Tripods and filters and bags, oh my!

Hi everyone! I've recently caught the photography bug and have been reading everything I can to learn the ins and outs. I have a camera with the 18-55, 50f/1.8, 55-250, but nothing else. I want to try all kinds of photography, so I think it's time to buy some basic accessories to help me explore. Here is what I think I could use:

• tripod (looking at a Slik 700dx, I'm a tall, strong guy so height is good and heaviness doesn't matter)
  
• battery grip + 2nd battery (leaning toward Canon, rather than 3rd party)
  
• lens hood (for zooms, these help more on the wide end, right? if so, should I just get one for the 50mm?)
  
• filters (looking at a cheap Hoya intro set with cpol/uv/int)
  
• bag for all this stuff (looking at one of the Lowepro slingshots)
  

Welcome to the forum!

You made some good choices for a starter set.

For tripods, look into Manfrotto 055xprob.

Filters, don't go cheap, since the quality can effect the shots.

Word of warning, this forum is very dangerous for your wallet.

The canon 50/1.8 doesn't "require" a hood as the front element is recessed so far in the barrel. Also the canon hood attachment method is wonky at best.

Get yourself a good Circular polorizer from Hoya Pro1 or HD, B+W, etc and use that. Get a step up/down ring to fit one filter to each lens. A UV isn't necessary.

The lowepro slingshots can hold quite a bit. Bit bags are such a personal preference you really need to go handle some.

Look here for a used canon battery grip & go to sterlingtek.com to order additional batteries.

Second the recommendation not to cheap out on filters. Or the tripod. A good tripod will last a life time. Check out fisol and induro too.

For the 550 third party batteries are fine (use the savings on good filters). Not sure about grips.

In general my recommendation is to not go crazy with accesories up front. Go shoot and figure out what you need and then buy a good quality version. For years I would buy the cheap version of something only to replace it with the one I should have bought in the first place.

ecub wrote in post #10932080
Welcome to the forum!

You made some good choices for a starter set.
For tripods, look into Manfrotto 055xprob.
Filters, don't go cheap, since the quality can effect the shots.
Word of warning, this forum is very dangerous for your wallet.

Thanks. I looked at the Manfrotto but it seems a few inches shorter and much more expensive. I've been reading reviews of the Slik and it appears to be very sturdy.

Perhaps I'll skip filters for now since I may not be taking too many shots of the sky/water in the immediate future.

p.s. Yes, this forum is very dangerous for my wallet, but it's got nothing on my wife!

will-san wrote in post #10932191
Second the recommendation not to cheap out on filters. Or the tripod. A good tripod will last a life time. Check out fisol and induro too.

For the 550 third party batteries are fine (use the savings on good filters). Not sure about grips.

In general my recommendation is to not go crazy with accesories up front. Go shoot and figure out what you need and then buy a good quality version. For years I would buy the cheap version of something only to replace it with the one I should have bought in the first place.

i will check out those tripods too, but will the Slik not last?

One test that I've seen shows the Canon batteries lasting much, much longer on a single charge than the 3rd party ones. Would you say that in this category, you don't get what you pay for and the Canon batteries are overpriced?

So far, I have found that I don't shoot subjects that require a filter, but I thought for $50 for 3, it's not a big loss.

I'm the same way, I'd rather buy a quality item once and not constantly replacing it. But I'm trying to find the minimum quality that I would need for my new hobby.

I really appreciate you insight on all this!

Don't buy the 3 filters for $50. Go to www.2filter.com and take their recommendations. Look at their Marumi line, which is excellent quality for the money. Cheap filters made very bad photos.

If you don't mind the weight, Manfrotto makes a superb line of tripods which will last a lifetime. Look at B&W's list of Manfrotto's. Call B&W...all salespeople are moonlighting photographers and you can ask them whatever you want, they are not on commission to sell anything. Their return policy is no-questions-asked as long as all the tags are on.

Avoid a battery grip for now and use the money on batteries. I use Canon batteries and chargers. I just had an incident where a non-Canon charger destroyed one of my Canon batteries, wiped out the software in it and wouldn't allow it to charge on a Canon charger. I immediately through out the battery and the charger and got a new battery at Adorama. Get them from a reputable place such as Amazon, B&H or Adorama.

I have the slik 700dx tripod and it is one heavy unit. It doesn't seem heavy just to pick it up once in a while but if you plan on strapping it to your back along with your other gear and walking around, you will work up a sweat. I haven't had any problems with it but I do wish I would of gotten the ball head instead of the pan/tilt head.

CameraBuff wrote in post #10937035
I have the slik 700dx tripod and it is one heavy unit. It doesn't seem heavy just to pick it up once in a while but if you plan on strapping it to your back along with your other gear and walking around, you will work up a sweat. I haven't had any problems with it but I do wish I would of gotten the ball head instead of the pan/tilt head.

Thanks for that info. I was considering upgrading from the basic pan/tilt, but does a ball head work well for shooting video?

Sorry; never did any video.