Welcome to Betamouse Episode #4! Today learn some tips from the Betamouse crew regarding photos and camera gear in the Disney Parks. Have show ideas of your own? Email show@betamouse.net!
Or you can download the episode directly.
Please remember to join the Betamouse FriendFeed room for geeky chat any time!
- Henry introduces the panel.
- Thank you to the Betamouse sponsor, Touring Plans!
- Henry asks the panel what camera gear they bring into the Disney Parks.
- Scott brings a Sony HD Handycam, his iPhone and an Olympus DSLR.
- Jeff brings a Pentax DSLR and two lenses into the parks! He also brings his iPhone and a Sony point and shoot camera as well.
- Jeff tells the panel that sometimes picture taking at the parks is a job in itself!
- Katie simply brings her iPhone and a Panasonic TZ-5 point and shoot camera.
- Nate brings his Canon Powershot, a FlipCam, a Canon Vixia HandyCam and an Olympus point and shoot camera.
- Henry brings his iPhone into the parks and then proceeds to borrow point and shoot cameras from other vacation goers.
- Scott brings his camera and camera gear every day into the parks and shoots hundreds of shots a day in order to capture the perfect moments.
- Scott uses a Star Wars backpack to carry his camera gear after years of never finding a comfortable camera case.
- Nate states that his dilemma is actually carrying all the gear into the parks as it becomes so cumbersome.
- Jeff carries his camera and lens in an easy access case around his waist. If with the family, Jeff takes the camera to Epcot and Animal Kingdom the most as he likes the scenery there the best. If he is solo he will take the camera everywhere.
- Jeff states that the point and shoot camera is best to capture quick intimate moments of his children and the DLSR works well for a set up shot.
- Katie uses the point and shoot as her “fancy” camera and actually uses the iPhone more often.
- Like Nate, Katie wants to know how she will carry a DSLR into the parks without it being cumbersome.
- Nate shocks everyone with a twelve year photo project he has been working on which the panel quickly dubs “Shirley”.
- Henry asks the panel if they take pictures on the attractions.
- Scott does and asks for no flash photos on the attractions.
- Jeff does take some photos on the attractions but again, no flash!
- Katie prefers only to take photos that give a vantage point off the attractions.
- Nate prefers not to take photos on the attractions at all.
- Henry describes how he likes to take photos of himself on attractions while completing ultimate touring plans at the parks.
- Henry asks the panel what attractions and photo spots that they like taking photos of the most.
- Scott likes the outdoor attractions like TeaCups and Dumbo.
- Jeff likes shots on Dumbo and Aladdin’s Magic Carpets.
- Katie likes shooting in the Animal Kingdom, preferably at night.
- Nate tells the panel about a cool project of taking pictures of buildings at Hollywood Studios and then actually visiting the buildings in LA.
- Henry likes taking pictures of group meets in the parks.
- Henry imagines a day when a flying orb would take pictures of him and his family during his entire Disney vacation.
- Henry asks the panel about their preferred method of sharing photos while in the Disney Parks.
- Scott will share photos from his iPhone instantly through TwitPic.
- Jeff will only share from his iPhone as well from the Parks.
- Katie shares often through all the media outlets using Posterous. She also loads the days pictures she has taken every night back at the hotel room onto her laptop and uploads them to Flickr.
- Katie talks about her Owners Locker and how she is going to keep a wireless router in it.
- Nate does not share his photos.
- Henry uses Twitter photo clients to share his photos from the parks.
- Henry does not prefer to stream all of his pictures to different clients at once.
- Henry asks the panel for their quick tips regarding photography at the Disney Parks.
- Scott gives some advice about taking photos at night.
- Jeff says to have the PhotoPass photographer take pictures with your camera!
- Jeff and Scott do not use tripods in the parks but say that balancing the camera on a trashcan works fine.
- Katie’s favorite spot to take pictures of the castle is on the bridge leading to Frontierland.
- Nate talks about his traditional spots to take family photos and gives the advice to consider the time of day when taking photos in the Disney Parks.
- Henry talks about setting up a blog or social media site to share pictures with friends and family while on vacation.
- Thank you to our sponsor Touring Plans! Visit Touring Plans for all of your Disney wait times needs!
- Visit the Betamouse FriendFeed and chat with us all day every day!
- Note: Katie and Henry will be attending the WDW Today TentFest and want to know if you’ll be there too! Email show@betamouse.net and we would love to meet you and thank you for listening!
Welcome to Episode 3 of the Betamouse Podcast! Learn all about how to keep your smartphone juiced and dry at the Disney Parks! Have show ideas? Let us know! Email: show@betamouse.net
Or, you can download it directly here.
JOIN US IN OUR FRIENDFEED ROOM–ALL WELCOME (well, except Nate on his Android): http://friendfeed.com/betamouse.
Show Notes
- Henry introduces the Panel.
- Thank you to Touring Plans for sponsoring Betamouse!
- The Panel talks about what smartphones they own. The majority of the panel is enjoying the wonder of the iPhone. Nate provides the Android experience.
- Henry asks the panel how they keep their batteries going white touring the parks.
