The Beginners guide to camera accessories, what the salesman doesnt want you to know.

Have you ever wondered if that really cheesy salesman trying to persuade you to buy that 50” TV, when all you want to buy is a camera, is really working for your best interests? He will tell you that you can connect the camera to the Television and your pictures will be enhanced and
the photographs you produce using the £600 camera will not be the same without the HD ready digital LCD 1080p 100hz television and it all sounds like such gibberish that you end up walking out before buying the camera you so badly wanted to buy. Well this is what the salesman doesn’t tell you! Ok so you probably already guessed that you definitely don’t need that extra large and over the top spec television but I thought I should just clarify just in case… you definitely don’t need that television. You may be wondering ‘how does she know so much about this?’ well let’s just say I have been that saleswomen. When the salesman/women has finished selling you the camera they will start off with the ‘essentials’ these will probably consist of batteries if it’s a Nikon coolpixs that’s takes AA alkaline, the case, the tripod, the MEMORY CARD! A lot of people don’t realise how important or how unimportant these things can be to your camera. Firstly one very important thing when buying a new camera that needs AA batteries is not get the cheap ones from somewhere like Tesco’s or Wal-Mart, I know there cheap and might be within your budget but if you want your camera to last more than 4 shots at a time then rechargeable batteries and a recharger are a must! If you prefer buying cameras with lithium rechargeable batteries in the box and you’re wondering whether you should buy a spare battery I would suggest waiting a few months while you play with your new camera, because let’s face it you’re just going to want to shoot anything. In the situation where you’re going away for a week and you don’t think you’re going to be able to charge the battery because your camping or you’re going to the Amazon rainforest then I would suggest investing in a spare battery, the worst thing that can happen is getting to the middle of your trip and your battery dies because you have become a little too trigger happy with all the excitement of your new surroundings. Spare batteries can range from around £30 - £100 depending on the camera you own so do some research online as you may just come across a bargain. Memory cardsThe memory card is probably the only thing you will need apart from the camera and lens its self. As Nikon cameras only have bout 64mb of built in memory you will need a memory card almost immediately after you purchase your camera but what the salesman doesn’t tell you is that you can find these memory cards A LOT cheaper on the internet. Now although this is cheaper way, some of you may not find this the most desirable way to buy things but it can save you a lot of money which you can spend on other things for you camera. When buying online always check that the site is secured.There are many different card types and nearly every day when I was working in the electrical store a customer would always come back after buying a camera the day before because they told the sales man they already had a memory card at home and yes they probably did but it didn’t fit their new camera. This is a common mistake so make sure you know what cards you have got and what card your new camera uses as you don’t want to be disappointed when you get home and you can only take 7 shots.Some DSLR’s take compact flash and others take SD (secured digital) These are exactly the same in almost every way apart from compact flash is a bit quicker than an SD, but Lexar now supply an SD which is 60x speed so which ever camera you own you can have a high speed card if that is what you desire. Cameras like the D40, D40X, D80 and the D60 will be compatible with SDHC (Secured digital high capacity cards) these can be more expensive but more useful and economical in the long run. They are high picture capacity cards they only come in 4GB or above and will save you having to carry 40 memory cards around with you, which will reduce the risk of you losing your cards therefore losing your photos. SDHC cards will be found cheaper on a website like Amazon and eBay but make sure you’re buying from a well known and reliable seller.As you all probably know the card is extremely important when buying a camera so always budget for a memory card as well, add around £10 - £50 for the expense of this depending on what type of camera you are buying.