So what are the best accessories you can get for under $100? $100 does not go very far in the world of photography, however you will be surprised just how useful these items are!

These are just my own personal list of items which are very useful and under $100 AUD. I am sure there other brands or models out there but the following are the ones that i have tested myself, so i can provide you with my honest opinion.

So in no particular order:

1. Pelican Memory Card Case:

Pelican are famous of their hard cases, solid built, water resistant and most important does the job. I really can't complain I know there are soft cases out there which are slightly lighter in weight but when it comes to it with all your photos stored on the memory cards protected by a hard case which gives you that extra confidence in protection of the precious photos.

The version i have caters for Compact Flash cards for my Canon 5D Mark ii however they also have the SD card version which is the same size but carries up to 16 cards. The size is prefect to slip into the side pockets of most camera bags and holds enough cards for any sort of photo session.

Price is around $30 - $40 AUD for the case, a tad on the higher side but really invest in one good case and never worry or have the need to buy another one again, can't really put a price on good memory card protection.

2. Lens Cleaning Pen:

Lens maintenance does sound boring... but buying new equipment due to poor maintenance is even worst. There are many different cleaning pens out there but i find the dual brush and lens clean pen to be the most useful. It is always useful for any photo session to have a pen ready in case of fingerprints, water or just dust on the lens.

Without a doubt the most used item in my kit, pens range from a couple of dollars on ebay to branded kit ones of $40 upwards which basically does the same thing, i would recommend to change them frequently for the best results.

The one i show below is the Hakuba DSLR Pro Kit i got in Japan (different pens at different sizes), which comes with a pouch which also acts as lens cloth.

3. Lexar Memory Card Reader USB 3.0:

If you think of the interface between the memory card and the computer as the width of a road , the difference between in speed a USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 is like comparing a single lane road to a 10x lane Super Highway. Now if we assume that we have a 32gb memory card and you try and copy all 32gb worth of photos to your Hard Drive could be a time difference between 10 mins (USB 3.0) to many many hours... (USB2.0).

With all other things being equal (HDD speed, Computer hardware etc.) USB 3.0 is a MUST HAVE especially if we are all shoting in RAW, which we all should be.

Cost of this particular one is roughly $40 AUD but the amount of time saved in waiting for your files to be transferred is well worth the price! Keep to mind there are other brands out there to consider too.

4. Seagull Right Angle Viewer:

So some might think that this is a tool for the lazy photographer ... to save your back or knee so you wont need to bend down to look through the view finder. Yes it does all that, but this is also a wonderful item for studio or macro photography. The low angles or the high angles that you need to position to get some of those shots, this enables me to see the viewfinder for most of these difficult shots.

Comes with different camera viewfinder adaptors, it is a tool which will last through time with changes in cameras or if you just wanted to lend it to your friend.

Plus with with this, you can peer around corners or over walls! If you are into Macro and Studio photography then this would roughly cost $70 AUD, it's a nice to have item.

5. A Decent Camera Strap:

So remember the freebie camera strap that you get with a new camera purchase? Is it still on your camera? Well to be honest most people would say YES! why what’s wrong with it? well nothing really... it does it's job it lets the user hold onto the camera around the neck/shoulders or if you are creative you can even use it as a hand strap too.

Oh and also makes it easy as to see which camera you own for thieves, neatly printed on the camera strap in big letters: Canon, Nikon, Sony etc. and for some models they even print the 5D Mark ii/Mark iii etc. If you are a traveller, walking out at night having a camera strap which states which expensive brand camera you have would probably require some more thought. One day I’ll blog about things to look out for, for the traveling photographer.

I would recommend two sort of straps the detachable strap and the sling strap, these will be used differently depending on the type of photography.

So lets start with the detachable strap, so the difference from the default camera strap this strap enables the user to easily detach the main strap from the camera and leaving behind a small part of the strap. So why would this be useful? Well for the studio photos or a night photographer who would be moving between handheld and tripod use. A camera strap + tripod = trouble, it is very easy for a camera to be on a tripod and you accidentally catch the camera strap and pull the whole tripod and camera down. Or another good reason is for night photographers is that during long exposure photos the camera strap and flap around in the wind and send vibrations via the tripod into the camera.

Bite the bullet and do yourself a favour and get a detachable camera strap, for good straps prices start around $35 AUD.

Now, for the action photographer who requires a strong strap to hold onto the camera but also allow the user to have both hands free. I would recommend a sling styled camera strap, the one i have shown below is a BlackRapid Classic (RS-4) strap, the camera attachment screws into the tripod mount on the camera and then it stays there, the camera will hang onto your side and you can do combat rolls or jump around and you wont need to worry about dropping the camea when you need both you hands for defending yourself from lions in your african photoshoot.

I find this extremely useful when i need to climb or crawl for those photos but one point to note is that when using a tripod you need to unmount the strap and put on the tripod mount.

Price for the BlackRapid is around $90 - $100 AUD.

6. Camera Remote Trigger:

I can come up with many reasons for a Remote Trigger, Selfies, Time Lapse etc. but a big factor is for reduction in camera shake for night or macro photography is well worth the price. Depending on which Remote trigger you get, from a basic remote IR trigger to a fancier Remote with time intervals and locks for bulb shots provides you more options for you to take better photos.

The one i have is the fancier Canon Remote Trigger TC-80N3 i must say RRP is over $100 but from ebay it seems there are some options for it to be around $80 AUD.

7. Spare Battery

Yes, a spare battery, the simplest but yet most useful accessory. Nothing worst than running out of battery when you are in the middle of a photo session. Simply put never leave home without two, one in your camera and one in your bag.

Cost will vary depending on camera but i would always recommend a good brand, remember it's a battery it holds charge... it can explode....(maybe in the extreme case) Pay the extra $ for a reputable brand.

So listed above are just some examples of useful accessories which can make a big difference to your photography session. Some are essential and some are nice to have however the great thing about it is that you can slowly build up your collection.

Some key accessories i have not mentioned because i plan to dedicate a blog about them in the future are tripods, camera bags and flashes.

Do you have a favourite accessory under $100? feel free to share in the comments section below!

I hope you have enjoy this equipment blog, as mentioned above i plan to do a bit more of them because i find them very useful for my equipment research. Hope this helps you in your photo sessions.

Key Accessories Under $100

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