- Scott talks about the settings on his iPhone that he shuts off: wifi, bluetooth, brightness, location services and yes, even 3G.
- Henry declares he must have his iPhone screen of optimal brightness.
- Jeff jokes that the best way to keep your iPhone charged is to go to the parks with family that deems it unacceptable for the iPhone to always be in your hand. Jeff states that his anti-glare screen protector allows him to keep his brightness way down and still see the screen fine.
- Henry brings up the interesting point of: is bringing out your smartphone in public now socially more acceptable?
- Katie (resident Apple fangirl) talks about the settings she shuts off to keep her battery going: wifi, bluetooth, location services and low brightness. Katie also uses an external battery, the Major Mojo 3g Juice, to keep her phone going. She inquires about case batteries such as the Mophie Juice Pack and Henry lets the panel know the charging power of those is not that great.
- Nate turns off all the general settings to save battery as well and also states that he has battery issues much more often at Walt Disney World than at Disneyland because at Disneyland he returns to the hotel more often. Henry has the same issues only the exact opposite: he always returns to the hotel for a break at Disney World.
- Henry lets Disneyland fans know that there are power outlets available for charging at Billy Hill in Disneyland.
- Henry states that he will turn off all settings but he will not give up 3G. He also does not want to give up Twitter push notifications.
- Scott will not bring power cords to charge his iPhone to the parks. He will take a break and charge at the resorts.
- Jeff gives the ultimate pro tip: there is an outlet to charge your smartphone in the lower rose garden area at Magic Kingdom. He also lets the panel know that there are outlets at the Tutto Italia waiting area.
- Katie gives the advice of checking the counter service locations for outlets.
- Nate states that one of his favorite charging areas is the Tambu Lounge at the Polynesian Resort.
- To save battery life, Henry informs the panel to turn on airplane mode when going into a long indoor ride such as Pirates or Soarin’.
- Henry’s favorite charging area is in Innoventions West at Epcot.
- Henry asks the panel how they keep their phones safe and dry.
- Scott’s biggest tip: never keep your phone on a belt clip! While he is on an attraction, his phone stays in his front pocket. For water rides, Scott uses a simple plastic ziplock bag.
- Jeff uses the Otterbox Defender case for his iPhone. There is nothing hurting his phone now!
- Katie throws her phone in her bag and although she likes her CaseCrown case she prefers her iPhone as naked as Steve Jobs intended. Katie had a Power Support anti-glare film as well and while she loved it, she states the screen is much more crisp without it.
- Nate states that he is not the one to give advice on keeping phones dry as he has ruined smartphones that way before! He just keeps his phone in his pocket for security. Nate compares holding his phone in a belt clip to holding his infant in a Baby Bjorn. One member of the panel was sure to compare their smartphone to an infant at one point!
- Henry does use the pouches on the attractions and only one time did he forget something in one! Henry lets us know that if it’s raining and you need to use your phone, just hold your phone under your poncho!
- Henry wants to know what applications the panel checks consistently at the Disney Parks.
- Scott checks Twitter, FourSquare and sometimes email.
- Jeff uses Twitter and email and plays DoodleJump in line.
- Katie uses Twitter and FourSquare and will often use iCal to keep her ADRs and schedule in line.
- Nate uses Posterous and the panel talks about what a great blogging service it is.
- Henry uses Twitter and his iPhone camera quite a bit while at the parks.
- Thank you the Betamouse sponsor Touring Plans. Use Touring Plans to tour the Disney Parks and save time and money. And speaking of smartphones, check out the mobile application Lines for all your Disney wait times needs!
- Henry announces the Betamouse FriendFeed room. Join the Betamouse crew for live geeky chat everyday!
Well, folks, here it is: the very first episode of the betamouse podcast. Our topic? Feature requests for disneyworld.com!
NOTE: if you want to email the show, please send to show@betamouse.net. Do it!
Or, you can download it directly here.
Show Notes:
- Henry introduces the podcast panel.
- Scott gives the “newbie” perspective of planning on disneyworld.com and states that the site might provide information overload to novice planners and things may get over looked.
- Henry comments that using gateways like college websites might provide a better experience for different user categories: beginner planners, intermediate planners and advanced planners.
- Jeff states that the redundancy of entering data more than once can be annoying. The website itself should remember user information. This leads into the discussion- should Disney provide loyalty programs?
- Katie gives the Disney Vacation Club member perspective on the online experience and is a bit miffed that DVC members can still not book their vacations online.
- Henry asks opinions on the Disney online experience on mobile devices and shocks the panel by stating that there is a mobile Disneyworld site!
- Nate is looking for a better comparison tool on the Disney World resorts. Katie is also looking for a linear option to compare the resorts and Jeff interjects that this is present on the site.
- Henry comments on the slow loading speeds of the site in general and how the large pictures on every page are not needed and excessive. He also commends the Disney Parks Blog as a step in the right social media direction.
- Thank you to Touring Plans for sponsoring Betamouse! Visit Touring Plans for wait times, park touring plans and information on the new Disney World mobile wait times app Lines.
