D 800 must-have accessories

mmfish

D800 owners, what if any accessories have you purchased that you've found indispensable? In not asking about lenses,

Killerbob

As I am not one to go down on equipment, and having just upgraded I can tell you I wouldn't do without. In parenthesis I mention what I got:

- Battery grip (Nikon MBD-12)
- A few big SD and CF cards (SanDisk Extreme Pros)
- Remote trigger (Nikon WR-R10/WR-A10/WR-T10)
- Filters, filters, filters (Hoya HD UV, POL, ND)
- Flash w. extension cable - (Nikon SB-900, SC-27)
- Tripod and Monopod (RRS TVC-24L, MC-34)
- Bag and carrying system (LowePro Flipside 500AW, Toploader Pro 70, S&F Light Belt & Harness Kit)
- Camera strap (BlackRapid Sport)
- Cleaning kit (Photographic Solutions Sensor swabs, Pec Pads, Blower)
- GPS (Solmeta GeoTagger Pro2)

and finally heads, brackets and mounts (bought myself poor in RRS gear)

I am sure I forget something:)

Remember a good rule of thumb is to spend 1/5 on the camera, 3/5 on the lenses, and 1/5 on equipment...

sevencrossing

the following are "glued " to my D800

UV filter (to protect lens)
Black Rapid strap AND Spider Holster

I also use a LowePro Flipside 500AW,

plus various Think Tank, belts, straps pouches and lens changers
I use several SB 900s but would recommend SB 910's
get the fastest biggest card you afford
a spare battery is essential

Ironheart

I don't own a D800, but I always have either a wired or wireless remote shutter trigger with me.

sideways

Indispensable = never take the camera out without it. So that would be
- a bag (LowePro or Think Tank)
- SD cards
- spare battery

Everything else is a nice to have.

Rx4Photo

To repeat Ironheart, a remote shutter trigger.... a must have for any outing which you're expecting to do long exposures or even fast shutter clicks when you want exceptional sharpness.

Zeiss lens cloths, large. Fairly inexpensive. When I'm on location I keep it hanging partly out of my pocket like a hanky. Handy when shooting near the ocean or other water spray.

Gaffers tape. Buy a large roll to keep at home. Roll several revolutions around a pencil and keep in in your bags. I use for everything like keeping SB-900,910 gels in place, taping "flags" in place when doing flash photography, keeping my hot-shoe cover from getting lost, tape a model's blouse in the back so it tapers to her girlish figure, etc. It's like Duck tape for photographers.

I basically keep a 2nd tripod in the car trunk. The other, heavier, one stays at home. So.... 2 tripods. While you're at it, at least an extra quick release plate or whatever tripod mount you're using.

If you have any f/1.4 or f/1.8 lenses then you owe yourself at least one ND filter - perhaps a 3 stop ND for starters. Portraits outside in the sun can still have that creamy bokeh when shot at wide apertures with a ND filter attached.

Symphotic

The RRS L-bracket and a wrist strap never come off.

donaldejose

Very solid tripod, head and cable release for maximum sharpness out of any lens.

macsavageg4

My accessories are:

First off a spare battery or a battery grip with spares as others have stated above.

Crazy fast lenses. Specifically for portrait work if that is your bag. My current go to portrait lens is a Nikkor 105mm f/1.8 a 135mm f/2 DC is the next up but I have't gotten that far yet. When I have to shot low light for crowd shots at a concert I so far have had great luck with my 50mm f/1.2.

Macro lens. I originally started shooting with a 55mm f/2.8 but later I got a 60mm f/2.8 which really shows off how awesome macro work can be without an extension. I know that the 105mm and longer Nikkor macros are even more awesome but once again I haven't gotten that far yet. I also suggest if you are doing macro work on a copy stand or at odd angle a right angle viewfinder adapter is a must have.

UV filters and skylight filters and NDs for other fun shooting tricks. I still haven't done much with the ND side but I am working that way.

A good flash unit. I recommend the SB-800 and SB-700 since they are solid flash units at least in my usage.

A solid tripod for any long exposure work and portrait work and just in general. My favorite tripod so far is a the Bogen/Manfrotto 3021. A good tripod head goes hand in hand with the tripod. I currently and will probably stick with the Bogen/Manfrotto 3047 and for my portrait work at work Bogen/Manfrotto 168.

