must have accessories?

[antony]

Hello there,

I hope that I posted in the right section.

I finally bought my first DSLR camera, a Sony Alpha 350 with twin lens kit. I also bought a new tripod and new memory card reader.

I would like to seek opinions on what accessories I shall get first before getting additional lens or flash.

Thanks.

[Mark1616]

A good bag, lens cleaning tools, sensor blower...... apart from that get used to what you have before buying new lenses. An external flash is generally a good option to really improve not only low light work but outdoor daylight portraits.

[TCav]

Extra battery(s).

Extra memory card(s).

[mtngal]

Definitely a good bag - that would be my first purchase if you don't already have one. Get one roomy enough to hold more equipment than you have now, unless you are planning on getting two bags - a small one for "going light" and a larger one for carrying everything around.

Sensor blower second thing - anti-dust systems are OK but you'll still need to blow dust off every so often.

I'd put the lens cleaning kit above extra batteries and cards unless the camera uses AA. Then the batteries get put much higher on the list, along with a second battery charger.

There are a number of other things you could get but they depend partly on what you are going to use your camera for. I'd put a circular polarizer high on my list of accessories but that's because I do lots of landscape. If you are using your camera for kids indoors, then you wouldn't use it much.

Depending on your computer's monitor, think about a monitor calibrator.

A good photo editing program.

[dlpin]

mtngal wrote:

Depending on your computer's monitor, think about a monitor calibrator.

A good photo editing program.

I highly recommend the two things above, specially the calibrator. It is really hard to do a good post processing of a pic if your monitor is not calibrated. I've often found that a pic that I thought was great looked either over or under saturated in correctly tuned monitors...

[antony]

Thank you for everybody's suggestion.

I bought the camera during the promotion which gives me an extra Sony battery. I only have an 8GB CompactFlash card, and I will get another one or two shortly.

I will get a set of cleaning tools.

It turns out that my Crumpler bag is big enough for this camera and still rooms for more lens. But I like the idea of two bags.

I have a Spyder2express for my iMac and MacBook Pro. I know am lazy, I put the kit back to the box and haven't calibrated for months.

[Mark1616]

8Gb and you want more memory?? I don't even use that much for a full day wedding shoot LOL.

[antony]

Mark1616 wrote:

8Gb and you want more memory?? I don't even use that much for a full day wedding shoot LOL.

Well, it's a 14MP camera. According to the manual, 8GB can only fit 363 RAW images or 295 RAW + JPEG images. My highest record was 497 photos in one day, that was with Sony DSC H9.

[Mark1616]

Ah, yes that would take a few more. I have now stopped working in RAW as there were not enough benefits for the extra work/storage etc.

[StevieDgpt]

Personally, I like extra cards.

I prefer to keep specific projects on a specific card. I have my "work" card. My "play" card. My "documentary" card. My "family"card. My "friends" card.

Eventually all photos get downloaded to a computer, but before the photos are downloaded it is niceto let somebody copy the card, such as the my "friends" card after a party, and not worry about having them accessing the "work" photos or worse the "play" photos :shock::O.



Beyond Cards?

A GOOD carry strap. If you bought the kit, then the camera came with carry strap embossed with the company name. How nice. Now get a real strap. Not that there is anything wrong with the kit strap (it is durable and sufficient for the task at hand), rather it is a KIT strap that cost all of about $0.50 to make and is common to every camera ownerof that brand. Personally I like a strap that is soft and comfortable on my neck,easy to adjust and takes up minimal space when the camera is not on my neck. Most importantlyI like a strap that reflectsMY tastes.

(Oh, by the way, my current strap is 35 years old so I can't tell you the brand and even if I could it would most likely not make much difference.)

These days I would get a strap that was "slash" proof if I was doing a lot of traveling with the camera. A frequent thief technique is walking in the opposite direction of a person carrying a camera on their shoulder and cutting thestrap whilegrabing the camera. The slash resistant or slash proof straps have heavy threads or wire that resist the quick slash and grab.



Some people get all nutz'o over LCD protectors. Personally I have the blue film (whichcovered the LCD when I purchased the camera a few years back) still covering the LCD. But for those whom have removed the LCD covering I would suggest a LCD cover.



Using the tripod for lots of macro or long exposureshots? A remote shutter release is nice.



By the way, NOTHING on my list is a must. For example you can work around the remote shutter release. Already have a strap, etc.

I would start shooting pictures. Lots of pictures. In different modes so that you can comfortably switch from mode to mode and use the various options. The camera has a huge learning curve if you don't actually try to use the functions.