing
my daughter and keeping my wife happy).

• of course, any and all other pre-disney photo (and non-photo)

advice is greatly appreciated. I'm carrying a 10D w/ a BG-ED
(which I love, despite its heft). No money for lenses this year -
it's all going to DW.

--
Hounddog

 

[CBuff]

I took my S400 mostly to Magic Kingdom, and My 70-200 IS to Animal Kingdom.

For magic Kingdom, if I do it again, I'll take my 15-30, and keep my 24-70 in my vest's pocket. Forget about 70-200 IS, unless you want all Mom's hiding their kids from the sneakly guy with a long lens Just kdding, but unless you're interested in photographing details (such as door knobs) you'd better be with a wide angle.

By the way, I was there 2 weeks ago with 3 kids (4, 2, and 1 yr old). They loved it. The pics we got back aren't stellar, mostly snapshot pics, good enough for grandparents to display on Piano. But it's a fun trip with kids: just watch their eyes opening up with amazement (don't miss the firework at MGM studio: my 4 year old was simply taken by it ... too dark for pictures though !)

Regards
CBuff

 

[Dennis Unverferth]

Went to Disney World this summer the only lens I had was the 28-135. It filled vitually every need. I suppose had I had something longer it would have been nice to use for the fireworks--we watched them from across the Seven Seas Lagoon in the TTC. For in the parks you really don't need anything longer. There were a few times when I wished I had something wider and my new 15-30 would have been nice but it is really not needed. I would go as light as possible and use only the 28-135.
A few pointers from having visited Disney six times:

-Liberty Square (outside of the hall of presidents is a good place to watch the parade(the floats slow down a bit because they have to make a turn)

-The fireworks can be seen very well from Tomorrowland Terrace and if Tinker Bell is flying from the castle she will go right over your head (she sometimes kicks off the firework show)

-The Illuminations can be seen very well from bridge near the International Gateway in Epcot there is a party area that extends out into the lake which the best place we have ever watched the show however it is often closed for special parties.
I hope this is not too OT and gives you some pointers you might find useful.

As to the tripod the crowd really prohibit it there are plenty of trees and posts if you need them.

 

[John Lehmkuhl]

We did Disneyland here in Los Angeles last year and I only used my 28-135 IS lens. If you get into low light situations iso 400 with IS will save you. It's a very long day if you are carrying around a lot of L glass. I don't have L glass but if I did, I'd still only bring the 28-135 and possibly the Sigma 70-300. For the most part, you'll be in bright daylight so that should not be an issue. If you want to swap out the 24-70L that would probably be OK and in some shots, you'll get better results. That lens is about the best lens ever made.

Here's one from my trip taken with the 28-135 IS:



Have a great trip!
-John Lehmkuhl
--
*********************************************************
Los Angeles Canon digital SLR Group -
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lacdg/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My Photo Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/realkuhl
Lens Example Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/realkuhl/lens_examples

 

[Frank A.]

There are just some places where you do not need the inconvenience of long lenses, etc. Just take a decent point and shoot and concentrate on watching your kid smile. You start worrying about aperture, exposure and the like, you'll miss the imoprtant stuff like giving all your attention to the little ones. Besides, it rains a lot down there. Just my two cents.

 

[H. Meijer]

Get an Canon Ixus 400, and have fun with your wife and child and forget photography for a moment.

Or, remove the BGED3 and mount the 28-135 and further nothing if you want more than a snapshot. Or if you are sure you will get bored walking around the disney park, bring all the stuf you can carry, including notebook to d/l your pics on.

I would opt for the 1st thing though.

Decisions, decisions,
Anyway, have fun, must be great for your kid walking around there.

Cheers and happy shooting
Harry

So, we're off to our first trip to Disney World with my 3 and a
half year old. I've searched the forum and gotten lots of good
information on equipment, etc., but didn't have two questions
answered that I've been pondering:

• whether to bring the new (thanks to Dell) 70-200L IS 2.8. My

choices are 24-70L/4, 28-135IS, 50 mm 1.4, Sigma 70-300 and the
beast from Dell. I generally get great results w/ the sigma and
it's not nearly as heavy, but I lose what may be important low
light capability. Carrying all these things (particularly creating
duplicate coverage of focal lengths) seems like too much. My
thoughts, after reading multiple posts, are the 24-70, 50 mm and
70-200.

• whether to bring a tripod for night stuff. I've never been, so I

don't have a good feel for all of this fireworks/parade stuff, etc.
I can't imagine carrying the tripod around the park (while chasing
my daughter and keeping my wife happy).

