5 things you should buy right after your camera
Sep 27, 2017
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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The first piece of gear you need for capturing photos and videos is the camera. So, you’ve bought it and used it, but there are some items you should also invest in right after your camera. The guys from The Film Look suggest five things you should buy right after your camera. They focus on the filmmaking stuff, but most of these can also be applied to those who want to upgrade their photo gear, too.
1. 50mm lens
Most 50mm lenses will allow you to stop down to f/1.8 or lower, and thus achieve a shallower depth of field and work in low light conditions. However, if you shoot videos, try not to shoot everything at f/1.8. This will make it difficult to keep the moving subjects in focus. Instead, shoot around f/4, to keep the subject in focus and the background blurry.
2. Tripod
A decent tripod costs money, but you can start with the basics and upgrade it later. Get a sturdy pair of tripod legs that’s going to last you a long time. As time goes by, you can buy new heads, and if you’re shooting videos, you can also eventually get a slider as well.
3. External microphone
This one doesn’t apply to photographers. But if you’re shooting video, you also need to think of the sound. Your camera’s built-in mic won’t do the job, so consider buying an external microphone. You can add it directly to your camera, but it’s even better if you get it off camera and put it as close as possible to your subject.
4. Reflector
Reflectors can make a big difference to your photos and videos, and they’re definitely something you should invest in. 5-in-1 reflectors are versatile and useful in many situations, and you can get them at various prices, depending on the size and the brand.
5. Lights
When you enter the photography/filmmaking world, you can always use the daylight for shooting. However, it won’t always be enough or give you the results you want. So, you will eventually want to add some lights to your arsenal.
The cheap work lights are one of the solutions, but the guys suggest you avoid them because the light quality is poor and they don’t look professional enough for the video. Instead, you can get light bulb holders like this and add light bulbs. There are also LED lights, or cheap studio lights like these.
I don’t shoot video, so I don’t own any audio gear. But, it’s interesting that the remaining items are exactly what I bought right after my camera. I was buying them as I felt the need for the upgrade, only they came in a different order: a tripod, an external flash, and a 50mm lens. The reflectors came last (although I’d used a DIY version before buying the 5-in-1 reflector). What were the first items you bought right after your camera?
[What to Buy after your Camera | The Film Look]
Dunja Đuđić
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, concerts, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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15 responses to “5 things you should buy right after your camera”
“What were the first items you bought right after your camera?”
Film.
:)
Buy anything when you need it
the first things i bought where a tripod, a spare battery and a bag :)
Right, the bag! I bought it the same day as my first camera, so I completely forgot to mention it. :)
My first purchase after my first DSLR was two prime lenses 35mm and 50mm…they are still my two biggest staples.
f/1.8 gives shallower depth of field not larger depth of field – the video gets it right, the Cliff notes are a fail!
Yes, you are right, and the scattering of that terminology bugs me.
A lot of people don’t understand that the aperture nomenclature is a fraction, the number is the denominator of a fraction, and therefore the larger the number the smaller the physical entity it’s describing (in this case, the size of the hole the light passes through to strike the sensor).
It occurs to me that some people might not even realize there is a variably sized aperture, if they’ve never looked through the front of the lens as they released the shutter. They may not realize what changing that setting is physically doing.
So f/8 is larger/wider than f/11. f/4 is smaller/narrower than f/2.
I bought the lens first…
A Nikon 70-200 2.8 in WHITE!!?
Then asked the shop what’s the cheapest body that would fit it???
1) a 24-70 or 70-200mm f2.8 lens.
2) At least one speedlight
3) A high quality camera backpack.
4) A high quality tripod w/head
5) Spare batteries and spare chargers!
Nothing, I spent everything on my camera, heheh..
Other then lens you can buy all the accessory on http://www.photosquare.in
I make a distinction between “first camera” and “first DSLR”. The latter is still only a hobbyist Canon 6D, but owning a Pentax 35mm and a few Canon Powershots before that shaped (and eliminated many) self-deluding intentions for what I was likely to do with the DSLR. There are also some things to NOT buy first, e.g. any “kit” of useless second rate junk. By the time I got to DSLR, partly achieving the Socratic injunction to “know thyself”, I got:
1. 70-200mm f2.4 lens
2. Gorillapod
3. CPL filter
4. WD external hard drive with an SDHC slot
5. decent backpack organizing extra batteries, cards, etc.
Have to admit, I’ve never used the tripod as often as I promised myself I would do – so much for Socrates.
0.1 One big and fast memory card (SanDisk Extreme U3 64GB or similar by TransCend). Or better two. 4K XAVC-L@100MB/s, you know…
0.2 USB3-SD-CF-Multi adapter such as the Transcend TS-RDF8K all-in-one reader, if you don’t have one by now.
0.3 Genuine OEM spare battery. Not the cheap Chinese clones that crap out on you if you can affort it the least.
0.4 Decent charger that ideally also has a USB charging option.
0.5 Peli Case with custom cut foam for stuff (or rucksack, if you prefer).
2.1 A bunch of Manfrotto Nanopoles with Lite-Tite swivel adapter as microphone/lightstand that also make a good boom.
3.1 Microphone shock mount (if not part of the package i.e. of a Sennheiser MKE 600 shotgun mic).
3.2 XLR cables (with angle plugs) and XLR-to-headphone-socket adapter cables. DIY with Neutrik NC3FXX/MRX and Cordial cables.
3.3 Field recorder or preamp to reduce noise if the mic-input of your cam is crappy.
YMMV.
how about the dslr camera bag ? https://goo.gl/BxR2Gk