disposable cameras

[MattsCath]

I don't want to lug around my heavy, expensive, manual camera...
so I've decided to take pics with disposables... I was wondering how disposable cameras do at night with pics of fireworks and such... should I get the kind with flash ... should I just get a cheapo camera that I can change the film in? Any suggestions are helpful. I've taken photo classes so the clicking shouldn't be a problem! :lol:

 

[danamarie27]

I always take disposable cameras...I buy the ones with the flash and have wonderful pictures of Spectro Magic and some decent ones of Fatasmic! that I took in 2000. I would be afraid to lose a good camera. With these it wouldnt be too much of a tradegy to lose.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

This seems like a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised how many people forget to

put your name and hotel on your camera

You stand a much better chance of getting it back if you drop it/leave in at a restaurant/on a ride, etc.

As I recall, the last disposable I bought did not have a strap of any kind on it and was easy to lose track of.

I took return address labels, wrote my hotel at the bottom of them, and put them on everything.

 

[MattsCath]

Thanks Yellow Shoes!
smartypants!

 

[CmdrTostada]

I would also goto to a store like Sams Club and buy them. You can get three at sams for less than the price of two at Disney.

 

[dliddi]

I used them last time we went, and none of the night pictures turned out, maybe it was the ones that we used, if you do buy some, get ones you can use at night. One other thing, buy them before you go to WDW they are really expensive there, go to Target or someplace like that, and pick up a bunch, it will same you some money like 2 to1.

 

[Maria]

I don´t mean to be rude or anything, but why buying an expensive very good camera and settle for a cheap disposable one? If I had an expensive camera that takes great pics, I would like to use it when I travel!

We have a video camera ourselves, that only took once for a trip and nobody wanted to carry it... but a still camera??

I would be bummed if I get crappy or "normal" pics for not bringing my amazing camera!

I´ve used the disposable ones once when we forgot the camera and the pics we took outside turned out good.

:animwink:

 

[Dawn S]

I almost always take a disposable camera as well as my digital & I've always gotten great pictures. Definitely buy the one with the flash & don't buy a "store brand" disposable. I've never had much luck with those, so it's not worth the minimal price difference.

I'm pretty sure this deal is still running...it's worked out well for me... Walgreen's had a deal running where you buy their pre-loaded camera for about $10 & you bring it back to them for developing (around $7-$10) & they reload the camera with new film for free. That's what I've been doing for the last 6 months or so. I bought 2 cameras, because I was afraid of running out of film. Pretty easy!

 

[TURKEY]

Originally posted by Dawn S


I'm pretty sure this deal is still running...it's worked out well for me... Walgreen's had a deal running where you buy their pre-loaded camera for about $10 & you bring it back to them for developing (around $7-$10) & they reload the camera with new film for free. That's what I've been doing for the last 6 months or so. I bought 2 cameras, because I was afraid of running out of film. Pretty easy!

Lots of people that were on the college program did this. The pictures were pretty good. The one drawback of this was that you only have a roll (or how many ever cameras you get) to shoot. So you could fill up a roll easily, then have to make it back to Walgreens. From those I talked to that had them, you couldn't buy any film to go in them?????? (I'm not sure on that).


Disposable cameras are ok for daytime and still photographs, but I've had terrible problems with anything that involves movement or night.

I wouldn't get my pictures developed on property. It's really expensive. I'd go to Walgreen's nearby or wait until you got home to get pictures developed. Walgreen's has a good photo lab.

 

[leeocean]

No offense to those little cameras but they don't do their job at night. I got grat pix during the day but every night photo came out dark - even with a flash. I bought a nice camera after that trip.

 

[DisneyGal]

M y boyfriend and I purchased a Digital Camera last year and the pictures are so much better than any pictures I have ever taken with a disposable camera, which I used each time up until then. They are so clear and colorful, whereas the disposable pictures were a little fuzzy and dull. What we did was bring a couple of disposable cameras on days that we were going to be going on water rides a lot, or days that we knew we wouldn't be taking a lot of pictures. It worked out great!!!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Disposable cameras are great fun, but the images are not wonderful but are good enough for memory joggers.
I think their ideal for on ride shots and the waterproof ones are excellent for the water parks and wet rides.
If you have kids just buy one each and let them loose. My kids got some great stuff of each other under water getting swamped at Typhoon.

The quality of your phots depends on as much as where you have them processed as the quality of the camera. The stuff i took last year was spoiled by poor proc and printing.
And yes try and get one with a flash, Kodaks is the best wet one and Fujis is the best normal.

 

[strutter]

Thanks for the Walgreens plug. I am a manager for Walgreens. And we do sell quite a few of those cameras. Yes, the downside is that once you shoot your one roll of film, you have to bring it back to Walgreens. This does limit you to the number of pictures you can take. I would suggest buying another camera. They are only $10 and take very good pictures.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Originally posted by Maria
I don´t mean to be rude or anything, but why buying an expensive very good camera and settle for a cheap disposable one? If I had an expensive camera that takes great pics, I would like to use it when I travel!

I would be bummed if I get crappy or "normal" pics for not bringing my amazing camera!

Why did you buy a good camera............because you wanted good pictures. Good pictures = good memories.

I carry a 35mm Pentax SLR, a monopod, films and a camcorder. I don't mind because I know that when I get back home I will have quality memories.

 

[MattsCath]

Maria:
I've decided not to take my Pentax camera because it is a nice expensive camera with a large case. I dont want to lug around 5 to 10 lbs more of gear if I don't have to, and I certainly wouldn't want to have it broken stolen or damaged...

 

[MattsCath]

I liked what happy snapper said about memory joggers... I don't want to be so consumed with the fuss of Photography that I forget who I am with!

I am happy to see other travelers consider this predicament as well...

 

[no2apprentice]

If you go with a disposable, get one with flash. Maybe someone else who knows for sure can confirm this (since I have not looked at the specs on disposables), but when you turn the flash on with a fixed aperture camera, the camera will automatically adjust to a lower shutter speed, to allow more light in from the use of the flash. The flash built in on ANY camera is only good for about 11 to 15 feet. If you take a night shot of a subject farther away than 20 feet with a camera with a flash, you will get a slightly better picture because the shutter speed is lower, allowing a little more light on the film. The same picture on a camera without flash will not be as exposed, and darker.

Just remember, using flash at night on well lit subjects should work, but the image is more prone to blurring with motion due to the slower shutter speed.

At least, this is how cameras were designed several years ago. I am not familiar with the exact specs on disposables, but the mechanism is probably the same. Maybe someone can confirm this.

 

[MattsCath]

Of course, now my bf want s DIGITAL camera!

I can't win!

 

[Merlin]

As several people have already said, get one with a flash if you go with the disposable idea. For night shots, try to use one that is rated 400 ISO or higher. During the day, 100 ISO should be fine. Also, no matter how powerful your flash is and no matter how high the ISO is, don't expect to get decent shots of fireworks with any disposable. For good fireworks shots, you need to have a camera where you can keep the shutter open for a few seconds and put it on a tripod. Also, if you are going with the digital camera idea, I have a recommendation: Get the Sony Cybershot P-1 or P-3. They are small enough to fit easily in a pack and they take excellent pictures.

 

[freediverdude]

disposables

Right now, the Sam's club near me is offering a package of 3 Kodak disposables with flash for around $15, which is less than what I paid last week for 1 (count 'em 1!) Kodak disposable with flash at the Downtown Disney Hilton. Of course, the Sam's club cameras didn't have the Disney stickers on it, but....