What basic extras to when first starting out?

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markmjh

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Mark
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Hi folks,
well finally taken the plunge and will have a nice shiney Sony A450 and kit lens from this forum heading my way shortly. This is going to be my first DSLR so don't want to get carried away spending a fortune on items that i don't know how to use properly yet and might not actually need.

So with this in mind what items would you recommend as either essential or really helpful to a first timer without breaking the bank.
 
We need a sticky listing this stuff.

Must haves.
Memory Cards,
Bag,
Rare Antarctic Pygmy Llama,
and some people will also mention UV/Protection filters and hoods.

EDIT: And once you get going you might well want the following.

A longer zoom lens
A prime lens
A tripod
Another bag
A flash gun (and maybe associated of camera flash gubbins)
A remote control
A statue of Charles Kennedy made entirely out of bronze coloured Marzipan
 
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Hi mark and welcome, Have a look on ebay for a
Minolta 50mm f/1.7 AF Lens and Minolta 70-210 AF f4 beercan lens there great value and you wont break the bank. I own them both and there have served me well with my a350 and a700 great starters. Also would buy i good tripod hope this helps.
 
mission1968 said:
Hi mark and welcome, Have a look on ebay for a
Minolta 50mm f/1.7 AF Lens and Minolta 70-210 AF f4 beercan lens there great value and you wont break the bank. I own them both and there have served me well with my a350 and a700 great starters. Also would buy i good tripod hope this helps.
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+1 for the minolta lenses, i got them both for my birthday in december and they are excellent value for money, maybe not an essential as a beginner but definitely worth keeping in mind as you learn the basics and want to explore more options with your camera
 
Cheers folks, think i'll skip the lenses for a bit until i get the hang of the camera.
Going to look into a tripod, no idea where to start on the hood or filters.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for info regarding thier uses?
 
Hi Mark

I got my camera just less than a year ago, first thing i bough "extra" was a tripod.... makes a big difference to the sharpness of your pictures, and you can experiment with the different settings, then I bought a filter, a uv one to protect the lens and then got a polarising filter for shooting landscapes (but tbh can change most effects in photoshop anyway). After got a remote shutter release for sharpness reasons again - camera shake/movement (however can just use self time button) Still just have my kit lenses, although would like a prime lens eventually. Only recently got some studio lights to have a go at portraits, so will be saving up for a light meter and then eventually a prime lens methinks! Have fun!
 
Mark

I bought my first DSLR in May last year and after speaking to friends the best thing they recommended was a UV filter. I bought mine off ebay for less than a tenner. 1. it cuts out UV and 2. More importantly, it prevents the lens glass getting scratched. Better to pay a teener to replace a filter than £££ for a new lens. Bought a little bag to keep it all tucked away in too.

HTH

Ruby
 
RubyX4 said:
I bought mine off ebay for less than a tenner.
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Yep - nothing like sticking a cheap piece of glass in front of an expensive lens - great way to improve image quality! :thumbsdown:
 
Think it depends on what aspect of photography you are most interested in.

A monopod may serve your needs better or you may want to invest in spares batteries and memory cards.

Word of advice though. As with most things in life buy well buy once.
 
You don't really need anything else right now, apart from a couple of memory cards and a lens hood. I'd just use the camera for a few months and get used to it. Your needs/wants will more or less define themselves once you get a bit more experience.

Don't buy a cheap UV filter. Digital cameras don't need UV filters at all - they were designed for film - and they won't improve your photography. A lot of people do use them for protection, and a lot of others don't. This is a bit controversial. I prefer a lens hood for protection against accidental knocks, and only use a filter if there's a lot of dust, sand or spume blowing around; but it's up to you. Cheap filters can cause flare, so get a decent make if you want one. Hoya Pro is good for the price.
 
I've got a spare battery with the kit i've got and i've a few memory cards floating about from various gadgets that will fit(and all are fast transfer rates).
So it's looking like a Tri-pod, bag and a lens hood are first on the to buy list.
Does it matter which lens hood, or will any 55mm hood fit fine?
 
Hi Mark - welcome.

Not mentioned so far I think - some method of backing up your pictures in case your hard drive goes for a burton.

Also if your camera is not waterproof, carry a carrier bag or similar with you in case it suddenly starts raining.
 
markmjh said:
I've got a spare battery with the kit i've got and i've a few memory cards floating about from various gadgets that will fit(and all are fast transfer rates).
So it's looking like a Tri-pod, bag and a lens hood are first on the to buy list.
Does it matter which lens hood, or will any 55mm hood fit fine?
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Sounds like you're good to go. I wouldn't bother with a bag or a tripod at the moment. You don't have extra lenses, or flash guns, yet so just put the camera in a strong plastic bag/under your jacket if it starts to rain. Tripods are very useful and you'll probably want to get one at some stage, but it's not really necessary right away. There are different types too, so get used to the camera and decide what you want to do with it, and then choose one. You'll get lot's of advice here, and Redsnapper seem to get the nod from many people.

Lens hoods tend to be specific to lenses, or a few lenses, and some of the generic ones can cause vignetting. Check out the OEM hood and cost, and have a look on eBay too. I got my OEM Canon hood for about 50% of the UK price from HK.
 
MartynK said:
Sounds like you're good to go. I wouldn't bother with a bag or a tripod at the moment. You don't have extra lenses, or flash guns, yet so just put the camera in a strong plastic bag/under your jacket if it starts to rain. Tripods are very useful and you'll probably want to get one at some stage, but it's not really necessary right away. There are different types too, so get used to the camera and decide what you want to do with it, and then choose one. You'll get lot's of advice here, and Redsnapper seem to get the nod from many people.

