Regarding accessories for photography, there are only five that I think are worth their weight in gold. They are extension tubes, lens hoods, lens filters, a Lowepro bag, and a microfiber cloth. Some of these are included in my gear review page dedicated to accessories, so jump over there for a few more solid recommendations.
First, extension tubes.
Every lens has a MFD or Minimum Focus Distance, meaning if you get your subject too close to the front of your lens, it won’t be able to focus. This can be problematic if you’re interested in shooting a macro, or very close-up/ magnified image. Could you buy a macro lens for hundreds of dollars to solve your problems, sure! Would you rather get the same effect for between 30 and 100 bucks? I know I would… and I do, with my extension tubes. Pictured below, you’ll notice that extension tubes are hollow, there is no glass in them at all.
“All they do” is mount to your camera and your lens to increase the space between them, allowing you to focus closer. The pins inside them are so you can maintain the use of autofocus. The downside is that they do eliminate your infinity (or maximum distance) focus, so you no longer can focus on anything at significant distance, but only in a specific range of distances, say from 1” to 6” in front of the lens, instead of from 4” in front of the lens to the mountain range in the distance. For my money, it’s a very worthy tradeoff if you feel the need to get real close-up. I simply am not a dedicated macro shooter. Every once in a while, I want to get a little closer than my MFD will allow, and I can do that by popping on an extension tube. These vary in price, and the cheapest lack the autofocus pins and are made of cheap plastic. Because I see my lenses as investments, I recommend sets with metal mounts, because those will hold up better in the long term. I don’t need my extension tube cracking because of a heavy telephoto strapped onto it. This set is what I would recommend because they are well built, not the most expensive, but not the cheapest either (these Nikon
Next, the lens hood.
Pictured above, the lens hood mounts on the end of your lens and serves two purposes. The primary is to ensure that light enters your lens from the front, and not from the side, so as to prevent any flaring and increase contrast in your images. That’s just dandy but even a discerning eye can have a hard time telling the difference it makes in your images (unless you’re shooting just to the left or right of direct into the sun) but more important, in my mind, is the secondary purpose: protection. If I bump into something with my lens, especially those long telephotos, my plastic lens hood will take the heat and my front element will remain untouched. When you’re wielding a $2,000 lens, or even a $300 lens , there is no excuse to not guard your investment in every way possible, which brings us to accessory #3:
Filters like UV, Polarizer, or Neutral Density.
Pictured above is a UV filter, the UV filter is just clear glass, no tint to it whatsoever. Similar to the lens hood, the primary function of the UV filter is to cut atmospheric haze and improve image quality. Also similar and doubly important, it is another line of defense for your front glass element. These guys screw into threads on the front of a lens and just sit there. You forget about them, really. I think of them as a cheap insurance policy as I put one on every lens I own the minute it comes out of the box, and I never take it off for anything. My brand of choice for filters is Hoya, because it comes in not as expensive as B+W and it seems a step up from Tiffen. Check the front of your lens to see what diameter you need, they are measured in mm and common sizes are 52mm, 58mm, 67mm, 72mm, and 77mm.
Polarizer filters
If you’re going to be outside and especially if it is around water, a circular polarizer can do a lot for your image clarity. The best way to think about a polarizer is like sunglasses for your lens. Polarized sunglasses make it easier to see, but sunglasses also cut light. Polarizers don’t have to do that, that would be a job for a Neutral Density (ND) filter, but the novelty of a polarizer filter is that it is adjustable by turning it. You can increase or decrease the amount of polarizing your filter does by giving it a spin and getting just the right amount. Again, common sizes are 52mm, 58mm, 67mm, 72mm, and 77mm.
ND Filters
ND filter are for cutting light. These are mostly used for situations when you want to cut light for a particular reason but do not want to sacrifice some of the secondary effects of shutter speed or aperture. Want clouds to have motion blur on a sunny day? you’ll probably have to use an ND filter. ND filters come in all standard sizes like the rest, but they also come in different gradations. They could be a 3 stop filter, 4, 5, 6, etc. Because I didn’t foresee myself using these with great regularity, I went with the extreme one for extreme situations, a 77mm 10 stop B+W ND filter. This is almost “welder’s-mask-dark” and can take a long shutter exposure in virtually any amount of light. It’s not the cheapest one out there, but it can create a very distinct effect, and I personally thought it was a great investment to help mix things up. Any chance I get to differentiate myself from other photographers, I take.
Microfiber
Lastly, the microfiber cloth is not hard to understand: if your lens is dirty, your images will suffer. I say this accessory is worth it’s weight in gold because it weighs, and costs, virtually nothing. It’s good to have in the bag for when you get some rain, dust, dirt, or an errant fingerprint on your lens. I recommend this Microfiber Cloth
Lowepro bag
The Lowepro Stealth Reporter bag is a bag I have been using for almost 10 years. It is roomy but not hard to carry, the strap is well padded, and most importantly, it has stood the test of wear and tear over time. This thing fits PERFECTLY under an airplane seat, though many FAA representatives have tried to convince me otherwise time and time again, even on planes with 3 seats across, it will fit just barely. Checking gear is a hazard, I don’t trust anyone with my gear when I’m flying to a shoot and you shouldn’t either, don’t let it leave your sight. This bag allows for that to happen with a decent amount of gear (2 bodies, 3 lenses, 2 flashes in my kit that travels). The price is right and the quality is on par with the best, I highly recommend this bag.
Extension tubes may be more of a matter of hobby, and it’s pretty much a matter of propriety to throw a microfiber cloth in your awesome camera bag but I implore you to make the effort for the other two. There’s no reason to shoot without a lens hood and a uv filter on every lens you own. You paid for those puppies, treat them well and they’ll return the favor.
