Camera Accessories

Camera Accessories

Camera Bags

SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY Photography of Wichita Falls (Texas) WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

Over time I have owned all types of camera bags: shoulder, backpack, slingback, and recently a “flipside." While there are many excellent brands, I tend to gravitate to Lowepro because I like their design and quality. Nevertheless, there is much personal preference that goes into selecting a bag, which is evident by the staggering variety of bags available.

Shoulder Bags

The shoulder bag was my bag of choice for many years. It provided the best access to my equipment. While carrying the bag, I could access most camera items with two free hands. In addition, you only needed to slip it off the shoulder to set it down. The only minor access issue was that the deeper pockets — compared to the flatter layout of a backpack — could require some digging to get at an item.

The major drawbacks were all the weight was on one shoulder and the bag, hanging from my side, tended to bump into things and impeded my way. Over the years I began to suffer acute shoulder pain and was forced to switch to a conventional backpack. Many shoulder bags have loops that you run a belt through and around your waist to transfer some weight to the hips. That can help if you suffer the same discomfort, but unfortunately not enough for me.

Traditional Backpacks

I switched to a conventional backpack when I shot with large format equipment. The backpack is most comfortable at lugging equipment and it doesn’t get in the way when negotiating trails. In the negative, it has poor access because you have to awkwardly remove it and set it down to access your gear. If you are like me, I don’t like to set my bag on the ground if I can avoid it. Once, I sat my camera bag down and later discovered it was resting on an ant trail. Another time I had to shoot from an empty horse corral and you can imagine what was lurking about the ground.

Tamrac Anvil

The variety of conventional backpacks is overwhelming. The problem is compounded when no single store has them all on display. Unless you’re not picky, it makes finding the right bag a quest. Having recently scoured the bag market, I found one line of traditional backpacks that I felt were a standout. Despite my preference for Lowepro, I found the Tamrac Anvil series has a variety of bag styles that should fit anyone’s needs. These boxy-shaped bags trade style for functionality. They are well-made, make efficient use of space, and are relatively light. They have several zippered pouches for accessories and the substantial waist belt is removable.



Tamrac Anvil 17: This midsize bag has deeper pockets for most lenses to stand on end (rather than lie flat), allowing you to load more gear.

Sling Bags

The sling bag has a single belt that crosses your chest. It is well suited for bags that have a side access panel since you only need to rotate the bag without having to remove a shoulder strap (as in a two-strap configuration).

In the negative, sling bags aren’t particularly photo vest friendly. When you rotate the bag, it can easily snag on the vest. Also, the sling belt goes completely across the chest and blocks some of the vest pockets. Finally, I find it more awkward to remove the bag off my shoulders because the strap has to go over and clear my head ⏤ a more awkward maneuver.

Flipside Bag

If you want the comfort of a two-strap backpack, the ability to access all your equipment without setting the bag down, and retain more of the hauling versatility of a conventional backpack, then Lowepro’s Flipside bag may be your answer. This is a conventional, two-strap backpack with the access door on the opposite side (bodyside) of the bag. Using the waist belt, the bag can be rotated around the waist and tilted down like a platform and the entire interior accessible with both hands. You can change lenses or filters, which is either impossible or impractical with other backpack styles.

Lowepro Flipside 400AW II

This is the bag I currently use. It accommodates my camera, a trio of lenses, accessories, and still has room leftover. It sports a substantial and well-padded waist belt to offset shoulder strain and, specific to the flipside function, provides a stable and secure attachment for the bag when extended from the waist for access.

To access the bag’s interior, you slip off the two shoulder straps while the bag is supported by the waist belt. You then swivel the bag around by the waist belt and allow the bag to swing down like a table extending from your waist. At most, depending on load weight, you may need to extend your knee for a little support. Once you clear away the shoulder straps you can access with both hands all your equipment and safely change lenses, filters, or whatever. Also, if you do lay the bag down, the straps and bodyside face up and away from any ground dirt (or worse) that can transfer to your clothes.

