Lens preference for Disney World? Help!

AirThom · March 23, 2010

Heading to Disney World next week and I'm torn between renting/buying a 17-55 2.8 or a 18-200mm. I'd love the simplicity of the 18-200 but what would I miss out on by not having a wider aperture avail? Anything? Also, I think I'm going to pick up a BlackRapid strap too.. I've read a lot of positive comments about them.

Any input? Any tips on other Disney related stuffs?

Appreciate all the help, guys/gals!

Mitchell · March 23, 2010

I would strongly recommend the Nikkor 18-200mm lens for Disney. I bought one of those just for my Disney visits!! Very handy and light. No need to change lenses. IQ is pretty good throughout the range and the VR can be helpful.

Carry your 50mm with you in case you really need something fast.

That's how I do it!

Fun wide (18mm)

Sharp even long (200mm)

VR comes in handy

Even nice for quick grabs during lunch

GadgetRick · March 23, 2010

I 2nd what Mitch says although I'd also look at the Sigma 18-200 DC OS HSM. I had one and just sold it (I switched to Canon) and it's a fantastic lens. Actually gets ever so slightly better reviews than the Nikon version and it's much less expensive.

Add the Nikone 50mm f1.8 and you're good to go. It's small enough to throw in a bag and have it with you for those shots in Pirates...

Enitsugua · March 23, 2010

AirThom wrote:

Heading to Disney World next week and I'm torn between renting/buying a 17-55 2.8 or a 18-200mm. I'd love the simplicity of the 18-200 but what would I miss out on by not having a wider aperture avail? Anything? Also, I think I'm going to pick up a BlackRapid strap too.. I've read a lot of positive comments about them.

Any input? Any tips on other Disney related stuffs?

Appreciate all the help, guys/gals!

Put down the DSLR. Actually spend the time with the kids. Buy a Canon S90 or G11 and participate (without having to figure out how to carry the DSLR or how to protect it) with the kids.

craig_d · March 23, 2010

Enitsugua wrote:

Put down the DSLR. Actually spend the time with the kids. Buy a Canon S90 or G11 and participate (without having to figure out how to carry the DSLR or how to protect it) with the kids.

I have to agree -- carry a good P&S and leave it at that. Besides, how are you going to go on any water rides with a DSLR? At least with a P&S you can wear a water-resistant jacket and just slip it into an inside pocket.

Eclipsed · March 23, 2010

Put down the DSLR. Actually spend the time with the kids. Buy a Canon S90 or G11 and participate (without having to figure out how to carry the DSLR or how to protect it) with the kids.

I third that. It is just the reason I bought a point and shoot myself. If you get a good one the quality is almost as good as a DSLR. I find mine so useful because I can do anything and go anywhere with it. Nothing big and clunky hanging around my neck.

If you are set on your DSLR then I would go with the 18-200mm. For shooting the family and whatnot it will work great.

kdog · March 23, 2010

craig_d wrote:

At least with a P&S you can wear a water-resistant jacket and just slip it into an inside pocket.

Or just put it in a Ziploc and not have to worry about waterproof clothes.

I think I have to concur on the P&S instead of DSLR. Let's face it -- you're not going to get any fine art photographs from Disney World. Snapshots of the fam is all you really want and a P&S is perfect for that. A camera bag is a real pain in the butt at Disney. It gets heavy, gets in the way, you always have to worry about keeping track of it, and you can't carry it on rides.

Zerodog · March 23, 2010

I highly recommend the S90. It will surprise the hell out of you. I got one forBut if you must go for the DSLR you are choosing right with the Black Rapid. That thing is awesome for carrying any medium to large size camera. I will never go back to a neck strap. The 17-55 is an awesome Nikon lens. But it is big and heavy and expensive and only goes to 55mm. The 18-200 is smaller lighter and cheaper, and it goes to 200mm and has VR.

If you want the ultimate vacation camera setup get an s90 $430ish + the canon underwater case $175. That is about the same $$ as the 18-200 and cheaper than the 17-55. You can't take your Nikon in the pool or waterpark either!

