Top 8 Digital Camera Accessories and Extras*
Now that you have a great digital camera, you can enhance or improve the experience with many different digital camera accessories. Some (such as a decent camera case to protect your investment or extra memory cards) are crucial, some (like a good photo printer or tripod) are simply handy. Here is a list of the best digital camera accessories that should be the next on your to-buy list once you get a camera.
1) Camera Case
It is important to protect your digital point-and-shoot camera from LCD scratches, dings and other general abuse. A great camera case can do that. You don't want one that is too big and bulky, but you also need to be sure your camera fits. They can hold all the little extras, too, like batteries and memory cards.
Northstar Cases offers a line of waterproof, crushproof protective hard camera cases to fit all of your needs. Our smaller camera cases feature 2A Volera Foam lining and are perfect for your point and shoot digital cameras, they can also fit your extra batteries, memory cards, etc. For your advanced digital cameras or your digital SLR cameras, our larger camera cases feature either pick and pluck foam so that you may customize them to snuggly fit your camera and accessories or they feature a soft sided case within the hard case so that you may easily carry the soft sided case whenever you do not need the protection of the hard case. The soft sided case has interior foam peices that may be cut to customize the case to your needs. All of our cases are incredibly strong and offer a lifetime guarantee, the larger cases also have a place where you can put a lock so you do not need to worry about the contents when you are away from your case.
2) Memory Cards
Even if your digital camera has some built-in memory, you can be sure this is one of the first investments you will have to make. Don't believe me? Go shoot a handful of photos, and then see your space for images dwindle to nothing. Ouch! Having another large-capacity card, or even a couple medium-capacity cards, is truly mandatory to enjoy your digital camera. With the improved capacity, you'll be able to shoot more pictures before you run out of storage space. And a spare card will let you swap-and-shoot instead of calling it a day when the camera is out of memory.
3) Camera Tripod
Tripods really are a necessity if you’re serious about photography, and that’s that. I know they’re big, bulky and a pain to carry around, but if you want to get rid of that camera shake that seems to appear in every one of your photos, then it's time to start the hunt for a good tripod.
4) Photo Printer
If you have a digital camera, a great photo printer will eliminate the middle man when it comes to getting wonderful photo prints for albums, to share with families or to frame and display. You want to be sure to choose a printer that is suited for photo printing, and will produce dazzling print-outs.
5) Photo Storage Device
If you plan to shoot a lot of photos, especially while on the road traveling, save yourself the nuisance of lugging along your laptop or spending a load of money on multiple memory cards. You can find Dazzle Multimedia's excellent 6-in-1 reader for as little as $35.
6) Photo Editing Software
The magic of digital media lies in the freedom that comes from editing your pictures any way you like on the PC. Crop them, resize them, remove red eye, add captions--there's no limit. To do all that, though, it helps to have a good image editor. Unfortunately, the image editors that are bundled with many digital cameras are often not very good. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, grab a free program called IrfanView from the PCWorld.com Downloads section.
For more image editing horsepower, you can't beat Paint Shop Pro 7 or Adobe PhotoShop Elements 2.0. I found both of those programs for about $75 to $80.
7) Extra Lenses
Don't forget to add wide-angle and telephoto adapter lenses to your travel bag. A 3X optical zoom may sound great when you first bring your camera home from the store, but you'll soon find that the lens doesn't have the reach you'd like. Tiffen sells adapter lenses for most digital cameras. These lenses are quite affordable; a 2X telephoto lens costs about $80 and you can get a set of close-up lenses for as little as $40.
8) Rechargeable Batteries
Invest in a set of nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries; it will pay for itself quickly, especially if you take a lot of photos. I have two sets so one can be charging when I'm out shooting with the other. NiMH batteries available at any computer, electronics, photography, or office-supply store for around $15 per set.
If you do not find what you need on our Camera Cases page, be sure to check out our entire line of waterproof,crushproof X-treme Cases and protective HPRC Cases for a variety of different sizes that offer the same great pick and pluck foam or soft sided cases. We are sure to have something to fit your needs, Whatever the Case May Be!
*Excerpts taken from articles on cameras.about.com