If photos are important to you do you use a camera or phone?

I stopped taking the good camera. I used to insist on it. But honestly, anything I want a nice photo of had been posted online and it’s better than mine would have been. It’s also nice not to have the camera strap around my neck or mess with the bag. iPhone photos are sufficient for most things.
 
When you're on rides, especially water rides, how do you keep your camera safe? My purse was all over the place on Guardians. I can't imagine how much I'd worry if I had my "good" camera.
On Guardians, I put it in a crossbody bag that's wrapped around my ankles and wedged between my feet. It doesn't move much. It's also inside a neoprene camera sleeve.

On water rides, I put it inside a plastic bag.
 
When you're on rides, especially water rides, how do you keep your camera safe? My purse was all over the place on Guardians. I can't imagine how much I'd worry if I had my "good" camera.

We don't usually ride GRR, but I might opt for a locker if we did. I don't remember what I did for Splash, which means I probably didn't do anything special. My 5d can take a bit of splash without issue. As for Guardians, my camera was on the floor wedged tightly between my feet.

I use a cross body strap, so it's always secure

Cross body is a must for me... so much more comfortable than something around my neck.

I'm always looking to go wide and fast. Is that a 2.8 lens? Very tempting!

Yes! It's a 2.8... love that thing, seriously love it. It is my go to lens for travel. I need to send it off to for repair, just dreading the bill. It's great because I can get good photos without having to have a lot of space between me and my subject... which is key on those crowded days at the park.
 
I use both. I have a canon 5d mark II that I bring, and then my iPhone is an 8+. We still have little kids (6, 4, 2) so the canon is more for character pics, and candid stuff around the park (and outdoor rides I can take pics from the ground if I'm waiting with the baby.) I have done a 50mm and a 24-70mm, I usually bring the 24-70 even though it's hefty. The iPhone is for ride pics, and times when I don't feel like getting the camera out/can't get it out fast enough.

so, last halloween we had 7am magic morning, and our party of 8 was in front of the castle with no one around. It was awesome. A dad with a stroller offered to take pics and took my canon saying he knew DSLRs. He also took some with the phone. My lens must have gotten set to manual focus, because I saw him focusing and wondered WTH he was doing, and then the pics came out where the castle was in focus but we weren't. ha. Surprisingly, the phone pics were pretty awesome. I could probably blow up to 8x10 and it would be tolerable sharpness. That's a plus though, my husband's 8 there's no chance.
 


I have taken bigger, badder, progressively better cameras and lenses to Disney. Film, point and shoots, bridge, crops, full frame, mirrorless, iPhones 4-7. The best camera is the one you have with you and the one you will use. I’m also a scrapbooker and have found that all of the above have worked just fine.

I just finished a trip with nothing but my iPhone 7 and Photo Pass. It was freaking HOT. The last thing I wanted to do was haul around the D750 and lenses. Photos and taking them have always been important to me. I do not and have not regretted leaving my “big girl camera(s)” behind. First order of business is enjoying my vacation with my family. I would have been miserable had I brought it this trip.
 
I almost exclusively use my iPhone 8Plus. I have a great little point and shoot, and it takes better pictures but I hate the extra overhead of carrying it around. Which is silly because it's tiny and light. I just don't like having one more thing to wrangle. I have a little crossbody bag and that's it. If it doesn't fit it doesn't go. I don't even carry a wallet. Just a few cards.
 
My iphone6 takes great pictures. I have several cameras but have no idea where they are.
 


I have my iPhone, my Canon T3i, and I have a small Nikon point & shoot that I got when Harry Potter first opened in FL, so I could take pictures of the queues and still have a phone that fits in a pocket. They all serve their purpose. In May, we went to Hong Kong, and in the crowded, small spaces I just used my iPhone, but now that we are home, I am disappointed that I can't print some of them larger than a 4x6. I wish I had taken the time to pull out the Nikon. I like the dSLR, but agree sometimes it is too bulky and heavy to want to deal with it.
 
Wife and I have iPhone X’s but she will usually still bring her Canon DSLR for our morning half of the trip (we are an opening to closing family with a mid-day break). And depending on how many days we are there she won’t bring the DSLR every day.
 
