Buying Guide: Essential camera accessories

Essential camera accessories

Once you've got your new camera, you may start to wonder what accessories will help you get the most out of your photography. Camera shops are full of enticing accessories that promise to help with your new hobby, but which do you actually need? Our guide will help you decide what kit to buy.

We've picked the five most common DSLR accessories - camera bag, tripods (both travel tripods or supports and budget tripods), flashguns, remote releases and lens filters - to explain why you may need them and how to pick the right one to buy for your needs.

Much of the following information is equally applicable to those who have just invested in one of the more recent compact system camera (CSC) alternatives instead, although the pool of accessory options for these is more limited, thanks to the infancy of the formats on which these models are based.

Photographer's bags

A camera bag is likely to be the most important accessory you buy for your DSLR, and it's worth thinking about which would be the most suitable in the long term.

After all, there may be a point where you wish to supplement your camera body with an additional lens or flashgun, or you may even consider taking out a laptop when you shoot, so it will save you money and effort if you plan ahead.

The most important thing to consider is space, since you want to be sure that the bag you choose can fit all your gear in. Most bags come with a range of internal dividers that allow you to segregate the space inside them to best accommodate your equipment, so try to find to find out whether those provided are sufficient for your needs.

Many backpacks also include lugs and straps on their sides for tripods and monopods. If you envisage regularly using one of these, consider taking your tripod or monopod with you when you look at different bags, since this will give you a better idea of how comfortable the rucksacks will be once attached.

Protection is also worth thinking about, particularly with respect to the security of the various zips and pockets. Many backpacks also incorporate clasp-lock straps around the chest and waist to secure them to the photographer's body, which is ideal when hiking or in similar active situations.

Protection against weather is also important - some bags that aren't waterproof may come with integrated waterproof coverings, so check to see if this is the case.

The other thing to consider is the way you want to access your equipment. Slingshot-style bags, such as Lowepro Slingshot range, enable you to quickly pull a bag down from around your back and take out your camera in seconds. As such, they're ideal for more spontaneous shooting, such as for street photography.

If you prefer something more traditional, look out for bags with padded backs and straps for breathability and comfort. Alternatively, you may decide that a shoulder bag is a more suitable option, in which case you'll be spoilt for choice.

Read our Best camera bags feature for our pick of the best models.

Tripods

If you plan to shoot landscapes, or perhaps in low-light conditions or at night, a tripod is an essential purchase. Although traditionally used for exposures longer than can be safely hand-held, their benefits are varied and plentiful.

They allow you, for example, to fine-tune composition and shoot the exact same image as many times as you need, as well as being useful for high dynamic range (HDR) photography, which requires the camera to be static between exposures.

They're also vital when using an intervalometer for the creation of time-lapse videos - a feature gaining popularity among enthusiast users.

More expensive tripods are based around a carbon fibre construction, although sturdy aluminium budget tripods can be bought too.

When choosing a tripod, look out for the way in which legs are locked - either through screw locks or clips - because one may suit your style of shooting and portability needs better than the other. Clips, for example, allow for small adjustments to be made quickly, although these are known to break over extended use, which explains why some photographers opt for screw locks.

The other thing to consider is the right tripod head; these are usually of the pan-and-tilt or ball-and-socket variety. The former allows for very precise adjustments and is ideal for panning, and many of these models are cheaper than ball-and-socket alternatives.

By comparison, ball-and-socket type tripod heads are far more compact since they don't require the rods of pan-and-tilt heads to make their adjustments.

Before you buy, make sure that both the tripod and head will support the combined load of your camera and lens.

It's also worth looking to see whether the tripod/head combination you plan on buying is available as a bundle deal, since these may have a lower asking price than if you were to buy the head and legs separately.

Read our Best tripods and camera supports feature and our Best tripod under £200 feature for our pick of the best models.

Flashguns

Most DSLR cameras have small flashes integrated within their bodies, and so you may not feel you need one if you're just starting out. Nevertheless, there are many reasons why you may at some point go for a separate flashgun unit.

These are far more powerful than the ones included in DSLRs, and those with tilt and swivel functionality are more flexible in relation to how their light is output. They can also be used off-camera for a more flattering illumination, as well as in combination with other flashguns for multiple-flash setups.

The cheapest flashguns may be limited in terms of how their heads may be positioned, although they will still provide more power than a built-in alternative.

