Camera Accessories

Tripods, microphones, lighting, memory cards, batteries, bags and lens filters. This is the least glamorous listing in the department and the one that decides whether the camera above it produces anything usable.

Three of these change results more than a camera upgrade would. A tripod removes camera shake and lets somebody frame a shot rather than hold one. An external microphone moves the pickup from beside the operator to beside the speaker. A light means the subject is lit rather than silhouetted against a window. Any camera with those three beats a better camera without them.

Memory cards are where organisations quietly lose work. Cards have a speed rating as well as a capacity, and one too slow for the video mode selected will stop recording mid-take - usually without an obvious warning. Buy the rated card for the mode you will actually use, and buy more than one so nobody has to delete to keep shooting.

Batteries are the other. Manufacturer batteries cost more and hold their rating; the cheapest third-party cells fade within months. Two good batteries beat four poor ones.

Tell us the camera and what it is being used for and we will list what is genuinely needed, in that order.