• of course, any and all other pre-disney photo (and non-photo)

advice is greatly appreciated. I'm carrying a 10D w/ a BG-ED
(which I love, despite its heft). No money for lenses this year -
it's all going to DW.

--
Hounddog

 

[Andrea_]

Got to agree with this recommendation. As someone else said, you'll be keeping tabs on your family and when you're walking and taking rides with your kids the last thing you want is to be changing lenses all the time or worrying about your gear. The 28-135IS will be perfect for almost everything and you'd probably get more use from a wide angle lens than the big zoom.

Have a great time!

 

[Richard Russell]

We just returned from the Disney cruise (7-day Western Carrib) and a day at Disney World. I have the 70-200L 2.8, but because of its weight, size and expense, I didn't want to take it. (Besides, my kids always ask "You're not bringing that BIG lens, are you?" whenever we go on a trip.)

Given my desire not to lug too much equipment around and the limited space in my camera's belt pack (didn't want to take my whole backpack), I decided on two lenses out of my collection.

I already had the 20-35mm for wide angle and purchased the relatively inexpensive 75-300mm for a knockabout lens over which I would only cry for a couple of days if it got lost/destroyed.

The 20-35 gave me the room to get scenics and whole floats in the parades when they were close and the 75-300 helped me pick my kids out of the surf and on the rides.

I was very pleased with the results on the boat, the islands and in the park. Two lenses didn't take up much room. Sure, I didn't have my fastest glass with me, but for the most part, I didn't miss it. I do wish I had taken my 550EX. The pop-up flash only worked moderately well for fill. To do over again, I would have brought my flash (and lots of batteries).

Over the week trip I shot over 2000 images on my D-60 (I've already rolled the counter over once) and now my only concern is shutter release end-of-life.

I will gladly post some examples if you are interested.

R. Russell

So, we're off to our first trip to Disney World with my 3 and a
half year old. I've searched the forum and gotten lots of good
information on equipment, etc., but didn't have two questions
answered that I've been pondering:

• whether to bring the new (thanks to Dell) 70-200L IS 2.8. My

choices are 24-70L/4, 28-135IS, 50 mm 1.4, Sigma 70-300 and the
beast from Dell. I generally get great results w/ the sigma and
it's not nearly as heavy, but I lose what may be important low
light capability. Carrying all these things (particularly creating
duplicate coverage of focal lengths) seems like too much. My
thoughts, after reading multiple posts, are the 24-70, 50 mm and
70-200.

• whether to bring a tripod for night stuff. I've never been, so I

don't have a good feel for all of this fireworks/parade stuff, etc.
I can't imagine carrying the tripod around the park (while chasing
my daughter and keeping my wife happy).

• of course, any and all other pre-disney photo (and non-photo)

advice is greatly appreciated. I'm carrying a 10D w/ a BG-ED
(which I love, despite its heft). No money for lenses this year -
it's all going to DW.

--
Hounddog

 

[Alan Hartmann]

Spent a day in the Magic Kingdom last summer with just the 28-135 & Sigma 15-30, never felt the need for anything longer. Of course if you'll be at some of the other attractions like Animal Kindgom in particular, you might want your 70-300. Brought the tripod mostly for the fireworks, and placed it on the grass on the safe side of a low fence. BTW, there's a great vantage point for the fireworks on top of the Contemporary, off to the side of the (expensive) restaurant up there. Enjoy your trip!

http://www.pbase.com/abh/magickingdom

--
Alan
http://www.pbase.com/abh
http://www.shutterfreaks.com/gallery/abh

 

[SDommin]

Just take a decent point and shoot and
concentrate on watching your kid smile.

I agree with Frank, but I don't think too many others here will.

--
Scott

My 'Favorites' Gallery:
http://www.pbase.com/sdommin/favorites

 

[A.T.McClain]

Nice advice, Harry - I like it a lot.

-ATM

 

[hound dog]

Spent a day in the Magic Kingdom last summer with just the 28-135 &
Sigma 15-30, never felt the need for anything longer. Of course if
you'll be at some of the other attractions like Animal Kindgom in
particular, you might want your 70-300. Brought the tripod mostly
for the fireworks, and placed it on the grass on the safe side of a
low fence. BTW, there's a great vantage point for the fireworks
on top of the Contemporary, off to the side of the (expensive)
restaurant up there. Enjoy your trip!

http://www.pbase.com/abh/magickingdom

--
Alan
http://www.pbase.com/abh
http://www.shutterfreaks.com/gallery/abh

--
Hounddog

 

[dimage]

It is my experience at both Disneyland and WDW that everything is very crowded together. With the 1.6X crop factor, I find myself using a wide angle lens most of the time. I used 3 lenses with rare exceptions on my trips, a Sigma 17-35 (say about 80% of the time), a 28-135IS (say about 15%), and a 50F1.4 (for indoor shots and Portraits of the kids with the characters). This ven though I packed a 70-200F2.8L and 100-400IS with me on my WDW trip.

