
For many photographers, carrying multiple lenses quickly becomes more of a requirement than an elective. And as most already know, with additional lenses come additional lens accessories and the inevitable question of which is worth the investment and space it will take up in your camera bag. While some accessories like caps and hoods often come in the box with a new lens, other protective gear like cases, wraps, and bands are typically sold separately. These protective items get lost quickly out in the field or in loose pockets, and are crucial to replace. Specific accessories for macro equipment or safeguards like lens-cleaning tools and extended warranties are all useful extras that can make life easier, allowing you to be a more assured photographer when working for a client or for yourself on a passion project.
Lens Caps and Hoods
It is universally known that proprietary front and rear lens caps will come with your lens upon purchase. These caps have been made by the lens manufacturer and are designed to fit that specific lens. If this cap goes missing, replacing it with a proprietary cap is easy, yet often slightly more expensive than a third-party cap. One benefit of opting for a third-party selection is an increase in available options. A snap-on lens cap fits inside the filter ring of the lens and must fit the lens size exactly to snap into place—it is sized to the same diameter of your filter ring diameter. Screw-in lens caps, on the other hand, thread directly onto the front of your lens in the same way as a filter. These are usually made of metal and purchased separately, as an aesthetic touch when porting your lenses, or as a more secure means to ensure your front element stays clean during storage. Push-on lens caps fit around the outside of the lens and generally aren’t as secure as the snap-on style, yet come in handy on certain lenses without filter threads. They are sized based on the outside diameter of the lens barrel, closest to the front element. This isn't a commonly given specification, so some measuring on your own may be required, or in the case of a replacement, follow the same sizing specification of the original cap.
Protect the front element of your lens with a snap on cap like this one.
Rear lens caps, self-referentially, protect the rear element of the lens, the end that connects directly to your camera body. If you do not plan on changing your lenses, a rear lens cap might not be necessary, since that rear element will never be exposed. However, if you do plan on changing lenses and find yourself in need of a replacement rear lens cap, the critical factor in choosing a rear cap is to know the type of lens mount you have. With the few exceptions of M39 and M42 screw-mount lenses, all lenses have a certain bayonet design that requires a matching bayonet-style rear cap. Sony E goes to Sony E, Nikon F to Nikon F, Canon EF to Canon EF, and so on.
Lens hoods, also known as lens shades, do not always come with a lens upon purchase, yet are especially necessary for those who need to prevent lens flare and glare from the sun or a direct light source. While most new lenses have multiple coatings to help reduce these issues, sometimes flare is unavoidable, and hoods are an easy and economical solution to help block stray light. Hoods should be chosen according to the focal length of your lens to maximize the flare protection while avoiding unwanted vignetting caused by the edges of the hood showing up in the corners of your frame. Hoods for wide-angle lenses will typically be shorter in profile and may come in petal-shaped designs to prevent the likelihood of vignetting, while hoods for telephoto and macro lenses tend to be longer and fully circular to block as much stray light as possible.
Hoods help reduce flare and block unwanted stray light.
Protective Gear
Like lens caps, cases and wraps provide additional protection for your lenses, especially if you’re a photographer who tends to slip your gear into a bag that doesn’t have built-in padded exterior walls and dividers. Lens cases be of hard or soft construction, have zippered or draw-string closures, belt loops, removable shoulder straps, and can even come in the form of a small trunk for extra large lenses. Take advantage of the B&H filter to help you narrow down what will fit your needs. Measure your lens to know how much interior height is required to secure and protect it within the pouch or case, and then, after considering your storage and travel methods, narrow results further by selecting the case type and even preferred color.
Protective cases for singular lenses enable you to carry your gear in an everyday bag rather than rely on a more cumbersome padded photography bag.
Lens wraps are slightly more versatile than designated lens cases, since they come in different measurements, yet can be used to protect a variety of lenses, electronic flashes, compact cameras, and even necessary tools. Touch fasteners sewn into each corner secure the wrap in place around your lens, compact camera, or accessory.
Even more versatile, lens wraps can be used for lenses, compact cameras, and other fragile accessories.
