Got the T3i...now need some basic gear recommendations

[bwells3]

OK, so we got the T3i for Christmas and I have really been enjoying it. Needless to say, I have a lot to learn and am excited to start the process.

However, I would like to know more about accessories/gear that I should slowly include in my kit. I have questions such as is it really necessary to have a filter? Any recommendations on good bags that won't make you look like a 'sherpa' while on vacation/at theme parks?

Any other items that I should consider purchasing for this camera?

Thanks in advance!

[Doug Pardee]

If you've got the camera and a memory card or two, you're good to go until you run into a situation where you need more than that.

No, you don't need a filter. Some people swear by polarizers, but although I used one quite heavily during my film days, I haven't found it to be as useful with digital. I'd rather have the extra stops of shutter speed, ISO, or aperture.

What are you planning to put in your camera bag? Your camera is doubtless going to be hanging from a neck strap, with the lens attached to it. Just about anything else should easily fit into a pocket or purse.

I'm a strong advocate of not buying anything until you're hampered because you don't have it. Exception: something like a screen calibrator where you won't realize that you're hampered until it's too late. You need a screen calibrator.

[ceremus]

I'm thinking lenses are in your future, though which ones depend on you.

There are two camps for the filter haves and have nots, personally I'm with Better Safe Than Sorry. If something hits the front of my $1000 lens I'd prefer it damage a $40 filter than my front element. If something dirty, gritty, or otherwise nasty gets smeared on my lens I'd rather clean it off a removable filter than the front element. Some are comfortable enough with just the lens hood, I prefer the extra security.

For camera bags, I tend to recommend something not huge, but something you can grow into. So it's not like you get one or two new things and suddenly the first camera bag you bought is useless. First one I bought was the Tamrac Rally 5. It's discreet and unobtrusive. When I started I had just my camera body and a nifty fifty packed in there, now it's four lenses full and still serving me well. Along the same vein, I hear good things about the Crumpler series of million-dollar bags.

[PhotoRebel4]

Some of the first things I got for my XSi were a remote trigger and a battery grip. I won't own a camera without a battery grip now. If you don't have a post processing software, that would be a good thing to add to your "bag." I use PSE8. Good for the price and does everything I want it to. There are some good free alternatives too.

The next main thing I got was lenses to expand my arsenal from my 18-55 and 55-250 kit lenses. Like ceremus said, which lenses you get depends on what you will like to shoot. My first addition was a Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, as I do a lot of product photos and want to get into Macro. The second was a 50mm f/1.4. This is just a plain fun lens to shoot with and good in low light. The 50mm f/1.8 makes a good alternative for about 1/3 the price.

I'm still undecided on protective filters. There are pluses, but also some negative aspects to using them. As far as "creative" filters go, I'll probably get them when I find I need them.

There are plenty of good bags out there, and I definitely agree you should buy one that gives you room to expand. My first bag was a LowePro Slingshot 200AW. It was good for the lenses I had. Well made, and the setup was well thought out. The sling setup is still iffy for me; I think I personally would have preferred a backpack.

I recently purchased a Crumpler 6 MDHB and it is incredibly well built. It has plenty of storage space for all my main gear, great padding, and on top of that it looks great. My only complain so far is not a whole lot of storage space for stuff like manuals, cords, extra batteries, etc.

[litenphrame]

Accessories are a personal choice. I would sit down and determine what you want to photograph and decide what things will compliment that. I know it sounds like a canned answer, but it is necessary to know the types of accessories that will go into a bag. Some lenses are large and heavy. Some lighting and flash units can be bulky and odd shaped when you include diffusers and lightboxes. There are lots of options but some aren't going to be needed in your "style".

It can be like the chicken and the egg debate. How do you know what you like if you haven't tried it? Well, I suggest starting off photographing what you like with what you have. Find the limitations and strengths and progress from there. As you accumulate gear to accommodate and reduce the limitations, you will need some kind of storage. I think you get the picture.

For me, additional lenses and memory cards were the need, and now recently I'm finding the need for a flash unit. I bought a bag large enough for the body and one lens with pockets for small things and that has since been replaced and I wished the money I spent on it was better spent on something else.

