You’ve decided to take your photography more seriously, going beyond simply taking pictures with your new camera and perhaps even trying to turn your pastime into a career. This is the time that you start looking for better affordable accessories.
But here’s the sting in the tail! What accessories you buy should be determined by your needs. Do you really require a long zoom lens and a large tripod for your DSLR, or will a small 50mm basic lens be enough?
Don’t simply purchase what a salesperson or other person claims is “the best.” Make some important inquiries by yourself and do some soul-searching on what type of pictures you want to take and what your budget for buying your very own beginner photography kit is.
If you don’t lay the foundation for your beginner photography kit right, you will end up buying so-called affordable camera accessories that end up being completely wrong for you.
Evaluating your requirements
Cameras and related equipment won’t make you a great photographer, any more than buying an expensive sports car will make you an instant race car driver.
So, begin with some self-assessment and homework.
The place to start for self-assessment before buying camera accessories for your camera is by asking established photographers. Many will start by listing the equipment they like, most likely giving preference to the brand and model of the equipment they currently own. Listen to these guys, but don’t act on their recommendations. You need someone who can be your mentor and guide. Look for them and ask them which affordable camera accessories you should be buying.
The second thing is that you need to truly master your camera’s basic settings, such as exposure stops and the rule of thirds for composition, before purchasing affordable camera accessories.
Basic and must-have accessories for beginners
- Lenses
- Tripod
- Camera bag
- Reflectors
You can add more to this list. We are only going to be limiting ourselves to these big four that are absolutely ‘must-have’ affordable camera accessories.
Affordable lenses for beginners
Buying lenses for your camera body is a tricky game. There are so many different types of lenses available to buy, but do you know what each one does?
Before knowing these basics, it will be difficult for you to choose.
Here are a few pointers for choosing affordable camera accessories like lenses:
Zoom lenses
A zoom lens allows you to change focal lengths without changing the lens, unlike prime lenses, which come in only one focal length.
You thus don’t have to waste time changing lenses, making zoom lenses extremely handy and versatile. They are excellent for travel or general photography because you can use the same lens to take a wide-angle landscape, a standard portrait, and a detail shot that is somewhat zoomed in.
How you pick up your zoom lens depends entirely on the type of photography you want to do.
- A wide-angle zoom lens (10-30 mm) allows you to capture a broad field of view, making it excellent for shooting architectural treasures, vlogging, and landscapes.
- A standard zoom lens (25-105 mm) is excellent for shooting everyday objects like travel, events, photojournalism, and the environment.
- Telephoto zoom lens (70-300 mm) is ideal for shooting wildlife, as it magnifies distant objects.
Prime lenses
These are lenses with a fixed focal length, unlike a zoom lens.
You could opt for a standard prime lens like a 50mm lens with a wide aperture, for example, if you want to shoot portraits showing faces and feelings.
Cutting to the chase, what we advise you to do is to buy the most affordable lenses for beginners, like a single high-quality prime lens that is matched to your style of photography.
Do not fall into the lens envy cycle, or you will lose more money than you ever want to.
Best budget tripods
A tripod is a camera stand with three legs that supports,stabilises, and also allows you to elevate your camera’s height.
A tripod has the following components:
- Mounting head: This is either a flat plate or a more complex rounded globe-like head where the camera is attached. It allows you to tilt, pan, and rotate your camera safely without damaging it.
- Adjustable legs: The legs are made in such a way that you can adjust the height of your mounted camera. They also allow you to collapse the tripod for portability.
Tripods are extremely useful camera accessories, as they help you in situations where long exposures are required.
They help you shoot stuff where you need to ensure that your camera remains perfectly still to avoid blurs, and this is where your tripod acts as an excellent enabler.
They also help you manoeuvre your camera in low-space situations, as you can change the height of your camera and rotate, tilt, or pan it for better shots.
Finding the tripod that’s best for you:
You’ll need something lightweight if you’re constantly on the go. However, if you’re working indoors, you’ll undoubtedly long for flexibility.
Usually, a basic quick-release plate and a height-adjustable tripod are sufficient.
Anything with weak plastic legs should be avoided, as they will break at the worst possible moment.
Additionally, go for a tripod head that allows you to shoot both horizontally and vertically without jerks.
Camera bag
A camera bag is a must-have accessory because it keeps your camera body, expensive lenses, and other accessories like filters safe and secure, especially during travelling.
These bags are made with ample padding and customisable, rigid dividers between compartments so that the lenses don’t rub against each other and get damaged.
Look for a water-proof camera bag to protect your lenses from moisture, dust, and dirt that can damage them irreversibly.
Because camera bags have customisable compartments, you can use them to keep everything in its place, so you don’t waste time looking for things on the shoot.
Buy camera bags that are ergonomically designed so that you can carry them easily. Camera backpacks, for example, come with contoured, padded chest and shoulder straps and waist belts to distribute the weight of heavy camera gear, and you can choose them over types that you need to carry in your hand.
Reflectors for your beginner photography kit
Your beginner photography kit is incomplete without basic light reflectors. These are the most impactful cheap camera accessories a beginner can use to immediately boost the quality of their photography.
Reflectors allow you to control how much light is falling on your subject, and then you can cut it if the light is too bright or boost it if it’s too low.
What is a reflector?
This cheap camera accessory is basically any surface that can be used to bounce light onto your subject. They can be made of white paper or foil or shiny cloth in white, silver, or gold colours.
Beginners most frequently use a reflector to cover the shadows cast by their primary light source, such as natural light streaming in through a window or the sun.
If you have a situation where the sun is shining overhead when you are taking a portrait outside, casting dark shadows beneath the subject’s eyes, nose, and chin, you can use a reflector to fill in those shadows by reflecting light onto them.
Your best ‘affordable camera accessories’ reflector is the “5-in-1 Reflector Kit” with a collapsible reflector. It’s reasonably priced and easy to carry. And it gives five effects: silver, white, gold, black, and translucent —which is not bad at all!
Finally….
You will actually grow into situations where you will need more cheap camera accessories as you mature as a photographer.
You will definitely need more lenses with varied focal lengths as you shoot different subjects. Similarly, you will need more than one tripod and reflector.
The other camera accessories you will be investing in much later into your photography journey, will most probably be a distant shutter release to minimize camera shake while taking pictures, filters for lenses to keep UV rays out and change the colour temperature of light, SD cards, mikes, etc.
Start small, learn from the ‘basics up’ before buying more accessories, is our advice.
Happy learning!
FAQs
What is the single most important affordable camera accessory for a beginner?
A sturdy, lightweight tripod is arguably the most critical, as it stabilises your camera and allows for long exposures.
What cheap camera accessory can improve my photos immediately?
A 5-in-1 reflector kit. For a very low cost, it gives you immense control over light, allowing you to fill in harsh shadows and brighten your subjects, which instantly elevates your portrait shots.
