by Jason Countryman

Created on: April 19, 2008

Navigating the vast expanse of DSLR equipment and accessories can be a daunting task. There is so much available out there, especially when you are using a camera from one of the major brands, particularly Canon and Nikon. Hopefully, with this article I can help you build a good, relatively inexpensive kit that can cover 95% of the shooting situations an average amateur weekend photographer will be presented with.

To begin, lets talk about lenses. These are the most important pieces that you will buy for the camera. Nothing more directly affects the quality of the picture and the flexibility of the camera more than the lens. Most DSLR's are purchased with a "kit" lens, the lens that was included with the package. You may even read around the Internet that the "kit" lens is usually garbage. I disagree with that assessment. These manufacturers know what they're doing. Even more so, they know their consumers. Be happy with the kit lens. It's your friend. It's usually quite versatile, covering a decent focal range. When you go to purchase accessory lenses, think about what you want to shoot with it. Are you shooting landscapes? Then you most likely want a wide-angle lens. Do you plan on taking nature shots of easily-spooked animals? You probably want a long telephoto zoom lens. If you want a do-it-all lens that can handle most situations, a "walkaround" lens, then you're probably looking at a relatively fast (low f-stop) lens, with a decent focal length. Image stabilization is a plus here. I carry my kit lens (18-55mm), a super-telephoto zoom (75-300mm), and my "walkaround", a 28-135mm Image Stabilized lens, which almost never is replaced with the other lenses.

As far as used and off-brand lenses, buy them with confidence. I have, and still use them. Just do a little research beforehand, and in the case of off-brand lenses, stick to the major manufacturers, like Sigma and Tamron. You can realize very large savings, as long as you make sure the lens you purchase is compatible with your camera. This holds true with flash units as well.

For your lenses, you'll want a skylight filter for each of them. This is a must. Your lens is the most exposed piece of your camera, and a lens with scratched glass is useless. A filter can help protect the lens, and replacing a filter is much cheaper. I use skylight filters as they're usually the cheapest. Other filters you may want to look at are a polarizer and neutral density filter. A polarizer is an extremely fun thing to play/shoot

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