A 6 stop neutral density filter sounds like a terrible idea for Disney. That's a very specialized filter for situations where you have very bright light sources, or are wanting to use extremely long exposures.

Are there any filters we should use to "reduce the glare" so to speak? I've seen a lot of photos where the colors looked washed out (looking online) but a filter made them look better (like with polarized sunglasses)?

ND filter would require a tripod and very long exposures. I don't know what disney's policy is towards tripods, but i would guess that they would ask you to take it down b/c of the number of people everywhere.

A circular (not linear) polarizer would work though. If you are perpendicular to the sun, it will make skies more blue, and clouds will pop out. It will also remove glare from glass and water, b/c it blocks the wavelength of polarized light. You'd want the circular type, b/c you can rotate it to get the proper effect. A linear polarizer only works in specific situations.

If you have a pair of good polarized sunglasses, you can get a feeling for how it works by holding the shades in front of your eye, and rotate them while looking at the sky. the sky will brighten and darken depending on how the light hits them.

A beginner photog should not be messing with a circular polarizer on his first trip with his camera, especially at a place like disney. It's a specialty tool for very specific circumstances, and he won't be able to aptly identify those circumstances without some practice.

UV lenses are garbage and a waste of money and will increase glare.

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Are there any filters we should use to "reduce the glare" so to speak? I've seen a lot of photos where the colors looked washed out (looking online) but a filter made them look better (like with polarized sunglasses)?

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Shoot RAW and learn to post process.

I'm talking CPL not ND. Thanks!

Premium said:

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I'm talking CPL not ND. Thanks!

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no problem, i was replying to your ND filter question from the previous page. i took too long typing, that you made another post about CPL.

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Edit: you absolutely do not need an ND filter. Those are for taking long exposures midday. Do not waste your money on a polarizer or UV filter either.

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Agreed.


I take lots of photos at the gun range and keep a cheap UV filter on all my lenses just in case a bullet frag hits them. I know other photographers who use UV filters and just skip using lens caps altogether.

dubi said:

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Edit: you absolutely do not need an ND filter. Those are for taking long exposures midday. Do not waste your money on a polarizer or UV filter either.

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Agreed.


I take lots of photos at the gun range and keep a cheap UV filter on all my lenses just in case a bullet frag hits them. I know other photographers who use UV filters and just skip using lens caps altogether.

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That's a specialty use case, which I can understand. Better to shatter a cheap UV than a lens element. Not for your standard Disney vacation.

TexasAggie_02 said:

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Premium said:

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I'm talking CPL not ND. Thanks!

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no problem, i was replying to your ND filter question from the previous page. i took too long typing, that you made another post about CPL.

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Oh wow. You're right. My wife sent me the link of the one she ordered on Amazon. On the phone she told me CPL and sent me a link to something completely different.

Here is the one she meant to order - CPL... you saved us from accidentally ordering the ND;

https://breakthrough.photography/products/x4-circular-polarizer

This is an x4 - they have an x2 for $99 or this for $149

Premium said:

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Are there any filters we should use to "reduce the glare" so to speak? I've seen a lot of photos where the colors looked washed out (looking online) but a filter made them look better (like with polarized sunglasses)?

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Don't shoot pics into the sun. Rule #1.

Don't buy any filter.

This is the CPL I use.

And when I say I use it, I mean, it has been on a shelf since I got back from Iceland a couple years ago.

Same with my Vari-ND.

I get no use at all from them outside big trips where I spend weeks shooting landscapes.

I've only ever used those filters on tripods.

For Disney? No effing way. I probably wouldn't even bring a DSLR. Maybe a Fuji X100s at most.

I don't want to spend the week with a hunk of metal and glass between myself and my kids. I want to enjoy experiencing this with them. And I want their memories to be me having fun with them, not me fooling with my new toy.

And I sure wouldn't bring more than an iPhone if I wasn't experienced with the camera, lens, or system.

We ended up buying this one earlier in the day before GS said Don't Buy.

77mm X4 CPL Circular Polarizing Filter For Camera Lenses - SCHOTT B270 Glass Polarizer Filter - MRC16 - Nano Coating - Weather Sealed - 25 Year Support by Breakthrough Photography https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0186GAWJ8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_WT7eAbJBTG2TQ


We bought this lens:

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EW8074/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rY7eAbJ026C1G

You're too cool for me. We've got 2 toddlers so will be dragging a double stroller everywhere anyways. Won't be anymore to have a heavy camera in the storage.

I'd return your 10-22mm if you picked up the 17-55, which is superior in basically every way. You won't miss those 10 extra mm on the wide end.

Even for real estate shots? We mainly got it to do our own interior shots for 2 beach house rentals we have. And also other long term rentals we may have.

It's just a PITA to deal with. Now go on a ride and you have to deal with a couple toddlers + a DSLR or leave the DSLR in your stroller and hope no one saw you use it last and picks it up while you are on the ride. That's why if I did bring something, it would be a X100-type camera. Small enough to put in a big pocket or purse, small enough to not draw attention, easy enough to use to not really be a drag. If you are just throwing it on the green box, you probably aren't going to get significantly and noticeably better pictures than you would with an iPhone 8 or Pixel.

