Photography Gear
When I decided to buy a DSLR, I was utterly unaware of realm I'd be stepping into. The initial outlay of a few hundred euros seemed expensive enough but I soon realised that if I wanted to make the most of my new camera, I would need to accessorise.
This article rounds off my beginner's tutorial series by outlining some of the things I consider to be quite important additions to your kitbag. The shopping list is virtually endless: lenses, tripods, filters, flashes, remote triggers, protective cases, cleaning equipment, data storage, straps, cables, batteries, memory cards, memory card readers, memory card cases...
You get the idea. You can't have it all but fortunately you don't need it all.
The cliché 'you get what you pay for' unquestionably applies to photography kit. Don't rush out and buy the cheapest item, you'll invariably want to replace it a few weeks later. But you don't have to go to the other extreme and wipe out your savings account on the most expensive gear available.
Upgrading from a compact substantially increases the scope for your photography. Once you have a DSLR in your hands, it's a good idea to spend a few months experimenting and establishing which genres of photography interest you the most. That will help you target the accessories you need. In the meantime, do some research and ascertain the best quality you can reasonably afford.
With that in mind I've compiled a list of accessories - more or less in my established order of importance. As I'm primarily a cityscape photographer, I don't have a studio decked out with pro-grade lighting apparatus for portraiture or an array of super telephoto lenses for sports photography. Your priorities will be different from mine but if you're starting out, you'll be thinking about most of these items sooner or later.
1. Camera case
Congratulations, you've just taken a brand new DSLR out of it's box. What a beauty! Worthy of a quality case for storage and transportation. I would say this purchase is important enough to be included in the budget for your first camera. I went out and bought a custom case for mine the next day.
2. Lenses
You'll soon realise the 'kit' lens that came with your camera isn't enough. After all, the main reason for using a DSLR is the versatility you get from interchangeable lenses. Your first crucial decision since buying the camera is likely to be the choice of lens. So what should you go for?
The options are frankly bewildering at first: Wide-angle, telephoto, prime, tilt-shift, superzoom, macro. What the hell? Then there's the prices which range from affordable to...whaaaaat the hell???
Two things are key when choosing a lens. What type of pictures are you taking and how much can you afford? You don't need to spend two grand on a 500mm super telephoto if you're predominantly shooting still lifes. An idea of the focal length range and largest aperture you use most often will narrow down the field considerably.
Forget about the dream lens that's way out of your budget. But if it's not an impossible dream, I'd seriously recommend saving up. You won't regret waiting. When I start to think about buying something crazy expensive, I sit on the idea for a while and put some money aside. If I haven't changed my mind a few months later, I know I've probably made the right decision and I'm closer to affording it.
It's so important to get the right lens - critical if you're spending a small fortune. So if you're not sure, try one of the budget options. Most are better than your current kit lens. And the more research you do, the better, thus...
3. Books and magazine subscriptions
There's so much to learn. Someone out there knows what you want to know and has written it all down for you. Far more comprehensively than I have. When I decide to dabble in a new style of photography, I start by reading a few books on the subject. I've built up quite a nice library.
I also subscribe to a monthly photography magazine. Like most specialist periodicals, they tend to repeat themselves after a few issues but they're good for inspiring new ideas and reviewing the latest gear.
However, leaving an issue lying around as Christmas approaches, opened at a review of the latest wide-angle zoom lens you've begun to covet and hoping that your wife might notice it, doesn't work.
4. Cleaning equipment
Airborne particles love drifting into the camera body while you're changing lenses. They settle on the sensor and show up in your photos as small dark circles. Dirt will also build up on the front of the lens. Always keep a couple of microfiber cloths handy, as well as a dust blower or a small, soft brush.
5. Tripod
When you've ready for your first tripod you know you're past the rank of beginner and onto enthusiast. The jump in quality of your images will immediately be evident. You can now try your hand at long exposures, night-time shoots, hdr bracketing and macro photography. With your camera on a tripod it's easy to make minuscule framing adjustments for the best possible composition or zoom into a scene using liveview to fine-tune the focus. Get one!