More expensive models come equipped with all sorts of niceties, from backlit LCD screens (useful in low light), to more expansive focal range coverage than cheaper models, as well as more precise control over their output.

These will also typically recycle faster and with less noise, and some may even have an integrated USB port for future firmware updates.

Of course, all of this comes at a cost, and some command asking prices similar to that of a new lens.

Fortunately, there are a range of third-party flashguns from the likes of Metz, Sigma and Nissin, which compare favourably with more mainstream alternatives in terms of both specification and performance.

If you do decide to go for a third-party option, however, make sure that it supports your cameras TTL system. You should be able to find this information on the flash manufacturer's website.

Read our Best camera flashguns feature for our pick of the best models.

Remote releases

There are many reasons why you might want to trigger your camera's shutter remotely, and a range of wired and wireless remotes enable you to do this.

Wireless remotes are particularly useful when taking group shots with yourself in the frame, or when it isn't practical to stand directly behind your camera at the time of capture, such as with some nature photography.

Cheaper wired remotes, meanwhile, are just as suitable as wireless types when you want to trigger the camera without touching the shutter release button, such as for macro photography where camera stability is vital to achieving a sharp image.

When choosing a remote, you should think about all the situations in which you may want to use one. Although cheaper than wireless options, wired remotes are limited by the length of their cables, for example.

Wireless remotes have far longer working ranges, but when choosing one you should pay attention to the principle on which they operate, which will be either via radio frequency (RF) or infrared (IR).

The reason for this is that the IR type generally require line of sight with the receiver on the camera; since these are often located on the front of a camera, you will have trouble triggering these from behind. The solution to this is an alternative that works on radio frequencies - which will even work through walls and floors - although, naturally, these are more expensive.

Before buying a remote release system for your camera, it's worth investigating whether your camera already is already equipped with the kind of functionality you may require.

Practically all cameras now offer self-timer options, which enable you to delay the exposure by a few seconds.

Some more expensive models also feature a mirror lock option, which lifts the mirror up in a separate stage to the sensor actually being exposed to light. This is useful because the vibration from the mirror swinging up can often introduce some image blurring. Of course, neither of these options allow you to trigger a camera remotely, so they won't be practical in every situation.

Read our Best camera remote shutter releases feature for our pick of the best models.

Lens filters

Lens filters come in a range of styles, from inexpensive UV protectors to multicoated pro-grade options with three-figure asking prices.

Their cost is reflected by a number of factors: the optical materials used, as well as the type and number of coatings, for example, all of which determine how well they can transmit light and reduce reflections.

Their external construction also varies with price; more expensive filters boast matt finishes to reduce reflections, and shallow profiles to minimise vignetting, where the edges of the frame darken due to the edges of the filter creating an obstruction. There are many varieties available, but here's our selection of our six favourite camera lens filter kits.

Although the effects created by many filters can be successfully replicated in image editing software, polarisers and neutral density filters are the two that are useful to have on as you shoot, because some of their more useful effects can't be recreated easily (or at all) with software.

Neutral density filters reduce exposure. As such, they're useful when you may not, for whatever reason, want to decrease the aperture of your lens.

It's possible to buy these in different strengths, and you can combine multiple filters for extreme effects, although multiple filter use can introduce reflections and cause vignetting, particularly with cheaper varieties that may not be manufactured to exacting standards.

Graduated neutral density filters are ideal for balancing bright skies with darker foreground details, which explains why they're traditionally employed for landscape use. Here, you will need to buy square filters because circular grad filters are impractical (and so, rarely made).

Unless you already have one, you may need to buy a holder of some kind for mounting a square filter, as these do not simply screw onto a lens in the same way as a circular type. Fortunately, these are generally inexpensive (although you can pay a lot for some) and may enable you to mounts a range of other square filters designed for different systems.

Polarisers come in linear or circular varieties, although for a DSLR you should always go for the latter type as the former can confuse both metering and autofocus systems.

The use of a UV filter to protect the front of your lens is a point of contention among photographers. Proponents argue that their use makes sense when the cost of a broken filter is weighed up against the cost of a damaged lens, while others argue that adding any further optical elements to a lens stands to degrade image quality.

A sensible compromise between the two would be a high-quality filter with multicoatings and a shallow profile, although these come at a cost.

Read our Best lens filter kits feature for our pick of the best models.