Camera Accessorizing

Mike Danger

Alright, so I'm looking at getting this camera.

Now, here's where I start to get unsure. I know a good bit about cameras, but when it comes to the other bits, I am totally clueless.

-I already have a flash card that I'm looking at. Is this a good price for that amount of memory, and is Transcend a reliable company?

-Is it worth getting a rechargeable battery kit? They seem to be rather expensive.

-What kind of bag should I be looking at? I was kind of attracted to Chrome's HipBone, as I do a lot of biking in the spring/summer months and it would also double nicely as a "bike bag" (lock, phone, wallet, etc). I've also heard that Crumpler and Lowepro are worth looking at.

-What incredibly important accessory am I forgetting? I'm sure there's something.

(I've been making a lot of H/A threads lately, but the person I usually ask about technical stuff is unavailable. Thanks for all the advice, guys. )

Technicality

My A570 got carried everywhere with me for about a year. It was either put in a pocket or into a rucksack with a bunch of other stuff. During that time it was dropped on the open lens, plonked in wet sand, used in the rain etc. multiple times. Its covered in dings and scratches but it still works fine. I'm not suggesting you treat yours as roughly as I did mine, but you really don't need to worry too much about not getting the right type of bag beyond making sure it will fit.

If you plan on using it a lot, then four rechargeables and a 2+ battery charger is pretty essential, but if its more for occasional use you could probably just buy batteries.

If you plan to use it in dusty/wet weather a lens cleaning cloth can be useful.

saltiness

Rechargeable AAs is the only thing I would get. A camera bag is kind of pointless for a point-and-shoot.

Pheezer

You're much, much better off keeping it in a backpack. Carrying around a camera bag tells everyone you're carrying around a nice camera. This is not a good message to broadcast.

If your backpack doesn't have a pocket that seems like it'd keep it safe/protected from your other belongings, invest in a backpack upgrade.

Other than that, NiMH AA batteries and a fast charger. In terms of an SD card, especially for your purposes, any manufacturer is going to be about equal. Even if by some bizarre fluke you get a garbage card that dies early, it's gonna last at least a year or two anyhow and when it does die, I'm sure you'll be able to afford $13 for a new one. I wouldn't be too concerned about shopping around or spending extra to get the best 8GB SD card on the market.

I also wouldn't worry too much about going above 8GB, either. I use a 2GB card to shoot in RAW and while yes, this does often result in me doing back of camera deletes of blurred shots or botched exposures, I still never have the patience to go through the 300 photos it sometimes holds and prep each and every one for posting to facebook.

If you're just shooting in JPEG, you're either taking 50 frames of every single thing you see or you're not gonna fill that 8GB card in a single night/day/weekend.