The 7 Must Have Camera Accessories for Photographers in 2023 – Buyers Guide

The following items have been the most helpful additional camera accessories items that I have uncovered throughout my journey into photography and videography.

99% of people think that you need a good camera to take photos. They are wrong. Better photos come from these must-have camera accessories, so let’s take a look at our top picks.

You can learn so much from the masters of the art. I began to understand more by learning more from modern photographers and videographers such as Ben Long, Karl Taylor, Jeff Cable, Phillip Bloom, and Vincent Laforet. As I started to dissect their images and films I began to realize, that the camera doesn’t really matter. There are a few must-have camera accessories that you need, and with any camera, you can make magic.

After watching all of their educational material, and reviewing their work online, I would start by attempting to recreate it. While my knowledge, experience, camera, and gear are far from that of the pros, I have learned that it is possible to create some impressive pieces of work with very minimal equipment.

As with a number of people I don’t have jet-ski money yet, so have had to keep cost in mind. Hopefully, you will find some of these recommendations helpful too.

The following items have been the most helpful additional accessories items that I have uncovered throughout my journey into photography and videography.  The links below will lead you through to Amazon where you have access to user reviews and pricing.

I would like to disclose that they are affiliate links in which I will receive a small commission as a percentage of your sale. This does not cost you any extra, but it does help me pay for the next year of hosting fees, allowing me to create more content for you. Thank you for reading.

Must-Have Camera Accessories

A Tripod For Your Camera

A tripod is the first and most essential piece of equipment that you should purchase. You don’t have to get a huge unwieldy beast of a tripod. Just something that will hold your camera, lens, and potentially a microphone all at the same time. A tripod unlocks a world of creative possibilities.

The first of which is slow shutter speeds. While a larger sensor camera and an ultra-fast lens can drastically improve your low-light photography, you will have a very limited depth of field. There is something magic about long exposure photos with a good depth of field taken at night.

Ever disappointed with the level of detail in an image? Check out our Topaz Gigapixel AI review to see how you can add retail, megapixels and make your photos bigger!

Tripod Weight

Weight is the first consideration. This is two-fold: first, the weight of the actual tripod, and second the maximum support weight. The heavier the tripod the more stable your photography platform but the less portable it is.

In practice, this is important however a little bit of weight is not the end of the world as you can carry it around in your hand when out photographing. I personally prefer a lighter tripod that I am able to strap to the side of my backpack.

This is good for getting to the location but once moving around you tend to carry it in your hand anyway. Aim for a minimum support weight above 1.5kg as they can always hold a little more than they specify. But lighter than this is no good for most modern DSLR cameras with a good lens attached.

I personally prefer a lighter tripod that I am able to strap to the side of my backpack. This is good for getting to the location but once moving around you tend to carry it in your hand anyway. Aim for a minimum support weight above 1.5kg as they can always hold a little more than they specify. But lighter than this is no good for most modern DSLR cameras with a good lens attached.

Tripod Head

The second major consideration that you will have is the tripod head. Especially if you are looking to do a video. The head must be sturdy and able to move in all orientations. If you are planning on doing a video then you must not only consider the support weight of the head but also the pan and tilt fluidity. I cannot emphasize this enough.

It should be able to lock and move smoothly in all directions with the option to move solely in the x or y-direction. Nothing is worse than a jerky pan. Obviously, the movement fluidity just depends on how deep your pockets are, but it is possible to do more with less providing that you are patient and willing to do multiple takes to get it right.

Tripod Height

Height is next up. Consider both the folded height and the maximum height of the tripod. It is important not to focus on getting one that is your height. The most interesting shots come when the camera is from a different perspective to what we see on a day-to-day basis.

My tripod is often set at its lowest height in order to get shots that take the ground in as the foreground to add depth to the image. When assessing what height tripod is best, ensure to check how wide the legs open out. Legs that open fully assist greatly with stability and the ability to get low, but features such as this don’t come for free and add weight.

