Hello, I just started venturing into dSLR world, after owning a point and shoot for quite sometime. Photography has always been a hobby, but now with a newborn baby girl in this world, I figure what better time than now to invest in dSLR. After months and months of research on flashes, camera, lens, etc… I found a great deal on canon 7D.
I guess my question would be I have a canon 7D kit that includes 28-135mm, a memory flash card, and I purchased a 430EX II flash… is there anything else I need to purchase. There seems to be plethora of different gadgets you can purchase to make your picture better such as flash diffuser, uv lens, lens hood, uv filters, different grades of memory cards, etc etc… Kind of at a lost at so many different options you can add on…
As an avid photographer for the last 25 years, here’s my take on it…
Use a UV filter. It won’t add much to your pictures – a cheap, uncoated filter can even deteriorate image quality – but it will protect the lens from abuse. I own a Nikon dSLR with four lenses and only use a UV filter on one of those: the one that constantly gets tiny jam-covered finger prints on it. Your girl isn’t that old yet, you say. Haha, trust me, she’s already deadly. Before my son was mobile he had already destroyed the track pad on a Dell laptop with spit-up. He nearly took out the entire laptop. (I blame my wife for that one.)
Get a lens cleaning kit. At least a proper lens cloth and some cleaning fluid. A more complete kit with a brush is also nice, but a bulb blower is not needed. In time you might want to get a sensor cleaning kit (with a bulb blower) but as long as you’re only using the one lens, there’s not much chance of getting dust on the lens in the first place.
More filters? The only other filters you might want are ND filters and a circular polarizer. ND filters let you use slower than normal shutter speeds. A CP filter will reduce glare and make the sky a deeper shade of blue. These are both specialty items that you’d only use rarely. You don’t need to get them now and you might never need them. Other kinds of filters (colored filters, effect filters) are mostly a waste of money with digital cameras – you can achieve these effects in an image editor.
Image editor. I’m assuming you already have something that works fine.
Use a lens hood. On my standard zoom I keep the lens hood permanently attached. In part because it improves image quality (when a bright light such as say, oooh, the sun, hits the front of the lens it can mute colors or create flare/ reflection). And like a UV filter, a lens hood offers cheap protection against physical abuse to the front element.
Additional flash modifiers… I’d experiment without. Outdoors and at close range I often use the standard diffuser that came with my flash. Indoors I usually bounce the flash instead:
* off the ceiling, usually at 60 degrees with the little white bounce card sticking out to create a catch light (twinkle in the eyes).
* off a wall often creates a pleasant effect.
* pointing backwards over my head for very even illumination.
When I’m feeling creative and have time to set things up, I sometimes use the flash off-camera on a tripod. (I can use the pop-up flash on my Nikon D200 to trigger the SB-900 flash remotely, so this didn’t require any additional investment.) With all of these options, I have not found it necessary to invest in flash brackets, snoots, diffusers, reflectors, etc. You could buy a ton of stuff on a whim, but work with what you have first. (If/ when you run into limitations, you’ll know what to buy next.) You can also improvise various types of modifiers with household items before spending good cash on eg a Gary Fong lightsphere.
Memory cards…. For me, the main advantage of using faster cards is the transfer speed when I upload images to the computer (with a card reader). If your 7D gets sluggish when shooting video clips, upgrade to a faster card. If your card is full after 50 shots, get a bigger one. Otherwise, it’s not much of an issue. Maybe get spares so you can always grab the camera & go. I always keep a spare memory card (empty) and battery (charged) in my camera bag.
Camera bag… not a required item with your limited amount of gear.
A tripod? You’ll know if you need one. I’ve gotten years of good use out of a $100 tripod by SLIK. I only recently decided to invest in a "proper" setup (Markins M10 ballhead + Gitzo legs).
Additional lenses. The 7D is a fantastic camera and it’s only a matter of time before lens lust sets in. With Canon’s range of expensive L-lenses, you really should have taken care of this BEFORE your daughter was born 
Some lenses that would go very well with your camera:
* A macro lens to take close-ups of these adorable tiny hands and feet
* A lens with more wide angle coverage for indoor shots, landscapes, etc.
* A portrait lens. Actually, the inexpensive Canon 50mm f/1.8 might suffice.
But for now, the 28-135mm will do fine. As with the flash, what to get next will become obvious with time.
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Casperskitty,
I was still typing my answer when you posted yours. When I bring just the camera with attached lens I tend to put it in my day pack or just carry it over my shoulder. I’m protective of my lenses’ optics but admittedly not of the cosmetic condition of my gear. When I bring extra lenses and perhaps the flash or tripod, I do use a camera bag. For convenience.
As you may know, I went on a round-the-world trip in 2007-8 and for that trip I converted a Crumpler camera bag into a day pack. That also worked well. But I personally wouldn’t buy a camera bag that could only hold one camera+ lens.
My Super Ikonta C is a different matter – that always travels in its never ready case.
