” My Top 5 Landscape Photography Accessories ” – Gear Tip –
Buying new camera gear and accessories is always fun but not it’s not always easy to know which accessories and which brands deserve our hard earned dollars. Most landscape photographers are actually amateurs and by that, I mean they don’t do it as a full-time profession. So I have put together some helpful tips on some important accessories and the brands that I use myself.
1. Memory Cards
Your photos are stored directly to your memory cards when you press the shutter button, so I’m sure that everyone is using only the best to protect their image files. I know some cards can be more expensive but I absolutely believe that it is money well spent. We spend money on camera gear and we go to great efforts to travel to amazing places to get great photos. The last thing you want is to lose all of those great photos to a corupt card. My personal preferenc is always Sandisk cards unless using XQD cards, then I go for Sony. I have used Sandisk for over 10 years and I have only ever had two cards fail and with the recovery software supplied by Sandisk, it wasn’t an issue. I also recommend that if you camera has a second card slot available, set it to backup, just in case.
2. Camera Bags
It’s seems a no brainer but I’m sure a lot of you out there have one camera bag for your gear and thats it. Now I’m not saying that everyone needs to have a stack of camera bags under the bed, but I think it’s definitely worth having a little thing about bag selection. I personally have nine or ten bags and they come in all shapes and sizes. I have back packs, shoulder bags, hard cases and large suitcase types with wheels. I hear you ask, ” why so many bags Danny”. Well depending on what I’m shooting will determine the back. Some shoots need a lot of gear and some just a camera and a lens. Sometimes I can literally leave my big bag sitting on the ground right beside the car and other times I’ll need a back pack thats much more comfortable for when I have a bit of a hike to my destination. Life is just a little easier when you have a bag that suits the ocassion.
3. Ballhead
When you buy your first tripos, odds are that you won’t spend a lot of money and you will get some type of tripod head with it. Even when you buy a more expensive tripod it may come with a tripod head but when you splash out on a much higher end tripod, generally the tripod head is something that you purchase seperate. This gives you the opportunity to select the tripod head that you find the most comfortable and user friendly one for you. I personally prefer to use a ball head. The brand I use is Really Rigbht Stuff and it is of the very highest quality. Again, this ball head is more expensive than some other brands but it is worth the extra money. l find ball heads very easy to use and very light weight. This might not be the choice for everyone but I again recommend that you do your own research and visit camera stores to get some hands on with the different options.
4. Tripod
I’m sure that I’m not the only one that has invested a significant amount of hard earned cash on my camera and lenses. As a landscape photorapher my camera spends a lot of time sitting on top of my tripod. I think it is very wise to take some time when you’re deciding which tripod you want to purchase. The last thing that you want to do is rely on a cheap low quality tripod to keep your camera steady or secure for that matter. Many people will waste money on cheap tripods but just like myself, you will eventually realise that a quality tripod is worth it’s weight in gold. I have used many different brands over the years and my favourite brands to use are Induro Tripods and Really Right Stuff Tripods. I always recommend that you do your own research and choose a tripod that will last for many years.
5. Graduated/ND Filters
Filters are a great tool to have in your camera bag as a landscape photographer. I always have atleast a set of Neutral Density Filters in my bag. I don’t use the graduated filters so much these dasys as I find that the dynamic range of my camera has been improved so much over the years that for the most part I can get all of the detail I need with a single shot and for the odd ocaision that I can’t, I find bracketting to be a better option for me. ND filters on the other hand are what I use all of the time. I use these filters to manipulate my exposure times in order to get the look and feel from the image that I’m after. I highly recommend that you put a set of filters in you bag. There are many brands that you can use, I personally use Lee Filters and I have been using them for 8 years or so. Lee Fitlers are a high quality product but as I said, there are many other great quality brands. I would definitely steer clear of the cheap brands as they tend to give terrible colour casts and cause you to lose clarity in your image files.
Conclusion
Well that’s my two cents. There are of course many other accessories that I use and that I would recommend but based on the title of this post, I only wanted to share my top 5 today. Camera accessories are the be all and end all when it comes to taking great photos, but they do come in handy when you need them most. I’m sure if I gave your $5000 right now, you could easily go out and spend it very quickly on camera accessories. I encourage you to spend those dollars wisely and when it comes to buying your next piece of camera equipment, take your time, do your research and read customer reviews. I’m sure you only want to best the best gear to use as you travel along this photography journey.
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"This website is a place where you can come and view the world through my eyes. I have been to many places and witnessed some amazing landscapes and it gives me joy to share them with you. I hope you enjoy these viewing these images just as much as I have enjoyed capturing them". - Danny Irvine
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