Four Indespensible Products For Digital Photography
In a comment on a previous post about a lens cleaner, my friend Stephanie asked "Do you have any products you can’t do without?" While I'd probably do a wicked witch of the west in the rain without my Nikon D70, I think she was talking about accessories to our precious gear. Here's some favorites.
- SensorSwipe - I'm one of the few people I know that actually have the guts to clean the sensor myself. I say it's because I really don't want to lose my camera to Nikon for a week. But it's really because I don't want to pay the $25 for something I can do myself. Follow the directions and it's a snap.
- SanDisk 512 MB Ultra II CompactFlash Card- I've been using these since I started this whole digital thing and have never had one problem. None. Zilch. Nada. There's faster ones out there, but these are plenty fast for me. I can't even remember having to wait for the buffer to finish writing. They just work. I like using these 512 MB cards even though larger ones are available. That way, if one day something does go wrong with one, I only lose 512 MB worth of pics instead of 2 GB.
- LumiQuest ProMax Mini SoftBox - This handy little cheap plastic attaches to the front of your flash (not popups) and creates a mini softbox. Like you didn't figure that one out from the name. I know how smart you are. It really does work by taming the sometimes harsh light of a flash unit. Great for indoor shots where you need a lot of light. I use this thing all the time.
- Step-Up Adapter Rings - At one point I was buying filters for all of my different size lenses. Then I found step-up rings. Sweet, sweet step-up rings. Now, I only buy 77mm filters and use the appropriate step-up ring. Saves a TON of money in the long run. The only filters I buy to size are protective UV filters.
Responses and Conversations
Hey, I’m digging the SoftBox. Better add that to my wish list…
Something I can’t live without are my diopters. I picked up a set of three diopters (+1, +2, and +4) at a camera show in Pasadena a few years ago. It was the best $14 I ever spent (they were used, but in perfect condition). Screwing into the front of the lens, they allow me to get focus less than an inch away without any stop loss. I’ve gotten amazing results without having to buy a separate Macro lens.
Comment by Stephanie on February 4th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
I have a set of diopters that I used to use all the time as well. However, I only have one lese that they fit on now.
Which brings me to something else I can’t live without. Step-up rings. I better add those to the post.
Comment by John on February 5th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
[...] I talked about these cards in a recent post. I was referring to the 512 MB model, but at $60, get the 1 gig. Posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2006 | No Comments | Link through: Del.icio.us Digg Technorati RSS Feed [...]
Comment by SyncSpeed » Blog Archive » Sandisk 1 GB Ultra II CompactFlash Card on February 7th, 2006 at 9:26 am