Would you take your digital slr in this situation....

[southernbelle_amy]

So we are going to Disney world for 7 days in February. This includes me, my husband,and 2 yo son. We went in may 2011 also. The issue is that I am going to be in a conference till 4-5pm for 5 days of the trip.

I have discussed getting a preordered photo pass so my husband could get his and my sons pic when I'm not there. Plus then when I am there we have group shots. I've never done that before.

I have a good little point and shoot and a Nikon D5000. Which I do prefer but also don't necessarily want to carry all the time in the evenings. I feel like 3 photo options is over kill but I'm afraid of leaving the big camera at home and regretting it.

Thoughts? Also any pros and cons to photo pass. Thanks.

 

[photo_chick]

I take my DSLR everywhere.

 

[Daisy14'sDH]

I take my DSLR everywhere.

ditto

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I have had good luck and bad luck with Photopass. Our last trip I decided not to use them based on our previous trip because many of the photos weren't very good. As far as carrying the DSLR, I would carry mine, but I always carry an inordinate amount of gear. IMO you will have to decide what you are going to photograph. It sounds like most of the time you are going to be shooting in lowlight so there will be limitations with the P & S. That doesn't mean you can't get the shots with the P & S, it will just take a little effort. My DD has done some amazing lowlight work with her P & S. The DSLR should make lowlight shooting easier. Only you know what you want to shoot, so I would take the best gear for the situations I want to shoot.

 

[zackiedawg]

Tough call - how often do you get to Disney? I'd say if you only get down here once a year or less, bringing the DSLR might still be worth it - if you're a more frequent visitor, you might do fine without it and in fact it might be a fun challenge working within the limitations of the P&S.

I have a conference in the Orlando area every two years or so for my company (this year it's in May) and in the past I have tried different things. One year I brought only a P&S and left my DSLR...another time I brought the DSLR. Last July I left the DSLR behind again, but had my mirrorless to take its place, which is a better compromise than P&S as it still has the big sensor and can accomodate a few lenses.

I never felt I was really missing my DSLR, yet I'd usually bring it everywhere. I think the difference with the conferences was that I go to Disney so often, I can always make up for what I miss on my next trip. It might be harder for someone who doesn't get there as often. Also, I think you need to consider how much of the rest of your time after the conferences are going to be 'photo opps' and how much just fun time with the family...that can help decide if lugging the DSLR will pay off enough, or if you should just enjoy the time with family and at Disney and relax a bit.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

So we are going to Disney world for 7 days in February. This includes me, my husband,and 2 yo son. We went in may 2011 also. The issue is that I am going to be in a conference till 4-5pm for 5 days of the trip.

I have discussed getting a preordered photo pass so my husband could get his and my sons pic when I'm not there. Plus then when I am there we have group shots. I've never done that before.

I have a good little point and shoot and a Nikon D5000. Which I do prefer but also don't necessarily want to carry all the time in the evenings. I feel like 3 photo options is over kill but I'm afraid of leaving the big camera at home and regretting it.

Thoughts? Also any pros and cons to photo pass. Thanks.

Thinking out loud here....

I dunno. Your husband will be alone all day, for 5 days, with a 2 yr old, he's probably going to want a break. I imagine if you get out at 4 or 5pm you probably start around 8am or so, which means you have to get up around 6-6:30am? After putting in a full day yourself, you'll have a little time for dinner, then putting the little guy to sleep probably fairly early, you probably won't be going anywhere once your son is asleep (?), then you'll be pretty tired yourself? I'm thinking your photo ops are going to be somewhat limited - except for your son, which is why I'd probably just take the dSLR but not go overboard with equipment. Does your husband also use it?

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

In a word...yes

 

[NLD]

I was in Orlando for a conference in October.

I only went to Disney one night while there, for MNSSHP. I brought my DSLR.

Looking back--I shouldn't have. It wasn't worth it.

This is coming from someone who says unequivocally to everyone who asks, YES, take the DSLR on the trip.

But the fact is--it was evening (dark), I had so little time to enjoy the park, and I was already worn out from conference activities. And it's not like I didn't already have night shots of Magic Kingdom.

Anyway, I shot a few pics on some of the rides and then pretty much bagged the camera and just enjoyed the company of my colleague and the atmosphere of the party.I wish I hadn't even lugged the camera along.

Now--that was one night, not a whole week's worth of evenings in the park. And I didn't have family with me (to capture memories of them.) So take it for what it's worth.

But if it were me, I'd be inclined to actually leave it behind in this instance. Or... take it with you, with just one fast prime on it. No bag, no tripod. See how it goes the first night. And then decide whether to carry it the other nights.

 

[alloyd1170]

My dslr goes everywhere with me. Give the point and shoot to your hubby to use during the day. You will want the dslr at night as the point and shoot probably won't cut it as others have said. Just bring the camera and one all purpose lens, and something to protect it should it rain (you can stash your wallet, etc in it as well). As for photopass, if you preorder it, can't you cancel the order within so many days? Say you don't like any of the photos they take, or you don't have many taken? I forget how it works now that I do my own shots.

 

[wkrider]

Take it....if you get tired of carrying it the first or second night then leave it in your room. Better to have it and not want it then want it and not have it.....just my 2 cents.

 

[alloyd1170]

My dslr goes everywhere with me. Give the point and shoot to your hubby to use during the day. You will want the dslr at night as the point and shoot probably won't cut it as others have said. Just bring the camera and one all purpose lens, and something to protect it should it rain (you can stash your wallet, etc in it as well). As for photopass, if you preorder it, can't you cancel the order within so many days? Say you don't like any of the photos they take, or you don't have many taken? I forget how it works now that I do my own shots.

 

[Groucho]

Why have a DSLR if not to take to places like this?

Usually the excuse for bringing a PnS instead is that you don't want to spend time working on taking photos. The thing that gets overlooked is that a DSLR is generally much, much faster at taking photos than the point-n-shoot is. If you leave it on all the time (especially if you leave the lens cap off and a lens hood [for protection] on), you just raise it to your eye, maybe give a quick twist of the zoom ring, and bam, there's your snapshot. You can be done in the time that it takes for the PnS to just turn on, then it's slower to zoom, slower to focus, slower to take the picture, slower to write it, and you usually don't want to leave it on so you don't actually bump the extended lens.

Yes, the DSLR is bigger, but a D5000 is really not all that big.

 

[sarahewoods]

I don't go anywhere without my Dslr, yes they are heavy, but the quality of images are so much more. Xx

 

[klmall]

My 2 cents is to take both cameras and if your PnS takes pictures in RAW, have DH take his pictures in that format. I always bring both my dSLR and my Canon G12 but then, I don't have a 2 year old to chase around.

We've never done the PhotoPass but if I was sending DH out with a child without ME I would use PhotoPass just to get as many photos of the two of them, characters etc. It might be useful in those evenings when you're tired too!

 

[njtree]

my p&s is my slr. Disney is different every trip. It help you get those moments that you may miss. I had my tripod and bag on big thunder railroad last night of the trip.

 

[wbeem]

You can't take nice photos with your DSLR if you leave it at home. I've taken my Nikon D700 and a tripod on business trips from San Francisco to Washington D.C. and always came back glad that I did it.

Carrying the gear is a part of photography. You just accept it because that's how you capture beautiful moments.