Sales reps will be the first to tell you that you’ll need some accessories to go with that brand new digital camera. As a new camera owner it can be hard to decipher what you really need, and what you can do without for now. We’ve compiled a list of must-haves for the beginner’s camera bag. These things will get you through a day of shooting with ease (and without a sore shoulder)! Here are our top 7 camera accessories for new and intermediate photographers:

1. Camera bag

The bag you choose depends on a few things like where you plan on shooting, and how many lenses you plan on bringing with you. Sling bags are really comfortable and convenient. They’re ideal if you plan on being active while shooting, and only bring 1 or 2 lenses with you. Consider how easy it is to take equipment out of the bag while on-the-go. If you want to be able to change lenses or put on filters while walking you might find a side bag easier to use.

2. Extra Battery

An extra battery will definitely come in handy no matter what kind of shooting you do. We can’t even begin to describe all of the instances when you’ll be glad you have an extra battery with you. Like that time you thought you charged your battery before the big shoot but the battery wasn’t in the charger properly. Or that time when you thought you had lots of battery life left but it reduced to a flashing red bar in like 10 mins. Buy an extra battery and buy it now! We promise you won’t regret it.

3. 2 SD Cards

SD cards can be quite inexpensive and are often offered at a discounted rate when you purchase more than 1. This explanation is going to sound a lot like the one above…It’s a real nuisance to run out of space on your SD card while shooting. Going through images one at a time to delete or keep is a huge time-waster, so just pick up an extra card to avoid this scenario! 

4. Protective/UV Filter

The purpose of this filter is twofold; to filter out UV rays making your outdoor shots more vibrant and reducing reflections, and to simply protect your lens. Getting a scratch, fingerprint or other damage on your $50 filter is much easier to swallow than the same on your costly lens. Make sure to check the diameter of your lens to buy a filter that fits. 

5. Tripod

One of our worst enemies as photographers is camera shake. This is what occurs when using a shutter speed that is slow enough to record our hand movement. Any shutter speed slower than approximately 1/60th will cause this issue. One of the solutions to this problem is to use a tripod. First impressions of tripods are often that they’re too heavy and annoying to carry, but with some research you can find one that’s the right fit for you.

6. Card Reader

Use a card reader to download your images from SD card (or other form memory) to your computer. It’s much faster than connecting your camera directly to the computer and transferring through some kind of software.

7. Lens Cleaning Kit

Don’t clean your lens (or better yet, your protective filter) with your t-shirt! Pick up a lens cleaning kit and always carry it with you.