While this feature works well with the 400AW II sized bag, you may have problems if you opt for the larger 500AW II bag. When fully loaded, the extra weight makes the waist access feature unwieldy, if not impossible.

Note that Lowepro has introduced a third-generation Flipside III that sports a side access panel. Unfortunately, that new feature replaced the waist access feature. Fortunately, Lowepro still produces the Flipside II series.



Lowepro Flipside 400AW: A clever concept that works well.

Photo Vests

Photo vests are like a wearable camera bag, allowing ready access to often used items without having to fish through your camera bag. I previously had used traditional vests made by Domke and Tamrac, but now prefer a more streamlined “travel” vest for just smaller utilitarian items. I presently use a Columbia Titanium vest that has since been replaced by a somewhat similar Silver-Ridge vest.



Columbia Titanium Vest: Pockets are relatively flat, so if you like to pocket lenses or other bulky items, you’ll want a traditional photo vest instead.

Don’t get zapped!

If you use a photo vest, be cautious about storing a bare memory card in a vest pocket. When shooting with a view camera, I often kept my light meter in a vest pocket. Once in very-dry desert air, I pulled the light meter out and it looked like it was powered on — except it wasn’t! Just extracting the meter created so much static against the vest lining that it momentarily lit up the display and was strong enough to reset the meter’s internal settings. Imagine what that may do to unprotected memory cards. Although CompactFlash cards have recessed electrical contacts that provide minor protection, SD cards have exposed contacts. Most memory cards do incorporate static protection, but they have their limit.

It is important to know that much of the damage caused by static is latent, meaning the damage isn’t apparent until later. A seemingly working memory card may instead have a ticking time bomb inside. I recommend you immediately place your memory card in its case when removed from the camera, especially before sliding it into pockets or even the camera bag — and keep your fingers away from the contacts.

Light Meters

Today’s DSLRs have sophisticated light metering and you can view a histogram to double check the exposure. Still, there are some situations when an external meter can be handy. I have two meters: a Minolta incident meter that I used in my old 35mm film days and a Minolta spot meter that I used with my view camera. Both are now retired and I use them only for experimentation.

Incident Light Meter

The incident light meter reads the light falling on the subject. It gives you essentially the same exposure when your camera meters on a neutral midtone. In outdoor photography, scenes with light tones or specular highlights would not fool the incident meter.

Unless you are into portrait or studio photography, I see no reason to buy an incident light meter for landscape photography. An exception might be if you often shoot scenes that blatantly throw off your camera’s meter, such as snow scenes. Even then you could meter off a gray card as a substitute for an incident meter.



Sekonic L-398A Studio Deluxe III Light Meter: An all-time classic that is still available. This meter has one advantage over all other meters: it doesn’t need batteries!

Spot Meter

A spot meter measures reflective light within a very narrow field-of-view, typically 1-degree. This is what many large-format camera photographers and cinematographers use. Today’s spot meters are now dual-mode and include both spot and incident metering. Due to the optics, they are more expensive (usually over $500) and heavier than dedicated incident light meters. Many cameras have a spot meter mode, but they are not as narrow or as versatile. In the hands of an experienced user, a spot meter can zero-in on a precision exposure and bypass erroneous reflectances that throw off your camera’s meter.

While it would be hard to justify buying such an expensive item, there are a few legitimate reasons. One is the ability to measure the EV difference between two points when assessing high-contrast scenes (particularly when shooting HDR or determining an ND gradient filter strength). Another is measuring flash output when illuminating foreground subjects during nighttime photography.



Sekonic L-858D-U: This is a combination spot and incident meter. I previously owned an earlier version of this meter (as well as the previously mentioned Sekonic incident meter) and I can attest to Sekonic’s quality and precision.

Metering Fun Facts

Where’s the midtone?

The common notion is that all light meters are calibrated for an average 18% reflectance, or the same as a Kodak gray card. Instead, all meters are based on a calibration constant derived through statistical analyses of subjective observations. This may tilt to an average closer to 16% and can vary by manufacturers using slightly different constants. Some texts even mention 12% by redefining reflectance based on a more realistic scene reflectance that includes shaded areas as well as direct illumination.

