Beginner, essential purchases??

hyperseven

hyperseven

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Dave
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I did a quick search on this forum for the work essential but could not find what I wanted.

I have, up to now:
1100D body
18-55mm Canon (non IS) lens
50-250mm Canon IS lens
lowepro bag
lens hoods
 
Use what you have for now and see if need anything else. Don't buy things you may never use.

Bits I can suggest are:
Extra battery
Flash
 
You probably do not need much more than that at the moment, it would be best to learn the ropes with the equipment you have and then upgrade/buy more.

The only other things that may be useful (dependent on what sort of photography you want) are a tripod, flash unit and some ND filters.
 
Essential is a very subjective thing, it is very easy to fall into spending loads of money on equipment (trust me I know :) ) but ultimately what is it you enjoy/are wanting to take pictures of? What is it that your current kit isn't doing? and what is your budget?
 
With a non-IS lens a tripod is going to to be near the top of the must have list methinks ;)
 
A replacement for the Canon strap is something I wish I'd thought of right at the beginning.

Something like a Black Rapid, which has the two advantages of being quick to fit and remove (it attaches via the tripod thread), not advertising to evildoers that you have a CANON EOS DIGITAL MUG ME NOW, and also being much more comfortable than the stock strap.

Three! Three advantages!


....I'll come in again.
 
Sectionate said:
You probably do not need much more than that at the moment, it would be best to learn the ropes with the equipment you have and then upgrade/buy more.

The only other things that may be useful (dependent on what sort of photography you want) are a tripod, flash unit and some ND filters.
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Its hard not to:), like I have seen I can connect the camera wireless via a cheap £30 battery router to my tablet or phone, but will I ever use it :)

For the moment I am just taking pictures of anything, mainly my dog and local woods, but am booking myself into my local collages DSLR class which starts around Easter (just missed the current one).
 
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would have to agree that a tripod followed by a battery and replacement strap if your using the camera enough.
 
markmullen said:
I presume you have memory cards? You can never have too many memory cards.
A rocket blower to blow muck off your camera, and a lenspen to clean the front element.

Other than that practice is the next essential, you'll not get better without it.
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got a couple of 16Gb Sadisk exteme's.
 
+1 on the rocketblower and lenspen

Protip: if you take your rocketblower on holiday and you're flying, pack it in your main suitcase.

You run a good risk of losing it if it's in your carry-on; because it looks like a bomb.

No, I am not joking.
 
OK following the suggestions so far, I'll add a lens cloth (handy for wiping drops of rain off the lens). Sling straps are great for carrying a camera, especially when you start to move up to heavier lenses. I have a Black Rapid, but you can get cheap copies off ebay for £4-5. A flash may be helpful. If you are planning on doing landscapes or macro (close up insects, flowers etc) then a tripod is a must
 
A rocket blower & a lens pen :)
 
Very easy to end up buying lots of equipment. I keep looking at stuff in classifieds, like that 70-200 F/4 lens. I know it'd be awesome at outdoor car shows and probably a heap of other stuff but is it essential to what I do? No.

I would argue spare battery and extra memory cards, and a camera bag are all you'd need. Learn to master the equipment you have.

Quote from Edward Weston in 1927:

“The fact is that relatively few photographers ever master their medium. Instead they allow the medium to master them and go on an endless squirrel cage chase from new lens to new paper to new developer to new gadget, never staying with one piece of equipment long enough to learn its full capacities, becoming lost in a maze of technical information that is of little or no use since they don’t know what to do with it”
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It was true then and it's true now.
 
Once you start taking GREAT photos with the gear you've got and you've truly reached your ceiling of 'amazingness' (yea that's right, I said it), that's when you should start thinking about upgrading. Use your money on more useful things like training and courses.
 
Norkie said:
With a non-IS lens a tripod is going to to be near the top of the must have list methinks ;)
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Why? Unless the OP needs long exposure or has a requirement for one, a tripod is not a need.

I would say a rocket blower and lens pen are 100% worth getting. Depending on what you shoot, a flash would be a great tool and make a huge difference.
 
Lens... camera... batteries... memory cards... a way to display them on your computer...

I don't think you need anything else to get started. They're pretty much the essentials. I certainly don't use much else on a regular basis.
 
Agree re rocket blower and lens pen - I use mine all the time. Maybe consider Lightroom at some stage but try the free trial download first to see how you get on (not just for post processing but also for keeping photos organised and easy to find).

Anything else make sure you really need it for what you do before you buy it otherwise it just ends up not getting used (speaking from experience). Even things like filters, tripods, flash are sometimes bought and never used so buy on the basis of your needs not your wants.

An external hard drive or cloud storage service to backup your photos is a good idea too - or at least to backup any that you would not want to lose. Not expensive although free cloud storage may be enough to start with if you are shooting jpeg and just want to backup the keepers.
 
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applemint said:
Agree re rocket blower and lens pen - I use mine all the time. Maybe consider Lightroom at some stage but try the free trial download first to see how you get on (not just for post processing but also for keeping photos organised and easy to find).

