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What Photography Equipment
Is Right for YOU?
So much photography equipment is available that it can be difficult deciding what (if anything) to buy. To simplify your decision-making process, we have narrowed things down to
- Mandatory/highly recommended photo gear
- Advice on how to choose the specific piece of equipment
TripodsA tripod should be in the arsenal of every photographer. (For a complete discussion of all the reasons, visit our tripod page.) For the "Executive Summary," know that using a tripod will result in sharper pictures that can be taken with longer exposures (too long to be holding the camera without any camera shake), as well as capturing pictures that could not otherwise be captured.
HOW TO CHOOSE A TRIPOD
- Determine where and how you will be using the tripod. Multiple indoor and outdoor demands require a more substantial tripod than the occasional indoor shot
- Key factors involve the maximum extended height, tripod weight, collapsed (folded) size, and the maximum amount of weight the tripod can support
- Allowing for future equipment purchases, a good rule of thumb is to pick a tripod that can support up to 25% more than the weight of your heaviest camera/lens/flash combination
- Tabletop tripods are often sufficient for point and shoot cameras used indoors
- Unless you do serious photography, a tripod consisting of both the legs and head is your best bet (legs and heads can be obtained separately for more professional level tripods)
- It is nice to have a bubble level on the tripod and/or head, although separate levels can be purchased and easily attached to a tripod
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Camera BagsIf you're thinking to yourself: "Why do I need a camera bag when I have pockets," keep reading. Camera bags are more than a convenience item. A camera bag is is an essential piece of photography equipment. Most camera bags are padded, so they protect your camera from falls as well as the elements. You are more likely to remember to bring along all those other photographic items, such as extra batteries, battery charger, memory cards, filters, etc... if you can easily put them in the camera bag. Depending on the item, it's best to simply leave it in the camera bag when not in use, so it's ready for your next photo opportunity.
HOW TO CHOOSE A CAMERA BAG
- Always choose a bag slightly larger than you think you will need
- For INDOOR events, a bag without a shoulder strap is acceptable for light equipment not carried for long distances
- For OUTDOOR uses involving significant walking, a backpack or bag with a shoulder strap is the best choice
- When considering cost, most bags are amazingly durable and can easily last a lifetime
- Some camera bags have loops so they can be worn on your belt
- Most backpacks have the means to also carry a tripod (but please remember to fold it first so people don't mistake you for a radio tower)
- One of the newest type of camera bags to hit the market is called a sling bag. The unique feature of this marvelous piece of photography equipment is that it functions as a backpack while you are moving, and then when you need to get into the bag, you can pull it in front of you without ever taking it off.
- If you have a large amount of photography equipment, choosing several bags of different sizes is often more convenient than choosing one huge bag which must always be used
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Filters
HOW TO CHOOSE FILTERS
- Your lens should always be protected with at least a UV filter - it's the cheapest insurance policy around
- Circular Polarizing Filters are used to change the deepness of the blue in the sky, reduce glare and minimize reflection from water, metal, and glass
- Unless all your photography is done indoors, a circular polarizing filter should be part of your gear
- A neutral density filter (ND) reduces the amount of light EQUALLY across all colors. To take a picture of moving water slow enough to produce that "cotton candy" effect requires a slow shutter speed.
But, during the day, there is too much light for a shutter speed of 1/4 second. ND filters darken the scene enough to allow using a slow shutter speed.
- Once you have purchased a few filters, a filter pouch is a great way to easily organize and transport them.
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A filter is one of the smallest pieces of photography equipment there is. Before the proliferation of photo editing software that allows so many things to be done after the fact, filters were more a necessity than a luxury.
If you have not used filters before, try a circular polarizer for months and you will probably be hooked on this powerful little piece of photography equipment. Although software could duplicate a lot of the effects created by a circular polarizer, it would take more time and effort than most photographers could justify.
The only filter that could never be duplicated with software is the UV filter use to protect your lens. After that, it will be a trade-off of cost of the filter versus the amount of time and effort it would take you to create the same effect with software; if you have the software.
External Hard Drives HOW TO CHOOSE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES
- If your current internal hard drive(s) has less than 30% free space, it's time to consider an external drive as ADDITIONAL STORAGE. And if your drives have plenty of space still available, do yourself a favor and take a backup of your data
- If your image files are irreplaceable, a separate location other than your computer should be used as a backup.
Either use a physical drive or an online storage system. The important thing to remember is this - if a fire destroys your primary storage, you want to have your backup in a DIFFERENT LOCATION.
- Currently there are 2 types of external hard drives: the traditional size whose capacity can exceed 2 TB (a Terabyte = 1,000 Gigabytes) and the smaller portable size whose capacity is usually less than 160GB.
- Transfer speed and capacity are the 2 most important factors to consider
Most external hard drives connect to your computer with a USB cable
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