UKC

I am the proud new owner of a Nikon D40 - however I'm currently short of any of the 'necessary' accessories like camera bag, filters, portable tripod spare batteries etc. that will help make the most out of it.

What do you find most useful? What would you recommend I look at buying straight away?

Many thanks in advance,
Mark

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

camera bag first, for me - but you might be interested to hear that there's a company who make 'soft' covers for cameras that mean you can pack them into your rucksack with less bulk than a traditonal camera bag takes up. I'll have a rummage for the thread that mentions them as I can't remember which company it is.

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

Get a polarising filter. Absolutely invaluable filter which can do cunning things like increase the saturation of the sky and foliage and remove or enhance reflections. Most of the rest you can make do without or improvise for now. A tripod is also a worthwhile investment but how urgent it is depends a lot on what you are intending to take pictures of. The best thing to do would be to take the camera out and play with it and then decide what to buy based on what you felt was lacking from your set up.

Note... It is probably worth looking at spare batteries and memory cards now too because being caught out is a pain in the arse but I have no particular recommendations there because I belong to the ancient camera brigade!

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

here's the thread: http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=292997&v=1#x4342249

and here's the product: http://www.optechusa.com/product/detail/?PRODUCT_ID=32&PRODUCT_SUB_ID=&...

In reply to Mark Stevenson: sod the spare battery, start using your camera and realise how good the batteries are on these things.

Get a case to keep it safe and a cloth to wipe the rubbish of you new uv/skylight liter that you should def buy to protect the front element of your lens.

Other than that wait and see what you think you need after making some shots.

I personally like my wireless remote thingy that i can use for group shots without having to put my running shoes on

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

Mark, I will take some of my camera 'toys' with me to the SPA training that you are helping me with in a few weeks time. And then you can have a play.

I possibly have a camera bag that you could have in exchange for a few beers or two.

In reply to Mark Stevenson:
proper flash gun, if you plan to shoot in doors at all.
Nikon SB600 should do it.

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

Sticking a UV filter in front of your lens to protect it would be a good call. - As above, polarisers are brilliant.


Also you can get a remote control for the D40 for about £12 off amazon which is well worth having.

an SB-600 would do wonders if you shoot indoors.

Deffo get a bag.

The battery lasts for ages so if you keep an eye on the charge you probably be right with the one you've got (in fact its so good that it lulls you into a false sense of security which has caught me out a few times...)

In reply to John Wood:

How is that "good"?

Sounds like a good reason to have a back-up

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

A hotshoe spirit level - just what you need for keeping those horizons level.

In reply to everyone: Thanks for all the advice.

I've ordered a basic UV filter so at least I've got something protecting the lens in the short term. In the mean time I'll have a look for a polarising filter at a good price.

I probably won't be doing much indoor stuff so I'll leave the flash for the time being. The same with a spare battery.

Next time I'm shopping on amazon I may just order the remote but for 'summit shots' and the like, or long exposures but I'm thinking that I probably need a mini tripod to make the most of it? Any thoughts?

Paul, thanks for the offer ref a camera bag, I'll wait until we met later in May before doing anything.

Cheers again, Mark

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

there have been a couple of threads about mini tripods, with a lot of people recommending the gorillapod. It's worth having a little hotshoe spirit level, as mentioned above, for those.

In reply to Blue Straggler:

The amount of charge the battery holds is good because it allows one to take more photos on a single charge and negates the need to spend money on a second battery, as long as you have reasonably good access to a power socket if needs be. Keeping an eye on the charge is cheaper than a second battery.

Hope that clears things up.

john

In reply to John Wood: True, but seeing as third party batteries can be had for ~£5-6 it would seem silly not to have one as backup.

In reply to mostly harmless:


WHAT? Nikon wants about 40 notes for a spare battery! Do you have one and is it any good?

