Likely cost of owning a DSLR for a beginner (2/3)

A short and comical series of owning a DSLR, part 2 of 3

My previous posting is about the actual cost (the hidden cost) that you will incur in a basic DSLR kit or even a PnS digital camera, in addition to the cost of the camera itself.  This post entry is about the likely additional items that a new DSLR owner will further incur!

Yes, we have finally spent our last paycheck on a new entry level DSLR and then we have put on our credit card the additional memory card else we can’t take any pictures, the bag to take the camera home and a tripod because the retailer said we can’t have a DSLR without a tripod!  We rush home to try out the new toy!

Then we read more and we talk to others with a DSLR …

Filters: Everywhere, everyone says as a minimum we should get a UV filter to protect our investment.  We don’t want to accidently scratch our “expensive” lens!  We survey the market and then we realise that there are other types of filters, polarizing filters (CPL)  and close-up filters to name the common few.  Boy, we need to have them all ….. (Plus USD100 or so …)

Cleaning Accessories: Next up, we are told that we can use our T-Shirt to clean our camera lens as it will leave fine scratch marks no matter how gentle we are.  So, they recommend those micro-fibre cloth or special cleaners for our “expensive” lenses …. sigh … (Plus USD20)

Screen Protectors: We have been trying to take care of our lens (or lenses) as they are very “expensive” investment. So, what do we do with our camera body, we can’t leave them out too … so, we invest in a screen protector for the LCD display! (Plus USD20)

So, now we have invested in a memory card, a bag, a tripod, a few filters probably, a cleaner and screen protector! That’s about 50% of the price of our DSLR with kit lens?  We have not even talked about taking pictures yet!

Next … Actual cost of owning a DSLR for a beginner!