Nikon everywhere at Disney

[DynaSport]

I was at Disney in Orlando this past weekend and they had photographers everywhere. All shooting Nikon DSLRs. I can’t say which one. A crop one I think. Anyway, my granddaughter wanted to have her picture made with as many of the characters as she could. When she was meeting Mickey and I was taking photos of her with my E-M1 the Disney photographer said, ‘I wish they would let us use mirrorless cameras.’ He then made a gesture about how heavy his camera was. I told him I had heard Nikon was coming out with a mirrorless camera. He made a face and pointed at his Nikon and gave it a thumbs down. I don’t know. Nikons seem ok to me. But I am very happy with my mirrorless camera.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[tkbslc]

They use D7000 series, which are barely larger than a E-M1 and not much heavier. They typically use normal kit superzooms as they don't need shallow DOF and they use flash. I don't think switching to an E-M1 would feel much different.

I hate lugging a real camera at Disneyland, and their photo packages are pretty cheap so I have lots of images from them with EXIF intact.

 

[DynaSport]

They use D7000 series, which are barely larger than a E-M1 and not much heavier. They typically use normal kit superzooms as they don't need shallow DOF and they use flash. I don't think switching to an E-M1 would feel much different.

I hate lugging a real camera at Disneyland, and their photo packages are pretty cheap so I have lots of images from them with EXIF intact.

Your idea of cheap is different from mine. $80 per day or $200 the whole trip. I guess that isn’t expensive compared to tickets, meals and hotel. But I like taking photos and carrying the camera didn’t bother me. But it is nice for those who don’t want to take their own photos I guess.

 

[wjiang]

TBH I think part of their kit is so that it clearly says "photographer". You could get better results with a cheap little E-M10 and 45mm f/1.8 but that doesn't make quite the same statement...

 

[Jeffcs]

I’d actually thought about doing that as a retired photographer but than it gets really hot in the summer so nope not going walk around in the hot summer Florida heat!

 

[ijm5012]

TBH I think part of their kit is so that it clearly says "photographer". You could get better results with a cheap little E-M10 and 45mm f/1.8 but that doesn't make quite the same statement...

What is "better"? Sharpness? Depth of Field?

There's a 0% chance you could get a full-body shot like the one shown in the OP with the 45mm in Disney. There just isn't enough working distance available without having people walking through your shot. Head & shoulders shot, sure, but not a full-body. For something like that, you'd want a 25mm or possibly even a 17mm, so that there isn't so much distance between the photographer and the subject.

 

[ijm5012]

Your idea of cheap is different from mine. $80 per day or $200 the whole trip. I guess that isn’t expensive compared to tickets, meals and hotel. But I like taking photos and carrying the camera didn’t bother me. But it is nice for those who don’t want to take their own photos I guess.

While $200 isn't "cheap", in the grand scheme of a Disney vacation, it's cheap. The images are well exposed due to them using a flash as a fill during the mid-day lighting. You can print out all of the photos in 4x6, make a photo album out of them, and your child and/or grandchild will be smitten. They don't care about DoF, corner sharpness, etc. They just want photos with their favorite characters, princesses, etc.

If I were doing Disney with kids, I'd make it a one or two-lens affair. A fast 17mm for getting indoor low-light shots, and something like a 12-40 PRO for outdoor shots. If two lenses is too much, consolidate it down to a single lens.

Honestly, I think something like the Fuji X100T would be a great camera for Disney in terms of documenting the family's vacation there. 35mm FoV, APS-C sensor, f/2 aperture, and it's nice and thin.

 

[wjiang]

What is "better"? Sharpness? Depth of Field?

There's a 0% chance you could get a full-body shot like the one shown in the OP with the 45mm in Disney. There just isn't enough working distance available without having people walking through your shot. Head & shoulders shot, sure, but not a full-body. For something like that, you'd want a 25mm or possibly even a 17mm, so that there isn't so much distance between the photographer and the subject.

You get the general idea. If you're going to be using fill flash you could just use something like an LX100... who needs a prime.

 

[DynaSport]

I only took one lens. The 14-140. It was great. A fast prime would have been better for low light stuff, but just taking one lens was so easy and there was no worry about having the right lens mounted. Even indoors it worked pretty well. And I got to take the pictures I wanted, not be limited by what their photographers took.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[tkbslc]

Your idea of cheap is different from mine. $80 per day or $200 the whole trip. I guess that isn’t expensive compared to tickets, meals and hotel. But I like taking photos and carrying the camera didn’t bother me. But it is nice for those who don’t want to take their own photos I guess.

