Some cheap essentials for a newbie?

G18241

G18241

G18241

Soldato
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Sheffield
Just got myself a 350D for cheapo from eBay and am after a few accesories for xmas

As a complete novice, is a tripod an essential or is it something i am going to gradually learn to need? If not can you recommend one

Need a case, nothing too fancy but preferably a dslr one so i dont have to keep taking lense off

Am really wanting a macro lense, seen some on ebay for like less than a tenner, and you get a couple...ive had the camera a couple of days, so this didnt seem right to me, but again could anyone offer suggestions?

Anything else i may need, will be asking for stuff for xmas, so cant be silly expensive, maybe £30 tops per item?

Thank you guys :)
 
My first accessories were;

*lens cloth (spudz)
*Lens brush
* spare battery
*remote trigger (needed in conjunction with a tripod)

By the sounds of it your totally new to using a DSLR? I dont know how much control you want to have when taking photos but there are some good reads out there. I'd also highly recommend picking up a copy of a DSLR photography magazine as these can be very helpful for only a few quid. Check the cover and contents and see if what they are covering this month will be worthwhile reading for you.
 
lukechad said:
My first accessories were;

*lens cloth (spudz)
*Lens brush
* spare battery
*remote trigger (needed in conjunction with a tripod)

By the sounds of it your totally new to using a DSLR? I dont know how much control you want to have when taking photos but there are some good reads out there. I'd also highly recommend picking up a copy of a DSLR photography magazine as these can be very helpful for only a few quid. Check the cover and contents and see if what they are covering this month will be worthwhile reading for you.
Click to expand...
You can never have too much inspiration.... That said, unless you use the flash a lot, I'd very very rarely use a spare battery if I keep my normal battery charged when not in use.

Filters can be useful also, CPL and maybe an ND grad...
Quick straps are handy also...
 
I got 4 spare batteries with the camera as well as a strap,i have seen some small tripods with bendy beady legs, are these any good?

Shall have a look for that magazine the next time I go shopping cheers
 
The bendy beady leg tripods are more commonly known as a Gorillapod.

They do various sizes but you will probably need the SLR one, they do a larger "SLR with zoom" which does exactly what it says....

I didnt specify that as a magazine name, just a digital photography mag that focuses on SLR's :)
 
lukechad said:
The bendy beady leg tripods are more commonly known as a Gorillapod.

They do various sizes but you will probably need the SLR one, they do a larger "SLR with zoom" which does exactly what it says....

I didnt specify that as a magazine name, just a digital photography mag that focuses on SLR's :)
Click to expand...

Thems the ones :P are they any good or would i be better just picking up a normal tripod? :)
 
On the subject of Photo mags, if you collect Tesco points and therefore their vouchers. You can get a years subscription to Practical Photography for £13... This is through the Tesco clubcard website.
 
I highly recommend the book understanding exposure. It has really helped me a lot on how to get the best out of my camera. I'm sure others will also recommend it.

A better strap than the stock canon one is worth it imo.
 
Ok so as no-one has recommended anything specific I'll jump in with my 2 penneth on a couple of your wanted items..

Tripod : Velbon CX-888 - Dont pay much over £30 for this. Its currently £34.99 at Warehouse Express. Decent build quality for the dosh and very sturdy. Imo anyway.

Macro Lens - Raynox DCR-250 - Ive got one and got some very very surprising results. I paid £34 from the rainforest place and its the best thing Ive bought tbh. DOF can be nightmare with it but once you get used it all is good.

I'll also add that for any Macro stuff you'll need additional light. For £30 - £40 you can pick up a Speedlight YN460II slave flash and have it triggered by the built in flash. Its a very good piece of kit for the money and invaluable for macro work.

Example below taken with a 30D and 18-55mm IS Kits lens + YN460 handheld:

fingerbug.jpg
 
If you're not too fussed about a tripod I have a very basic jessops one model tp 220 that you're more than welcome to have for postage only costs.
 
Remote triggers are good for using bulb mode for long exposures, as well as the usual benefits. This is something you can't normally do without one :)
 
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