With affordable digital cameras having become so ubiquitous in the market, everyone now has the ability to take great photos. However, most amateurs still only get the occasional ?lucky shot? in comparison with professional photographers that are bringing skill to the picture-taking table. In order to boost the quality of your own images, you?ll want to make sure that you get a good digital camera and then that you add the accessories which can make your photos really pop.
Memory cards
A digital camera uses memory card as storage medium to save images and videos. Most cameras now come with a 2 GB memory card out of the box. However, instead of limiting oneself it is better to have more memory from the onset, rather feel constrained later. There are cards available in various capacities up to 32 GB. What a consumer needs to check is for SD and SDHC cards that look similar but have a huge gap in terms of performance. And SDHC card has more storage and higher transfer rate.
SanDisk, Kingston, Transcend etc.
are the recommended brands for memory cards.
LCD screen protector
Camera LCD display is the part of the camera that has a tendency to catch dirt and scratch marks. Three best ways to look after your LCD are stick-on screen guard, hard screen protectors and acrylic screen protectors. Similar to a thin film screen, stick-on screen guard is the most economical mode of LCD protection available, and protects the LCD from dust and reflection.
Hard cover screen protectors are made of durable polycarbonate and doesn?t require pasting on the screen, instead clasps over the camera screen with a clip. It is sturdier than stick-on and assures freedom from scratches, dust accretion on the LCD screen. Acrylic screen protectors unlike the stick-on protectors are applied on the frame of the LCD and not on the screen. Its biggest advantage is that it protects the camera not just from scratches but also from bumps.
However, the hard cover and acrylic screen protectors are not easily available for all camera models. For scratch protectors, we recommend the ones available from Scratchgard (www.scratchgard.in)
Tripods
Tripods are usually considered to be only for DSLR, however they are great for any digital camera. A tripod is usually made of metal and has collapsible telescoping legs with a centre post to place the camera on. A tripod stabilises the camera against handshake to provide shake free images and is particularly useful when taking images with high zoom or slow speed exposure is being used. The tripod also provides options to tilt and pan the mounted camera, providing the user with stability across various angles.
A basic tripod comes for around R600 and can be folded and carried. For high-end digital cameras sturdier tripods are available and generally are more costly.
Camera bag
Camera owners love their camera, but they often ignore the fact that a good camera bag can stretch their camera life. For DSLR cameras, all camera makers have their range of camera bags promising ample space, multiple pockets and all round protection. Ideally, one should pick a camera bag that is weather and shock resistant. There are various options available from Case Logic and Lowepro in terms of general camera bags to backpacks for carrying multiple things including a camera. Having a good camera bag, not only saves the camera from dust and shocks, but also makes it easy to carry around.
Battery pack
How many times have you been let down by drained batteries, exactly at the moment when you want to click a picture? A battery getting drained is a regular issue as camera as using the flash consumes plenty of energy. Most of the DSLR cameras run on Ni-MH L-ion battery, which provides great backup. However, in normal point and shoot cameras, the batteries tend to drain after 200-300 shots. Hence, having an additional battery pack is advised to keep alongside the camera at all times.
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