If I could choose one lens, then I would pick the Canon 17-40 (I don't have this lens due to already having the others). Even when I had my 28-135IS on, I mostly used it at the wide end of its range. There are some exceptions to this if you are trying to pick up somebody on an attraction or at the Animal Kingdom.

The big lenses like the 70-200F2.8L are too much of burdon to carry around and too few changes to use them unless you want close up details. It is not fast enough for inside stuff usually and too long anyway. I took my 100-400IS to Animal Kingdom expecting to use it on the Safari ride, but they were always wipping around and I only got off a few good shots.

Below is a link to some pictures that I took at WDW and DL over the last three years with a D30 and 10D.

http://www.fototime.com/inv/E266BD4A78FF5DB

I have tromped all over WDW and DL with a LowPro Minitrekker. It is the largest bag that can fit on the rides well and offers good protection. You might consider a small camera backpack (smaller than the MiniTrekker). This will let you carry a few lenses and some other stuff that can come in handy (drinks, suntan lotion, dramamine, rain poncho, etc.).

I DO recommend a lightweight tripod such as the Velbon Maxi 343. This is small enough to fit inside the Minitrekker. On trick it to hang you backpack on it to add stability. It is great for getting some nightime shots.

One other thing, WDW has lockers that can be very Conveinent. You can put stuff away like the tripod and bring it out at night.

So, we're off to our first trip to Disney World with my 3 and a
half year old. I've searched the forum and gotten lots of good
information on equipment, etc., but didn't have two questions
answered that I've been pondering:

• whether to bring the new (thanks to Dell) 70-200L IS 2.8. My

choices are 24-70L/4, 28-135IS, 50 mm 1.4, Sigma 70-300 and the
beast from Dell. I generally get great results w/ the sigma and
it's not nearly as heavy, but I lose what may be important low
light capability. Carrying all these things (particularly creating
duplicate coverage of focal lengths) seems like too much. My
thoughts, after reading multiple posts, are the 24-70, 50 mm and
70-200.

• whether to bring a tripod for night stuff. I've never been, so I

don't have a good feel for all of this fireworks/parade stuff, etc.
I can't imagine carrying the tripod around the park (while chasing
my daughter and keeping my wife happy).

• of course, any and all other pre-disney photo (and non-photo)

advice is greatly appreciated. I'm carrying a 10D w/ a BG-ED
(which I love, despite its heft). No money for lenses this year -
it's all going to DW.

--
Hounddog

 

[Giclee1]

Found myself with the 28-135 on the camera at all times, I went to enjoy the park with my kids instead of looking for award winning shots or pretending to be an AP photographer. The lens worked great, brought a 19-35 that I used once, but I am REALLY happy I spent my money on Memory Cards!!! Brought 6 256mb cards and 2 128's. Filled them all!!!

Here are some pics from the trip! Have fun and relax!

http://home.earthlink.net/~epatzer/LargerDisney/

 

[nickjc]

My First trip to disney 3 years ago with the kids..my wife to her elf camera....I spent the time arrying the kids... ;^ )

This last trip I wook my G2 and Nikon F3 with lenses tripods etc...

Guess what..after the first day all I carried was the G2...

For me going back next year will probably be the 10D with battery grip, Sigma 28-105 and the Sigma 70-300 that is it with a portable HDD of course......all in a Lowe pro photo runner bag...

Have fun and if you can DO NOT MISS the Whoopty Do musical review at the campground by boat from the wilderness lodge...

Have Fun !

Nick

 

[Clicker]

So, we're off to our first trip to Disney World with my 3 and a
half year old.

You're gonna be pooped! We just got back from 7 days with 5 kids... it was PACKED for Christmas like you wouldn't believe. I suspect New Years will be equally busy. Visited all 4 areas (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Downtown) and was even able to relax for 10 minutes one day by the pool ;-)

• whether to bring the new (thanks to Dell) 70-200L IS 2.8. My

choices are 24-70L/4, 28-135IS, 50 mm 1.4, Sigma 70-300 and the
beast from Dell. I generally get great results w/ the sigma and
it's not nearly as heavy, but I lose what may be important low
light capability. Carrying all these things (particularly creating
duplicate coverage of focal lengths) seems like too much. My
thoughts, after reading multiple posts, are the 24-70, 50 mm and
70-200.

