Anyone who has ever bought a DSLR camera knows what it is like to face the enormous array of accessories available to soup up their new contraption. While this may be a good thing to experienced photographers, if you are new to the game it can be easy to get overwhelmed by all the choices. For this very reason we are going to go over 25 essential DSLR camera accessories that you will undoubtedly find yourself needing at one point or another.
Although shooting RAW and adjusting your white balance later on is a possibility, what if you want to shoot JPEG? Besides, if you are trying to get everything perfect right from the get go, you need some kind of grey card to check the white balance.Everyone into digital photography knows how much better diffused light can make your photos look. It gives your models a more pleasing look and eliminates harsh shadows. The problems is that a huge softbox can be a pain to always lug around with you. So how about a mini softbox? Nobody wants to see spots on their photos. If it does start happening though, you want to have a blower laying around. This method of cleaning your camera is highly preferable to anything requiring you to touch the lens. In situations where flash is just not going to work, like outdoors on a sunny day or while doing some portraits, having a set of light reflectors can be very beneficial. If your blower is still not getting the dust off your lens, don’t panic. The lens pen should do the trick. It has two sides, one with a brush to the clean the dust off your lens and the other with a cleaning tip for everything else.For those of you who have trouble remembering all of your Photoshop, Aperture, or Final Cut shortcut commands, these keyboard skins might be exactly what you need to increase productivity.If you don’t have a speedlight and you find yourself with pop flash being the only option, be sure to at least have a diffuser with you. It will function essentially the same as a softbox. Although we did say it is best to use a microfiber cleaning cloth is made of antistatic fibers that are specially designed to not damage anything.Most OEM straps don’t feel the greatest when you use them. It’s always a good idea to upgrade if you think your camera is going to be hanging from your neck a lot. The Pro Loop strap from Op/Tech is a solid choice as it is made out of neoprene and has non slip fabric on the underside that makes your camera a lot easier to carry.Not only will the Veloce shooting backpack hold all of your essential camera accessories including the tripod, it has room for a 17″ laptop as well.This polarizer by B+W will not only decrease reflections off of glass and other shiny objects but it will increase the color saturation of your photos as well. Whenever you’re taking photos in low light or trying to get that razor sharp focus you’re going to wish that you had a tripod. This Manfrotto tripod has multiple settings to help you control your shot. So you have a tripod, but you’re still missing something. If you had a ballhead to add to your setup it would ensure that your cameras is attached to your tripod with a nearly infinite level of adjustability.As DSLR cameras get more advanced and have started to integrate HD video, their audio capabilities are laggin behind a bit. For this reason it can be beneficial to have an audio converter on hand that will allow to plug professional mics with XLR connections into your camera.As getting the right white balance on your camera can be somewhat challenging, and using a grey card might not be your favorite thing to do, a white balance lens cap can help you make sure that every picture is the way you want it.This one goes without saying. If you run out of power then all the other accessories on this list are for naught. Always care a spare.If you are going to go through all the effort of buying a DSLR camera, learning how to use it, and then souping it up with accessories, you might as well invest in an external hard drive to make sure that you don’t lose all of your work.You many have noticed that most of the lenses included with your typical DSLR camera aren’t the best for shooting in low light situations, which is exactly why you may want to consider investing in a lens of f/1.8 aperture. It will inevitably perform much better. There are so many camera covers and protectors out there but not many of them will protect your camera while you’re busy shooting. Delkin’s Snug-It Camera Skins are specifically designed so that you don’t need to take them off in order to access any of the controls.Sometimes it can be advantageous to take your photos straight from the memory card to the DVD rather than downloading them all onto your computer first. The EZDigiMagic DVD burner will allow you to do this, which is a huge benefit to any travel photographer.Most likely the DSLR camera you purchased came with a basic kit lens. Generally these lenses have a focal range of 18-55mm while the Sigma Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens has a range of 70-300mm. That gives you a lot more zoom than normal.Sometimes called a flashgun, if you plan on becoming a serious photographer you are definitely going to want to invest in a speedlight flash. And while your DSLR camera has a decent built in flash, shooting in low light situations may leave you disappointed.If you’ve invested in a speedlight flash then this little flash bouncer is a must have. It covers the front of the flash and dramatically diffuses/softens the lighting.When shooting landscapes it is a good idea to have a UV lens lying around in order to prevent the bluish haze it can cast on your photos. The best part though, is that it doesn’t even need to be left lying around. You can leave this filter on your lenses as a permanent layer of protection.If you are looking to do some long exposure photography or close up shooting you will definitely want a remote shutter release in order to prevent vibrations. Moreover, if you are planning on doing any self-portraits, it becomes a necessity. 
Good call! I have most of these… so I went and bought a softbox (only had a diffuser for my AF-360) and i’m due for a new bag (hopefully a weatherproof one this time!)
I would also suggest a tripod quick-release… not sure what they are actually called, but they convert the screw mechanism into a clip in/out deal so you can quickly pop the camera on and off your tripod.
Oh, and I can’t live without my battery grip. It’s the only way to take portraits!