Equipment Bought a DSLR camera (finally) - Need help choosing accessories

My Canon 400D should be here tomorrow (£344.82 after £50 Canon rebate ), i've already got a 2gig Sandisk Extreme III but I need some other accessories.

Bag
I'm not totally sure what size to get but to start with I would prefer something small enough to fit in a backpack but big enough for the camera and maybe some essentials (when i'm not using a backpack).
Edit: I'm going to need a tripod too, lightweigh and compact would be good.

Tripod
Something reasonably compact and lightweight would probably be best.



Price wise I don't want to spend too much but I also don't want something that is going to fall to bits.

Are there any other essential accessories you would recommend?

 

You could get a camera bag that'll serve as a backpack, too? LowePro's AW Rover series might suit you. For quick access shooting, however, Slingshot bags - as recommended by just about everyone that has one - are the win. The AW100 would do you but it's not big enough to fit much else in, and probably too big to go inside another bag.

Find a shop and try some out.

 

The Lowepro Nova 1 AW (everyone seems to have one) is a pretty decent bag for keeping all your bits together. It's not particularly comfortable for carrying on its own though, and it's not big enough to accommodate big lenses but it does the job and it fits inside a rucksack easily enough. I think it's £30 ish.

Mine fits my 30D, 18-55, 55-200, 50mm/1.8 and a flash, plus some other bits + pieces (remote cord, memory cards, a couple of screw-on filters).

Have you considered those Rucksacks which sort of open out into camera bags? I would like one of THESE I think - the top half is a normal bag and the bottom half is for the camera. Plus it's not much more than the Lowepro. I'm not sure it would accommodate any more kit though.

 

do not, do not, do not, buy a cheap tripod. it will piss you off no end, and you will never, ever, use it. it will be a plain waste of money. so wait, until you have the cash to buy a decent thing, and just shoot handheld until then.

http://www.bythom.com/support.htm <-- read that

 

I bought a Crumpler Pretty Boy XXXL which handles my Nikon D40+18-55, Nikon 55-200 and Flash in the main compartment, with a manual, charger and memory cards in the front pocket. It seems pretty good so far, with plenty of velcro dividers and a loud velcro rip when opening the bag (if you're going for a photo of a startled deer, it's fantastic lol).

 

I got a Lowepro 100 Slingshot. Small but not too small. I can get my 400D with my Sigma 70-300mm attached, plus space in the main bag for my kit lens, a 28-80mm, and a set of extension tubes (same size as small telephoto). There's enough room (still) for a fourth lens if I bought one. Top compartment is just used for some notebooks and cleaning bits but could hold all sorts. I then just slide my Manfotto monopod through the rubber hoops on the back and it's a perfect roving camera bag imho!

 

I know I'm likely to get shouted at for this... but I just use a bag I got from H&M like 3 years ago... just bang my camera and a couple lenses in there... padded with my standard "crashing at someone's place" T-Shirt and hairbrush... (I have long hair... it makes sense)

 

Agree to what Fod says; don't skimp on a good tripod, save up and buy a good one.
Also a (Giotto) rocket blower and cleaning stuff is something i'd buy first.

 

Rocket blower is pretty handy, always give the front and back elements a quick go over before they go near the camera and as a result I rarely have dust in my shots.
A good tripod is way more worth it than a cheap Jessops one (which I had bought for me). On the cheap ones the heads aren't strong enough to take the weight and as such bend and take lop-sided photos.

 

Also you'll be needing more than 2GB of CF; once you start shooting RAW it won't be enough. Spread the risk by buying several 4GB cards, no need to buy the really expensive Extreme xxx ones.
I used to have an Epson P-5000 storage tank, but sold it as i realize i can never trust any form of external portable harddisk, better lose 4GB than tens of GB's of pix.

 

this is probably only true if you don't take burst shots very often

 

I am gonna go against the grain and say I like my cheap tripod. It's from Jessops I think (it was a gift), and it's just very light and portable and it does the job. I like to mess about with long exposures etc and it's perfectly stable enough - ten times better than trying to hand-hold. Whereas the bigger tripod I have is much more unwieldy and as a result I don't take it out as much. Also, for action shots etc, a cheap tripod is better than nothing - it's just somewhere stable to put the camera - even if perfect stability isn't required.

Something to think about, anyway. I say a cheap tripod is MUCH better than none, and in some cases better than an expensive (heavy) one.

 

not necessarily. whilst it is true that 'standard' cards are a little sucky, i honestly don't see much point in going faster than the Ultra 2 type cards available (unless you can get a better deal on faster ones)

the "super duper fast ultra lol" cards are for people with really high res cams ( >16MP) and really do need to offload images onto a card quickly due to their massive size.

 

Cheap tripod (so long as it's stable) with shutter release cable and or mirror lock up.
With the shutter release cable there should be no movement as you wont be touching the camera anyway.

 

Yeah I got a Velbon tripod from Jessops in the sale for less than £30. For the amount of times I need one, I didn't feel like spending much more on one tbh - as above I just bought a remote shutter release to improve it's usefulness.It is light, plasticky, a repulsive metallic bronze colour, and it lacks the Transformer-like qualities of models x10 it's value. But it works, and it keeps my camera steady enough for what I use it for (mainly indoors and some landscapes). I use a monopod more often so I invested in a decent Manfrotto one of them instead. Of course seeing my mates £250 tripod makes me very jealous... secretly.

 

Thanks for all the help guys

I'm going to get a compact Lowero shoulder bag (not sure which) to start with and then a Slingshot bag at a later date.

After reading peoples comments and Fod's link on tripods I think il stick it out until I can afford a decent one. I have however been thinking about a monopod to start with as it should be very useful when out walking or riding (MTB / BMX). Just the compactness and lightweight for trasnportation and the ability to set up quickly and move about, I don't need a totally solid platform but more of a steadying aid for fluid panning etc. Any good but reasonably priced monopods you can recomend?

I'm also going to get a remote, 4gig SanDisk Ultra II (£35 @ play), and a couple of spare batteries. Are the compatable batteries on ebay ok?

What are these things like?, as i'm good at breaking stuff.

 

I'd hold off the battery before you've used the camera, I've always got more than a days worth of frequent shooting (ok amateur... not 24/7 usage)...

2GB fills up like nobodies business on raw, also fills my pc like no business... either a couple of 2gb or a 4gb to get you started...

 

I've got 2x2GB cards and the only time recently I've filled them was twice in South Africa. Once during the Ironman race, and the other on Safari. I'm fortunate that I've got an Epson P3000 to which to empty my cards and carry on, but unless you're really snap happy, or shooting drive mode for long periods, I don't think you fill 2GB that quickly - so long as you empty them after every shoot, that is. Getting a 4GB is a good start so just see how you get on. Nice price, btw.

 

remember the 400D is a 10MP camera now. that adds up in RAW.
i've been using a 1gb and 512MB card on my 30D for the time being, and i do sometimes feel a little pushed for space. going to pick up one or two 2gb cards soon. i feel that for 8MP RAW that's the sweet spot for most uses.

 

I'll second the support for a cheap tripod. If you just want something to start with, a cheap tripod is a good stepping stone. Mine cost me $6, has a bubble level and a quick detach, and its never given me any troubles whatsoever. When I've got some money to spare I'll buy something heavier, but otherwise mine does me just fine.

An accessory I'll recommend is the IR remote. It could be just because I'm paranoid about camera shake, but for $20 its one of the most useful things I've bought for my camera. Instead of using the timer, I unclip the remote from my strap, point it at the camera from up to 16 feet away, press the button, and I'm good to go.