Walk into a camera store and you’ll see walls of accessories. Straps, filters, lens cloths, obscure adapters, gadgets you’ve never heard of. Some are genuinely useful. Many are solving problems you don’t have.

After years of buying accessories, using them, and often discarding them, here’s what’s actually worth spending money on.

The Essential Accessories

A proper camera strap. The kit strap that comes with your camera is usually terrible. Replace it with something comfortable. Peak Design, BlackRapid, or even generic padded straps from eBay ($15-30) are vast improvements.

For heavy cameras and lenses, consider a sling strap that distributes weight better. Your neck will thank you on long shooting days.

Extra batteries. Never rely on a single battery. Camera batteries die when you need them most. At minimum, own two batteries for each camera.

Original manufacturer batteries are expensive ($50-100) but reliable. Third-party batteries ($20-40) work fine but vary in quality. Stick to known brands like Wasabi Power or Neewer.

Memory cards. Always have more capacity than you think you’ll need. Cards fail. Having backup cards saves you.

Buy quality cards from major brands (SanDisk, Lexar, Samsung). For photography, 64GB cards at UHS-I speeds are the sweet spot. Enough capacity for hundreds of photos, not so large that card failure loses everything.

A basic cleaning kit. Rocket blower ($10), lens cleaning fluid ($10), microfiber cloths ($5). This lets you keep your gear clean without damaging it.

Avoid compressed air cans (they can spray propellant onto sensors) and rough cloths that scratch lens coatings.

Accessories That Improve Your Photography

A tripod. Essential for landscapes, long exposures, self-portraits, video, product photography. You don’t need a $500 carbon fiber tripod immediately. A $100 aluminum tripod is fine to start.

Look for one that extends to eye height without raising the center column. Check weight capacity exceeds your heaviest camera+lens combination.

A basic flash diffuser or bounce card. If you use flash, a simple diffuser ($15-30) dramatically improves the light quality. Even folded white card works.

Lens hood. Most lenses come with them or offer them separately. They reduce flare, protect the front element from bumps, and improve contrast. Always use them.

Circular polarizing filter. One of the few filters that’s still genuinely useful in digital photography. Reduces reflections, darkens skies, increases color saturation. Most useful for landscape photography.

Buy quality. Cheap polarizers reduce sharpness. B+W, Hoya, or Tiffen filters maintain image quality. Budget $80-150 depending on filter diameter.

Gaffer tape. Photographers use gaffer tape for everything. Securing cables, fixing equipment temporarily, marking positions. Keep a roll in your bag.

A simple reflector. For portraits or product photography, a $30 reflector bounces light onto your subject, filling shadows. Collapsible 5-in-1 reflectors are versatile and pack small.

Accessories You Probably Don’t Need

UV filters. Once essential for film photography, now largely unnecessary. Digital sensors don’t need UV filtration.

Some photographers use UV filters for lens protection. That’s valid, but a lens hood provides similar protection without adding another piece of glass in your optical path.

Variable ND filters. These darken your image, allowing wider apertures or slower shutter speeds in bright conditions. Useful for specific situations (motion blur in bright sun, video at specific frame rates) but not essential for most photography.

When you need them, you know you need them. Until then, don’t buy one.

Lens pens. Marketed as convenient lens cleaners. They work okay but aren’t better than proper cleaning fluid and microfiber cloths.

GPS units for cameras. Most cameras with GPS drain batteries significantly. Your phone’s GPS and photo apps record location better. Unless you need highly accurate geotagging for specific purposes, camera GPS isn’t worth it.

Fancy lens caps. They’re just lens caps. The ones that came with your lens are fine. Don’t spend $40 on boutique lens caps.

Remote shutter releases. Useful for long exposures or self-portraits, but your camera’s self-timer achieves the same result for free. Only buy a remote if you regularly need it.

Battery grips. They add weight, cost $200-400, and offer questionable benefits. Unless you absolutely need vertical shooting controls or extra battery life, skip them.