Tripod Price

Finally is the build quality and price. Some might argue that price is the most important, but trust me if you go out with a price in mind you can expect to double it (or more). So it is best to remain open to new ideas. In terms of build quality, this comes largely down to the manufacturer. The big names such as Manfrotto or Gitzo are renowned for quality and will honor any warranties provided.

You can move from aluminum to carbon fiber and further depending on your budget. Just remember to keep an open mind, as you will likely have this for some time, ensure to future-proof yourself, and spend what you can to ensure good quality results.

For a lightweight budget travel tripod, I have used the Manfrotto Compact Action with very good results. It is very light, compact, and has a good range of heights with a support weight of around 1.5kg. Good for all but your largest lenses. It has great movement in the head and even allows you to lock down the tripod head so it will only move on the x and y-axis.

As a more robust option, I recommend the Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro which is an amazing tripod for the price. With super adjustable legs for photographs from all angles. But buyer beware this does not come with a head attached. It is the legs alone. The Manfrotto MHXPRO-BHQ2 XPRO metal ball head with quick release is a great option for photographers. But for video, you need something to pan and tilt. For this, I can safely recommend this without hesitation Manfrotto 502 Video Head MVH502AH. This has been also recommended by pros such as Vincent Laforet.

Additional Batteries and Storage

Camera Batteries

Additional batteries allow you to film longer without having to leave to find a power outlet and recharge. For me, the magic number is 3. I always carry 3 batteries with me. This allows for plenty of photos and video. As you move into creating a video you will realize just how little time you have with these batteries.

If you are planning on spending a long time away you may need more, so just think about this before setting off. Camera manufacturer batteries are often up to 3 times the price of third-party batteries and sometimes even more. I have never had any trouble with (good) third-party batteries, just make sure to read the reviews before you buy.

Camera Memory Cards

Storage is cheap. Why not stock up? There is no point in having all of this battery life if you are continually running out of storage. Again, my magic number is 3 with storage I always have at least 3 additional memory cards when I head out. This is again especially important for video.

With video ensure you get a fast card Class 10 and above in order to ensure you have a fast enough write speed. As sensor quality is improving and we are moving into the realm of 4k and beyond the size and speed of memory cards is highly important. Make sure to do your research on your specific camera brand before you buy a bunch of cards.

I prefer to get medium amounts of storage and multiple cards rather than purchasing one expensive large card. This ensures that if you do have a corrupt card it is only a portion of the day’s photos that you lose rather than the whole lot.

In terms of storage, I can highly recommend the Sandisk Extreme Pro cards or the Lexar Professional cards. Both of which I have used and NEVER had any corrupt cards.

 

Camera Filters

Circular Polarising Filter

The circular polarizing filter is, without doubt, the most important filter that you can purchase for your camera. This will allow you to remove glare, and haze, darken the sky and make colors more vibrant. This is especially evident around water and in the forest where all leaves lose their reflective qualities and become a much richer shade of green.

It is important to note when using a polarising filter that the sun must be 90 degrees to the direction in which you are taking a photo. Essentially make sure the sun is shining on your shoulder. Polarising filters will not work when you point into or away from the sun. I began with the Tiffen 82mm Polarising filter. I had no issues with this filter and never had any loss in sharpness (providing the sensor was clean).

If you are planning to clean your DSLR sensor, then you should see our post on How to Clean a DSLR Sensor here.

Neutral Density Filter

Neutral density (ND) filters are also a great addition to your kit. With photography, you are able to increase the shutter speed in order to reduce the amount of light on the sensor. However, with video, the shutter speed is governed by the frame rate of the eventual output file. Therefore, in order to achieve a shallow depth of field in bright light, you need to reduce the amount of light striking the sensor. This is where the ND filters come in. ND Filters come in a range of levels that vary in darkness.

The most profoundly creative ND filter for photography is the 10 Stop ND Filter. Imagine putting welding goggles over the front of your lens. It effectively allows you to make daytime into nighttime and take exposures of up to 20 seconds during broad daylight. This allows such photos as that above. For this, I recommend the HOYA 10 Stop Filter. This has given me high-quality images time and time again, without any loss in quality.

