Best PowerShot Accessories for beginners
Essential Gadgets for your Canon Powershot

You've got your Powershot, now what? You need to know what are the best Powershot Accessories to begin with.

It can be a little confusing. You've asked yourself, "What Canon accessories should I buy?" Canon makes many different Powershot cameras and some accessories are better for specific Canon models.

Best Powershot Accessories To Start With

Start with the three most essential PowerShot accessories that are needed no matter which Canon Powershot  you have. You need a spare battery, a 2nd memory card, and protection for your Powershot.

After all, if your camera battery goes dead, if your memory card says "FULL", or your camera lens is cracked, taking those great photos with your Powershot is impossible.

1. Spare Battery

NB-6L Battery

Think of it as insurance. Although newer batteries are generally reliable, it makes sense to always have an extra fully charged spare battery for your Powershot.  Powershot camera batteries are both small, light, and affordable.

There's no worse feeling than being in the middle of a photo or video shoot and seeing that low battery indicator blinking away. ADVICE:  Don't buy a Canon battery. You can save money by getting a generic one. Just read the reviews first.

Here's more on Canon Batteries and how to make them last longer.

2. 2nd memory card

SD Memory Card

Just like an extra battery, a 2nd memory card is small, easy to carry, and very cheap to buy. One of the common mistakes we all have made (me too!) is failing to download your photos and videos from your camera and causing your memory card to fill up over time. Don't forget your own back-up system too.

Memory cards nowadays do hold a ton of files, but you don't want to miss out on a great photo opportunity because you don't have another memory card waiting to be inserted into your camera if needed. Read more on Canon Memory Cards.

3. Protection For Your Powershot

Powershot Camera Case

Now that you've spent your money on your camera don't fail to protect it against damage. Whether it's a simple camera case that only surrounds your camera or a larger camera bag to hold other accessories and personal items, protection is needed.

Here's more on Canon camera bags. 

Once you've go these essential Powershot accessories purchased , you may want to take an additional step to upping your photography game. The following two accessories are the best Powershot accessories to improve your photography.

Unique Powershot Accessories For Improvement

These two accessories I recommend next are different from what you'll find on other photography blogs. Buying fancy or expensive doodads won't automatically make you a pro photographer. We'll cover that topic in a minute.

First check out the next two SIMPLE POWERSHOT ACCESSORIES that will advance you beyond taking beginner photos.

4. Reflector

Round Photo Reflectors

The best photographs often are great because of the lighting. Photography is all about how the light makes your subject appear. Reflectors are the simplest, most basic but effective way to modify the lighting when shooting portraits and they're easy to use.

You can get small ones for adding shadow detail in your close-up photos of flowers and other macro photography subjects. Or get yourself a large foldable reflector for shooting portraits. 

Reflectors can also be used to block the light. Direct sunlight can cause harsh  distracting shadows or squinty eyes on people. Have an assistant create a nice pleasing shady area by using a large reflector to block the direct sunlight from your subject.

Powershot G1X Mark II @ f/11.0 for 0.5 Second.
Single white reflector board used as lighting accessory.

I shot this close-up of an amaryllis plant using my Powershot G1X Mark II camera, mounted on a tripod, and a simple white reflector board as the only lighting accessory.

5. Tripod

Simple Tripod

Tripods have fallen out of favor to some extent and that's really a shame. I'll tell you why you should get one for your Powershot in a minute.

First realize that you don't have to use a tripod to take great photos. Newer cameras with high ISO settings and image stabilization don't have as much of an issue getting blurry photos from camera or subject movement.

Here are just a few valuable ways that tripods can be a great accessory for your Powershot camera.

• SHARPER PHOTOS:  When the lighting is dim your cmaera may have to use a slow shutter speed. A tripod will keep your camera perfectly still and give you clear sharp photos.
• STEADIER VIDEO: It's hard to hold a camera still while shooting video. Shaky , jerky video is annoying to watch. Use a tripod for shooting smoother videos.
• MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY: Composing photos in tight to your subject is tough where the slightest movement throws off both your focus and your precise composition. A tripod will make it much easier to shoot close-ups.
• NIGHTIME AND THE SKIES:  Whether you're photographing the stars in a stationary position on shooting super long exposure of the star trails, a tripod is the one must-have piece of equipment required.

Great accessories don't mean great photographs.

The best accessories are not always the most expensive.  It's easy to get caught up in expensive gizmos and gadgets and forget it's the photographer not the camera that should get most of the credit for a great photograph.

Give a great photographer a point and shoot and he still may get some great shots. Look at the work of Richard Avedon, Edward Weston, Jay Maisel. They are truly talented photographers who created remarkable photographs with the simplest of cameras.

accessories That let you focus on the subject and not the camera.

The right equipment makes the job so much easier.  Do you think the top race car drivers would finish first if they drove the Indianapolis 500 with flat tires or small engines in their cars?

Likewise, if you are doing bird photography, you either need a super powerful zoom lens or a wireless remote shutter release and a tripod to get your camera in close enough.

I hope this post gave you some good ideas for the best accessories for starting out in your photography journey with your Canon Powershot. See related topics below my signature.

Stay inspired. Shoot your Canon!

Bruce Lovelace is the publisher of Canon Camera Geek. Read more about him on the About Page. He also publishes how to articles and camera gear reviews at the Photography Tips website.

View some of Bruce's photos on Instagram  and Flickr.   Join the tribe of followers on YouTube. Bruce also runs photo workshops and provides 1 on 1 digital photography coaching.

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This post contains affiliate links and the publisher may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links, at no cost to you.


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