Top Accessories for Your Digital Camera

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 8 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #1,516 in Tech & Geek, #40,894 overall

Improve Your Pictures

The anticipation of buying some digital camera accessories is just about as exciting as buying the camera itself. With so many trimmings to go with it, the digital camera will turn a simple hobby into a pleasurable profession with just a snap of the finger.

When we begin looking at the digital camera of choice, we need to look at some of the accessories that will go with it. Some accessories will go with most cameras but some may be brand specific, so stay with the brand of the camera if you can when looking at their extras.

Accessories such as rechargeable batteries, a battery charger/AC adapter, memory card, soft camera case, camera bag, lens cleaning kit, tripod, external flash and filters, will all make the digital camera run more smoothly and efficiently. They add value to your photo shoots, and also increase the life of your camera. The worst thing in the world is to be out on a shoot, and have the battery go out or the memory card malfunctions.

The Top 7 Accessories You Cant Live Without! 

There are some accessories more important than others, and some simply sell better than others. Right now, at the top of the accessory list for digital cameras are:

  1. camera bags - for LCD scratches, general marks on the camera, with the Lowepor Micro Trekker 200 and the Lowepro Mini Trekker Classic as the two top selling bags
  2. memory cards - it is best to have one large card or a couple medium card
  3. camera tripod - only purchase one of you are serious about photography
  4. photo printer - some of the best ones are the Canon i70/i80/i90 Portable Photo Printer, HP Photosmart 375 Photo Inkjet Printer, Epson PictureMate Personal Photo Lab Inkjet Printer, Kodak EasyShare Dock Plus Dye Sublimation Printer, and the Sony DFF-FP50 Digital Photo Inkjet Printer
  5. Portable Storage Device and Card Reader - holds 7 memory card types and stores up to 100 GB of images
  6. photo editing software - always upgrade to a more advanced program
  7. Digital Picture Frame - displays slide shows and receives photos across country

Camera Bags 

Camera bags are widely available in different colors, sizes, designs, shapes, functions, and materials. If you have photography as a hobby and you own a digital camera, then it could help if you follow some useful tips provided by professional photographers.

Camera Lens Cleaner 

One of the most important accessories, which really is a necessity, should be a lens cleaning kit to go along with the digital camera. You should never clean any optics of your camera using your shirt, fingers, water or breath.

The kit, which costs a few dollars, includes a small blower brush, a soft cloth, a small plastic bottle containing the lens cleaning solution, and a number of lens cleaning tissues. Little specks of dirt on a photograph or smudges will cost a person time when they editing them out.

Nikon 7072 Lens Pen Cleaning System

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $7.51 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Nikon Complete Lens Cleaner Kit

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $8.91 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

LensPEN Lens Cleaning System

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $7.32 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Purosol All Natural Lens Cleaner 2oz.

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $11.01 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Nikon Lens Pen Pro Kit

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Slave Flash Units 

Digital cameras and their built-in flashes have a limited range of approximately ten feet, which is considered normal for most point-and-shoot cameras. This distance can be increased 18 feet on up to 40 feet, depending on the flash used as a slave flash, which is ANY photographic flash that has a sensor built into the unit. Many of these are sensitive enough to be activated 100 feet away in full sunlight, but are not restricted to outdoor use only.

Some of the new digital cameras that have "red eye reduction", also called pre-flash, require a special digital flash unit to act as a slave unit. But the older digital cameras without pre-flash will still work with slave units. But the first thing was to purchase a camera with at least 2X on up to an 8X optical zoom - not digital. Optical is the highest quality digital camera available, as the digital will take blurry photographs.

Sony HVLFSL1B External Slave Flash with Bracket for Compatible Cybershot Digital Cameras

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $69.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $99.99

Digital Concepts Powerzoom 952AF/CAN Flash for Canon Cameras

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $104.06 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $299.99

SP Studio Systems Midi Slave Flash, Battery Operated Strobe with a Guide Number 45, ISO 100

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $40.90

Bower Twin Digital AF FLASH w Bracket

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $111.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price:

BOWER SFD328 DIGITAL FLASH

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $52.44 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $69.99

Camera Tripods 

Another very important accessory is a tripod, for those of us who have the shakes and an unsteady hand. The tripod is needed to prevent camera shake, especially when the shutter speed drops below 1/60 second at a wide angle shot. Some digital cameras are equipped with an LCD monitor, which flashes a blinking light as a warning when the shutter speed is likely to cause a camera shake.

Also, a tripod is necessary when the photographer is too close to the object in macro photography. There are mini tripods and the regular tripods, with the minis pretty popular anymore as they are lightweight and can be stored easily.

Sony VCTD680RM Remote Control Tripod for Sony Cameras & Camcorders

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $199.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Sunpak FieldMaster Tripod with Universal Pan Head and Universal Ball Head

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: Too low to display (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Slik Tripod with 3-Way Panhead

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Vanguard Tourist 5 Ultra-Compact Full-Size Tripod with One-Handle Panhead

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Sunpak 620-2020D Tabletop Tripod with 3-Way Panhead

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $18.54 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Digital Photo Printers 

Here are the 5 photo printers recommended in the list above. For more information, visit Printing Your Digital Photographs.