Lens bands made of silicone rubber are used to prevent unwanted zoom movement (also called zoom creep). While the lens band primarily works to maintain the same focal length on your lens, it can also work as a bit of a safeguard to prevent accidental bumps, since you will always know where your lens ends when the band is in place on your zoom.
Keep the same focal length on your lens with a handy LENSband.
Lenscoats or sleeves are composed of closed-cell neoprene that offers direct protection from weather, dust, and accidental bumps in the field. Widely used by wildlife and sports photographers, these sleeves also provide a thermal barrier protecting your hands in lower temperatures. In addition, lens coats help preserve the resale value of your gear.
Lens hoods can also be protected with Hoodie Lens Hood Covers, which fit snugly around your lens hood when mounted to shoot or when it is reversed to store in your bag. Most hoodies feature a reinforced, removable front element to further protect your lens from dirt, dust, or accidental damage.
Macro Equipment
If you’re not working with dedicated macro lenses, extension tubes or bellows serve as economical alternatives. Both extension tubes and bellows add space between your lens and camera body allowing the lens to focus at a closer range. Extension tubes typically come as a set of three different lengths that can be used separately or combined for the ultimate close-up shot.
A set of three extension tubes is a more cost-effective way to achieve close-up shots.
Reversing rings allow you to mount your lens “backwards” onto your camera body to achieve high magnification imagery without the need for a separate macro lens. These rings, which are best-suited for wide-angle to standard focal length prime lenses, allow you to take advantage of gear you most likely already own without taking up too much additional room in your camera bag or your budget!
Mount your lens “backward” on your camera for increased magnification with a reversing ring like this one.
For an equally affordable macro solution, a close-up filter screws onto your lens for closer focusing capabilities. Although lightweight and easy to tuck into your bag, these filters aren’t likely to produce as tack-sharp images as other options.
Macro couplers are another easy-on-the-budget-and-bag option. Similar to a reversing ring, these male-to-male couplers enable a photographer to reverse a standard lens to the front of a telephoto lens for a high quality macro image.
Male-to-male couplers are the easiest on your budget, allowing you to take advantage of the lenses already in your bag.
General Lens Accessories
A popular option for extending your effective focal length, teleconverters are typically available in 1.4x and 2x magnifications and are most commonly used in conjunction with telephoto lenses. These optical accessories do shave a stop or two of light from the original lens, but also tend to fully maintain autofocus, exposure metering, and image stabilization features.
Teleconverters, also known as tele-extenders, mount between the camera and lens for added magnification. Stacking more than one can lead to an even greater reach.
Add-on lenses, also called conversion lenses, are, as their name suggests, an additional optic you thread onto the front of your existing lens to increase or reduce the effective magnification. Depending on the magnification of the conversion lens, you can either widen your field of view to simulate the look of a wide-angle lens or narrow your perspective to mimic the look of a telephoto lens. Fisheye and close-up lenses are also available to produce more dramatic effects.
Add a conversion lens to the front of your lens for added magnification.
For those considering investing in a new system and not wanting to leave their lenses behind, lens adaptors make it possible to mount a lens from one system onto the camera body of another system, such as mounting a Canon EF lens to a Sony E camera, among many other possibilities. Adaptors eliminate the need to invest in an entirely new set of lenses, allowing your budget to go directly towards updated technology elsewhere. Adapting SLR lenses to mirrorless camera bodies is the most common option, and these adapters are able to retain infinity focus without the need of any additional optics. Some adapters are entirely manual, requiring you to set focus and exposure settings manually, while others are 'chipped' and maintain autofocus and exposure control capabilities.
General lens and optics cleaning supplies can always be tucked into a pocket of your camera bag or your person, whether it’s a microfiber cleaning cloth, pre-moistened and individually packaged cleaning sheets, or even a small bottle of lens cleaner. Supplemental cleaning supplies like a lenspen, lens brush, or rocket air blower are also options depending upon which tool you are most comfortable using.
While not all lens accessories are necessary for each and every photographer, many can be helpful whether you’re the photographer who heads out the door with a camera and attached lens hastily tucked into your day bag or you’re the photographer with multiple camera bodies and lenses in a dedicated photography bag equipped for every possible snafu that could transpire in a singular photo shoot.
1 Comment
Very informative, thank hou