New Kit

Now that I've splashed out on the 450D I thought it was time to purchase some much needed accessories!

When it came to tripods I have generally gone for cheap and cheerful ones from places like eBay but have always wanted something a little more substantial. After trying out a few in the local camera shops I decided to opt for a Manfrotto Modo 785B at a cost of £50. It's a full height tripod which folds up to be reasonably compact (about 45cm) and fairly light but at the same time it's pretty study. I wasn't too sure about the hybrid joystick head but now I've used it a few times I really like it. It has a thumb lock and an option for video (panning up, down, left, right) then at the flick of a switch goes in to photo mode for full movement on the ball head. It also has 3 leg width settings for different applications which have already come in handy. All in all a nice piece of kit with excellent build quality.



I have also always wanted a shutter release remote (which I couldn't get for my old Powershot S2) as it avoids having to use the 2 second timer for low light shots to prevent camera shake. It's also great for self portrait shots which I've yet to try out! I found a Canon RC-1 in a local camera shop for the same price as they are on the Internet (around £15) so went for that. It's a tiny piece of kit but so far has worked very well. It has a slider switch to select either either 2 second or immediate shutter release and then the shutter release button to take the shot. Have found this very useful so far and can't imagine what I'd do without it now.