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SLR Accessories to Buy

27 Responses (Add) | Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008 at 6:55am

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Calvin writes: “Just watched you video on your new Rebel XTi. Congrats! I remember when I made the jump and it was great. As a hobby photograph,I used point and shoot cameras for a while. I thought I’d suggest 5 things that I found helpful as a DSLR owner.”

Additional lenses I’m not being specific here, because every “eye” is different. I like landscape shots, so my wide angle lens hogs my Canon body a lot. It always helps to carry more than one lens at a time, you never know when you need that Telephoto moment or that wide angle when you just can’t step back any further. Assuming you’re gonna stick with Canon lenses, be mindful of the difference between EF and EF-S lenses. EF-S is for the cropped sensor models e.g. Rebel XTi, whereas EF are usually for the full frame sensor models e.g. 5D. You can fit EF lenses on an EF-S body, but you can’t fit EF-S lenses on a full frame body. So if further down the line you trade that Rebel XTi in for a full frame model those EF-S lenses won’t work! Also, Canon don’t ship lens hoods with their lenses that aren’t part of the L range (argh!) so you’re gonna have to buy a separate lens hood for that lens if it’s not an L “Luxury” model. IS (Image Stabilization) is another feature to look out on lenses for if you find out you have more shaky hands then you realize. Since the body doesn’t have this technology and any IS you get will be from the lenses, the benefit of this that you can see the IS effects through the viewfinder.
Battery Grip Picture the scene, your baby is in Ponzi’s arms and is about to yawn for the first time. You reach out for your camera in attempt to snap this amazing moment…. only to find out the battery is dead. Not that this has happened to me, but you can imagine you’d be pretty livid if this were to happen, regardless of how organized you are with batteries. Which is why I recommend a battery grip for your Rebel XTi. Not only can you store 2 batteries worth of power within the grip, but it also allows you to hold your camera vertically much easier and has additional controls when holding it in that position. The official Canon model is the BG-E3, but if you find that too pricey, there are some other ones out there which are basically the same but don’t sport the Canon name.
Flashgun + diffuser Whilst the flash is acceptable on the camera itself, it can never fully compare to a proper flashgun. With one, you can adjust its angle so you can bounce the flash off walls or ceiling for a less direct flash. Or even better, use an off-shoe camera cord and manually control the direction of the flash with your hand off-camera. Take a look at the offerings from Canon’s Speedlite range, they’re sure to get you going a bit. I also recommend getting a flash diffuser. Basically its a small device which softens the flash from the flash gun, which is especially useful if you need that direct flash but don’t want the harsh shadows that go with it.
Tripods/Monopods Tripods are fantastic if you want to take shots which just aren’t possible handheld. I have a bit of a soft spot for long exposure shots, but that’s just me! I recommend something from the Giottos and Velbon range. Again, I won’t name specifics because everyone has their own tastes so I suggest you get down to the store and have a feel, tug at its joints and play around with it. A monopod isn’t a must, but if you feel the need to reduce the camera shake in those moments but don’t have the time to setup the full Tripod, it may come in handy.
Camera bag You’ve got the equipment, now you need a container. I have several camera bags, namely a backpack if I want to carry a tripod, laptop and a few lenses for a long trip or a small messenger bag for just the camera and another lens. Unfortunately, I find most camera bags look too much like camera bags and are begging to be swiped. I recommend Crumpler. It’s not cheap, but they do make attractive bags. And whilst now thieves have caught on that Crumpler bags are what more and more photographers are using, for the most part they disguise themselves pretty well as being passed off as just “a bag”. They make a large range of backpacks and messenger bags for photographers so do check them out. If you don’t mind that obvious camera bag look, check out bags made by Lowepro. Their sling bags are a favorite for photographers, and their range is very respectable.

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27 Comments

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January 2nd, 2008
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Chris Pirillo »SLR Accessories to BuyPosted 35 minutes ago

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January 3rd, 2008
at 11:09pm

on your new Rebel XTi. Congrats! I remember when I made the jump and it was great. As a hobby photograph,I used point and shoot cameras for a while. I thought I’d suggest 5 things that I foun…</blockquote><p>Read the <a href=”http://chris.pirillo.com/2008/01/02/slr-accessories-to-buy/”>full post</a> from <a href=”http://chris.pirillo.com”>The Chris Pirillo Show</a></p><p>Tags: <a href=”http://www.blogdigger.com/tags/photo” rel=”tag”>photo<

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January 18th, 2008
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Original post:SLR Accessories to Buyby at Blogdigger Media search for youtube

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January 4th, 2008
at 11:14am

flashers

January 4th, 2008
at 5:38am

Dodomofo93

January 1st, 2008
at 10:04pm

comment virginity taken

STRING3R

January 1st, 2008
at 10:06pm

2nd!!…joking, i really couldnt give a shit

creativeatheart

January 1st, 2008
at 10:23pm

These are some great tips, especially coming from a person who does photography for a living!

