13 Best Photography Accessories Under $200

4. SLIK Pro 700 BHX AMT Tripod with SBH-808DQ Ball Head

The SLIK Pro 700 BHX AMT is one of the best tripod and head combos you can find if you’re looking to spend under $200 for both pieces of gear. SLIK’s Pro products are heavy-duty, utilize high-quality materials such as their “AMT” alloy (which stands for Aluminum, Magnesium, and Titanium), and will support shooting long exposures with heavy lenses. This is a great first tripod because it won’t cause any headaches, is incredibly simple and has some features that make it applicable to more use cases, without sacrificing build quality.

At this price point, many brands either make entry-level tripods, with the occasional standout. In terms of quality and usability, this tripod stands out from the general <200$ tripod and feels like it should come from a price bracket up when used. Whether you are new, looking to dabble in tripod use, or you just haven’t had a tripod for a bit, this is a great place to start.

5. Sony’s TOUGH UHS-II SD Cards

SD Cards are never something that you want to fail and are also something that, when we as photographers first buy a shiny new camera and set of lenses, we happen to skimp out on. If you’re still using an older SD card, you might want to take a look at upgrading to one of the newer UHS-II cards if your camera supports it. UHS-II SD cards have more contact points on the back of the card, allowing for much higher usable read and write speeds, which means that the capacity of your camera’s buffer can be used to its highest potential. The market for SD cards is so large, especially at the lower end, because many people buying SD cards don’t realize the importance of more reliable faster storage. If you’re still using an older SD card, you might be handicapping your own camera’s modern equipment!

SD cards should be replaced frequently, relative to the rest of your photography equipment. A camera body can last years, lenses, filters, and tripods can last decades. SD cards should be changed out around once a year, although there is still a bit of leeway there, especially if you aren’t simply using a single one. In the case that you are currently only using 1-2 SD cards for everything, consider investing in great, high-quality, larger-capacity pair of cards. They’ll make both your camera and computer work more efficiently for you, which is a bonus when you think just about the risk reduction they bring to the table, too!

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6. LEE Filter Holder

Lee 100 Series Filter Holder | Holds a variety of ND, Graduated ND, Polarizing, and other filters made by Lee | Incredible customer service | Snug fit | Use in combination with LEE filters

$96.00

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At this price point, you can either purchase an incredible ND or Polarizing filter or start working on getting a dedicated set of them for your long exposure photography. Lee is the golden standard of filter companies, and the filters and holders they make are some of the best that you will ever use.

Sadly, Lee’s quality comes with a large compromise: price. The filter holder itself is nearly $100, which is the same price as many of the filters. Additionally, you will find yourself needing step-up rings to the 100mm sizing which this filter holder comes in, which Lee prices at around $57.00 on Amazon.

What you get for your money, however, is well worth it. Not only does Lee make fantastic products that won’t fail on you, in the rarest instance where they do, but they also have a stellar reputation of no-holds-barred customer service, with great agents who just want you to be happy for having purchased a product from them.

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7. B+W Variable ND Filter

77mm Filter Thread | Variable between one and five stops of ND adjustability | Brass ring mount construction | Highly resistant “MRC”/multi-resistant coating | Can be used in tandem with fixed ND filters | Made in Germany

$179.95

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If you’re not sold on the whole ND filter system with holder tech, you could always invest in a different, but still fantastic, option – a variable ND filter. While filter systems like the aforementioned one from Lee are amazing, they do have their shortcomings. The largest of which, for me personally at least, is how many pieces of glass you have to carry with you, especially if you’re not sure exactly what light you are facing, or even what you are photographing.

In some senses, multiple filter setups afford you more flexibility, because they allow you to switch between so many options. In the opposite sense, the fact that you are limited by what exact filters you have can make them inflexible, or prohibitively expensive. That’s where a variable filter comes in.

This filter is rather expensive for just one filter, but it isn’t exactly just one filter. It allows you to change your ND gradation between one and five stops. That’s the difference between letting half the light, and one thirty-second of the light hit your camera’s sensor. And, everything in between.

Besides that flexibility, you’re also paying for incredible optical quality, and the lack of a color cast from a professional grade, a high-quality company like B+W will provide. Just like with lenses, cameras, and tripods, it’s definitely worth spending a bit more for a filter from a company that knows what it’s doing and has been at it long enough to be well respected in the world of photography.

I recommend buying a filter that fits the largest lens filter thread you have, or if you’re currently considering purchasing an even larger front element lens, filters that accommodate that size. Then, use step-up rings for the rest of your lenses. That’s more economical than buying filters for all your lenses, although keep in mind that the larger area the filter has to cover, the more expensive it tends to be.

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8. B+W Polarizing Filter

82mm Filter Thread | High Transmission (HTC) Polarizing film | Brass ring mount construction | Neutral color cast | Highly resistant “MRC”/multi-resistant coating | Special design makes adjustment easier | Extra thin/narrow XS-Pro Mount design | Made in Germany

$148.00

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Since we’re on the topic, here’s my sub-$200 recommendation for a polarizing filter. I specifically chose the XS-Pro variant here, because if you’re going with any form of variable ND filter, you want to make sure that you aren’t getting too thick with your filter stacking. This is especially true if you find yourself getting a less expensive variable ND filter, or filter set. Keeping the overall amount of filter glass, and filter volume, which you place in front of a lens low allows you the least impact on image quality.