Anything else make sure you really need it for what you do before you buy it otherwise it just ends up not getting used (speaking from experience). Even things like filters, tripods, flash are sometimes bought and never used so buy on the basis of your needs not your wants.

An external hard drive or cloud storage service to backup your photos is a good idea too - or at least to backup any that you would not want to lose. Not expensive although free cloud storage may be enough to start with if you are shooting jpeg and just want to backup the keepers.
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Cheers, have the PC side sorted, have the latest Adobe products and an 8TB NAS at home as well a a kick ass desktop and an OK laptop.
 
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cambsno said:
Why? Unless the OP needs long exposure or has a requirement for one, a tripod is not a need.

I would say a rocket blower and lens pen are 100% worth getting. Depending on what you shoot, a flash would be a great tool and make a huge difference.
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One of the important things to gain from photography is to be able to show your results to friends and family.

To that end, crisp, sharp, clean images. Images you are proud of, or you will not venture out again with your camera. The non IS lens will need some help.

I believe that a tripod, only a cheap, second hand £20.00 or thereabouts model is far more use than a lens pen o_O
 
Norkie said:
One of the important things to gain from photography is to be able to show your results to friends and family.

To that end, crisp, sharp, clean images. Images you are proud of, or you will not venture out again with your camera. The non IS lens will need some help.

I believe that a tripod, only a cheap, second hand £20.00 or thereabouts model is far more use than a lens pen o_O
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Eh, yeah, but most types of shots don't need a tripod.

I don't think I ever use IS and I still manage to shoot almost everything without a tripod. Adding a tripod works for some, but it wouldn't work for the way I shoot personally.

Learning about shutter speed is more important than a tripod.
 
CharlotteM said:
Eh, yeah, but most types of shots don't need a tripod.

I don't think I ever use IS and I still manage to shoot almost everything without a tripod. Adding a tripod works for some, but it wouldn't work for the way I shoot personally.

Learning about shutter speed is more important than a tripod.
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Agree 100%. Only one of my lenses has any form of OS or VR, and I never have a problem. If you had a tripod you would miss most of the shots.

And as for a tripod being more use than a lens pen...
 
Maybe a decent tutorial book for your choice of editing software and some general photo technique books.
A camera, a couple of lenses, a spare battery and a bag to put it in is all you really need to get started.
 
You will know what you need when the situation arises, save your money until you have a need for an item or just do what the rest of us did and buy the lot and leave it sat in a cupboard until you realise you don't actually have a use for it.:D

A rocket blower is about the only essential item other than what you have imo.

And to go against what others have said, i would actually suggest staying away from lightroom etc at the beginning, you will learn how to use your camera a lot better without the option to "fix it in lightroom", you will be forced to find out what settings do what when you get dark grainy or blown pictures all of the time.
 
I would defo put a spare battery high on the list, nothing more annoying then being out and having the battery go flat.
 
A tripod, ND grads, CPL etc might come further down the line when you see what you like to specialise in, if it's landscapes you'll need those, if it's wildlife you'll want a longer lens, some outdoor clothing, portraits you might want some lighting gear etc.

But for the moment I'd just get out, take plenty of photos, see what works, what doesn't, what you enjoy, what you don't enjoy and learn how it all works. A copy of Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure would be a good buy IMO.
 
The only essentials are camera and a single lens; beyond that, it depends on what you photograph, and how you photograph it. Amazing (and unbelievable) as it sounds, when I started seriously back in the 1960s, many keen amateurs used TLR cameras with a fixed prime lens, and still managed to cope to their satisfaction.

Needs very much depend on what you photograph. There has been more than one mention of flash - something I haven't used in 30 years - which isn't essential for me. Tripods have also come up. I almost always use one (and they are valuable for more reasons that just long exposures and sharp pictures) but I know that for others they are not needed, and would get in the way.

Hence, I'm firmly in the camp of reach the limits of what you can do with what you have, and buy only when you are certain you need something.
 
I find a tripod essential, but that's because I like night-time photography. I can't recall a time I have bothered with a tripod in daylight, so I think it is only important, from a starter's point of view, if you want to do night shots. Of course, it has its place for some for daylight, but I wouldn't think it essential for a beginner unless you want to try night shots.

Likewise with flash. I got by without a flash for years, preferring to take time exposures, and then I became a father and bought a flash. I would recommend that to anyone wanting to take shots of their little ones indoors as it is invaluable but, as with a tripod, it all depends on what you will shoot. I would not have such a good record of my daughter growing up without a decent flash that you can bounce.

I find a lenspen a very useful tool, however, and think that is a good addition for anyone's bag, no matter what they photograph.
 
You really don't need anything else right now, but a Lens Pen and a couple of microfibre cloths - the supermarket ones will be fine - are handy and cost very little. I'd just concentrate on learning to use the camera and its various functions/modes, until you're comfortable with them. Additional gear will largely define itself, when you find that you actually need it.
 
You will need - hours of time away from the normal distractions of family and work to enable you to practice, practice, practice :D

It's a sad fact that there is no substitute for time spent practicing, I have found this to be especially true where software is concerned.

Oh and some time on here as well (just stay away from the "For Sale" forums)

David
 
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