(Nb my camera manual counsels that if you use a third party battery, the world may explode)

In reply to Mark Stevenson: Treat ya'slef to a Lowe Pro bag, and a Velbon CX mini tripod. Both small, so rucksack friendly.

In reply to John Wood:

there was a big thread about third party batteries for Canon, which concluded that they were fine. I should get round to getting one! I guess similar would apply for Nikon.

In reply to Mark Stevenson:
Yes, get a bag now, one big enough to get a couple more lenses in, buy a filter to protect your lens, and then a tripod (for low-light etc) and think about a flash...

In reply to CJD:

on the basis that they don't actually make the world explode i may cough £6 for one...

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

Welcome to the SLR arms race - now sell all your bright shiny objects you don't use for.... eeeeer different bright shiny objects you won't use!

< says He who's still avoiding a dSLR>

In reply to Chris Tan Ver. L - Lost in Time:


...join... ...us...

In reply to John Wood:

No mate! Having thought the whole thing through... IMO the *digial* SLR concept is *fundamentally* flawed. What I would like is a digital camera with interchangable lenses but without the mirror/pentaprism complexity! <-- WTF's that for when you can have electronic view finders!

Check out the fuji finepix bridge cameras! Same the're fixed zoom lenses.

In reply to Chris Tan Ver. L - Lost in Time:

"What I would like is a digital camera with interchangable lenses but without the mirror/pentaprism complexity! <-- WTF's that for when you can have electronic view finders!"

Sounds good but I've yet to see an EVF that comes anywhere near matching an optical view finder. Plus you need the mirror and what not for all the focusing and metering they do, the focusing used in compact cameras isn't so good really.


Anyway my favorite accessories are 1) My tripod. 2) A right angle finder.

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

manual focusing on a low resolution electronic viewfinder is murder,... or will be when you can't do it and someone walks by.. they are getting better in the latest models but still are just pretty much there to give you a steadier shot whilst keeping peoples head and feet in the shot.

accessories ->
if you're going to do landscapes get a solid tripod (to the max you can afford, theres no point getting a cheap one to replace it once it breaks), remote release, UV filter and polarising filter.
maybe worth getting a cokin adaptor to get graduated filters, tho you'd have to wait for a new lens where the front element doesn't move..

portrait stuff get a decent flashgun (with both bounce and swival)

and you can't go wrong with spare batteries, more cards and other little odds and sods

In reply to CJD:

Thanks for that tip. I had a google around and got one from cameramad.co.uk, £26, no postage and it arrived this morning.

Both cameramad.co.uk and the OP/TECH bag highly recommended.

In reply to John Wood: I've been using the orginal one and two third party ones for three years now. Can't tell any difference between them other than the writing.

I started out with the intention of not leaving the third party ones in the camera but it turned out I was too forgetful to implement this. They'll all be made in the same factory any way.

In reply to Mark Stevenson: If you are looking at shooting landscape photos and spending hrs and hrs in the same place waiting for the light and correct exposure then I'd look at a trail seat. Its more of a luxury accessory but well worth it...... apart from that spare memory cards

http://www.thermarest.com/product_detail.aspx?pID=45&cID=4

In reply to Mark Stevenson:

And get a wireless commander for that SB600 to run it remote, and then while you're at it just buy two speedlights...

In reply to Mark Stevenson: I am going to get one of these for my D300

http://www.morrisphoto.co.uk/ProductDetails~productID~6534.html

Also I second lowepro. Regarding filters I have read on several photography forums that polarising filters can cause problems with digital images. I will be getting uv filters for my lenses.

"Regarding filters I have read on several photography forums that polarising filters can cause problems with digital images."


Thats why you shouldn't believe everything you read on forums. The only issue with polarisers is that some cameras require you to use a circular polariser whereas some are happy with a linear one. That issue has been around before digital cameras though.

In reply to BigCol:


"And get a wireless commander for that SB600 to run it remote, and then while you're at it just buy two speedlights... "


Yes! The SU-800 is an awesome piece of kit! forgot to mention that.