Monday, July 27, 2009

Equipments and Accessories of Digital Photography

Here is a list of equipments and accessories that are used in digital photography, and some suggestions to consider when buying one of them.

1. Cameras

a. Simple or Pocket-sized Point and Shoot Cameras
b. Advanced or High-zoom Point and Shoot cameras
c. Digital Single-Lens Reflex (D-SLR) Cameras
d. Mirrorless Interchangeable-lens Cameras

(See Types of Digital Cameras for more details.)

2. Optical components

a. Detachable Lens (only for D-SLRs) - Look for mount type, full-frame / APS-C, focal length / range, f-number / range, stabilization, image quality, AF support, filter thread, rotating front element.
      i. Prime lens
      ii. Wide angle lens
      iii. Telephoto lens
      iv. Macro lens
      v. Special lenses (Eg: Fisheye Lens, Infra-red lens)
b. Extension Tube
c. Diopters and Tele-Converters
d. Filters - Only buy good brands except for UV.
      i. Ultra violet (UV) filter
      ii. Circular polarizing (CPL) filter- Buy only if your lens has got non-rotating front element.
      iii. Neutral density (ND) filter / Graduated ND filter
      iv. Special purpose filters - Color correction, color separation, infra-red
e. Lens hood - Look for lens compatibility

3. Lighting equipments and accessories

a. Flash - Look for TTL support, built-in wireless trigger (master/slave), recycling time, focal range

      i. Hot shoe mount flash
      ii. Slave flash - RF wireless / cord triggered / optically triggered
      iii. Special flashes – Eg: Ring flash
b. Diffusers - E.g. Sto-fen (IMHO, not great)
c. Umbrellas - White shoot-through, Silver reflective, Combined
e. Soft-boxes 
d. Reflectors - Collapsible ones with gold/silver/white surfaces
f. Grids
g. Light meter
h. Off-camera hot-shoe cords for flash
i. Brackets/clamps, and stands to mount flash and/or umbrella
j. Remote flash triggers - If either your camera or the flash does not have the remote trigger.
k. Grey card (18% / Medium Grey), Colour Chart

4. Softwares

a. Editing / touch-up / post-processing softwares
b. Data retrieving softwares
c. Raw processing softwares
d. Remote shooting software

5. Other Photography Accessories

a. Powering accessories - Only buy the original or good brand ones with sufficient capacity.
      i. Battery (for camera and/or flashes)
      ii. Battery charger(s)
      iii. Battery grip
      iv. AC power adapter
      v. External battery pack for flash
b. Data storage - Look for type, capacity, speed
      i. Memory (SDHC/CompactFlash/xD Picture Card/Memory Stick/SmartMedia)
      ii. Card reader
c. Stabilizing devices - Look for the maximum load, head features, height, weight
      i. Tripod
      ii. Gorilla-pod
      iii. Monopod
      iv. Bean-bags
d. Remote shutter releases
      i. Wired shutter release
      ii. wireless shutter release
e. Camera Carry Bag
f. Cleaning kit
      i. Brush
      ii. Lens pen
      iii. Rubber air blower
      iv. Microfiber cleaning cloth
      v. Cleaning fluid
      vi. Cotton buds
      vii. Tissue

g. Backdrops, stands, and clamps
h. Underwater camera case
i. Lens Filter Wrench
j. Comfortable neck strap

6. Related stuffs

a. External Hard Disk
b. Water spray bottle
c. Compass
d. Bubble level / Spirit level


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