Taking A DSLR To Florida?

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AdamK

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Me and the Mrs are going to Orlando in January and going to do the usual theme parks, Disney, Universal & Seaworld.

Now I really want to take my D7000 as it is going to be a holiday to remember and I want to get some great pics but Im just thinking what do I do with the camera if we go on a roller coaster??
Is it just going to get in my way and should I just take a point & shoot?

Anyone been with one that can comment?

Thanks.
 
They have lockers beside the rides where you can store your stuff in (just don't lose the keys)
 
They have just shut down Disney World Florida on health grounds. Apparently the health inspectors did a check in one of the food halls and found 2x6ft mice trying to escape out the back door.:lol::lol::lol:

Realspeed
 
alexw9 said:
They have lockers beside the rides where you can store your stuff in (just don't lose the keys)
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Mostly it's fingerprint ident now for the lockers. You get between 20 mins and 1 hour free, then it costs.

Take a point and shoot for the days you are going on roller coasters/rides. Take the DSLR for other occaisions such as downtown disney, the firework displays etc.

Don't forget there's other things in Florida other than disney and universal.
 
i took mine and to be honest it was a pain in the but carrying it around. Although a fantastic holiday for the images I have I'd have been as well taking a compact! if you plan on doing some serious stuff great but easier just to enjoy the holiday rather than worry about carrying a camera!

As noted above there are lockers available at most rides that are easy to use (finger print recognition).
 
I have taken my full kit the last 3-4 years.
One advantage I have though, is that my wife and my in-laws don't like roller coasters, and so are happy to wait with by camera bag on the few rides I go on.
On the kids rides however (only ones which I can convince SWMBO to go on, she likes Winnie the Pooh...., it is OK to take the bag on with me, a Crumpler The Big Cheese).

Having a decent arrangement, including flash, can be useful for things like the parades.

As noted, there are a lot more things to look at than just the parks though.
Cypress Gardens was really nice, but unfortunately appear to have succumbed to the recession. If you are interested in such things, Kennedy Space Centre currently is doing a buy one day, return within 7 days for free. To do it justice, it does require 2 days (was a rush in 1 day, and I had been previously, ~10 years ago). This includes the museum/hall down the road.
My wife, using the 70-300 managed to get shots of us on some of the roller coasters, and there are some very nice wildlife shots available if youhave a longer lens.

A place called Gatorland isn't too far from the main parks (~30 minutes), that was quite a good day (a full day again, but less crowded and less rushed).
 
Take both .......... remember to let camera warm up for a good 15mins after coming out of air-conditioned room into hot humid Florida or you will get steamed up lens.
 
chazza said:
Take both .......... remember to let camera warm up for a good 15mins after coming out of air-conditioned room into hot humid Florida or you will get steamed up lens.
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Or put a filter over the end of the camera. and take it off when you want to shoot.
Might look silly, but it works
 
coldpenguin said:
A place called Gatorland isn't too far from the main parks (~30 minutes), that was quite a good day (a full day again, but less crowded and less rushed).
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I didn't stick up suggestions in case they already had a schedule but Gatorland is good if you have kids. Even better if you've had enough of them "Go feed the crocs"
gator1.jpg


Festival of Flight on the road to Tampa is good if you like planes, get an airboat ride...
 
Thanks for the input.

I quite fancy going Gatorland, I went about 15 years ago and really enjoyed it.

I think Im just going to take a P&S, I will be able to relax more then rather than worrying about where I just put £1.5k of camera and lens.
 
EOS_JD said:
the name of the place tells you they're not crocs :lol:
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LOL!
First time I used the liveview as it was taken over the top of a chain link fence.
Them gators moved very quickly when a bucket of chicken appeared.
 
AdamK said:
Thanks for the input.

I quite fancy going Gatorland, I went about 15 years ago and really enjoyed it.

I think Im just going to take a P&S, I will be able to relax more then rather than worrying about where I just put £1.5k of camera and lens.
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We are off to Orlando next year as well - have been once before in 2007. As far as I remember it the Universal parks had the fingerprint lockers, Seaworld & Busch Gardens were paid lockers and I don't think we used a locker at Disney apart at the water parks (paid lockers).

I think I'm going to leave the D60 at home and take the Panny Bridge camera instead - small and versatile is the way forward. We will also have the little camcorder this time which will be a big improvement on the heaving great thing we had last time.

