Camera Accesories - What do you think?

Well I was a lucky lad at Christmas and got my first 'proper' camera. By proper, I mean not a party camera.

Nikon Coolpix L310

Now I want to add some kit for it. To be honest there's not much to add. There's no option for interchangeable lenses and as far as I know, no option for a remote trigger. I don't mind at all though, as it keeps the potential costs down until I decide if it's a hobby I'll like.

What I do want is a tripod and some decent batteries. I've scoped around and am settling on a Manfrotto tripod (not 100% which one yet, but probably a simple £50-£60 one), 8-12 Eneloop 2400mAh AA batteries and a Maha MH-C9000 charger / analyser.

Anyone had issues or heard of issues with any of the above?

Has anyone used Park Cameras for online purchasing? Good? Bad?

I might want a backpack to carry all that too. Any pointers for a backpack which holds a tripod as well as a camera?

Can't comment on the tripod, but batteries are much of a muchness provided you stick to well-known brands. My Canons use bespoke batteries with the usual Canon pricing, but I've found the Duracell versions work just as well

The charger seems a tad expensive- I bought one of these a couple of months ago and it's been fine.

Well there's the rub. I'm being guided by reading photography forums, and I'm well aware that the average photo hobbyist spends more than a few coppers on their hobby.

It's certainly one to challenge the price and performance of the Maha. Cheers Bill!

Another thing you might like to think about is a decent flash. I don't know much about Nikons (for largely historical reasons all my kit is Canon) but the pop-up built-in flash units are fairly limited.

Agreed. A dedicated flash must be your next purchase. They offer so much more flexibility than a built-in flash. Buy a tiltable unit with the highest guide number that you can afford.

Edited by micksharpe (Thu 03-Jan-13 23:47:09)

In reply to a post by micksharpe:

Buy a tiltable unit with the highest guide number that you can afford.

The powerful flashguns need care... I've got a SpeedLite 420EX, GN about 140 I think- the first time I used it in low ambient at a target about 25 metres away, the chap sitting next to me thought someone had let a bomb off

Well I'll stick with it for now. The flash seems a little uppity. It does like a 1.5 flash then another flash. Not sure if it's some 'build the light' in the room trick or summat. Tripod first. Not even sure if an external flash is compatible.

Edited by camieabz (Fri 04-Jan-13 00:19:51)

Really heavy-duty units will cost a lot more than the Coolpix. Something like a Sigma EF 610 DG ST should do the business. It also has auto-zoom, which is handy. The flash gun will automatically adjust the spread and throw of the light to match the focal length setting of the camera's lens. It won't cover the whole focal range of the L310 but then you don't tend to use flash with telephoto lenses.

@Camie: If you decide to go for a flash unit, you will need to make sure that it is compatible with the L310 and that its capabilities match those of the camera.

I think the double flash is to reduce red-eye: the first flash is low-ish intensity and causes the subject's pupils to contract, then it fires the main one.

Can't be sure, I seldom do portraiture so red-eye is turned off.

The 420EX has autozoom, I agree it's pretty handy.

but then you don't tend to use flash with telephoto lenses.

Not sure about that... telephoto at short ranges can be useful if you want to throw the background out of focus. I've done that on some of the occasional portraits that I take, and it can produce a pleasing effect.