So you’ve just got yourself a lovely shiny new DSLR. Or maybe you’re just thinking about getting yourself one. What accessories do you need to help you get the most from and make life with your camera easier?

If you haven’t purchased your camera yet then you’ll find that retailers, both online and traditional, will bend over backwards to sell you a whole host of extra bits and pieces with your camera. This is because the small things they sell you have a much higher profit margin for them than the big expensive bits of hardware, which in these competitive times are often, luckily for us, heavily discounted.

Some of these extras are really useful, others not so. So here’s a list of the first 5 bits I’d buy to go with a new camera. I’m writing this list with Nikon cameras in mind, since these are the cameras I’ve always used, but it is really equally relevant to any make of DSLR camera.

One of the more useful add ons retailers will offer you. Obviously the more memory you have in the camera the more you can shoot. The price of cards has come down rapidly over the last few years, it makes sense to get as much as you can afford. But let’s be clear about this, there are memory cards and then there are memory cards. DSLRs when used at their best quality settings and when shooting RAW or Tiff files, which give the highest quality images, produce much larger files than compact cameras. The camera has to process all this information, and the speed at which your card can have this information written to it will directly effect how your camera performs, especially regarding continuous shooting.

The difference between a budget card and a good quality high speed card is really noticeable. High speed cards can also be read more quickly too, making downloading your images more efficient as well. There are a few good brands to choose from when it comes to quality memory cards. The Lexar Pro series is good, personally though I’d recommend the Sandisk Extreme range, currently in its 4th generation. I’ve been using their Compact Flash and SD cards for years and they’ve always performed very well and never let me down. You might also like to think about a card reader for downloading pictures to your computer. It’s much quicker than downloading from the camera.

DSLRs use lithium ion rechargeable batteries. If your camera runs out of power when you’re out and about you can’t just pop in somewhere and get a new one. So it makes sense to keep a spare, and fully charged, battery with you. These batteries from the manufacturer can be expensive and there are often cheaper 3rd party alternatives. In my experience the Nikon batteries do perform better, but if it’s only going to be your spare battery then the cheaper alternative should be fine.

If you have or are thinking of buying a camera to which you can attach a battery pack (such as the Nikon D90, D300 or D700) then these are well worth considering. They do tend to be quite costly and they will add weight and bulk to the camera, but because they take extra batteries they will considerably extend your shooting time. They also have the added advantage of having extra shutter buttons and command dials, making taking shots in portrait orientation easier.

Light is obviously very important in photography. Sometimes you’ll just run out of it. Whilst most DSLRs come with a built in pop up flash these are small and can be of limited use if your subject is any distance away. It could be well worth your while investing in a flashgun. There is an enormous range available for all makes of cameras, and you need not spend a fortune to get something that will make a big difference. Because of the wide range of different flashes, I will cover the specific subject of flash guns in a separate hub.

Your camera, lens, flash and all the other bits and pieces are a valuable investment. You’ll want to keep them well protected, so you’ll need some sort of case or bag. The type of bag for you will obviously depend on what type and how much equipment you have or plan to get. I find myself lugging around a huge bag that fits 2 bodies, 3 lenses, 2 flashguns, battery packs and spare batteries, a light meter, my macbook pro and lots of other bits and bobs.

Obviously, this is more than most people will ever need, bags though come in all shapes and sizes. I’ve been using Lowepro bags for a while. They have a very extensive range of well made, durable, well padded and comfortable bags. And should have something to suit anybody’s needs. I would recommend getting a bag with a bit more space than you need right now, If your interest takes off you’re almost bound to buy something else for your camera at some point.

Your camera will come with some software bundled. Usually this is just something that allows you to see your pictures and make minor adjustments to them. A good image editing programme will allow you to do much more to enhance your pictures, and fix some things that might be wrong with them.

Everybody’s heard of Adobe Photoshop, and whilst there are other perfectly good bits of software around Photoshop is the industry standard for a reason. The full version of Photoshop is very powerful and can do amazing things. It is however very expensive and can be both complicated and a little daunting.

Fortunately there is an alternate version, called Photoshop Elements, which has all the important aspects of the main programme at a considerably cheaper cost. If you get very lucky you may even get a “limited edition” bundled with some cameras. It really is worth investigating, as Photoshop will not only allow you to tweak and enhance your images, it will give you far more control should you wish to print your own images at home.