I think it would be worth you looking at getting a second hand bridge camera to take - my Panasonic FZ8 was only about £150 and that was years ago. If you can get something similar it will give you more creative control than your average P&S but you won't have the stress of carrying your full kit around. Something like this seems a good shout:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-L...DYPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291460663&sr=8-1
 
Ive just bought a Canon XS30 to take on holidays as I am sick of carting all my round all day.
 
Been over 10 times and would never go without my DSLR, I go on all the rides and take my camera in a slingshot camera bag, very few rides are you not allowed to carry on, and as stated for those rides you have a lockers available.

Anyone that thinks its a pain in the a$$ is doing something wrong!!
 
I always take a DSLR there,the chances are whilst in the parks the longest lens you will need will be 120mm.As stated earlier there other places apart from the parks.Try an airboat ride at Boggy creek http://www.bcairboats.com/ they offer a fantastic opportunity to get up close to some of florida's wildlife, Merrit Island,near Canaveral is a fantastic place with the chance to shoot dolphins and manatees as well as many birds,Kennedy space centre is a full of intersting subjects to shoot,including the rocket garden.If you really want to push the boat out,do a balloon ride,a bit expensive but well worth it,we booked ours before we left the UK and they chucked in an airboat ride for free.
 
Take it. When my D300 is in my rucksack I hardly notice it. Or, buy a top notch compact (g11, lx5, GF1 type of thing) 2nd hand, then sell when you get back, shouldnt lose too much?
 
I'd definitely take my DSLR on holiday and would probably take it on rides if possible, but I have a 50mm prime rather than a zoom so it's very portable. If I had a 70-200 it would probably not be so easy!
 
when we go to florida i normally just take my panasonic bridge camea to the parks where you know you will get wet and put it inside a zip clear bag- it takes lovely pics
then when you go to bush gardens and go on the train its like being in a safari park you can take good camera and zoom lens:clap:
 
I had this dilemma in the run up to our visit in september, i got a Panny TZ8 just for the hol, more for the zoom range than anything, and it was more than adequate, until the sun started to go down, then i missed my kit in a big and very frustrating way.

I'd take both but limit the amount of SLR kit you take, i.e lenses, you'll spend much more time at the wide end than long, so leave the big zooms at home, use a compact for that, then the SLR for low light and real wide stuff and i'm sure you'll be happy.
 
AdamK said:
Me and the Mrs are going to Orlando in January and going to do the usual theme parks, Disney, Universal & Seaworld.

Now I really want to take my D7000 as it is going to be a holiday to remember and I want to get some great pics but Im just thinking what do I do with the camera if we go on a roller coaster??
Is it just going to get in my way and should I just take a point & shoot?

Anyone been with one that can comment?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

holiday snaps = pos
 
I took my D700 to Orlando earlier in the year and could have made do with a P&S for 95% of the shots I took, but the 5% where the D700 earned its keep made me glad I took it (mostly night/low light stuff). At the theme parks I stuck on a prime (either 24mm or 50mm) and carried it in a Muffin Top 2500 with no problems. There were the odd few toting D3/24-70 combos which looked like hard work, one guy in the queue for the Harry Potter ride had a big Canon/70-200/flash which looked a touch out of place.
 
At some stage taking snaps in general becomes a frustrating exercise. This is all PS can give. Take your proper kit and concentrate on getting those few excellent shots and forget the snapping.
 
craigg said:
Anyone that thinks its a pain in the a$$ is doing something wrong!!
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As above, just take a small bag + 1 lens (I took the 18-135mm). I took mine out with me nearly every day. The original plan was to use the P+S for most the holiday and just take the SLR out a couple of times to get some decent pictures. In the end the P+S hardly got used. I will only become a pain if you start carrying flash guns, a couple of zooms + filters etc.

I did all the rides at Disney/universal/sea world and it was never a problem. Even on rides like rocknroller coaster/splash mountain/Everest etc where there are no lockers, it was still fine. Let the strap out as long as possible, keep it over your shoulder and get the camera between your legs under the lap bar.
 
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I've been to the Orlando and the parks many times. There were rides last time that you couldn't take any bags on and had to put them in a locker.

Take a waterproof bag when you go to Seaworld .... trust me, you'll probably want to keep your camera relatively dry.

Its a tough old day doing the parks, carrying any amount of camera stuff can be eventually annoying so I have usually taken just camera and 18 - 200

As mentioned though, don't stop at the Parks. Busch Gardens and Cypress Gardens were great, and although its a long way ... if you get the chance to get to the bottom the the Keys then go because you'll get some great shots!

On Saturday nights at Kissammee Old Town there's normally a parade of old cars

Enjoy ....... I'm heading back that way next year
 
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