So, without further due. I've got a top five accessories list for your Digital SLR. This list was submitted by Kelvin Chiu. Kelvin, I appreciate the top five list. Here we go, just watched your video about your new Rebel XTI, congrats! I remember when I made the jump and it was great, an enthusiast in photography. He says, he is no pro probably like me, a prosumer. I shot with a point-and-shoot camera for a while and then we are going to friends suggested. I take the plunge, step further and invest in a DSLR. I thought I would five things that I found helpful as a DSLR or as a Digital Single Lens Reflex and SLR would be a Single Lens Reflex camera just without the Digital part.
Number one, Additional lenses. I am not being specific here because every eye is different. I like landscape shots. So my wide angle lens holds my Canon body a lot, it always helps to carry more than one lens at a time. You never know when you need that telephoto moment or that wide angle when you just can't step back any further. Assuming you are going to stick with Canon lenses, be mindful of the difference between EF lenses on an EFS body. But you can't fit EFS lenses on a full frame body, so if further down the line, you trade that Rebel XTI in for a full frame model, those EFS lenses won't work. I didn't even know that, this is an amazing gift and I have got it for free. Thank you Kelvin, thank you so much. Also Canon doesn't shift lens hoods with their lenses, that are part of the L range. So you are going to have to buy a separate lens hood for that lens if it's not an L, which stands for luxury model.
IS, Image Stabilization is another feature to look out for on lenses. If you find out you have more shaky hands then you realized. Since the body, that's the part of the camera that isn't the lens, obviously doesn't have this, the technology in any IS you get, will be from the lenses. The benefit of this is that you can see the IS effects through the viewfinder as also good to know. Number two, battery grip, picture the scene. Your baby is in arms and about to yawn for the first time. You reach out for your camera and set to snap this amazing moment, only to find that its battery is dead.
Not that it has happed to me, but you can imagine you would be pretty livid if this were to happen. Regardless how you organize you are with batteries, which is why I recommend a battery grip for your Rebel XTI, well of course a battery good for any camera. Not, only can you store two batteries worth of power within the grip, but it also allows you to hold your camera vertically much easier and has additional controls when holding it that position. The official Canon model is the BGE3, but if you can find that too pricy there are some other ones out there which are basically the same, but they don't support the Canon name, unbranded if you will.
Number three, Flash Gun and Diffuser. Well the flash is acceptable on the camera itself. It can never fully compare to a proper flash Gun, with one you can adjust the angle. So, you can bounce the flash off the walls or a sealing for less direct flash, this is a great tip for any photographer or even better using off shoe camera cord and manually control the direction of the flash with your hand off camera. Take a look at the offerings of the Canon's speed-light range, they are sure to get your going a bit.
I also recommend getting a flash diffuser. Basically that's the small device which softens the flash from the flash gun which is especially useful if you need that direct flash but don't want the harsh shadows that go with using a flash. Getting a separate flash to bounce off the walls is an amazing tip. I've used it before. I've used wax paper over my real flash to keep it from being as well as he notes, as heavy on the shadows which happens when you use the flash on camera.
Number four, tripods or monopods? Tripods are fantastic. If you want to take shots which just are not possible to do, just by holding under the camera, even with IS, Image Stabilization. I've a bit of soft spot for long exposure shots, but that's just me. On the same way, that was Kelvin who was noting that. I recommend something from the Giotto's and Velbon range. Again I won't name is specifics, because everyone has their own taste. So, I suggest you get down to the store have a feel, to get joy and play around with it. A Monopod isn't a must, but if you feel the need to reduce the camera shake in those moments, but don't have the time to setup the full tripod. It may come in handy, fair enough. In fact, my Tripod doubles as a Monopod. The middle part hangs in the middle of the tripod but then it pops out to be a monopod, mono, one, tri, three. Monopods are great because they are lightweight and you screw the camera in, it's not going to be completely stable, but it is going to reduce a lot of that camera shake, that might happen by holding onto something without some kind of triangulation in terms of stability. I think that makes sense. It's late right now.
Number five, camera bag. This is actually a really good tip and I didn't realize how good it wasn't until I read it. You've got the equipment, now you need the container. I've several camera bags namely a backpack, if I want to carry a tripod, laptop and a few lenses along for a trip or messenger bag for just the camera and the another lens. Unfortunately, I find most camera bags look too much like camera bags and they are begging to be swiped.
I recommend Crumpler, this is what he notes, it's not cheap, but they do make attractive bags and while now feeds have caught on that Crumpler bags, are what more and more photographers are using for the most part, they disguise themselves pretty well and are being passed off as just a bag. They make a large range of backpacks and messenger bags for photographers. So, do check them out. If you don't mind the obvious camera bag look, check out bags made by Lowepro, their slim bags are favorite for photographers and their range is very respectable.
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