To add to the confusion, your meter’s “average” exposure point will not necessarily show up in the center of the histogram, but often slightly to the left. To prove this, take a full-frame picture of an 18% grey card (or any monotone subject) and see where it shows up in your camera’s histogram. Results may vary depending on your camera’s metering system and selected picture style.



18% Grey Card Histogram: 18% grey card histogram taken with a Canon 5D MKII using auto exposure. Note the left-of-center position.

What is EV?

Most light meters display readings by f-stop and shutter time. They also optionally display readings as “Exposure Values” or EV for short. EV is a term established back in the 1950s by a German shutter manufacturer. You can easily go through life knowing only one thing about EV: a 1EV change means one-stop. For example, +3EV is three stops more exposure, and -3EV is three stops less, and the difference between 2EV and 3.5EV is 1.5 stops.

Your camera measures light to determine a shutter and aperture setting that accumulates sufficient light to properly record the scene’s luminance on the sensor (or film). For a given light reading, there are combinations of shutter and aperture settings that produce the same exposure. This set of shutter and aperture combinations represent an “exposure value."

Exposure values are linked to specific luminance (or illuminance) values. The EV scale ranges from minus (low light) to positive (more light) and is usually referenced to ISO 100. My Minolta incident meter measures light from -2.4EV to +19.1EV. A reading of +8EV, for example, corresponds to an illuminance of 840 lx, which corresponds to f/2.8 at 1/30 sec, or any combination thereof. EV is useful when using a light meter to determine a scene’s contrast range. Subtracting EV numbers to calculate a stop difference is easier than figuring out the stop difference between, say, f/10 and f/18.

Illuminance and luminance

Illuminance and luminance can sometimes be confused as to their difference. Illuminance is the light falling on a scene (incident light) that is measured in lux (lx) or lumens per square meter. This is what the incident light meter measures. Light reflecting off a scene or emanating from, say, an LCD monitor is luminance and is expressed in candela per square meter (cd/m²). That is what an in-camera meter or spot meter measures.

Utility Items

Like most photographers, I carry in my camera bag and photo vest the usual microfiber cloths, bulb blower, and other routine photographic paraphernalia. Besides a compass that I’ll discuss later, here are some less common items I carry.

Camera Rain Cover

I carry a camera rain cover for shooting in misting conditions, such as near a waterfall, or in light rain. In anything stronger, I’ll seek cover. I use the OP/TECH USA Rainsleeve that is dirt-cheap and probably functions as well as any more expensive cover in light rain. When folded, it takes up so little volume that I keep one in my vest pocket. If I were serious about photographing in severe weather, I would consider a rain cover that has an optical glass port, such as the Ewa-Marine CZ-100 Hurricane Photo Rain Cape. That way I’m sure of complete protection; plus I can’t inadvertently pull back the lens sleeve (which is easy to do) and expose the lens barrel to the rain.

Bubble Level

If you are serious about landscape photography, you must pay attention to the details and a level horizon is one of them. I feel a bubble level is mandatory field equipment, unless it’s built into your camera. Even if your tripod head has a built-in level, most don’t cover the portrait (vertical) position, so you still need a separate level. A flash-shoe level is the most convenient, though they have a tendency to fall off and get lost. Whatever you use for a level, either the tripod’s or a separate one, I recommend you check its accuracy against a high-quality level.



Two-Axis Kaiser Hot Shoe Level: This level requires repositioning when switching from horizontal to vertical. Three axis levels are available but have a higher profile.

Headlamp

Getting to a sunrise shot or returning from a sunset shot often means hiking in the dark. While a flashlight certainly works, a headlamp isn’t expensive and is more convenient and safer. I like a headlamp that has adjustable intensity and a diffused low-light mode to avoid glare when working close to the camera (a red-light mode is even better). Also, the controls have to be easy to operate with gloved hands. I use a Petzl Tikka XP that fits comfortably, is bright, and has many versatile light modes. Another popular choice is headlamps from Black Diamond.