If you’re looking for a polarizing filter that can be used for commercial work, will last a long time, and is durable both in terms of being well built and coated (and, at the risk of sounding like a broken record), B+W filters are some of the best.

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9. Godox XPro Remote Trigger System

Remote flash system compatible with any hot shoe flashes | Wireless 2.4G | Fully supports TTL-based flash | Multichannel and group support | Versions for all major camera manufacturers

$149.00

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Learning the basics of flash photography can get expensive fast, but it doesn’t have to. Flashes from camera manufacturers are generally relatively overpriced, and mono light-based flash systems can make even those look cheap. At the low, introductory, end, however, there are companies that make dedicated lighting gear for fledgling flash photographers.

These Godox remotes are fantastic because they let you take basically any flash system and update it so that you can start learning off-camera flash, which is much more versatile and powerful than working with on-camera flash in the majority of cases. Take note of which system you are ordering, however, as these are not cross-compatible across manufacturers.

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10. A Beauty Dish

Diffuses light to have moderate to high feathering | 28″, 80-degree reflector | Metal construction | Includes honeycomb grid and fabric diffuser | Two-year warranty

$193.95

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Lighting modifiers are some of the most important things to try out while learning off-camera flash. My go-to, and favorite, light modifier is a beauty dish. What’s great about these is that, in addition to a reflector, you can take incredible portraits with just one light. Add in a second, and you’re going to be hitting home runs.

Beauty dishes are designed in a way that makes them a great tool for high key portraits, but they also work fantastically if you want to take a flash out of the studio, and I particularly like to use them as fill on a sunny day, where they don’t have to be the dominant light source.

The additional grid and diffusing fabric that come with this medium-sized dish mean that you can use it for several different types of lighting, and give you a lot of control over the light. If the only modifiers you’ve worked with are smaller, collapsible ones that possibly came with your first flashes, then this could be a great next step for you.

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11. A C-Stand

100% Stainless Steel | Adjustable height | Built in extension arm | Turtle style base | 2 Metal grip heads

$165.99

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Have you had enough of shoddy light stands? Do you want to place your light above your camera, but don’t have X-Ray vision built into your camera to shoot through the stand?

C-Stands are awesome. They use a boom arm so that you can position a light much more easily – be it because you need the light above yourself physically, or because you aren’t tall enough to naturally get the 11 foot reach that a C-Stand like this one provides.

Further, C-Stands make it a lot easier to physically move a light incrementally. Rather than having to mess with height adjustment, you can simply use the large and high-quality pressure-based screw joints and swing the light around. The turtle-style base also means that it is really easy to throw sandbags, or other weights, onto the legs, and fold it flat for storage.

Whether you’ve finally started a studio, or are building one, even at-home, C-Stands are the first step up from hobbyist gear into real studio gear. They make off-camera artificial lighting so much easier to work with, and have the added benefit of doubling not only as mic booms but also as reflector-holders, should the need arise.

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12. High-Quality Battery Powered LED

Small 3″ Size | Weighs only 6 ounces | 10+ hour runtime | 1200 Lumens of output | Included diffuser | Adjustable color temperature between 3000-6000K | Bluetooth control | 95+ CRI | Waterproof | Tripod mountable | OLED Display

$169.95

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This LED light is incredible. It’s super small and portable, so you can take it with you anywhere. It becomes a pocketable extra light that you can use in any of those instances where you might need to add light that matches the temperature of the general lighting atmosphere. With the 1200 Lumen output, you can even use it as a key light in a pinch.

The CRI (Color Rendering Index) of this light means that the fact that it is adjustable between 3000K – 6000K, you actually have great control over the color temperature. At full output, however, the light will only run off of its battery for 45 minutes. At low power, you can get a full ten plus hours of use.

The light is app-controlled and has quite a few features. You can turn the light on and off, change the brightness and color temperature, strobe the light for interesting longer exposures (and even control the highs and lows of a strobe effect). Grab this light with some color gels, and you can get really creative with a really small package.

One of the greatest features, however, is when you get multiple of these. You can create groups or control them individually from the app, and create a full studio-style lighting setup that fits in a pair of cargo pants – or a backpack, for the more fashionably conscious.

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13. Peak Design Capture Clip(s)

Holds up to 200 lbs. | Lifetime guarantee | Carry cameras, lenses, GoPros, binoculars | Attaches to any belt/fabric up to 2.5″ wide and 0.6″ thick | Metal screw down clamping design

$69.95

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The Peak Design capture clip, which is currently in its third revision, is often my first recommendation to friends asking me how to best carry their camera around. It’s fantastic because it gets rid of my least favorite accessory: the strap. While some people like the feeling of a strap, or the safety which it brings, it gets in the way often and can make taking photos from different angles and points of view rather bothersome.

This clip is also great if you want to carry an additional lens to easily switch off, or if you want to shoot on a tripod and really don’t need the strap. Once you get used to the locking mechanism, you feel as if the camera is much more secure than other carrying methods, partially because others don’t really know how to get it off of you.