A cable release as stated many times above.

Fast and large CF for the main photo data dump card for the photos. SD for the video work or the redundant copy of the photos.

A good backpack/camera bag. I am currently using a Brenthaven BX^2's one for the D800 kit and the D7000 kit. I also have a large Kata bag if I really need a lot of space for messing around with a lot of gear on an adventure.

I have probably gone overboard on my post but that is what has been working for me.

Golf007sd

@mmfish: What type of photography do you enjoy doing? The more you inform us about your usage of the D800 the better we can give you some info regarding items you may want to consider getting. Also what gear, outside of lenses, do you currently have?

JJ_SO

"Must haves" are for me only spare battery and cards. Releases ca be done with selftimer as well.

Other "must haves" are defined, like @Golf007sd stated, are depending on purpose.

sevencrossing

Not quite a must have, but if you only want to carry a camera, with just a strap; the Black Rapid JOEY will hold the spare battery and card
Expensive for what it is, but it is very well made

Vipmediastar_JZ

I replaced the neck strap with more comfortable one and hand strap. A clip on lens cleaning cloth.

Parke1953

Have a lot of the stuff mentioned above but the newest accessories I have came today L-Bracket (could have used that on the 4th) and a week or so ago picked up a right angle viewfinder attachment. That really really helps when you need to get low (depending on your age and can't get back up). One more thing, picked this up last week also GIOTTOS screen protector SP 8321. No more sand and dust getting between the camera and the Nikon screen protector. A perfect fit for the D800s also it is supposed to fit the D600.

donaldejose

An L bracket is great in the studio for quick horizontal/vertical changes.

Msmoto

An L bracket is great anywhere....especially in the field where one changes back and forth rapidly. But, the only really convenient L brackets are the ARCA Swiss style and this means more money for the tripod/head.

Killerbob

I agree with Msmoto, since I got my RRS L-bracket it has been permanently mounted on my D800 w. batt. grip. It may add a bit to the overall size, especially if you have smaller hands, but for me, it actually is a very welcome addition, even when holding the camera in portrait mode.

From RRS you can get a mounting solution which you attach to your BlackRapid which then connects directly to the L-bracket - FANTASTIC! Also the rest of the RRS family solutions all works off the L-bracket...

hawkdl2

I tend to take my camera places where abuse is a real possibility - mountain climbing, wild animal inventory research in the African bush, etc. For that reason, I bought and never remove the GGS led and display protectors.

Pierre

Plastic bag for rain and winter-cold to house-hot-humid transitions. 2 spare batteries, uv filters for protection, trigger
cord, light @ portable tripod, polarizer filter.

mmfish

Has anyone used the Zagg LCD screen protector?

mmfish

Which remote release works on the D800? I have one from my N90s.

macsavageg4

I run the Zagg LCD protectors on both my D800 and D7000. I also keep the plastic protector thing on the camera a well. Redundancy is my reasoning. The Zagg cases are nice since they take all the abuse and not the LCD glass.

Remotes - I have a really really cheap ebay crap one that I bought and modified for my on going dealing with some voodoo Camera Axe. I also have a Nikon MC-36 that I haven't really gotten around to using a whole lot yet. The remote from your N90s should work properly with the D800 since it is the same 10 pin remote socket.

mmfish

Question about D800 lens set: I have a 80-200mmf2.8, 105mmf2.8, 60mm f2.8 micro, 50mmf1.4, 20mmf1.8 25-80mm f4-5.6, which of these would you carry on travel as a kit of sorts? For razor sharp photos.

thank you

Golf007sd

@mmfish: Razor sharp images is a very complicated question to answer. To keep things simple I'm going to assume you will be shooting within the range of f/2.8-8.0, With that in mind and for the purpose of travailing lite and having a lens that will allow you to shoot at night, I would recommend taking your 50 1.4. If you need to zoom in, use your feet.

Ironheart

Oh, jeez... let's not start this thread again. I can't take it!
http://forum.nikonrumors.com/discussion/1142/sorry-to-ask-highest-resolution-lens-for-d800/

Golf007sd

@Ironheart: I second that!!!!