Photography Equipment & Accessories

A remarkably-wide range of accessories for cameras and photographic applications is available to today’s photographer. Knowing what is generally available, what purposes the items serve and what your accessory needs are likely to be - based on the kinds of photography you intend to do - will help you to determine which ones you should consider acquiring.

Some accessories, like a solid tripod or a good camera bag, are considered essential for just about all serious photographers, while others, like a wireless remote, are for such specialized applications that most camera users will never have a need for them.


The beginning photographer who fills a shopping bag with a variety of gadgets and gizmos the day he or she buys a camera is likely to find that some items may sit on the shelf, gathering dust. You are better off to use your new camera for a while, assessing your needs as you come across situations in which a particular accessory would be useful. Then, do some research, studying the various characteristics of different makes of the accessory you have decided you need, and choose the one that is right for you, based on its quality, durability, suitability to your personal budget and how well it does what you need it to do. When you see the need for an accessory or camera equipment for a particular one-time application, you may be better off to rent it rather than buy it, unless you feel it will be regularly useful every now and then over time. Compare the rental cost versus the purchase price, and then conservatively estimate how often it will be useful to you. If it pays to buy it and especially if it will help you to make more money over time, then you should consider a purchase.

Some accessory manufacturers are known for the consistently-high quality of their products while others are known for their low prices. Generally-speaking, if you plan on using an accessory a good deal, you should buy a top-of-the-line brand name, one that is known to perform well in a variety of conditions and that is built to last. Your camera’s manufacturer may make a particular accessory itself, which, if you acquire it, will probably be a good match with your camera, at the same level of quality.