GadgetRick · March 23, 2010

Well we go 2 or 3 times a year. I bring the dslr but also a p&s. I carry the p&s around most of the time but I take a day or two to get out with the dslr and capture some nice shots. I wouldn't carry it around all of the time for sure!

AirThom · March 23, 2010

Thanks for the input from everyone. I really appreciate it.

ian408 · March 23, 2010

And lastly, enjoy Disney World!

WillCAD · March 23, 2010

I've been to Walt Disney World (or WDW as we abbreviate online) every year since 1990. I've been taking an SLR with me on every trip since 1999.

WDW has a wide range of photo ops. For outdoor shots, if you're renting a lens, get the 18-200. Outdoor shots at WDW range from animals on Kilamanjaro Safari to characters with your kids in various places throughout the parks to fireworks over Cinderella's castle to Epcot's World Showcase. You'll need both a wide angle and a zoom for all of these ops. I've been using a Sigma 18-125 for the last few years, and it works for the most part, but I recently upgrades to a Canon 18-200is that I expect to not only give me more zoom and better low light performance due to the IS, but it should also be sharper than my Sigma.

For indoor shots, well, you'll need what you need for any indoor shots - either a fast lens or a flash, or both. Inside restaurants and shops, you can use flash. Inside most shows and rides, you can't use flash, so you'll need a fast lens, preferably a medium zoom. My Sigma 18-125 is not sufficient. I've tried my 18-55 kit lens, but it doesn't quite make it, either. The rented 17-55 2.8 will work well for you in those situations.

Personally, I've always preferred to have a single walkaround lens, and carry no spares. Naturally, this means there will be situations where my walkaround lens is not wide enough, not long enough, or not fast enough, but I make those sacrifices in order to keep my travelling weight down, because WDW entails a LOT of walking, and even the lightest camera bag will eventually feel like it's full of lead by the end of the day. But every so often, a spare lens for specialty situations sure comes in handy. So rent both lenses!

Use the 18-200 during the day. Plan an evening break into each days itinerary. Go back to your hotel, swap lenses, and use the 17-55 2.8 for night shooting. Once you have the 17-55 2.8, you can repeat the dark rides and get some pics with the faster lens.

For wet rides, and Florida's famous Liquid Sunshine, make yourself a camera poncho.

Be sure to carry plenty of extra memory cards and camera batteries; nothing sucks more than missing out on perfect photo ops because your battery died or you ran out of space on your cards.

Take and use the petal hoods for any lenses you take with you. Florida sunshine is great, but it's also a perfect storm for lens flare. Petal hoods also act as great bumpers, keeping folks from scratching your lens when they bump or rub against you in crowds.

If you have any specific questions about WDW, feel free to ask. I help people plan their trips all the time.

Mitchell · March 24, 2010

I'd put in another plug for bringing along your DSLR. I understand where folks are coming from with their advice to take just a P&S. The reality is that the photos from your DSLR are just that much better. I like having high quality photos as a nice reminder of these trips. If all I had were just some P&S snaps, I'd be disappointed when I got home.

This is why I simplify my travel kit. I purposely bought the Nikkor 18-200mm lens and a D200 for these types of trips. I just throw my 50mm in my pocket just in case. This works for me, and I'm pleased with my photos when I get home.

AirThom · September 13, 2010

WillCAD PM'd me asking how this turned out.. and I complete forgot about making this thread! (An amazing time at Disney can do that)
Here's my response to his PM:

Oh! I should update that thread... lol. Although I still haven't finished compiling my videos I took from the trip. I do have most of the still processed/uploaded. Took over 4000 images. The ones I haven't done were part of one of the fireworks shows, thinking of doing a stop-motion-esque deal with those.

