Camera first accessories
So I’ve purchased my new Sony a6400 camera and am really happy with how it went. The a6400 combined with the Sony 16-50mm and Sony 70-350mm lenses will enable me to capture what I am planning – sport photos and some family photos.
But that’s not all you need when setting out to capture moments with the gear. Time to get the rest of what’s needed.
My goal was to be able to take rugby league photos and carry all I needed with me while photographing. So I had to be fairly minimal and light but still be able to have all that I needed on hand.
TL:DR
I picked up the following accessories:
• Camera bag – Ulanzi 10L Sling camera bag$59.99
• Spare batteries – Tectra NP-FW50 2 pack 1500mAh with type C fast charging $41.99
• Battery charger – Llano Fast 8W Dual charger with 2 pack batteries $99
• Screen protector – A6300 screen protector glass $10.88
• Spare lens caps – eMagtech 2 sets front body cap and rear lens cap $12.89
• Lens bags – Neewer lens bags S/M/L/XL $31.85
• Memory cards – Sandisk Extreme Pro 512GB SD Card $111.99 plus a Sandisk Extreme Pro 256GB microSD card $45
• Memory card holder – SmallRig memory card case $12.67
• Portable hard drive – Sandisk Portable 1TB USB-3 SSD $129
• Tripod – Vivitar 7.5″ Compact Tripod $9.95
• Card reader – USB-C SD card reader 3 in 1 – $29.99
• USB hub – Topeetek USB-C hub 8 in 1 splitter multiport adapter $22.99
Total cost of AUD$618.19
A bit more than I thought Id spend. The batteries that came with the charger added $50 that I didn’t need to spend.
Here’s why I bought what I did.
Camera bag
I wanted a bag that would hold what I needed while I was walking around a rugby league field. That carried what I needed for 90 minutes of shooting and was easy to carry in an out-of-the-way manner. So I looked for an ver the shoulder sling style bag that I could also strap around my waist.
I figured that way I had a couple of carry options which BCE I started taking photos at the game I could see which worked best.
I found one that looked good with protecting the gear inside and provided some ruggedness from any weather or other outside wear and tear.
They offered a 10litre and 15litre option. I went with 10litre thinking that 15litre was just too much to carry around.
Once I had everything I wanted it’s a bit of a struggle fitting everything I bought in. But can leave the tripod out and only squeeze it in if I think I’ll be using.
Spare batteries
I went with two Tectra batteries. These can be charged using the charger or directly with a USB C cable. I though that would be handy with a portable charger to be able to charge during a game if I had to.
Battery charger
I watched a couple of YouTube video reviews on chargers and settled on the Llano twin charger. But when I bought it I made the mistake of buying it with the dual batteries. I didn’t really need them so ended up with 4 spare batteries. Maybe I’ll need them. We’ll see. The charger holds the batteries really securely with a solid closing magnetic lid. The digital display clearly shows the charge status of each battery.
It charges with USB-C so if I have to I can use a power bank to charge it while out and about if I need to. So far I’m really happy with the design and how it functions.
Screen protectors
I only bought these because when I was looking at a6400 second hand cameras I noticed three or four sellers saying the rear digital screen had scratches. I just decided to put a protection screen on to prevent that.
Spare lens caps
Just in case I lose the ones that came with the lenses and camera, I bought a spares to go on the back of the lens and front of the camera.
Lens bags
Again – just to prevent dings, dents and scratches I wanted to put the lenses in a soft case to prevent marking. The bags are made of soft, medium thickness neoprene. Happy with these.
Memory Cards
This needed a bit of research and I have to say after doing plenty of reading across forums I ended up buying a large SD card and also a microSD card. Opinions were mixed when it came to using a SD card or a microSD card. Some said they had problems with a microSD and others said they had no problem. I went with a 512GB SD card from Sandisk and a 256GB Sandisk microSD card.
Memory Card holder
This is quite useful – a credit card sized holder which cards can click into and then that plate slides into a cover. This means I can easily store and find cards in the camera bag.
Portable Hard drive
I wanted something that could copy photos onto from the SD or microSD cards if I had to. Particularly if I was somewhere without a laptop. With the portable SSD drive I think I can use the USB-C adapter and my iPhone to plug in an SD card then use the files app to transfer images from the SD card to the portable SSD so if needed I can format the SD card.
Tripod
I just wanted a small tripod in case I was wanting to shoot a starry night or long exposure photo. The Vivitar came with a phone adapter as well. Nuce and compact, I ve already used it in the forst week for a couple of selfies with the Bride.
Card reader
I bought two USB-C card readers – by mistake. I was researching and ordering so many things I forgot what Id ordered. So I ended up with a USB-C hub which has USB A, SD and microSD card reader slots on it. And also a USB-C reader witn a SD, microsSD and USB-A slots in it. Time will tell which one I find best to use.