Super Zoom Lens at the Magic Kingdom

Photographic Innoventions by Scott Thomas

I have seen a few discussions about what lenses to bring to Walt Disney World lately. I have for years touted the advantages to using Super Zoom lenses at the parks specifically and for travel photography in general. For cropped sensor cameras, they run in the ranges of 18-200mm and even 18-300mm. For full framed sensors, I have only seen Nikon’s 28-300mm lens which I used in both the photos for this article. All lenses of this type have image stabilization technology from reliable brands Canon, Nikon, Sony, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina.

They come in very handy when photographing stage shows and parades like the Disney Festival of Fantasy parade in the Magic Kingdom. As the Tangled float approached me, I zoomed out and captured the entire float.

Tangled float in the Festival of Fantasy parade in the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida

Tangled float in the Festival of Fantasy parade.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/400s, f/10, ISO 200, EV 0, 58mm Focal Length.

As the float got closer, I zoomed in to photograph the details of the float including Rapunzel who was not looking too impressed by Flynn Rider’s antics at all.

Rapunzel on the Tangled float in the Festival of Fantasy parade in the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida

Rapunzel on the Tangled float in the Festival of Fantasy parade.
Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/400s, f/10, ISO 200, EV 0, 170mm Focal Length.

I removed a lot of background clutter by zooming in and captured a nice story telling photo and Rapunzel’s expression is wonderful, too. Some people do not like the super zooms but I find them perfect for Disney parks and allows me to carry one lens when visiting.

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Scott's "Photographic Innoventions" blog focuses on intermediate to advanced photography concepts and techniques relevant for Point and Shoot and Digital SLR cameras.

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