5 Devices to Pack for Family Holidays

Last updated on February 16th, 2023 at 09:22 pm

It is no secret we love to travel as a family especially when it comes to summer time in America. Each year, we go back to not only where I grew up but to various cities, states and surrounding areas to explore. Come Easter time you usually can find us visiting our other side of the family in Ireland too. We are lucky to be a family of three mixed countries and cultures and be able to keep those ties tight within our children as they grow up.

We also love to document those family travels. That was one of the reason I started this blog to recall those memories back later or for the kids to look back on at a time they might not remember at a young age. I get asked a lot what kind of camera do I use, what do I record our family videos on our youtube channel with and what devices do I always pack with me on holiday and days out. There are hundreds of electronic devices out there to document your family holidays but here are what we bring on holiday with us.

Iphone: It fits in my pocket, I use it to video and photograph with it all the time especially when we are out where it won’t be easy for me to take my dslr like a theme park. It’s also faster to capture those moments we aren’t expecting like first walks, talks, and more. It immediately uploads to all my devices like my laptop and ipad when I use it so it’s all synced. This is so handy to quickly share on social media too.
Canon DSLR: I have the Canon 1100D model. I have had it about four years now and starting using manual mode last year. I am still working on shooting in raw but for now I use a 50mm lens for most days out with my kids. Or for those lazy beach days on holiday. It takes great photos and isn’t too heavy. It doesn’t zoom in and out that’s the only down side you have to get up really close or walk far back depending on what you want in the frame.
Olympus Pen: Now you will probably think why does she bring two cameras and a cell phone. Well, our trips are normally long, not just a weekend away. If that was the case I would pick between the camera depending on the type of vacation i.e. beach only weekend away the Canon or action centerparcs weekend the olympus pen. Why the pen on action holidays? Well, I like to use it for family selfies with the flip down screen and it’s much lighter, smaller and easier to video on. So I use it a lot for my youtube channel at home as well.
Tablets: We actually have a variety of tablets in the house right now for the kids and for us adults. The kids have been using the Acer Iconia One 10.1 tablet. It’s been great for the them as they have google accounts and this tablet is operated by Android so we got to transfer all the kids tv and movies easily to it. I like the size as it makes it easy for sharing in the car and on a plane. It takes us 26 hours door to door from my house to my parents house so we need lots of batter life in between (up to 9 hours). The best bit is the kids love taking photos (I wonder where they get that from). On our trips you can always catch them holding their tablets to the window to snap something up. The Acer Iconia One has 5 megapixels for standard quality photos. Next they will start videoing me on it… not sure I want to see that in Full HD. Eeek. But it’s a great tablet for holidays and days out to photograph and video with for them. I am yet to brave one of them with my dslr or pen so they can stick to their tablet for now.
Extra Gadgets: Last but not least is my fun, little, birthday present last year, DJI Osmo Mobile. It’s awesome. I still have yet to get to know all it’s capabilities but basically I put my phone in it and I can walk, run, jump with the kids on our holidays and it keeps the video from shaking. It also has a stand so I can video us all on holiday playing on the beach or swimming in the lake and no one is left out. It follows us using face recognizing software and it downloads to my phone. It’s a gem. I need to get better at holding it relaxed as I normally have death grip on it but I am playing more with it now. Definitely one for the youtubers as it has a stand you can put on your table or counter in the kitchen and it will follow you where ever you move.

What do you take on your family holidays to document those special experiences and memories? I would love to know what your favorite devices are and if you have any fun extra gadgets you like to take along for the ride too. Please comment below or come and have a chat on social media @letstalkmommy on twitter, facebook, and instagram.