There are variable neutral density filters that are great for video. However, for photography with high-resolution images, there is sometimes areas of darker density in cheaper filters. These will allow you to use your camera on brighter days and achieve a shallow depth of field to retain that cinematic quality. Otherwise, you will be forced to narrow down the aperture to achieve the correct exposure. Then you are back to the handy cam days, with no control of depth of field.

Filter Cost

As with everything in the photography world they can range drastically in price. Just ensure to read the reviews and if you can afford a multi-layered filter then, by all means, go for it. There is no point in purchasing a $1000 lens and then putting a $5 piece of glass in front of your lens as you will end up with a soft and potentially unusable image. With some research, I have ended up using the Tiffen range of filters as these maintain the high quality of detail in the image and are available at a bargain price.

Ensure to buy the largest size filter according to your range of lenses. If you plan on upgrading your lenses in the future then I would recommend getting a larger filter (typically 82 or even 105mm) and then purchasing an adaptor for this. Just be careful with the lens flares and distortions that cheaper adaptors can bring. Read the amazon reviews.

Remote Shutter Release

A remote shutter release is another cheap but important piece of kit to have on hand. Especially with creative pieces of work such as long exposures or time-lapses. There are two classes of shutter releases: ones with an intervalometer and ones without. As you can imagine they are priced accordingly.

Check also our post here on the raspberry pi time-lapse camera.

These are important when used in conjunction with your tripod to ensure there is no residual camera shake caused by the activation of the shutter. Both will have a lock button and allow you to take photos with your camera in bulb mode. However, the intervalometer is a great addition to your gear for time-lapses.

In terms of manufacturer vs third-party remote shutter releases, my research has led me to believe that there is little difference between the two. So spend what you have in your budget and remember that you won’t use it all of the time so aim to get a bargain on such a piece of kit.

If you are in the canon world then I recommend looking into the Magic Lantern firmware as this will help you to get around having an intervalometer. You can set up time-lapse photos to be taken at any period and duration you wish and this is all available in-camera! Please check the articles section to see a workflow for creating a time-lapse video using Magic Lantern.

External Sound Recording

The in-built audio recording in most DSLR cameras is sub-par. After all, they are primarily aimed to take pictures. While the image quality is advancing fast, sound recording is often an after, afterthought. With video being the first afterthought.

My main issues with the onboard sound recording (especially on the Canon cameras) are the background hiss that is always audible and the wind noise. I have seen third party pieces of fluff that you can attach to the camera’s onboard mic to remove wind noise but you are still left with the background hiss.

Best Budget Microphone

So being budget-minded, and primarily focused on the quality of the image (at present) I went with the Zoom H1n audio recorder. At under $100 this is an amazing piece of kit. It is the cheapest (in terms of price per performance) audio recording device on the market.

It doesn’t offer multiple channel recording but this can be achieved with a lab mic plugged into your camera and having the ambient recording done with the Zoom H1n. With this and all external sound recorders, you need to be extremely careful with wind noise. If you do not protect the microphones with a windshield of some sort you will hear an audible popping in the recording, rendering it useless.

If you are looking to get more out of your audio recording then I suggest moving up the Zoom line of products. The Zoom H4n is their high-end alternative. It is highly regarded among users and thus quickly became the industry standard.

After many attempts with syncing my sound, I have realized that it is very important to sync your audio recordings with your video as soon as possible after the shoot. I highly recommend setting up the time on both recording mediums to ensure that these are synced as close as possible. Ensure to speak at the start of each take to note your location and what the shot is. Then follow this up with a clap or two to put a spike in both the on-camera audio and portable recording device.

Where possible use a third-party piece of software such as Plural Eyes or Final Cut Pro X to sync up the recordings to ensure you aren’t pulling your hair out too much! Please stay tuned for a further post outlining this workflow.

Best Shotgun Mic for DSLR

If manually syncing your sound doesn’t sound like fun then you can look at picking up a shotgun mic for your camera. Since the explosion in popularity of vlogging, these have become a staple in a lot of people’s camera kits.

When it comes to on-camera microphones, there is only one brand that I trust and that is RODE. I have had a Rode VideoMicro Pro for around 4 years now, and have put it through hell. Yet every time I turn it on, it works and the audio is amazing.

