Camera Equipment

Let's take a look at the things you need to have a top notch camera bag full of the best tools to take great photographs. Camera equipment comes in several categories. You have your carrying cases, filters, card reader, memory, batteries, cleaning supplies, and tripods to steady everything up right.

Let's start with filters. Never used filters on your camera before? Well they can add a whole new creative element to the mix. They come ion hundreds of sizes and colors. Most of them can be screwed onto the front of your lens. Your new digital camera may not have the same size threads as your old film camera if you had some filters form before so you may have to use what they call a step down ring in order to adapt the filter. Since most digital lenses retract into the body of the camera when you turn them off be sure to have filters that fit properly and do not jam things up. Maverick Slots

Your particular brand of digital camera may have filters created just for it and will allow attachment directly to your lens without any form of step down ring.

Polarizer filters are made up of glass that hundreds of fine lines blocking various elements of the reflecting light. When you rotate the filter in front fo the lens you will notice that things like blue sky will turn darker and reflections will disappear.

Creative filters include such things as starburst, color diffraction, rainbow, split focus and color gradation. If you utilize one of these filters just know that they may rely on certain apretures to achieve their effect and thus your LCD preview might be different than the final image. You will need to experiment with the filter to see what it can do for you. That is the great thing about digital- experimentation!

Close up filters are perfect for when you have a camera that does not allow you to focus close enough to the camera. Say you want to shoot really close to your roses or your dogs' face, you would want to focus within inches of the lens. A close-up filter screws onto the lens and allows you to take that photo. When you using this filter you may not be able to see actual results on the LCD screen, you may need to play back the image externally from the camera to make sure the results are good.

Telephoto converters allow you to add focal length to your camera without using the digital zoom that most cameras come with. You will be able to fill the frame with distant objects better and with higher subject detail.

Wide Angle adaptors get you an extended area of view in your camera. The effects from wide angle are some of the best in photography. When space is tight and you can't back up anymore the wide angle will save your image.

Fisheye converters give you an extremely distorted view but one that is full of creativity. When using fisheye lenses you will have an almost unlimited depth of field which allows you to have both foreground and distant objects in focus at the same time.

Camera Bags

This is a most important accessory for the serious photographer. Your digital camera can be senstive to humidity and temperature changes, so protecting your camera equipment from the elements is important. You can find bags that are designed specifically for the new digital cameras. They feature room to stow your memory cards and of course batteries.

Tripods

While it is nice to have a full sized tripod to steady your camera on for those precious photos, portraits, close ups and so on, it may be more practical and useful to have a small folding/collapsable tripod that you can take anywhere in your bag.

These portable tripods can be placed on tables, attached to almost anything (with velcro straps, bungee cords, clamps, tape) and do not encumber you with a large item in your camera equipement kit.

Memory

You can never have enough memory. Chances are the card that comes with your camera is not big enough. Upgrade right NOW! Listen these devices are so good because of the ability to take lots of images and then decide what you like. Why be ever caught with not enough storage?

At the best JPEG image quality selected on your camrea you can expect to shoot about 36 photos:

These cards are compact, easy to store, and these days are more affordable than ever. It is so much better than buying rolls and rolls of film.

Batteries

You may find that some camera manufacturers supply long lasting Lithium Ion batteries with their units while other s utilize AA sized batteries. If you choose a digital camera that uses AA batteries you should invest in several sets of rechargeable Nickle Metal Hydride batteries. Use one set in the camera, charge the other and carry it along so that you will always be able to take those shots. Digital cameras cand camera equipment can drain batteries, especially if you are using the LCD screen for extended periods of time.

The Lithium Ion batteries will last a long time but you should always have a spare on hand. These are not as ubiquitous in stores so shop wisely.

Card Reader

One key accessory for your digital camera is the card reader to input your images from your memory card into your computer. USB card readers allow you to download in a hurry. Instead of plugging your camera into the computer directly and using battery life you can remove the card, plug it into the card reader and then into the computer for fast transistion of the images.

These are relatively inexpensive ($20-$80 US) pieces of camera equipment and they make things easier for you. Plus you can easily copy your images to several computers with USB efficiently.

This is a just a summary of the camera equipment you can get for your digital camera. For sure you should explore your digital camera thoroughly before you buy any of these items, but then you should find what you need to explore new ways of being creative with your camera.

Minolta | Pentax | Nikon | Canon | Kyocera | Mavica | Ricoh | Sigma | Olympus | HP | Toshiba | Olympus | Camera Equip | Batteries | Medium Format | Ebay |