Petzl Tikka XP: The XP has a large button for easy gloved handling. There are many useful light modes, but they come at the price of multiple click, double-click, and click-and-hold combinations that you have to remember.

Hats

I want to emphasize the wearing of a hat under all conditions. For years I have battled persistent actinic keratosis on my scalp caused by years of sun exposure. Fortunately it’s treatable, but with lethal melanoma on the rise, it is outright insanity not to protect yourself from the sun, especially at higher altitudes. I also carry sunscreen and apply it to all exposed areas.

As for a good hat, I have a passionate recommendation. For years I have worn a Tilley T3 hat that is the perfect hat for a photographer. I have one of their earlier classic styles and they have since added many new styles. Mine has a wide, flexible brim that easily bends up when looking through the camera’s viewfinder. It is well ventilated and has a hidden chinstrap that can be pulled out when it’s windy. You can also snap either brim side up for added wind stability or for a jauntier look. Their hats are extremely well made and command a premium price; but if you can spare the bucks, you won’t be disappointed.



Tilley T3

Shoes

I bring this up only to stress the importance of wearing good hiking shoes, even in foot-friendly terrain. I learned early that shoes without good support and traction might sprawl my equipment and me on the ground, if not worse. I recently read in a National Park newsletter that improper footwear was a major cause of injury. And speaking from learning the hard way, the shoes must be waterproof.

Satellite Personal Tracker

Once, while shooting at Joshua Tree National Park, I had a reaction to a combination of a decongestant and coffee. My pulse became very erratic and created quite a scare. I was fine soon after, nevertheless it served as a reminder that landscape photography is often a solo activity and you don’t want that kind of trouble in the middle of nowhere.

You have a lifeline if you have cellphone coverage, otherwise you need satellite coverage. Two such devices are the SPOT tracker and ARC Electronics ResQLink+ that allow 911 contact at the push of a button. If you are often in areas with either spotty or nonexistent cellphone service, then these devices can be a lifesaver. Note that these devices need a clear view of the sky, so try not to break your leg inside a cave.

Director’s Viewfinder

This is a small, handheld zoom-viewfinder used to compose a movie shot. This can save you from having to retrieve your camera every time you want to size up a shot. I previously used one as a surrogate viewfinder for my view camera. For prime lens users, this saves swapping out lenses as you experiment for the optimum focal length.

Micro finders

Small, inexpensive and lightweight finders (designated as “micro”) are offered by Birns & Sawyer, Alan Gordon, and Cavision with a full-frame zoom equivalent of 30-300mm. An inexpensive 37mm, 0.5x wide-angle converter extends wide-angle coverage to 15mm. Note that most viewfinders are for movie formats and you have to mentally translate the markings to match the 35mm full-frame or APS-C format. Fortunately, Cavision offers the VFTW-11X (and a larger VFRW-11X) that has focal-length markings and aspect ratio settings to match full-frame and APS-C sensors.

The downside with micro finders is the small image and it gets even smaller as you zoom in. In addition, though there’s an adjustable eyepiece focus, the focus may still vary by zoom setting. Larger viewfinders with a larger image are available, but cost considerably more and are more bulky. Best to try before you buy, or make sure there’s a return policy.

An alternative to an optical viewfinder (and considerably less expensive) are smartphone apps that simulate a viewfinder. I will cover these apps in the next chapter.



Cavision VFTW-11x: This micro director’s viewfinder has full-frame and APS-C focal length markings, as well as matching aspect ratio settings.

Wimberley Plamp II

This is the proverbial third-hand device. When shooting outdoor macro subjects, particularly flowers, wind can be a curse. The solution is to somehow hold the subject steady. You could try shielding the subject with, say, a large diffuser screen. A better solution is the Wimberley Plamp II. It has a flexible cable with a large clamp on one end and a small, cushioned clamp at the other end to prevent damaging the subject. You can also use it to hold a diffuser or reflector.