I think I've covered most camera options over the years. Started carrying compact digital cameras when they were affordable. When my daughter was born, I switched to DSLRs (big cameras) and actually carried two in the park (only for one day) back when they allowed longer lenses. The big lesson I learned was that quick access to the device increases the number of photos you can take resulting in a higher chance of great shots. With a DLSR, I came home with maybe 150 photos due to the time it took to take out of the case, boot up (was slow back then), frame the shot and take it. With point and shoots armed with a high capacity memory card, I would rapid fire away in a short period of time. Most of my favorite photos from the park were spontaneous shots picked out of a large group of photos, my record is 3,000 in a 5 day period. Following is a summary of the experience I have had with each setup:

  1. DSLR Best quality photos and control (framing, effects, lighting) with the major draw back of weight and reaction time/quantity of photos. DSLRs are expensive, you will probably use a carrying case in between shots or on rides. As stated above, you are sacrificing quantity for quality and missing spontaneous moments that would make for great photos. I remember stopping my family frequently saying "Hang on, hang on" when I wanted to take a photo when the camera was stored. Group groans are just the type of sound you want to hear on a family vacation.
  2. Dedicated point and shoot For reference, the most recent point and shoots I've used are the Canon 90s and the Fujifilm X100. You could argue that the Fujifilm is not a point and shoot with all of the controls, but it can still fit in my pocket (baggy shorts) and you can set it on fully automatic. Advantages are the accessibility, making it easy to pop off a number of shots at a moment notice. The X100f now has a 24 megapixel sensor which makes cropping a snap. No need to worry too much about zoom. Another advantage is saving your phone battery. I also find it a bit quicker not needing to unlock the phone and switch to the camera app each time.
  3. iPhone/Android Big advantage, one device for photos and video. Any iPhone at the 7s plus and above level is great. The 7s plus has dual optical lenses to reduce the amount of digital zoom. Not an android user, but the equivalent of a 7s plus and above should be around the same quality. It's nice to have the ease of switching between camera and video quickly (point and shots are sometimes a pain). The ability to snap stills while shooting video is great, but the quality is usually suspect. I also love the ease of sharing photos while on a trip, and how easy it is to backup the photos online directly from the phone.
  4. Dedicated video camera Handhelds are cheap and offer better features than phone video. One notable mention is a GoPro on a very short handle so you do not trigger the anti-selfie stick policy. I was able to fully record my daughters first ride on everything with good lighting, you will not be able to hold the phone and get good results on rides like Matterhorn and Splash. In particular if someone is seated behind you. The most treasured videos in our files are my daughters first rides, the Matterhorn at age 4 was a hoot!
  5. The Dual Wield My wife was not a big fan of this one, kind looks strange. When my daughter was really in to meeting characters, I held my video camera in the left hand and point and shoot in the right. I was able to get full videos of my daughter meeting characters while not missing a beat to snap stills.
  6. Photopass I really can not understate how awesome the Photopass is now that it is included with Maxpass. We tried using the in park photographers when they first started offering the service, but the cost/convenience was not there for us. Now that we have Maxpass, we use the service almost everyday on the trip. We never bother to stand in line, but if we see a photographer with no one there, we almost always take advantage. It eliminates handing my camera/phone to a stranger to snap our group shots, and the photographers take excellent photos.
I now tend to rotate between several options above depending on the trip. Last couple trips I relied on the iPhone for all of the photos and videos and everything turned out great. I've been kicking around the idea of bringing the DSLR again because of my fish eye lens, but would probably only take it in the park a few times. I also have a DJI phone gimbal that can take 9x9 photos. Brought it on the last trip but never used it. Overall, finding what works best for you that balances quantity of photos, convenience, quality, and your budget sometimes takes a couple trips. Hope the above helps.
 
We stopped taking a camera years ago. Today smartphones take very good photos. Certainly good enough for the average person.
 
DSLR Best quality photos and control (framing, effects, lighting) with the major draw back of weight and reaction time/quantity of photos.