It may sound obvious but the purpose of a tripod is to keep your camera steady in a fixed position. So it won't be any good if the wind blows it over. Don't make the mistake I did and buy cheap. I thought my 20 € tripod would be perfectly fine and it was in consummately calm weather. Plus it had a tendency to wobble whenever a bird flew within 20m. I soon bought a replacement but it wasn't a complete write off. I now use it as a portable light stand.
6. Remote shutter release
Now that you've got your camera mounted on a fine example of tripod sturdiness, what's going to happen when you press the shutter button to take a shot? It'll vibrate. Only slightly but enough to ruin the sharpness gained by using a tripod in the first place.
You can set the delayed timer but that's not a great solution if you're waiting to capture a precise moment. A remote shutter release allows you to shoot without touching the camera. I prefer the wireless variants over their cheaper cable counterparts. Set your tripod up on the rocks then go sit in a cocktail armed deckchair and click away.
7. Filters
Now we're getting serious. Filters sit in front of the lens and alter how the light comes through it. They're used mostly by landscape photographers: Neutral density (ND) filters to enable longer exposures, graduated neutral density filters to provide balanced exposures between bright skies and darker foregrounds, polarising filters to cut out reflections and saturate skies.
Polarising filters are circular because they need to be screwed onto the lens and rotated for their effect to work. Variable ND filters can be used in the same way but the square types, for example the Lee 100 system, are far better.
Of course they're more expensive. Plus you'll need a holder and an adapter matching the diameter of your lens thread to connect it all together. Serious landscape photographers wouldn't be without a sizable filter collection but some people claim they're obsolete because their effects can be mimicked in post-processing. Speaking of which...
8. Digital accessories
If you're one of those photographers who thinks any form of image editing is sacrilege, then ignore my advice to invest in an image processing package. However, if you shoot in RAW or find that you sometimes need to do a bit of cropping or straightening, remove dust spots or simply want to have fun creating composites, you'll need one. A library application to catalogue and display your collection is the bare minimum requirement.
I've happily been using the big hitters, Photoshop and Lightroom, for several years so I can't really give any other recommendations. They're available together in Adobe's photography subscription package for the price of three beers a month. Otherwise, there are plenty of free alternatives you can try whilst figuring out your editing requirements.
Eventually you'll start to run out of GBs on your computer's hard drive and of course you need to back up those precious images. Some kind of external storage device (or two) is required. Make a decision based on your capacity needs, portability and how upset you'd be if a corrupt hard drive annihilated your library.
9. Flashgun
If you tend to shoot outside in plenty of available natural light, using flash probably isn't at the forefront of your mind. But true photography is manipulation of light and with a flash you can begin to take control of it.
The popup flash on a DSLR is barely half a step above useless. A flashgun offers better quality of light and far more control, including the possibility of using it off camera for directional lighting. And that's just a start. You can use a vast number of accessories to create precise lighting effects in your photos: reflectors, softboxes, umbrellas, snoots, grids, beauty dishes, LED wands, gels, multiple flash guns...
Access to this amount of specialist equipment is really only the domain of professionals, or at least dedicated enthusiasts who know exactly what they want. Because when you're at the point where the light is at your command, you'll be a true photography master. If you get there, please wait for me and I'll join you when I can.
10. New camera
And finally we've come full circle. Once you have all the accessories you need, the next step may well be upgrading your camera.
There's a trick to buying all this stuff that could save you a lot of money down the line. Try to ensure your gear will still be compatible with any new camera you might buy in the future. When the time came for me to upgrade from a cropped-frame DX to a full-frame FX, I realised a lot of my accessories were too small for the tank sized beast I now owned. So began the process of replacing everything with bigger, stronger and more expensive versions.
From time to time I have to remind myself I also need money for new clothes, a few cds and a holiday now and then.
Hmmm...holiday...travel photography. I'll need a versatile zoom lens, a portable, lightweight tripod, durable filters, spare battery, extra memory cards, travel case...
