Canon® EOS Digital Photography Photo Workshop

B.4. OTHER ACCESSORIES

Obviously, Canon makes a plethora of accessories — far too many to list here. However, there are few other accessories that you should consider. These accessories are more camera specific or don't exactly fit into the previous categories.

• Battery grip. The Rebel line, 40D, and 5D cameras (and predecessors) can have twice the battery power and extended shooting time with a battery grip. This grip also provides redundant camera controls for comfortable vertical shooting.

• Hand strap. This strap attaches to the side of your camera, allowing you to hold it securely using a leather and webbing combination that surrounds your hand. Hand straps for the Rebel line, 40D, and 5D require use of the battery grip to be able to attach the hand strap.

• Off-camera shoe cord. This spiral cord attaches to your dSLR's hot shoe, and then you attach your external flash to the cord. This is useful if want to hold your flash in your hand to have complete control over where the light is directed or if it needs to be in a different location from your camera (such as on the side or back of a macro subject, for example). The flash has complete functionality when mounted to the camera via the hot-shoe cord, just as if it were mounted directly onto the camera.

• Camera straps. Canon offers several camera strap models, which are wider than the normal strap that comes with most cameras. This allows for increased comfort when transporting and using your camera during long stretches of shooting. ...