Camera Bags: Worth Considering Carefully

A good camera bag matters, but “good” depends entirely on your shooting style.

Backpacks work for hiking and travel. They distribute weight well and protect equipment. Downsides: accessing gear requires taking the bag off.

Shoulder bags allow quick access. Great for events or street photography where you’re constantly reaching for gear. But they’re less comfortable for long walks.

Sling bags are a compromise. Single-strap design allows swinging the bag around to access gear without removing it. Good for all-day shooting.

Peak Design bags are popular for good reason. Expensive ($150-350) but well-designed and versatile.

LowePro and Manfrotto offer good bags at lower prices ($60-150).

Don’t overbuy. Get a bag that fits your current gear plus a bit of growth room, not one sized for equipment you might someday buy.

Screen Protectors

Tempered glass screen protectors ($15-30) protect your camera’s LCD from scratches. Worthwhile if you’re rough on equipment or sell cameras later.

Plastic protectors are cheap but don’t protect as well. Skip them and go glass or nothing.

Lens Caps and Rear Caps

Keep the ones that came with your lenses. Buy spares because you’ll lose them. Generic caps are fine ($5-10 for a pair).

Lens pouches protect individual lenses in your bag. Neoprene wraps ($10-15) are cheap insurance against lenses banging into each other.

Things That Seem Useful But Aren’t

Optical attachments (fisheye adapters, macro adapters that screw onto lenses). Quality is poor, results are disappointing. If you want a different focal length, buy a proper lens.

Cheap third-party lenses for incredibly low prices. A $50 lens isn’t a bargain, it’s an expensive disappointment. Save longer and buy quality.

Multi-tool gadgets for photographers. Most combine functions you don’t need. A simple screwdriver set ($10) is more useful.

Camera armor / silicone skins. They protect against minor bumps but add bulk and can trap moisture. Unless you’re in extreme conditions regularly, skip them.

Monopods. They’re useful in specific situations (sports photography, birding) but most photographers get more use from either a tripod or handholding. Don’t buy one unless you know you need it.

When to Buy vs Wait

Buy immediately: Extra batteries, memory cards, basic cleaning supplies. These are essentials you need from day one.

Buy soon: A decent strap, lens hood, tripod (if your photography needs one). These improve your experience significantly.

Buy when needed: Specialized items like polarizing filters, reflectors, or specific bags. Wait until your photography makes the need clear.

Don’t buy: Gadgets that solve problems you don’t have. Camera stores love selling accessories. Much of it is unnecessary.

The Upgrade Trap

Accessories are cheaper than lenses or cameras, so it’s easy to continuously buy small items. This adds up fast.

Before buying any accessory, ask: Will this directly improve my photography, or am I just accumulating gear?

Often, the answer is you’re just buying stuff. Save that money toward better lenses, which actually improve image quality.

My Minimal Accessory Kit

If I was starting over, here’s what I’d buy:

Two batteries per camera. 4x 64GB memory cards. A comfortable strap. Basic cleaning kit (rocket blower, microfiber cloths, cleaning solution). A decent tripod. A lens hood for each lens. A small camera bag that fits my current kit.

Total cost: Around $300-400 beyond the camera and lenses.

Everything else? Wait until specific needs arise. Most photographers accumulate drawers full of accessories they bought and never use. Start minimal, add purposefully.

The Best Accessory

The best accessory isn’t something you buy. It’s practice. Going out and shooting improves your photography more than any gadget.

Every dollar spent on accessories is a dollar not spent on lenses, travel to photograph interesting places, or photography education.

Buy what directly enables or improves your photography. Ignore the rest. Your images won’t care if you don’t have the latest camera gadget. They will care if you didn’t practice composition or understand light.

Camera accessories should serve your photography, not become an end in themselves. Choose wisely, buy sparingly, and spend more time shooting than shopping.