SileDevil

January 1st, 2008
at 10:26pm

nerd gay

crazd90

January 2nd, 2008
at 12:50am

lol wasn’t this the video were he had to do it twice??

jesusy2k

January 2nd, 2008
at 3:54am

u have to shave ur head when there is 1000 people in chat

Antman1005

January 2nd, 2008
at 7:30pm

Nikon still have the best Lighting systems :)

Jdinh04

January 2nd, 2008
at 2:15pm

Woohoo! another great blog entry. Very helpful and informative to the person who sent this in to Chris. As always big thanks to Chris for shooting a video on this. I purchased my first DLSR a year ago, sadly to say Chris its a Nikon D50! hehe I know you don’t like Nikon but I haven’t had any problems with them. However though I am also more of a Canon guy, I just felt more comfortable using their products becuase my previous camera, was a Cannon Powershot A40 and I thought it was pretty good P&S camera to use. Recently I received a new camera bag for my DSLR which was something i’ve been waiting to get. Anyhow, thanks again for the helpful video! Take care.

computrout

January 2nd, 2008
at 2:21pm

Another accessory you should look into is the remote.

Also, with the batteries, DO NOT purchase the canon branded battery. You can go to Ebay a buy 3rd party batteries for a fraction of the price. It has been my experience that these batteries hold more power than the Canon branded ones

Shatonmedeek

January 3rd, 2008
at 8:16am

canon > nikon

Scott Neth

January 3rd, 2008
at 2:16am

I really appreciate the tips. I usually contact a photographer friend and get their input as well. I would really like to see an extensive blog on point and shoots. One final question I would have is What SLR would be the best entry level camera for the best price? I have never owned an slr digital or otherwise. Thanks for the tips

fred hayes

January 3rd, 2008
at 6:34am

As it may seem to a lot of digital SLR users, filters are a necessary item as well. a simple UV filters is really inexpensive, but in case of an accident of taking say a picture of a dirt car race, a rock hits the front of your camera, would you rather break the first glass segment or the UV filter. I prefer the UV get busted myself. brands do not much matter for some types of filters to me, but I would buy well kinown brands still. there are tons of sites to tell about filters and brands and prices vary form as low as $5 to as high as $300 for just 1 filter, but compared to the cost of a new lens, a filter is simply a really cheap insurance policy with just 1 payment, you wreak the filter, you are out just a filter. Last, a lens cleaning cloth, can be made for glasses or camera, but just a simple dry cloth for lens will clean about anything you want to clean off the lens. batteris are a whole different story, I would read the manual to what you can use. while the idea of using a rechargable CV-3 would be nice to use in my Pentax K100D, the manual say not to do it, but I can use rechargable AA NI-MH just fine and recharge in as little as 15 minutes, have multiple packs as computrout had said, no use buying the name brand when it is going to cost an arm and leg, but before buying form Ebay, try checking http://www.bestbatt.com to see if they have a battery to fit your camera. My father has a Evario camcorder that uses a battery that makes up half the weight of the camera, but could buy the second best for about 1/3 the price after the brand name. I do not work for bestbatt.com, I have used there service of batteries a coule of time and just had a good experience with customer service when 1 battery arrived DOA and would not charge.

vindog

January 3rd, 2008
at 7:42am

I am a semi-pro shooter for many years, and I love my XTi (even though I have the 1DS Mark II, it is an excellent camera.) My advice though is to use L series lenses even with the crop factor. My favorite all around lens is the 27-70mm which is a super hunk of glass, but will let you take macros like this one: http://photoshack.com/albums/wpw-20061108/IMG_4278-crop.JPG

Also, as it relates to the post about batteries, there are inferior knock-offs out there (read the specs on the battery, I’ve bought them where the amperage was different and that’s NOT good, even though they were clearly stated as “compatible”.)

Trey Ratcliff

January 3rd, 2008
at 10:40am

For wide-angle, I suggest the Sigma 10-20 mm. It’s the best. You can see samples on my photoblog on the link above (or below or wherever Chris has this thing set up to link on the tubes).

Czar

January 3rd, 2008
at 11:10pm

Be sure to get some lens cleaning accessories. I had this air-brush thingie that blows air through the bristles from the handle so you can brush and blow at the same time! :P
Also be sure to have a strap for your camera body. I had a slr that had no strap for some reason so i was stuck with either constantly holding it and worried that i would drop it, or stuffing it in my bag. But then its annoying to have to take it out of the bag to take a shot.

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