Lens hoods tend to be specific to lenses, or a few lenses, and some of the generic ones can cause vignetting. Check out the OEM hood and cost, and have a look on eBay too. I got my OEM Canon hood for about 50% of the UK price from HK.
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I agree with this - all you need to start is a camera, a memory card and some free time.
As you progress, you will find out what you need, and this will depend on what sort of pictures you find yourself taking most.
We all get carried away with buying equipment and it is great fun, but if I were to start out again, I think I would go for a few books, maybe an evening class or whatever and put some time aside to get to know my camera and to find out what sort of pictures I want to take.

Then go out, hit the plastic hard and get some new toys !
 
Thanks folks :-)
I'm going to take the advice and just get a lens hood for now. Head out for a few weeks and play about then look for a local club and see if i can get involved with them.
Just preying i don't get too hooked on new gear and my mountain bike and road bike already cost me a fortune :-( lol
 
markmjh said:
Thanks folks :-)
I'm going to take the advice and just get a lens hood for now. Head out for a few weeks and play about then look for a local club and see if i can get involved with them.
Just preying i don't get too hooked on new gear and my mountain bike and road bike already cost me a fortune :-( lol
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Have fun, Mark. That's what it's all about, for most of us. Photography has never been a cheap hobby and you can spend just about as much you please, but you don't really have to. Some types of photography do demand expensive gear, but your own abilities will take you a long way and you can get a lot of satisfaction and pleasure out of more modest equipment.

FWIW, I still have two Nikon film bodies and three lenses from the 1980s; but my digital set up is limited to a Canon 30D with the 17-85mm kit lens and a 70-200mm f4.0 L zoom (that's one of more affordable L lenses). I'd like a 17-55mm f2.8, a 400mm f5.6 prime, and possibly a wide angle, but I don't really need them, can't afford them and will probably never buy them. No problem. I'm content with what I have.
 
A high paying job that only takes up one day a week is pretty much what you need to enjoy photography - the gear isn't cheap - and if you get into travelling around taking pictures it's very heavy on the wallet, as well as your available free time.
 
You don't need that much, but you will want plenty

Trying to think out of all my junk (sorry, meant equipment) what I would really miss or has the greatest effect on my pictures

Leaving out spare memory cards and batteries,Tripod and Ballhead are right up there with Photoshop Elements and a Rocket Blower.

Lenspen is also very handy too, but nothing else really springs to mind as essential although a better strap such as an Optech enhances things a lot for little money

*EDIT* Nearly forgot one thing, decent card reader, makes life so much easier
 
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What kind of photography are you interested in? I've compiled a small list of useful items in some categories below, in case you want to take serious interest in any of them. It depends on what direction you want to take and of course budget.

Landscape.

Polarizer filter, UV filter, tripod, wide angle lens, grad filters & neutral density filters, cable /wireless release.

Street.

Telephoto lens (people), mid range zoom lens (people), wide angle lens (architecture).

Night/Low light.

Tripod, flash, cable/wireless release.

Portrait

Flash, 35mm/50mm lens (f/1.4-f/1.8).

Flora/Fauna/Wildlife

Telephoto lens (400mm+), macro lens (with ring flash), tripod, UV filter.
 
Cheers Scott :-)
To be honest i'll probably lean more towards the Flora/Fauna/Wildlife. This is the sort of stuff i have messed about with on my point and shoot, and have really enjoyed it.
But some of that may be because of the results turning out ok. I'm going through loads of tutorials at the moment and sort of making a list of projects to do so that i can try different styles to see what i really enjoy, and to try and leard my camera :-)
 
By the way, to save yourself some cash just throw your camera in a messenger bag or rucksack with a bit of padding. I've countlessly bought camera bags and they are either too big for my equipment, too small for equipment but just right for my body or can't hold exactly what I want. I'm going the custom route and buying small pouches to hold lenses and accessories and spending the cash on a rucksack or messenger bag that can also be used for day to day activities aswell as not look like a camera bag :)
 
mastertrinity said:
By the way, to save yourself some cash just throw your camera in a messenger bag or rucksack with a bit of padding. I've countlessly bought camera bags and they are either too big for my equipment, too small for equipment but just right for my body or can't hold exactly what I want. I'm going the custom route and buying small pouches to hold lenses and accessories and spending the cash on a rucksack or messenger bag that can also be used for day to day activities aswell as not look like a camera bag :)
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This was something i was going to ask. As i already have a few good quality day sacks for mountain biking, i was wondering if it's possible to just get some padding to fit into one of these.
I would presume the main consideration would be the risk of scratching as i don't know my bags about anyway?
 
markmjh said:
This was something i was going to ask. As i already have a few good quality day sacks for mountain biking, i was wondering if it's possible to just get some padding to fit into one of these.
I would presume the main consideration would be the risk of scratching as i don't know my bags about anyway?
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I'm purchasing a small Lowepro terraclime pouch for £10 which gives some good padding and more than enough for it to go inside a Rucksack. What I love is the fact that you don't have to have thousands of bags for different uses you can just have two bags (messenger bag and rucksack) and have all your equipment fit in perfectly and safely :)
 
I just bought the a450 but body only. I got the sony 24-105mm second hand and enjoying it. Its a good all rounder. Got my eye on a tripod now..
 
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