If that is slightly too much money for you then your best bet is the Rode VideoMicro. These are a little smaller and come in at under half the price. While the audio quality isn’t the same, consider who will be watching your videos and what medium they’ll watch them on. If they are for youtube and people will be watching on a smartphone with a variable quality set of headphones, then this will be fantastic!

Before you rush out and buy one of these external microphones, you need to be sure that your camera can accept external audio. The RODE microphones generally connect with a standard 3.5mm audio jack to double-check your camera has one of these under the little rubber flap on the side of your camera. If it does, you’re in business.

Off-Camera Flash

 

One flash can add a lot to your photography, especially at night time in low light, but also on very bright days as a fill-in light to avoid harsh contrasting shadows on your subject. When you control the light in the photo is allows full control over the exposure, contrast, blur, multiple points of lighting (multiple flashes), and ISO as well.

What to look for in a Flash?

Price

Again, the price will likely be your determining factor here. You can spend a lot of obeying on an external flash. It is a delicate balance between what money you are willing to spend and the features you need. The most important features are Power and Recycle Time. You can always stop down the power of your flash but you cannot increase it past the maximum value. Recycle time is fairly self-explanatory but the way to assess it is how long it takes for the camera to completely recycle ready for another flash at full power. Ensure that you buy decent batteries to put in your flash as this will have a direct impact on both of these aspects.

Manual Controls

For creative photography, you must ensure that the flash has full manual controls. When combined with manual exposure mode on the camera you are able to create some wonderful high-contrast images with relative ease easily. The flash should have TTL metering which allows the camera and the flash to communicate with each other and adjust the power of the flash to achieve the correct exposure.

Auto Zoom

Auto-zoom is the next important feature in order for the camera to gauge the correct width of the beam to ensure correct exposure. Finally, and probably most important is the camera’s ability to tilt and swivel. This allows you to bounce the flash off adjacent walls to create a softer light on the subject.

Other Features

Other items to consider are Wireless TTL Flash Control, High-Speed Sync, and Rear Curtain Sync. Without going into too much detail Wireless TTL Flash control allows your inbuilt camera flash to control the external flash either as just a trigger or as a combination flash to give two-point lighting. High-speed sync allows the shutter to be triggered at higher shutter speeds than what the camera typically allows (typically around 1/200 of a second). Finally, rear-curtain sync allows the flash to fire as the shutter closes allowing room for motion blur and a number of other creative opportunities.

Best Off Camera Flash

So for my Canon camera, I went with the 430 EX III Speedlite. It is the middle of the road with a reasonably high level of power and a comparatively quick recycling time. It is well priced and even better if you are able to get it with a cash back special. There are cheaper options such as the Yonguno YN-560 III which is a comparable flash (if not better) to the Canon at a lower cost. It will also work with any brand of camera.

However, the Canon 430 EX II came with the infamous warranty, eTTL, high-speed sync, the built-in wireless signaling system, and is really good both on and off camera. In the end, I had my arm twisted and went with the Canon and have been very much impressed ever since.

Patience and Practice

These are the most important asset that you can have for taking photos and making videos. It takes time to become better at it. I am by no means an expert (I would consider myself an enthusiast at best) but through time and patience, you can improve.

Because these are such visual mediums you can see the improvements over time which is a highly rewarding process. Be critical of yourself and keep asking why can’t get that shot, or how did they get that shot. Plan your shoot, have a goal in mind then get out there and do it!

Again, honoring my full disclosure policy, the links to Amazon above are affiliate links. Purchasing through these links costs you nothing extra but allows me to make a small commission on a sale. Any money made through this will be used to pay next year’s hosting fees and allow me to create more content for you. Thank you so much for reading and making it through this far.

Leave any questions or comments below and I will respond as soon as possible.

If you are interested in learning about photography gear leave a comment below. If you take a photo as a result of any of these must-have camera accessories make sure to post a link to your blog below and I will review and rate it for you.

Lastly, if you have any questions about any of your own workflows or gear I am always happy to help.

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