I was taught in the film days that a good UV filter is invaluable to save a high $$$$ lens. It has no affect on the image for the most part and is much cheaper to replace, so I use them.

[Tzetsin]

Yes you need a UV filter.

Get a kenko, or a promaster filter, will likely run you about 60 bucks. there are no NOTICABLE drawbacks to image quality when using a quality UV filter, but the benifits equate to protection of the front element of your lens. Scratch your lens, you buy a new lens, scratch a UV filter, you buy a new filter. It doesn't take a genius to know which one of those choices are cheaper.

Other than the UV filter, get yourself a copy of lightroom for photo edits. No camera or lens is going to give you perfect shots. You have to do that in post (lightroom, or some other photo editing software)

Go to Linda.com, get a month long subscription (25 bucks) watch and understand all their "foundations of photography" courses, then all the lightroom courses.

Get a library card at your local library. Take out all the books you can get your hands on and READ them. understand them.

Get some shoes, hat and a coat. Get outside at sunup and sundown, shoot everything you see. Shoot everyone who'll let you, and pay attention to what you enjoy shooting most, as that'll likely be the direction of photography you should be planning your gear around.

After that, heck... it depends on what you want to do. if your into birding, macro, portraits, landscape, journalism.... each sub catagory of photography has its own unique needs which will dictate the direction of purchases your going to make in the future.

[Preeb]

Originally Posted by bwells3

OK, so we got the Canon T3i for Christmas and I have really been enjoying it. Needless to say, I have a lot to learn and am excited to start the process.

However, I would like to know more about accessories/gear that I should slowly include in my kit. I have questions such as is it really necessary to have a filter? Any recommendations on good bags that won't make you look like a 'sherpa' while on vacation/at theme parks?

Any other items that I should consider purchasing for this camera? I don't want to break the bank, but am willing to invest in the purchase.

Thanks in advance!

Doug Pardee's suggestions are spot on. Don't just buy.... buy from need. But there are some things to be thinking about as you practice.

Flash might be your first consideration. They aren't cheap, but getting a flash which can be bounced is several steps above the built in, even if you still use it on the hot shoe.

For filter, a good circular polarizer if you do landscapes can help with color saturation and dramatic skies. Again, a good one will run you $100 and up, but a $20 CPL is worse than useless. Otherwise I'd say don't waste your money. There is no good reason to use a UV or such for "protection". The internal low pass filter in your camera already eliminates UV. All such a filter will do is help to degrade the images from your lenses by putting an unnecessary piece of glass in front of it. Just take care of them, and if you want protection, buy the recommended hood. Just keeping them capped when not shooting is usually protection enough.

Lots of options for bag or pack. I use ordinary day packs, and keep my lenses in padded pouches (Lowe Pro lens cases for the most part). I have a 30 year old pack which has been used for photo day hikes since I had my first film SLR. It will carry the camera and a couple of lenses, but not all of my gear. For that I have a new pack which I use for traveling so I can take everything, including my 17" laptop. Neither is actually a camera pack, and neither advertizes what's inside.

You also don't need to spend $200-$300 on Lightroom. The DPP (Digital Photo Professional) which came with your camera can get you well started - it's a good RAW editor and jpeg converter. If you want to go farther than that, Photoshop Elements 10 can be bought for under $100 and is a powerful tool for organizing and editing photos.

[NathanFranke]

A camera strap. The one that came with your camera sucks. An slr is heavy these days, get something with some cushioning or your neck will be so sore from lugging a camera around all day that you won't want to shoot.

[veritasimagery]

Can't believe no one mentioned a tripod.

Extra memory cards are a must (never know when one might tank), lens cleaning supplies, spare batteries, and some sort of lens cap holder (already lost two. Set one on down on the trunk of my car while setting up my gear and forgot it.).

There are lots of different styles of bags, from holster-style to full on backpack. Get something small to start with and then buy new ones as you need them.

Filters all depend on what you are shooting. Again, buy as you need.

[Tzetsin]

Originally Posted by veritasimagery

Can't believe no one mentioned a tripod.

Meh, tripods are only important if your shooting at night, or landscapes in very low light. Its become more of a specialty item than a necessity these days.