Canon® PowerShot® Digital Field Guide

Chapter 5. Accessories

In This Chapter

• Tripods

• Lighting

• Lenses

• Underwater gear

• Batteries, chargers, and AC adaptors

• Cases

• Card readers

• Camera care

When you first open your PowerShot box, it includes everything you need to start taking pictures. This chapter explores additional things that may improve your photography or enhance your photography experience. Some of the items can make a dramatic change in images, others only subtle modifications. There are also a few that might not affect your pictures, but help make the process fun and keep your camera healthy.

With a few exceptions I do not suggest that you immediately run out to buy every available photographic accessory for your camera model. Instead, take a walk through this chapter to see how some of these items might address your specific needs.

Tripods

Over the years I have viewed hundreds of images taken by photo enthusiasts. One accessory could have helped the vast majority of those images — a tripod. Most of the images had the telltale blur of a handheld shot. I am sure they looked good on the camera's LCD. When printed at 4 × 6 inches, some looked okay, but many did not. When printed at 8 × 10 inches, they really showed the motion blur associated with an unsteady camera.

While there are situations where a tripod is logistically impractical, generally that is not the case. Besides keeping your camera steady, a common side effect of tripod use occurs: It makes you slow down or even stop and think. Too often people grab a camera, turn ...