I brought the 10D, 28-135IS, 70-200IS, 50 1.4, 2x tele, 4 batteries, 4 256MB cards. I only used the 70-200IS at Animal Kingdom. Jostled around a lot on the truck, no time to plunk on the 2x when I wanted it. I think the 28-135IS would have worked just as good as the 70-200IS on most shots. The 28-135IS was on the 10D 95% of the time and worked GREAT on most every shot. Even night shots handheld came out surprisingly good down to about 1/15. For fireworks at Magic Kingdom and Epcot I just found a post to rest the camera on. If anything, I would have liked to go wider on many shots! Next time, I will leave the 70-200IS home (very heavy to lug around all day... even in my backpack) and bring something wider. The 28-135IS is awesome in almost every situation. I think the 10D w/28-135 and 2 batteries in my LowePro TLZ2 would have been a much lighter and easier pack to carry around. Also, 1 battery easily lasted all day/night.

• whether to bring a tripod for night stuff. I've never been, so I

don't have a good feel for all of this fireworks/parade stuff, etc.
I can't imagine carrying the tripod around the park (while chasing
my daughter and keeping my wife happy).

I did see quite a few people with tripods. I am very happy with all my night shots w/o a tripod. This was definitely the year for digital at Disney. Very few cameras that I saw were film... and I saw a TON of cameras! Mostly P&S, some disposables even Hope this gives anybody heading to Disney a better idea of what to expect.

--
Clicker

 

[Dwayne Nelson]

I was there a few months back with my wife and daughter. I found the longer lenses useless since I was always with my favorite subect (my daughter). 24-70 for most of the pics but I rented the Canon 14mm and Canon 16-35 from Samys to try them out.

So, we're off to our first trip to Disney World with my 3 and a
half year old. I've searched the forum and gotten lots of good
information on equipment, etc., but didn't have two questions
answered that I've been pondering:

• whether to bring the new (thanks to Dell) 70-200L IS 2.8. My

choices are 24-70L/4, 28-135IS, 50 mm 1.4, Sigma 70-300 and the
beast from Dell. I generally get great results w/ the sigma and
it's not nearly as heavy, but I lose what may be important low
light capability. Carrying all these things (particularly creating
duplicate coverage of focal lengths) seems like too much. My
thoughts, after reading multiple posts, are the 24-70, 50 mm and
70-200.

• whether to bring a tripod for night stuff. I've never been, so I

don't have a good feel for all of this fireworks/parade stuff, etc.
I can't imagine carrying the tripod around the park (while chasing
my daughter and keeping my wife happy).

• of course, any and all other pre-disney photo (and non-photo)

advice is greatly appreciated. I'm carrying a 10D w/ a BG-ED
(which I love, despite its heft). No money for lenses this year -
it's all going to DW.

--
Hounddog

 

[Eric Haglund]

Sounds like a lot to carry to me. And worry about losing/breaking/getting stolen. Wouldn't it be easier and more carefree fun to take a nice P&S instead? Maybe take the heavy artillery on the last day after making mental notes of certain things you want to shoot? A little p&s might be easier to handle on rides, etc, to get shots of your child(ren?), etc. Just an IMHO.

--
Eric, Snapshooter
DSixty, GTwo, Four20EX, Fuji 38Hundred
http://www.pbase.com/haglunde

So, we're off to our first trip to Disney World with my 3 and a
half year old. I've searched the forum and gotten lots of good
information on equipment, etc., but didn't have two questions
answered that I've been pondering:

• whether to bring the new (thanks to Dell) 70-200L IS 2.8. My

choices are 24-70L/4, 28-135IS, 50 mm 1.4, Sigma 70-300 and the
beast from Dell. I generally get great results w/ the sigma and
it's not nearly as heavy, but I lose what may be important low
light capability. Carrying all these things (particularly creating
duplicate coverage of focal lengths) seems like too much. My
thoughts, after reading multiple posts, are the 24-70, 50 mm and
70-200.

• whether to bring a tripod for night stuff. I've never been, so I

don't have a good feel for all of this fireworks/parade stuff, etc.
I can't imagine carrying the tripod around the park (while chasing
my daughter and keeping my wife happy).

• of course, any and all other pre-disney photo (and non-photo)

advice is greatly appreciated. I'm carrying a 10D w/ a BG-ED
(which I love, despite its heft). No money for lenses this year -
it's all going to DW.

--
Hounddog