Need advice on accessories.

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and to DSLR camera's. I'm just experimenting right now and during the summer I hope to improve my photography skills. I own a Canon Rebel t3i and am looking for accessories I should and could buy. I've been looking into filters, hoods, tripods and even maybe a new lens this summer. Now I don't have a ton of money either, as much as I'd like to stay away from knock offs I just can't afford the canon accessories.

I have two lenses that came in the startup kit I believe. One lens is an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, and the other is an 55-250mm f/4-5.6 lens. I've just been browsing through Amazon, and I don't really know what would fit. I don't know what would fit cause I don't really understand everything about my camera yet. I really want to buy a hood, any suggestions? Links and prices would be appreciated! And explanations, since I'm new to this. Thanks!

Just get a cheap hood, dont get the canon hood as they are overpriced for those cameras. Just do an amazon search for hoods. As for filters, you dont need a UV filter. You might benefit from a Circular Polarizer (CPL). Those help darken skies and cut reflections off of certain surfaces.

Welcome to the forum. First I'd suggest not going too crazy at first. Figure out what you need by the type of shooting you do and the limitations you're running into. Like you'll discover the built-in flash doesn't meet your needs at some point, and you'll want an external flash. The lenses you have to start with are fine for many types of shooting. In the future, you might want something better for low light or something that focuses faster for shooting sports. You really don't need a bunch of stuff to get started. I'd say to start shooting anything and everything, and you'll probably discover a completely different set of things you want other than those that you mentioned. Oh, and your lenses didn't come with hoods? I don't remember which lenses come with hoods and which ones don't.

A lot of new photographers leave the hobby soon after starting, but I hope this is the beginning of an awesome journey for you. That said, right off the bat I'd say you could look to invest in two things:

• Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, a.k.a. "the nifty fifty," which you should be able to pick up for around $75-$80 on the used forum here.
  
• A decent, pivoting and swiveling flash. I'd suggest picking up a used 430EX for around $150, but others may be able to suggest to you other brands that I'm not very familiar with (e.g. Vivitar for much cheaper).

Nathan wrote in post #14319805
A lot of new photographers leave the hobby soon after starting, but I hope this is the beginning of an awesome journey for you. That said, right off the bat I'd say you could look to invest in two things:

• Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, a.k.a. "the nifty fifty," which you should be able to pick up for around $75-$80 on the used forum here.
  
• A decent, pivoting and swiveling flash. I'd suggest picking up a used 430EX for around $150, but others may be able to suggest to you other brands that I'm not very familiar with (e.g. Vivitar for much cheaper).

I think these are the two most inspirational pieces of equipment a new photographer can buy and still get bang for the buck. You'll have a blast if you pick those up. Otherwise, read and practice, read and practice, read and practice.

+1.

You should be able to get some cheap lens hoods for those lenses off ebay. Probably not worth getting the real Canon hoods... they cost a fortune. As everyone else has stated, your money is best spent on lenses. Adding the 50 f/1.8 (aka nifty fifty) will give you the ultimate Canon beginners lens lineup.

A flash is also a great idea. In addition to the 430ex mentioned above, you may want to check out the Yongnuo flashes. They are a great value, and won't blow your budget.

Beyond that, do lots of reading and take lots of pictures. Once you start to realize exactly what types of photography you prefer (macro, sports, portrait, landscapes, etc.), then you will be in a better position to understand what gear will meet your shooting needs.

I'll look into some cheap hoods then. And if UV filters aren't necessary then I will hold off. I wasn't sure if it was something I would definitely need right off. I don't use flash much at all. I was never a fan of flash photography, I like natural lighting. But I do need to learn how to use my flash properly so I can hopefully use it more. I have browsed external flashes and lighting things, but still not sure which I want to spend money on right yet.

I will most definitely look into the "nifty fifty" since I really want to buy another lens. Thank you for mentioning it Nathan. And that external flash sounds nice as well, and a good price. I just don't want to be spending more than $500 this summer on my camera. I still need to buy an extra battery pack, and maybe a tripod.

gonzogolf I will also look into a CPL.

Any links for reading material online to help me experiment more? Not just about accessories but just general camera tips as well?

Thanks for all the advice!

Don't go crazy with buying stuff. A lot of us made that mistake. For $500, purchase the lens and flash first. You say you don't like flash photography, but that's because you don't know anything about it yet. Flash photography, if done correctly, will look natural and beautiful. The reason for the lens is for its aperture. The nifty fifty is the cheapest introduction to large aperture out there. Then spend money on more memory cards if you think you need it. I'd also say pick up a student copy of Lightroom 3 or 4 for around $90.

I would hold off on getting a CPL for now until you determine whether or not your interest in photography warrants one. If and when you get serious about photography that could benefit from CPLs, then you'll also want to get a new set of better lenses which will need a different diameter CPL anyway. I did not get a CPL until 4 years after I got started.

In the meantime, you can make do without a tripod if you're not doing landscape or experimenting with slow shutter speed. That said, there's still plenty for you to learn. Hold off until you have more money to buy a really good tripod. You'll save money in the long run for not buying inadequate tripods that are unstable or break.

Also, don't bother to buy UV filters. Digital sensors don't need UV protection and your beginner lenses don't really need that "extra protection" that some might argue nor need more glass to introduce imperfections in the image quality.

I agree with pretty much what everyone has said so far except for the nifty fifty, I bought it as my first lens and although I found it a good lens, especially for the price on a crop sensor body I found it very limiting for me. Even with other lens I wouldn't use it much, now that I have a full frame body I use it quite a lot and it gets used and has its place.

I wouldn't worry about spending too much money on accessories, get to learn more about with what you have so far and save up for some more important purchases, I made the mistake of buying lots of accessories and little things when I first got my camera and it all added up in the end and I regret it because it could have been put toward a nice lens.

Also, most Canon accessories are very over priced as people have already mentioned, there are a lot of third party options that do just as good of a job for a lot less, if you're unsure about what to get, look at B&H they usually suggest good alternatives to the Canon accessories that you're already looking on there and the reviews will only make you feel more confident too.

If you're looking for resources to learn, there's lot of places online that you can learn for free, reading forums on a daily basis can help with this and allow you to contribute too and have direct feedback, not to mention motivation and inspiration to help you more. If you want, I would recommend http://www.kelbytraini​ng.com/ or http://www.lynda.com/ I found them to be nice resources for learning things, they're subscription based sites but you can pay $15 for a month and get everything you want and then not pay again or use it at your own pace, personally it's a very cheap option to learn in my opinion.

practice is the best accessory.

other than that. the lens hoods from ebay work great.

A good quality CPL is highly recommended. Also get a nice comfortable camera bag.

Further down the road, you'll wanna consider a tripod and flash.

Just want to say that the advice in this thread is excellent. I'm still a beginner but these tips are exactly the ones I went by when I first got started. Definitely be careful about spending on accessories - I made that mistake as well! Only buy what you *need* for now and learn to use the kit lenses. I recently wanted to upgrade to the 24-105L but decided that it's more important to develop more photography skills than waste money on expensive gear I don't really need nor will fully utilize at this point in time.

i thought Scott Kelby Digital Photography

http://www.amazon.com …a_3?qid=1335418​631&sr=8-3

was a good starter book. FYI there are now 4 in the series.