Totally agree with this and I did much better when I decided to keep it simple. I ditched the case, extra lens and shooting in manual, my usual mode. After that I was able to treat my DSLR more like a big point and shoot with it in auto. Part of the time I even "shoot from the hip" without even bringing the camera to my eye... lots of fun, unique shots, especially since my one lens I bring is a wide angle.

We never bother to stand in line, but if we see a photographer with no one there, we almost always take advantage.

This. Now that the photos are included in MaxPass, we get photos with any free photographer we find.

I've been kicking around the idea of bringing the DSLR again because of my fish eye lens, but would probably only take it in the park a few times.

Do it! A couple of years ago, we used our last half day before heading to the airport as a low key shopping day in the park. I took my circular fisheye and had so much fun playing! I'm not sure I would take it on a day or at a time that we would be actually trying to get things done, but on that low key day, it was great!

I should probably add to my posts on this thread, that I am a photography hobbyest and scrapbooker... so taking good photos are both important and fun for me (which means, I overlook a lot of the inconvenience of carrying my camera). I also always go with just my daughter who is now 16, so I'm not keeping track of small children and I'm traveling light other than my camera.
 
I bring a real camera. I don't find my iphone takes that great of pics. Plus I like to have more zoom. For our last trip, I bought a smaller Canon point and shoot with a pretty good amount of optical zoom. Not as much as my bigger camera, but better than my iphone and it was MUCH lighter than my bigger camera. For Splash and GRR, I put the camera and my iphone in a ziplock bag.
 
I bring a real camera. I don't find my iphone takes that great of pics. Plus I like to have more zoom. For our last trip, I bought a smaller Canon point and shoot with a pretty good amount of optical zoom. Not as much as my bigger camera, but better than my iphone and it was MUCH lighter than my bigger camera. For Splash and GRR, I put the camera and my iphone in a ziplock bag.
I use both the X and traditional DSLR,
Depends on what I am shooting

Jack
 
I'm picky about photos, and I would not be happy with only phone pictures. At Disney World, I've taken my 5D mark III with either my 50mm or 24-70 lens in years past. I got a 35mm lens recently, and I can't wait to try it on my next trip! I'm also still in the stroller years with a child too young to ride everything, which helps because I have the basket underneath to stow it in when it gets too heavy. We usually park hop, and often I'll choose just to take it out in the morning or just take it out in the evening so that I'm not carrying it around all day.
 
We are complete geeks. I let each kid use our Fujifilm xp80s, they are the waterproof & shockproof ones. I videoed our family on GRR - the whole ride start to finish- with our GoPro, and that video was AWesome in 4K!!!! Just love that pure joy captured on video.

If terribly hot, I’ll lv the Canon 7 & Tamron sport lens (glass lens to replace canon stock lens) at the hotel and use the photopass A LOT.

We’re meeting my BFFs family from Boston in SoCal, so I’ll DEF bring the “big one”, and let the kids go crazy with hand helds & the GoPros.

Ziploc bag for water rides!!!!
 
I prefer a DSLR. I have a Pentax which is smaller and lighter than the usual Canon or Nikon. It takes great photos, is water resistant (survived downpours in DL and Venice,) and has a metal frame so it's durable (survived drops that killed Nikons.) I use a DLSR because I can see the lens distortions from cell phone cameras. At the same time, cell phones take great photos, so if it suits you, go with just the cell phone. Let the PhotoPass people carry the DSLR's.
 
On Guardians, I put it in a crossbody bag that's wrapped around my ankles and wedged between my feet. It doesn't move much. It's also inside a neoprene camera sleeve.

On water rides, I put it inside a plastic bag.
I brought a DSLR on my last trip. I bought a cross body strap for it so it sat at my hip. When walking it was natural for me protect it with my hand. I usually had it in my hand getting on and off rides. For the the water rides, roller coasters and guardians I had a small padded bag inside my backpack that I put the camera so it kept it protected. I got some GREAT pics with that camera
 
I have an iPhone X so I will use that if I don’t have my DSLR on me but 90% of the time I just lug my DSLR around with me. I like to get a locker to put it in if the weight gets to me, or at night when I’m less likely to take photos.
 

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