I went with the 18-200mm and carried my 50mm 1.4/flash/mini-tripod in my bag. I did buy the BlackRapid strap... it is amazing. I never had neck/shoulder pain the whole week. I did have some really tired hip joints at the end of the day walking that much and the extra weight of the camera always on me and the bag sometimes on me but my day job is sitting at a computer most of the day so that is probably more to blame than the camera equip. The strap allowed me to take pictures like this without fear of losing my camera: http://photos.thomasflock.com/Children/2010/Disney-World-Vacation/11745259_kZzuM#895758370_rjUTM-A-LB given the security of strap, location of the hitch. That album has my favorites from the trip. I'll update that post as well, thanks for reminding me! (and thanks for getting me to look at my pictures from that trip again... such a great time)

Eric

I am in a lot of the pictures because the Disney PhotoPass photographers are happy to take photos of you with your camera (if you let them do theirs first). Each time they used my camera most said, "Wow, yours is so much better than mine." heh

Matthew Saville · September 16, 2010

AirThom wrote: »

Heading to Disney World next week and I'm torn between renting/buying a 17-55 2.8 or a 18-200mm. I'd love the simplicity of the 18-200 but what would I miss out on by not having a wider aperture avail? Anything? Also, I think I'm going to pick up a BlackRapid strap too.. I've read a lot of positive comments about them.

Any input? Any tips on other Disney related stuffs?

Appreciate all the help, guys/gals!

I love me some f/2.8 or f/1.4 for low-light situations. If you ask me, that's when Disneyland comes alive!

But over the years, (passholder) ...I've ventured around D-land with all manner of cameras and lenses, my favorite being my Nikon FM2 and a 24mm and 50mm prime. Manual exposure / focus, but gorgeous colors on some of my favorite films.

Or for night photography, my D300 and my 17-55 really did the trick.

Or before that I had a D70 and a Tokina 17mm, that was fun and a bit smaller than a zoom. I've also ventured into D-land with nothing but a fish-eye, that was fun!

Or, after my 17-55 was stolen, I got lazy and just started putting my 24mm f/2.8 on my D300. Nice and small! Of course since it's a manual focus lens, it's really only good for environmental shots, not for kids running around. But in conclusion, IMO, the most comfortable thing is probably going to be a 35mm (FX equivalent, so 24mm on crop) prime lens. To me, everything at Disneyland is best captured at a medium-wide angle. You can get candids, landscapes, and group shots all with 35mm. I say this having been there ~50 times. DisneyWORLD is probably similar.

Yeah, a zoom lets you do so much, but I find that being able to cover everything with just one lens usually makes me lazy with composition, timing, lighting, etc. I'd rather have just a dozen truly artistic images that I captured within the limitations of my lens, than a hundred snapshots of every wide and telephoto angle...

Haven't had a chance to share these images in a LONG time, so here goes!

(D300 with 24mm manual focus, SOOC JPG.)

(D300 with 10.5mm DX fisheye; doing self-engagement-portraits!)

(D300 with 10.5mm DX fisheye...)

(D300 with 17-55, at 38mm, using a ledge as a tripod and probably scraping up the camera a bit. ;-)

(Nikon FM2 and 17mm Tokina, Agfa Ultra Film. Braced on railing for a 1 sec. exposure)

(Nikon D70, Tokina 17mm, braced on ground for 13 sec. exposure.)

(D200 and a 17-55 at 26mm)

(Nikon D200 and 17-55 DX at 17mm)

(Nikon D200 and 17-55 DX at 55mm)

(Nikon D200 and 17-55 at 22mm)

(Nikon D200 and 17-55 at 17mm)

(Okay now we're going WAY back, when I accidentally stripped the EXIF from my blog files so I can only guess that this shot was made on a D700 and 17mm....)

(Same. D70 and 17mm?)

(And last but not least, the Pirates 3 world premier. I guess if you're going to a red-carpet event, a tele zoom IS the best thing to bring. 150mm on my Sigma 50-150, heavily cropped too.)

....So, in conclusion, my assesment is that I would be perfectly happy using a 35mm POV for casual trips to Disneyland, but I suppose that if I were only going ONCE, I might prefer a 17-55. However there is something to be said for having a small and light lens, it really does let you enjoy the day a lot more. Lugging around a heavy 17-55 is no fun.

