Accessories that improve image quality?

So aside from the lens and body, which accessories can aid in improving IQ? Tripod, polarizer...what else? Aside from the photographer of course...

most important one, skillz

imjason wrote in post #14232013
most important one, skillz

I realize that, but aside from that which accesories is a must?

An accurate diopter adjuster on your camera for us old farts...

flash

It depends largely on what you are shooting what are the best accessories to have.

1) A good tripod.
2) A flash
3) A system for triggering flash remote from the camera
4) A way to modify the light from the flash to soften it (umbrellas, softboxes)

Those are probably the top four. Most newer photographers unfortunately ignore these four items and dump all of their budget into bodies and lenses.

Tripod

URLphotographer wrote in post #14232007
So aside from the lens and body, which accessories can aid in improving IQ? Tripod, polarizer...what else? Aside from the photographer of course...

As always, it all depends on what you want to do. You've already mentioned a tripod, so I'll suggest the following:

For landscapes: graduated neutral density filter (GND) plus holder and lens adapter.

For portraits: as noted above: flash, triggers/receivers, and modifiers.

For wildlife: flash and Better Beamer.

For sports: maybe a monopod.

For macro: ring flash.

For astronomy: all kinds of crazy stuff that I don't even understand.

And the list goes on...

Phrasikleia wrote in post #14232332
As always, it all depends on what you want to do. You've already mentioned a tripod, so I'll suggest the following:

For landscapes: graduated neutral density filter (GND) plus holder and lens adapter.

For portraits: as noted above: flash, triggers/receivers, and modifiers.

For wildlife: flash and Better Beamer.

For sports: maybe a monopod.

For macro: ring flash.

For astronomy: all kinds of crazy stuff that I don't even understand.

And the list goes on...

Speaking of GND, is that the same thing as a polarizer?

Light...

Whether you gather more at slower shutter speeds because you're on a solid tripod or add more with a flash or flashes doesn't matter.

It's still all about light.

So it seems like tripod, flash, and filters (and knowing how to use them) is among the top accesories to begin with...

URLphotographer wrote in post #14232451
Speaking of GND, is that the same thing as a polarizer?

Not at all. A GND is a filter that graduates from dark to light so you can balance out bright skies with darker foregrounds and middle-grounds. A polarizer is good for reducing reflections or really bright light coming from a certain angle anywhere the frame. For landscape photography you need both, sometimes even both at once in the same shot. The most useful of the two in my view is the GND. If you look through the shots in my gallery (in my sig link), you'll see a body of work taken 90% with a GND and maybe 20% with a CPL (i.e. a polarizer).

Phrasikleia wrote in post #14232510
Not at all. A GND is a filter that graduates from dark to light so you can balance out bright skies with darker foregrounds and middle-grounds. A polarizer is good for reducing reflections or really bright light coming from a certain angle anywhere the frame. For landscape photography you need both, sometimes even both at once in the same shot. The most useful of the two in my view is the GND. If you look through the shots in my gallery (in my sig link), you'll see a body of work taken 90% with a GND and maybe 20% with a CPL (i.e. a polarizer).

What's GND brand do you recommend?

Flash
Eneloop batteries
memory cards big enough for RAW files
Abode Lightroom
Understanding Exposure and other good books