Tripods

[Carolc]

Does anyone carry tripods into the parks? If so, do you have any recommendations for a small lightweight one (that will support a DSLR)?

Thanks

[Chef Minnie Mouse]

I do not but would sure like to hear from someone as well about this.

[Carolc]

I ended up buying a Slik SPRINT PRO II 3-Way Panhead- Black

It is way smoother than our cheap Samsonite tripod (though it's a tad heavier). I took it with me to WDW, but I didn't want to ask my husband to carry it for me. I could have really used it several times as we were in both EPCOT and DS after it closed (no people to get in the way!)... it would have made for some excellent shots. The legs extend/retract very easily. I opted for the "pan head" so that we could use it with the camcorder as well (as opposed to a "ball head", which you can set to about any angle you want, but it would be harder to get a smooth pan).

HTH

[Chef Minnie Mouse]

Originally Posted by Carolc

I ended up buying a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ATBEX6?ie=UTF8&tag=mousescracom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creative ASIN=B002ATBEX6">Slik SPRINT PRO II 3-Way Panhead- Black</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=mousescracom-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B002ATBEX6" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />

It is way smoother than our cheap Samsonite tripod (though it's a tad heavier). I took it with me to WDW, but I didn't want to ask my husband to carry it for me. I could have really used it several times as we were in both EPCOT and DS after it closed (no people to get in the way!)... it would have made for some excellent shots. The legs extend/retract very easily. I opted for the "pan head" so that we could use it with the camcorder as well (as opposed to a "ball head", which you can set to about any angle you want, but it would be harder to get a smooth pan).

HTH

Looks like a good one..How were you in the parks after they closed

[Carolc]

We had dinner reservations at Coral Reef at 7:30 or so, and it took around 2 hours to finish. So when we came out, EPCOT was 'officially' closed. There was NOBODY over by the Living Seas and The Land (it was very dark and almost scary!), but once we got to the fountains, there were more people. Likewise, we had reservations at Sci Fi at 6:15, and DS closed at 7 that night. All the stores were closed and there were just a few people around... some Cast Members (and security) and a dozen or so teens who just came out of the American Idol building.

[inkspots]

I can't find the tripod that we have. It's a travel sized Silk though. Extremely lightweight and small enough to fit in our backpack. Yet, also strong enough to hold our SLR. It's not very intrusive so it makes for less obvious use, but comes in very handy when we need it for those night shots. (We can put it on a table on its smallest size to get those castle shots.)

I'd also recommend a Gorilla Pod too. I know the parks here don't even allow for tripods in the park, so the less you have and the easier you can hide it the better.

[Carolc]

Originally Posted by inkspots

..I know the parks here don't even allow for tripods in the park, so the less you have and the easier you can hide it the better.

Do you mean the parks in Japan? My brother took this in 2005. I thought it was pretty funny since he said they were there in the morning to get a good spot for the fireworks.




Maybe they don't allow it anymore or only allow them in certain places?

Here are some more of his images from Disney parks, if you are interested. Seeing his images caused me to try to improve my own photo skills.

http://homepage.mac.com/imagetechphoto/disney/

[inkspots]

This could be why they don't allow it anymore. I've not seen anything like this in our visits here and I've been coming since 2007. I want to say there were more tripods in Hong Kong though.

As for the parades and shows, yes they start lining up as soon as they enter the park! This was especially so when we went at Halloween--they had three or four parades that day, all different. You can't "save" seats though until an hour before the shows.

[inkspots]

Originally Posted by Carolc

Dohttp://homepage.mac.com/imagetechphoto/disney/

Those are some great shots! I need to remember to take more photos of the little things. I'm trying to convince the hubby to allow me to go for the day just to take pictures, but he's not buying it.

[Chef Minnie Mouse]

So can we take tripods into the parks? Has anyone bought these:
Manfrotto 468MGRC2 Ballhead
Manfrotto 055XPROB Aluminum Tripod Legs
I sure would like to know what you think