Sorry for such a long post; I just felt like reminiscing back over the years!
=Matt=

joeinmiami · September 18, 2010

I go to WDW quite often, since I have a family member who leave in Orlando and I also have a yearly passport. As you all know there is a lot to walk in WDW, since I am not as young as I used to be (pushing 60), I carry my wife P&S instead of my DLR (about 2 pounds) due to the weigh, after you have walked under the Florida sun for a couple of hours, the camera gets to be about 50 pounds. On special days, like the flower festival, I may bring my D80 with the 18-200 attached.

Just my 2 cents

Joe

AirThom · September 21, 2010

Seymore wrote: »

So, a few follow-up questions...
Did you take a P&S? If so, did you use it?

How often did you swap to the 50?

Did you ever find the 18-200 wasn't fast enough for the conditions and the 17-55 (or something else) would have worked better?

Any thing else you would have done differently now that you see what's involved?

Glad you guys had a blast and talk to us...

ps: WDW attendee when it first opened in 73'...

I did not take a P&S.
I swapped to the 50 when we would go into rides/shows that weren't flash friendly (12 times over 6 days?), and 3 times for outdoor night shooting.
I think there were 2 times where the 18-200 wasn't fast enough and I wished I had the 17-55... and those only happened because the 50 wasn't wide enough.
Yes, but only given the budget to do it differently. Given my (then and now) budget, I don't think I would do anything different.

To expand: Given unlimited resources I would get a bad ass P&S to use on 3 of the 6 days (Nikon P7000/Canon G12) on the other three days I would carry the dslr with 18-200, at late lunch break come back crazy with the 17-55/2.8 AND 70-200/2.8 and really look like the insane camera guy.

We make it to Disney currently at the rate of once per 3 years... so that was part of my decision factor as well. If we made more regular visits that would definitely change my thoughts.

AirThom · September 21, 2010

Matthew... BEAUTIFUL photos. Thank you for sharing them and talking about your experience as well. Great info!

TheCheesehead · September 21, 2010

Great pics Matt! That one of the boat and fireworks needs to be on a poster, very nice.

Matthew Saville · September 22, 2010

AirThom wrote: »

Matthew... BEAUTIFUL photos. Thank you for sharing them and talking about your experience as well. Great info!

Why, thank you. Glad to have an enjoyable discussion about a pleasant pasttime!

TheCheesehead wrote: »

Great pics Matt! That one of the boat and fireworks needs to be on a poster, very nice.

I would love to do something with my D-land images someday, but I'm betting that would violate a million copyrights

!

=Matt=

grandpaw · March 15, 2014

In my research of what lens to use at Walt Disney World I found that almost all of the pictures were taken from 18mm to 40mm . I have several lenses including the Nikon 50mm 1.8, the 18-200VR lenses and the Nikon 70-200VR F2.8 but I can tell you that if you want to take one lens the lens I used almost 100% of the time was a Sigma 17 to 50mm F2.8. I am going back this year at Thanksgiving and will be using my D600 full frame and a Tamron 24-70 F2.8 stabilized lens for taking all my pictures.

The problem you will have is getting a wide enough lens to get in what you want. I did take the Nikon 70-200VR one day with me but didn't end up using it. Having the wide fast lens will allow you to take pictures inside the rides and after dark when everything really becomes magical. Below is a link to my WDW gallery on my website if you want to check them out.

http://www.jeffimpeyphotography.com/Other/Walt-Disney-World-Christmas/20742357_6vwz7L#!i=1647739327&k=Cc8NSLt

jmphotocraft · March 19, 2014

grandpaw wrote: »

something

Why are you replying to a 4 year old thread?

ian408 · March 19, 2014

jmphotocraft wrote: »

Why are you replying to a 4 year old thread?

Sometimes folks don't notice the dates or they are looking for something similar.

No need to complain

Lens preference for Disney World? Help!

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