I do not consider myself a “gearhead”–that is, one who salivates over the next big thing and cannot wait to buy/try it. That said, as a photographer trying to become as flexible as possible, there are certain additions to the camera bag that I have found essential to better photography.

Some items of gear make the most obvious sense—a tripod is necessary for many, many situations to get better photographs. By “better”, I mean it in the technical aspect: an image taken at base ISO with a longer exposure will always look better than taken handheld at a jacked-up ISO and faster shutter speed (better dynamic range, less noise, etc.). Also, panoramas are much easier to shoot on a tripod (even if you aren’t using a dedicated pano head), since you don’t have to worry about keeping your arms level when turning. Continue Reading