There's a ticket add-on called "MaxPass" that is $10 extra per day and includes digital downloads of all photos plus some convenience features. Since we only wanted the photos, we just added it on my wife's ticket, and then she made sure to scan her PhotoPass ID card whenever we had pictures taken. So all the photos were under her ticket for that one price.

 

[Toddster]

There's a ticket add-on called "MaxPass" that is $10 extra per day and includes digital downloads of all photos plus some convenience features. Since we only wanted the photos, we just added it on my wife's ticket, and then she made sure to scan her PhotoPass ID card whenever we had pictures taken. So all the photos were under her ticket for that one price.

Unfortunately the $10 "MaxPass" is Disneyland only not Disney World. In Orland one day of pictures will normally cost $80. I have seen it occasionally for $59 but that is the lowest I have ever seen.

 

[tkbslc]

Unfortunately the $10 "MaxPass" is Disneyland only not Disney World. In Orland one day of pictures will normally cost $80. I have seen it occasionally for $59 but that is the lowest I have ever seen.

That's too bad.

Still, depending on the length of the trip, number of photos, and compared to total costs, $200 for all the downloads might not be a bad price. I'd just make sure to really make use of all the photo stops if you are planning to buy that package.

One nice thing is that the Disney photographers are happy to use your own camera to take pictures of the family altogether. That solves the typical problem we have where I take 1000 photos on vacation, but I'm in maybe 2 of them myself..

 

[Balinov]

Hmm..either 10 or 80 quid doesn't sound bad at all for the photopass..I remember me and my better half visiting Disneyland Paris some time 2009/2010 and paying like 10 or 20 EUR for a single photo they took off you screaming out loud when getting thru the tunnel @ Big Thunder Mountain. And that was one photo only, printed.

 

[RichardC]

Hmm..either 10 or 80 quid doesn't sound bad at all for the photopass..I remember me and my better half visiting Disneyland Paris some time 2009/2010 and paying like 10 or 20 EUR for a single photo they took off you screaming out loud when getting thru the tunnel @ Big Thunder Mountain. And that was one photo only, printed.

Watched a guy drop EUR 200 on a single brandy at Disneyland Paris last year. His son who was about 12 was begging him not to buy it. Guess which one was the brains of the outfit?

 

[Balinov]

No brainer question. Of course the son. However, must say I still remember I could have killed for a shot of a nice brandy ( or two) when we're visiting...Stayed in the city center, switched metro to the RER and somewhere around Bailly-Romainvilliers we had to leave the RER train because they decided to go on strike...we spent easily at least 1 hour waiting for the next taxi to taxipool with strangers to Disneyland...and it was in November...we're not sweating from a heatwave, I can tell... Heck of the French, they have perfect sense when to do any industrial action Thank God we've left the hotel early enough to be still able to enjoy the park and haven't missed a thing). Too bad I've only had a P&S back then..hang on a sec, that was an Olympus MJU820..!

 

[RichardC]

No brainer question. Of course the son. However, must say I still remember I could have killed for a shot of a nice brandy ( or two) when we're visiting...Stayed in the city center, switched metro to the RER and somewhere around Bailly-Romainvilliers we had to leave the RER train because they decided to go on strike...we spent easily at least 1 hour waiting for the next taxi to taxipool with strangers to Disneyland...and it was in November...we're not sweating from a heatwave, I can tell... Heck of the French, they have perfect sense when to do any industrial action Thank God we've left the hotel early enough to be still able to enjoy the park and haven't missed a thing). Too bad I've only had a P&S back then..hang on a sec, that was an Olympus MJU820..!

Slummed it at the Disneyland Hotel. A place where all thoughts of how hard you work for your money are best left at the door.

 

[drd1135]

I've done a lot of Disney photography. I think my favorite camera was the Fuji X10. Now I just bring an OMD, a wide/normal fast prime, a normal zoom, and a long zoom. I try to bring only one lens to the park because changing lenses is just a drag on the experience.

 

[wjiang]

I've done a lot of Disney photography. I think my favorite camera was the Fuji X10. Now I just bring an OMD, a wide/normal fast prime, a normal zoom, and a long zoom. I try to bring only one lens to the park because changing lenses is just a drag on the experience.

If it was me I'd just bring the 12-40 f/2.8...

 

[drd1135]

I need the longer zoom for the animal kingdom. And I don’t have the 12-40. I usually bring the little 12-35 and the 20.

 

[DynaSport]

I liked having the reach of the 14-140. Especially when taking photos of the parade and characters on stage. If I only took pictures of family, the 12-40 might have been ok. The 14-140 juat has so much going for it to me. Pretty small. Quality better than I expected when I bought it. And on vacation I’m not usually concerned about a narrow dof.