Canon i80 Color Bubble Jet Printer

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $249.99

HP PhotoSmart 375 Compact Photo Printer

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $386.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $235.00

Usually ships in 1-3 weeks

Epson PictureMate Personal Photo Printer

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $299.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $199.99

Usually ships in 1-3 weeks

Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock PLUS

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $349.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $219.99

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Sony Picture Station DPP-FP50 Digital Photo Printer

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $199.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $299.99

Usually ships in 1-3 weeks

Portable Storage Device and Card Reader 

Kodak EasyShare ESP 7 All-in-One Printer (2252929)

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $131.21 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $199.99

4 in 1 Mini USB 2.0 Memory Card Reader Writer SD MINISD MMC MOBILE RSMMC

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $0.02 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $9.99

iGo Portable Multi-Card Reader

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now
List Price:

Digital Memory Cards 

Almost all digital cameras come with a small starter memory card, 16 or 32 MB. However, a professional photographer or a shutterbug may need a larger memory card - the more pictures on it, the faster it will disappear in room. A larger card will have more room so more pictures can be taken; we won't need to rush to our computer to transfer them off the memory card before we run out of room. We also have the option of using several small memory cards, sorted out per subject or job.

Kingston 1GB Ultimate 100X Compact Flash Card

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Kingston 1 GB Secure Digital Flash Card ( SD/1GB ) (Retail Package)

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $20.95 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Kingston 1 GB Micro SD Card (Retail Package)

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $8.69 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Kingston Technologies 1 GB Mini SecureDigital (miniSD) Memory Card ( SDM/1GB )

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Xd-picture Card, 1GB, Kodak Brand (Retail Package)

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $19.59 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Battery Chargers 

And last but not least, a battery charger or an AC adapter is very much needed, unless we keep a case of batteries on us at all times. But the battery charger is the number one choice as it allows us to continue charging spare batteries without interrupting our shooting. In the case of an AC adapter, the shooting will come to a halt while the battery is being charged.

It is also advisable to buy a spare set of rechargeable batteries as it saves us the embarrassment of getting stuck with drained out batteries during the middle of a photo shoot. Rechargeable batteries last longer, and will save us the bother of hunting for battery stores in desolate places. The price may be high at first, but it is better than losing a photography job or driving all the way to a camera store to repurchase what was forgotten in the first place!

Canon CB-2LV Battery Charger for the Canon NB-4L Li-Ion Battery

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $34.64 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 24 hours

CTA MR-BG1 Mini Battery Charger Kit for Sony NP-BG1 Battery

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $3.65 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Sony BC-CSD Battery Charger for Cyber-Shot Digital Cameras

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $21.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Canon CB-2LW Battery Charger for NB-2L and NB2LH Batteries

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $39.95 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 24 hours

Canon CB-2LX Battery Charger for Canon NB-5L Li-Ion Batteries

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $36.68 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 24 hours

Digital Picture Frames 

A relatively new product in the digital imaging industry is what has become known as the digital picture frame. These clever devices use a flat-panel TFT (usually just referred to as LCD) screen to electronically store and display digital photos, which can be transferred directly between the picture frame and your digital camera. They can be powered by either batteries or an AC adapter power supply that plugs into your mains wall socket, and are capable of storing between thirty and more than a thousand digital photos, depending on the frame, the size of the files, and the capacity of the memory card being used.

Read the rest of What are digital picture frames and how do they work?...

Pandigital PAN7000DW 7-Inch Digital Picture Frame (Black)

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $64.95 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 24 hours

Coby DP702 7-Inch Widescreen Digital Photo Frame (Woodgrain)

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $44.85 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 2 to 3 days

Sony DPF-D70 7-inch Digital Photo Frame

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $79.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 24 hours

Opteka OPT15 15-Inch Digital Picture Frame with 1GB Built-In Memory

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $183.57 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 24 hours

Kodak EX-811 Easyshare 8-inch Digital Picture Frame with Wireless Capability

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $79.99 (as of 11/12/2009) Buy Now

Usually ships in 24 hours

Digital Camera Guides 

How to Buy the Right Digital Camera
Finding the right digital camera can be a hard decision for you to make because there are so many different types, brands, styles, and sizes available on the market today. This article is going to.
How To Choose The Perfect Digital Camera
As digital photography becomes more popular, the images become better quality, and cameras become more affordable it's no surprise that sales of digital cameras are exploding. There are many.
Digital Camera Modes - Shutter Aperture Priority And More
Digital cameras can be put in different photo shooting modes. The most used mode is automatic - the only thing you need to do is point and shoot. However understanding and using the other options.
What You Need to Know When Buying a Digital Camera
As digital cameras continue to grow in popularity, traditional film cameras will become a thing of the past. Many of the people I work with, however, are intimidated by some of the technological.

Reader Feedback 

submit

More Digital Photography Advice 

Get weekly advice and information on the advantages of digital cameras, how to find the best camera and tips on how to improve your pictures.

About the Author 

Check out www.digicamland.org for more articles on digital camaras and how a digital camera works. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesBase.com.

by thefluffanutta

I write about what I know, and I build tools for Lensmasters at SquidUtils.com. Read more about me on my Lensography, and follow me on twitter.
Follow @thefluffanutta
Clicky (more)

Explore related pages

Create a Lens!