10 Essential DSLR Accessories

At the moment, I'm using Nikon padded camera bag which I got it when I purchased the DSLR Camera. It is a good bag as it provides a great protection for the camera & accessories. However, I'm already looking for a new camera bag because I plan to purchase more lenses sometimes in the near future.

At the moment, the best camera bags are manufactured by Lowepro, Crumpler, Jill-e, Case Logic and Kata.

There are several tips and tricks to help you choose the best camera bag. I've discussed these tips at my Lowepro bag page.

Camera bag that is currently on my wishlist:

Lens filter is crucial to protect your lens against dust and scratch. The most common and recommended filter is the UV filter which will help to reduce the haziness which is caused by the sunlight. It is very important to know that you should purchase the good quality of filter because low quality / cheap filter usually has a pretty bad coating and it will not protect your camera lens. Filter is one of the best investment you'll ever make.

There are many types of filters and you should purchase one that suit your photography style. At the moment I have the UV Filter and am ready thinking to purchase the Neutral Density (ND)8 filter to shot waterfall pictures.

Lens pen is the miracle tool. The small pen always does an excellent job to clean the lens surface. The retractable brush will remove any debris and dust from the lens and the other end of the pen (which is the pad) will remove the fingerprints and smudges.

The price is very reasonable, and I must admit I'm hooked with this small pen.

I usually use the dust blower to blow the dust from the camera lens.

This is my current dust blower:

The camera strap is usually included when you purchase the DSLR camera. It's the basic strap with no padding so sometimes it hurts my neck whenever I carry it for a long time. So people usually prefer to purchase additional padding camera straps to suit their photography style. Here are some of the recommended and best selling camera straps:

If you never own tripod, now is the perfect time to invest one. It is crucial to purchase a sturdy tripod which will be strong enough against any wind and rough weather condition. I purchased the Manfrotto tripod and it's one of the best investment I've made. This tripod comes with me on my landscape, nature and firework photography journey.

At the moment, there are many varieties of tripods (monopod, tripod leg, tripod heads, gorillapod and I will explain each of them in more details in separate post.

Memory Cards are essential part of DSLR. At the moment, there are extreme memory cards which allow us to take and save the picture in short amount of time. These are the most recommended memory cards and it ranges from 4GB storage up to 64GB. I have the Extreme SD Card 16GB and is already looking for an extra 16GB memory cards.

Extra battery is needed when you travel for a whole day. Check the battery of your DSLR camera and make sure you purchase the extra battery from the reputable retailer. I've heard so many horror stories about the fake cheap DSLR camera batteries which damage the camera. So, it's better to pay more.

Any photographer will need hard drive to store their pictures. At the moment, I have 1TB Western Digital external hard drive to store all my pictures.

A small torch is an essential accessory for your night photography journey.