newbie - SLR accesories

[lewisredfern001]

I am currently sat at home waiting for my canon 1000d to arrive. its my 1st SLR and i cant wait, its taken 2 years to convince the other half that its needed!

Anyway, im looking for accesories that are needed.

currently got:

Canon 1000d
18-55m lense
75-300mm lense
4Gb card
Crumpler XL


i am thinking of purchasing a few other bits to get me started.

2-3 spare batteries
in car charger
UV lense filter
CPL filter
neo-prene lense cover (if i can find 1)
gorilla pod
tripod

I having been scanning ebay but am a bit dubious about buying the batteries from hong kong, are they any good?

is there anything else i need to get me off to a good start?

Lewis

 

[clairemae]

my battery still last me a very long time so i dont need more than 1 extra spare battery.
how about some cleaning bits to keep your glass dust free?

Do you have photoshop or something similar?
maybe you could just save up for a new lens once your happy with using your new camera

tbh i think you've got more than you need for now to keep you going

 

[koi]

Why so many batteries? If it's for long shoots you may need a couple more memory cards.

 

[lewisredfern001]

only because i can get 3 batteries for £15 but are hong kong variants. maybe i will just purchase 1 genuine battery.

im thinking filters maybe a good option but gotta work out what the differences are and what applications they are used for. i dont want to spend silly money atm i just want to learn the basics.

Photo editing is high on my list but need to find software which is 'user friendly'.

i will taking photos of friends, family and cars mainly

 

[welsh172]

my canon battery lasts ages, i have never been shooting and it died on me yet.

i'd go for one genuine batter, HK ones can go BOOOM

 

[Hixle]

Get the camera, stick it in Manual and have a play! No need for all that when you're just starting out

 

[Ribena]

Definitely fork out a bit more for a proper battery, last thing you want is for everything to go boom!

Your list covers most of the basic essentials. How about a book? Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson is a good one. It'll teach you some important fundamentals.

Adobe Lightroom 2 (or 3 now..) is a good bit of software. Dead easy to use too.

 

[Andy.]

You are definitely buying into it! I would do a few things differently if it was my cash, but it is up to you ultimately.

• 2-3 spare batteries - Unless you are shooting weddings or events and have to take 1000's of shots in one sitting, this is overkill. On my old 350D and 40D I could get close to 1000 shots on one charge.
• in car charger - Same as above, depends on what you are shooting or whether you are planning on camping or something, but it should not be needed.
• UV lens filter - I've always stuck them on my lenses to add a bit of protection, however, you could probably buy a new kit lens or 75-300 for the same price as a decent filter. There is no point in getting a cheap UV filter as it will just degrade the image quality.
• CPL filter - Worth having to play with, they actually make a positive difference to your images, whereas the UV doesn't.
• neo-prene lense cover (if i can find 1) - What is this for? Protection in a bag?
• gorilla pod - I'd be wary of sticking a DSLR on a gorilla pod, regardless of what their marketing says.
• tripod - Spend a bit extra and get a solid one. The cheap ones will require you to use a cord or timer as they will move when you press the shutter button.
  

If it was my cash, I'd probably leave the batteries, filter and gorilla pod and maybe save for some different lenses and an external flash at a later stage. The flash would probably get the priority over swapping lenses.

Cheap accessories that are worth getting;

• Wet lens wipes - one of the best ways not to scratch your lenses.
• Rocket Blower - Blows most crap off your lenses before you have to wipe them

 

[Revels]

I did a full day on my bodies for a wedding. Had a spare battery for each in my pocket. Didn't even dent them. You don't need loads of batteries at all.

A decent tripod should be your first purchase.

 

[Ben..]

maybe not quite yet, but a flash is the second best thing i think you will every buy (assuming the first is good glass)