Essential Accessories

After purchasing your first digital SLR camera along with a lens to go with it, you now have to deal with the essential accessories that accompany even the most basic digital SLR camera. While many stores include some of these accessories as a “special package”, most of the packaged items are either overpriced, inadequate, or substandard. So let’s dissect the basic essential accessories that a photographer must have at least one of.

Memory Cards

All digital cameras require a memory card. Depending on your camera’s model, you may either require a compact flash card, a secure-digital card (SD Card), or other proprietary memory cards. The memory card serves as an instant storage device that replaces film for your camera and often comes in different storage sizes.

Memory cards differ in storage size, physical shape, and transfer speed. It’s best to buy the fastest memory card you can afford to minimize read/write delays from your camera. Even if your current camera doesn’t require a high read/write transfer speed, you may upgrade your camera in the future and you wouldn’t want to buy another set of memory cards just because your existing card isn’t fast enough.

In terms of storage capacity, there are memory cards in the market as of today that can store a huge amount of data, as much as 64-gigabyte of information. It may be convenient to just have one large memory card than carrying several smaller ones, but it’s safer to keep several memory cards in lower storage capacity than to put all your images in one due to the risk of data corruption.

As with any digital storage media, there will always be a very small risk that the stored data could get corrupted. For example, if a set of files in a group of thousand images gets corrupted, there’s a big risk that all the images stored will be inaccessible and all photos will be lost. If you used five memory cards that stored 200 photos each, odds are slim that all five will have data errors and your risk of total image loss is dramatically decreased.

Batteries

All digital cameras require a power source as well, and in almost all cases, this power source will be supplied by a battery or a set of batteries. Some cameras utilize traditional AA penlight batteries which are very handy when a charging outlet isn’t present and you can just purchase a pack of batteries from a nearby convenient store to keep the camera working. However, most digital SLRs use a proprietary battery pack that would require a dedicated charger to recharge when the power has been exhausted.

At the very least, there must be one spare battery available with you at all times as most cameras don’t have comprehensive battery indicators and the battery status can go from “half” to “empty” quite quickly especially when shooting with an on-board flash, frequent LCD reviewing, or long exposure shots.

Card Readers

Card readers allow you to transfer your images from the memory card to you computer’s hard disk for editing and storage. While you can connect your camera directly to your computer for file transfer, using a card reader is a much better option because it:

• allows you to continue shooting with another memory card;
• conserves your camera’s battery;
• faster file transfer, especially with Firewire type readers.

Most newer computers have built-in card readers as well, negating the need for extra cables or card reader purchase.

Protective Filters

A protective filter is a thin, clear, glass filter with a metal ring that screws onto the front of your lens. Clear filters are used to protect the expensive and soft front glass element of your lens from accidental bumps, finger prints, dust, and moisture. The cost of a decent protective filter is relatively cheap compared to sending a lens for repair or replacement.

In most cases, you can use a UV filter for protective purposes as it’s optically clear yet reduces UV light from entering your lens.

There are debates on whether or not a UV filter degrades the optical quality of a lens and there hasn’t been a consensus agreement to this theory. For most photographers, the cheap “insurance” of a UV filter is well worth whatever minor image degradation there may be that a UV filter may induce.

Lens Hood

A lens hood attaches to the front opening of lens and prevents stray light from entering the lens at an oblique angle. Using a lens hood ensures that your image is captured with the most contrast, clarity, and saturation due to the absence of glare. As an added bonus, a lens hood prevents accidental knocks and dings on your lens’ front element.

Be certain that they hood you’re using is specifically designed for your lens’ focal length as a hood that is too narrow will cause darkening of the corners (vignetting), while a hood that is too wide will not protect the lens from glare.

There are two common types of lens hoods, circular (as seen in Figure 5), and petal hoods (Figure 6) . Round hoods are the most common and should work with virtually any lens. It is also the most common hood used in consumer lenses with a rotating front element (the front of the lens rotates when the camera tries to focus) as the shape of the hood remains constant.

Petal hoods work exactly the same but with the four corners “trimmed” off to minimize possible vignetting. Using a petal hood on a rotating front element lens is not recommended as the orientation of the hood changes during focusing.

Cleaning Kit

There are many cleaning products available in the market and the most important one would be a kit to clean your lenses. The lens requires gentle but constant care as dust, moisture, grit, oil, and human sweat can cause permanent smudges and haze on delicate glass elements.

The most basic cleaning kit would include an air blower, a brush, lens cleaning fluid, and lens cloth/tissue.

A blower brush simply uses air to dislodge any solid particles resting on top of the glass. It is important to thoroughly blow off as much dirt as possible with air before attempting to use a brush or lens cloth as any dirt trapped between the glass and the cleaning brush or cloth will induce scratches.

A microfiber cloth is often used to clean lenses as these towels are very smooth and soft and work extremely well even without any liquid cleaning agents. However, many prefer disposable lens cleaning tissue to ensure that the wiping material used is fresh and dirt free. When using any cloth or tissue, it’s best to use a small drop of quick-drying lens cleaning fluid onto the cleaning cloth to remove oily smudges and grime before using a dry cloth/tissue to polish the lens.

Never apply the fluid directly onto the glass as it can seep into the gaps of the glass mount.

Camera Bag

Finally, we need a bag to store all these items securely and accessibly. A camera bag is a very personal item and it’s best to visit a store and physically try different bag types to see which one suits you best.

The main bag categories include backpacks, messenger/sling bags, belt bags, and hard cases. With the exception of hard cases, most bags are made with tough nylon mixed with other fabric and plastics to resist wear-and-tear, moisture, and foam walls for impact protection.

Backpacks are often chosen by photographers on-the-go that carries a lot of equipment. Backpacks allow more storage configuration (with the removable inserts) and are easier to carry despite the size and weight. The main disadvantage of backpacks is that the photographer cannot easily retrieve items in the bag unless the bag is removed from the body or laid on a surface as most of the items are stored vertically.

Sling and messenger bags are the most common bags used because of their smaller size and ease of usage. As the bag is often positioned at the side or in front of the photographer at all times, it’s easy to just open the flap and grab the camera (or other accessories) without having the need to alter the bag’s position from the photographer’s body.

The downside of a messenger/sling bag would be the weight of the bag is often heavily biased to one shoulder and can strain the photographer over a period of time.

Belt bags are often limited to one camera and lens combo plus a couple of smaller items. If you prefer shooting with minimal gear, this is a great option as your whole upper body is free from any carrying duties and both your hands are available to use.

Hard cases are suitcase-like containers with heavy foam padding and impact resistant shells that provide maximum impact protection for camera gears. These are often used by professionals who have to travel to destinations while carrying a lot of photographic items. These cases are sturdy enough to be stood on by stacked one on top of another. As always, maximum protection would also mean maximum weight. These hard cases are very cumbersome and heavy to use without transportation.

These basic essentials are must haves in any photographer camera bag as these items help retain your camera equipment’s peak performance and cosmetic condition.

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