The Best Disney Photography Cameras and Gear

The Best Disney Photography Cameras and Gear

Looking for the best travel cameras and gear for a Disney vacation? Since you don’t want to be lugging around all your equipment in your Disney Park Bag, we’ll keep it simple. A great phone, a good DSLR mirrorless camera, and maybe even a small tripod can get you the best pictures day and night for all those magical moments in the parks. Check out our Disney Photography List for what we use, and how to keep things simple.

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One of the biggest questions we get on Instagram is what type of photography equipment we bring to the Parks. While there are a lot of options for great cameras and equipment out there, these are just some of what we like to use for price, quality and size. So here is our latest, what’s in our Disney camera bag!

Camera Bag for Traveling to Walt Disney World

The best camera is the camera you’ll use right? So really for us, when it comes to traveling, we need something light and easy to use.  For personal photos, phone pics are fine. But for the purpose of this blog, we need something a little higher quality.  So here are a few cameras we have used in the past and what we are currently using. 

Whether you’re looking for the best photo spots at Walt Disney World or just want to take some really great family photos while there, there are so many great options for your camera bag while at Walt Disney World. Here’s what’s in our camera bag!

Disney Camera Bag

Disney Camera Bag

Disney Camera Bag

Canon RP for Travel

The Canon RP is my current go to camera right now. It’s full frame, affordable, especially for a full frame camera and it’s mirrorless, so the size is compact and perfect for traveling. A few of the lenses we like for this camera include the 35mm R lens, 50mm R lens and for a wider range of focal lengths, this Canon RF lens is a bit more pricey but a good lens that you can use in a variety of situations.  If you previously owned a Canon camera, your EF lenses can be used as well. Just purchase an adapter and you can use lenses from your previous system.  With wireless capabilities, this camera is easy to access images while in the Parks or set up for self shooting if you’re taking pictures alone. 

Olympus PEN for Travel

Need something even smaller? The Olympus PEN E-PL10 is a great choice! Not only is it super cute, but it’s super small! There are a variety of lenses that can be attached to this mirrorless camera. Which means that you have a lot of creative control in a tiny package. We love this camera for traveling. And we love this Olympus lens for Walt Disney World!  It also has wireless capabilities making it super easy to share photos right away too!

Canon Rebel DSLR for traveling 

If you’re not entirely sold on the whole mirrorless camera thing, but aren’t quite experienced enough to invest in an expensive DSLR, why not try a Canon Rebel? We’ve owned several Canon Rebel cameras over the years and they’re great for beginners. Most of them aren’t too big or bulky and there is a wide variety of lenses to choose from.  This Canon Rebel EOS DSLR camera comes with wireless capabilities too. If you’re looking for a standard DSL(digital single lens reflex) camera that can use interchangeable lenses, we love this one.  There are a lot fancier cameras out there but we like this one because it’s light, has wireless capability which is perfect for sharing pics in the moment and is easy for beginners. I used to carry around a semi pro DSLR and as much as I loved it, it was too much for me to drag around at the Parks. I also don’t think you need to cash out your retirement for a great camera for the Parks. Invest in a few good lenses and you should be set. We like Canon EF-S 18-55 lens and we like this Canon 50mm 1.8 lens if you need a fixed lens with great image quality

photography bag at disney, disney cameras, camera for disney, go pro, disney cameras

photography bag at disney, disney cameras, camera for disney, go pro, disney cameras

Go Pro for traveling

Over the years, we’ve tried our share of Go Pros; and if you want to take action videos or underwater shots, we highly recommend getting one. Is it something we bring on every trip? No. But we loved having it during our cruises and our trip to Aulani. And they actually take pretty ok still photos too!  It’s great for ride videos or taking really awesome wide angle shots too. It does struggle in low light, so I don’t think I’d recommend it as your sole camera, but it does a great job otherwise and is a fun addition to your bag. And the best part about Go Pros is that they’re pretty affordable. And older models tend to be pretty great, so you don’t need the newest model to have a great camera in a GoPro

photography bag at disney, disney cameras, camera for disney, go pro, disney cameras

Easy Tripod for Traveling

JOBY GorillaPod Tripod

So you want those lovely nighttime shots? You’re going to need a tripod. And while this tripod may not be the most proper of tripods, it is the most flexible. Literally and figuratively. It doesn’t extend which can be an issue if you need that feature, but since we aren’t those people who camp out with the other photographers, this works just fine for our purposes. We love that it can wrap around whatever you may need it to and think its great for traveling.

If you do need a foldable tripod, we recommend this one . Although it is more expensive, I’ve actually had a foldable tripod break on me mid shoot, and that my friends is what we call a mini panic attack. Don’t take a chance with your gear and get a sturdy tripod no matter what you choose.

photography bag at disney, disney cameras, camera for disney, go pro, disney cameras

iPhone 

Again, the best camera you’ve got is the one you’ve got with you! We highly believe in this. Sometimes, we don’t necessarily feel like dragging all of the gear around or even bringing a Disney Park backpack to the Parks. If this is the case, a phone works just fine! (And no it doesn’t have to be an iPhone obviously!) While it may not take the photos of your dreams, your phone can be a pretty great camera all in itself if you know how to use its features properly and edit your photos to some extent.

Just recently I got an iPhone 12 pro, and haven’t yet used it in the Parks. But I have always used whatever phone I had at the time. And truthfully some of my favorite photos are phone photos because it was what I had available! Some people only use their phones for pictures in the Parks, so learn what your phone can do and make the most of it! Check out our How to Take Better Pictures with a Phone, so you can make the most of your phone camera.

Tripod for your Phone

Sure it may sound silly to use a phone tripod, but this can actually come in handy! This phone tripod has been super helpful in getting clearer shots. It also makes it easy to use a timer and it even comes with a bluetooth remote. 

So there you have it! That’s what we use to take photos for Instagram and for the blog! We hope you have found this helpful and that it helps you find your next piece of photography equipment!

Travel Photography Equipment for a Disney Trip

Co-Founder and Director at Polka Dot Pixie Co LLC | Website | + posts

Melanie Renee is a photographer, writer, designer and mom. Visiting Disney destinations since 2010, she is also an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. When she's not creating her next coffee recipe, or designing apparel at Polka Dot Pixie Shop, she's seeking beautiful sunsets and planning her next trip .


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