Photography accessories that you should buy new, don’t regret buying old ones

The article is shared by commercial / fashion photographer Illya Ovchar

Photography is a very expensive subject. If you want to participate, you will have to spend a few tens of millions VND, but more money will also come. Fortunately, photographic products are often designed to withstand the weather, and are durable over time, so if you have experience you can buy used goods to save money. The two most important things are that both cameras and lenses have ‘shelf life’ over many years, so a lot of people choose to buy second hand and are satisfied with the decision.

But on the contrary, there are accessories that you should not buy ‘hands on’ at all. These are highly worn-out items that will no longer be of the same quality as new ones, and may be damaged at any time, affecting your photo shoot. Below is a list of such accessories.

Camera battery

The camera can last for a long time, but the battery won’t last that long. Over time, the battery loses its original capacity, causing users to take fewer photos, record shorter videos, even “freeze to death” in the middle of the shoot and cannot be used again. That is not to mention that there are now many fake batteries, poor quality batteries are much worse than genuine batteries. Therefore, when buying an old camera, you should still spend a little more money to buy a new battery from a reputable dealer.

Hard Drive

This is not only advice for photographers but also for those looking for components to build new computers. Hard drives and portable hard drives (especially HDDs) always have a shelf life in terms of read / write times and should be purchased rather than used. For portable hard drives, drops can also shorten its lifespan much without the user and purchaser’s knowledge. The photos and videos you take are precious, even money related, so storing them on a reliable hard drive is essential.

Memory Stick

Similar to a hard drive is a memory card, where used memory cards can become damaged and cause you to lose your photos and videos during and after the shoot. Nothing could be worse than traveling all day, ‘gleefully’ coming home and plugging the memory card into the computer and seeing an error message board! Like camera batteries, there are many fake and poor quality memory cards nowadays, so when buying, you should look for reputable stores.

Wire connection

For fashion or commercial product photographers, it is more frequent to take pictures with a direct connection to a computer (tethered) than to shoot images to a memory card. The extension cord is often the most ‘tortured’ accessory, can be stepped on, tangled together, and if used outdoors, must withstand environmental factors as well. This is also a cheap accessory, you should always buy a new ‘healthy’.

Whatever the light dissipation

Although light dissipation is an indispensable accessory for photographers photographing with artificial lighting (flash, studio light). Because it is made of fabric, light dissipation over time may become dirty, or because the temperature should change from white to yellow, the light quality of the light will also be affected.

When looking to buy a diffuser, you should look for the one that is used sparingly, or to be sure, buy one. If second-hand goods can only be purchased, buy from photographers for personal use instead of the one used in rental studios and studios, where they are used more often and are not used by anyone. preservation.

Bags backpack

Camera bags and backpacks will be the first thing that gets dirty or damaged for outdoor photographers. The worst case scenario is that the bag can tear and drop your camera or expensive lens out of the way, causing damage or even loss. Moreover, these are also fashionable accessories, so buy a new one for yourself instead of buying from someone else.

Buying second hand accessories can save you money, but in many cases their reliability needs to be higher. The money you save won’t match the money you’ll have to spend to restore photos or videos or replace accessories in the future.