Wimberley Plamp II

I always take it with me when shooting macro subjects and found it an invaluable tool. However, it has its limitations. For example, when shooting a flower when firmly held at its base, the petals can still flutter in the wind. The other problem is downright sneaky. If you clamp it to your tripod leg, the other end is as sensitive to vibrations as an earthquake seismometer. It will actually pickup your camera’s shutter/mirror shock. You need to exercise the same care as when using a telephoto lens. Wimberley recognizes the problem and offers a ground stake (essentially a glorified screwdriver) as an alternate clamp site.

Camera Care

Protective Lens Filter

I will offer my opinion on the age-old debate about using UV-type filters to protect lenses. The anti-filter camps say it causes flare and degrades sharpness. I admire people who treat their cameras strictly as tools and don’t excessively fret over them. I, on the other hand, fret and worry over my equipment. It is so easy for a klutz like me to put a greasy fingerprint on the front element or eventually bump the front element against something. My rational mind knows that I can clean the lens and, to be honest, I have never bumped or scratched the front of any of my lenses.

Still, I want the peace of mind, especially that many lenses today are a hefty investment. I also want to avoid repeatedly cleaning the front element and run the risk, albeit minor, of making matters worse. I use high-quality super-multicoated filters and have not noticed any image degradation, or have I been overly bothered by flare. The biggest drawback is stacking a polarizer filter and causing vignetting. I can work around the vignetting problem, and I think the hassle is worth the peace of mind in return.

Lens Cleaning

I suspect most photographers know the drill: blow off the dirt first, use a microfiber cloth or lens tissue, and don’t apply lens cleaning fluid directly to the glass. For starters, I never use lens cleaning fluid. Years ago I used Kodak’s classic lens cleaning fluid and often had trouble with streaking. Now when I clean optics, I hold the item above my head and slowly breathe on it. Breathing upward minimizes any spittle hitting the lens. I then clean it with a microfiber cloth and not lens tissue, which I don’t find very absorbent. Of course before I clean the glass, I blow off any debris with a bulb blower.

I keep a dedicated microfiber cloth for my lenses and a separate one for my filters, each in their own plastic bag so they don’t pick up contaminants or scratch-prone grit. Make sure you use a microfiber cloth intended for optics. Many microfiber-labeled cloths are really for household cleaning and their looser weave picks up grit more readily; and they tend to leave “micro fibers” behind. I also recommend you toss out your old cloths rather than wash them; and if you do wash them, do not use liquid fabric softener.

Lenspen

Sometimes a stubborn film develops over time on a lens or filter surface that the microfiber cloth can’t remove. It resembles outgassing and I suspect the camera bag or filter case may be the culprit. Whatever the cause, I find that my Lenspen, which uses a dry carbon compound, cleans it off completely without any streaking. You only need to remove any residual carbon dust with a microfiber cloth or blower. It takes a lot of swirling around with the small pad to completely clean the lens surface; but I feel it is more effective, safer, and definitely more convenient than fussing with cleaning fluid.

Hoodman

Another option is a product I’ve started to use and found very effective. It is the Hoodman Lens Cleanse Natural Cleaning Kit and is recommended by Hoya for cleaning their filters. The kit consists of a wet cleaner and a dry tissue that is very absorbent. This is one of the safest ways to clean your expensive lenses because you’re guaranteed the sealed lens tissues are devoid of contaminants or grit. One kit can clean several lenses and filters in one session.

Sensor Dust

Once I was working in a cleanroom dressed in full anti-dust battle gear: smock, hood, booties, and gloves. I noticed a seldom-used overhead shelf and on a lark I wiped my glove across it. You guessed it: dust! Dust is insidious and gets into everything no matter how hard you try to keep it out. I see dust in my viewfinder, inside my lenses, and most annoyingly on the sensor. Every time you change a lens, the mirror box takes in a gulp of air loaded with fine dust particles. Then the mirror acts like a fan to help swirl it around. Besides outside air, a bigger contributor according to Canon is dust and debris created within the camera itself. That was evident when I inspected some sealed point-and-shoot cameras and found dust and other contaminants on the sensor. Bottom line: there is no way to avoid getting dust on the sensor.