MonkeyKnifeFighter said:

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Also - if anyone is shopping for a carbon fiber tripod right now, B&H's deal-of-the-day today is the one to jump on. It's the one I pick up and take with me pretty much anytime, for all conditions. It's done me right for wide-field Milky Way photos, timelapses over the course of several hours, long exposures standing in streams, windy spots, and long lenses. Breaks down to fit as a carry-on outside a backpack OK. Light. Stable. Easy to setup and manipulate.

Buy an Arca Swiss clamp for it and toss the Manfrotto aside (unscrew, replace, re-screw conversion). It's $290 that punches well over its weight/cost.

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That is a good deal for a good tripod.

Also agree completely with Arca Swiss over the Manfrotto mount.

I have Fusion Plates permanently mounted to all my cameras. The ring flips out for a sling-type strap such as a Black Rapid and you can take off the strap and directly put it on a tripod.

Also, you can set it down flat on a table. The Black Rapid screws keep you from placing your camera directly on a table and if you have a lens attached, it gets all wonky. I like my cameras to sit nicely. Never take those Arca Swiss plates off.

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Even for real estate shots? We mainly got it to do our own interior shots for 2 beach house rentals we have. And also other long term rentals we may have.

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Even for real estate shots I think you would be fine. The 10-22 is a low use lens.

We own 6 cameras and all the lenses and would bring the tiny Canon S110 point and shoot if we went to Disney. It fits in my pocket.

So even photographers use little easy cameras on vacation. Pull it out, snap a pic, and put it back. Theft is a real issue and they would get thousands of dollars from you in an instant. Remember you will leave your stroller unattended next to all the rides.

Vacation reality as a new DSLR user.

If you go back to where I started asking about cameras, it wasn't for a Disney trip - first it was for real estate and then for personal and general use. However, since we were buying this gear anyways, we are looking to maximize what we are already buying for other things. As freely as I'm buying these lenses, I'm not ready to throw down $1300 on a separate camera. As for the $400-500 ones, I'd use my iPhone in those instances.

Theft may be a real issue - perhaps we can get a tracking chip of some sort or even something to lock it up if that exists.

Yes, you need the 10-22 for real estate if you're using a 70D. You can also get a lot of use out of the CPL to knock out the glare on hard wood floors and countertops. You don't need either of those items for Disney, but real estate is a different animal altogether.

Ah, didn't see the bit about real estate. Yep, the 10mm will be good, and you'll want a tripod.

TexAgsAnon said:

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Ah, didn't see the bit about real estate. Yep, the 10mm will be good, and you'll want a tripod.

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I shot Christmas lights with my Canon 10-22 and succeeded without a tripod.

dubi said:

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TexAgsAnon said:

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Ah, didn't see the bit about real estate. Yep, the 10mm will be good, and you'll want a tripod.

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I shot Christmas lights with my Canon 10-22 and succeeded without a tripod.

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That doesn't really have much to do with anything. For real estate photography, you might have a scenario where you need to shoot at 1/10 shutter because a particular room is dark, but you still don't want to crank the ISO up.

Gotcha.

I have to agree that for a place like Disney, I would not take my DSLR. Most of my shooting is landscape or storm chasing, however. I like to have time to set up a composition and almost always use my camera on a tripod. It's easy to think that it's the gear difference that makes a good photo so when people get a DSLR they want to use it for everything, but the truth is that if you know the fundamentals of photography that is what is going to get you the best shots. My photography improves much more as my compositions improve over getting new gear sans a few specific situations (mainly Milky Way and low light related - the gear really does matter a lot here).

If you don't know how to use a DSLR properly, you're going to take ****ty pictures at Disney. IMO anyway.

I got a Pixel 2 a month or so ago and it's damn amazing what that camera can do. My wife was capturing great stuff with her original Pixel so I decided to get one this time around.

yeah, i would take a smaller camera, and then bite the bullet and get a disney photopass. don't remember how much they cost, but I think it's worth it. you don't have to worry about taking family pics, there are Disney employees everywhere with DSLR's that will take good enough pics, and scan your photopass. you can then buy/download the ones you want later online.

Only thing i could think of that I might use a DSLR for, would be to do long exposures of the fireworks. but disney has been shot to death, so I would just enjoy time with the family, and leave the heavy gear at home.

All of the above. Or at the very least, shoot on Auto mode on the DSLR.

A good point was raised about what to do with it. I would have hated to bring my DSLR on most of the rides we went on. I only took it to the park for one day, had a backpack for it, and had enough family around where I could just hand that backpack off when going on a ride. Sounds like you won't have that luxury.

Well, we have 2 grandparents and our family. We are also staying in a Savanah view @ Kidani Village where we will have a lot of animal shots. If it sucks after the first day I'll just leave it in the room. We also got the unlimited photos from Disney, so I'm not that worried about missing out on good family photos.

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Well, we have 2 grandparents and our family. We are also staying in a Savanah view @ Kidani Village where we will have a lot of animal shots. If it sucks after the first day I'll just leave it in the room. We also got the unlimited photos from Disney, so I'm not that worried about missing out on good family photos.

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Good luck!

Update us after the trip on your success with the camera.

Prism and mirror are obsolete and it will meet the end like film. I would never recommend a DSLR to anyone wanting to get into photography today. Not only the size of the DSLR, the antiquated LCD screens and their lack of effort in keeping up with the latest IOS/Android technology of Canikon make it less than desirable. I doubt many of our children will be vacationing with a dinosaur DSLR in near future.