My cameras, as most newer cameras, have an ultrasonic cleaning cycle and antistatic coating on the low-pass filter to help mitigate dust. Although this helps, dust still collects. If you don’t see sensor dust, that means you are shooting at wider apertures (probably wider than f/8). Because the dust sits on top of the sensor’s low-pass filter, it is slightly out of focus and noticeable only when shooting at f/11 or higher. The problem is most landscape photography is shot with small apertures for extended depth-of-field.



Typical Dust Spot

Gone With the Wind?

The only approved sensor cleaning method by most camera manufacturers is to use a powerful bulb blower like the popular Giottos Rocket Air Blower. In my experience, this does very little if anything at all. Unless they are heavy particles that might respond to a blower, the more common smaller specks are too tenacious to dislodge. If I did succeed in dislodging some specks, I found I only stirred up the dust to settle somewhere else on the sensor. To get the dust completely off, you have to clean the sensor directly.

Pro cleaning

I am reasonably close to Canon’s west-coast repair center and they charge $49 for a sensor cleaning (or $129 for an extended service). When I consider the costs of do-it-yourself cleaning kits and the associated anxiety, the cost of Canon’s cleaning service is reasonable. I do strongly advise that regardless where your camera is cleaned, don’t leave until you take a test shot of a blank sky and preview it under maximum magnification on your LCD. You may be surprised to still find dust spots (I speak from experience). Even then, and to underscore how insidious dust is, after I get the sensor properly cleaned, dust spots begin to show up soon after.



Giottos Rocket Air Blower: The Big Bad Wolf of bulb blowers and, in my opinion, produce the strongest blast of air you should direct inside a camera. Stronger blasts, like canned compressed air, could potentially embed dust deeper inside the camera rather than blow it away.

Give dust the brush off

If getting your sensor professionally cleaned is not an option and you are still nervous about doing it yourself, then I suggest you consider a specially designed brush for cleaning sensors. A popular brand is VisibleDust. These brushes can be pricey and are not as effective as wet cleaning, but you are less likely to get into trouble with them. Then afterwards, live with whatever you couldn’t brush off because you are probably no worse off than the amount of dust that quickly collects after a professional cleaning. Make sure to brush only the sensor and not elsewhere inside the camera so to prevent oils or other contaminants from reaching the brush.

DIY wet cleaning

Wet cleaning is more risky and some reviewers have complained about residue and smearing problems. That said, these products have been around for a while and that wouldn’t be the case if they were destroying sensors by the truckloads. Popular choices are Photographic Solutions and VisibleDust where both use methanol as the cleaning agent. Methanol has its own set of issues, so read the instructions carefully and beware you may void the camera’s warranty. There are many online videos that demonstrate wet cleaning, but I recommend you pay attention only to your brand’s website to avoid conflicting advice.

Review of VisibleDust

I tested VisibleDust’s Orange Vswab, VDust solution, and sensor brush to clean my Canon 5D MKII sensor. I started with the brush first and it removed a good deal of the dust. My only problem was, despite the brush’s static qualities, some swept dust accumulated on the outer edge of the sensor and that required repeated brushings to finally clear it out.

I then performed two wet cleanings and removed most of the remaining dust. The process was easy and I had no problem with smearing. I recommend you leave well-enough alone if you have removed most of the dust after one or two cleanings. Remember, even if you could remove all the dust, it won’t stay that way for long. Finally, discard the swabs and don’t use them to clean other areas inside the camera, especially the focus screen. While the running edge of the swab is smooth, the corners are hard and will easily scratch your focus screen.

LCD Screen Protection

I learned very early how easy it was to scratch up an LCD screen. Newer LCD screens are supposed to be more scratch resistant, yet they still get scratched unless you protect them. I use the Vello Screen Protector Ultra-Clear Optical Glass. Though pricy, it is optical glass that uses static to adhere to the LCD. It fits the LCD precisely and virtually disappears once installed.