Camera Gear You NEED To Buy In 2022
Knowing what sort of camera gear you may need as a photographer can be a confusing task. With so many different accessories and pieces of equipment that you can buy it’s sometimes difficult to know which pieces are a good investment and which pieces are a waste of money. These pieces of camera gear are absolutely essential for photographers to own in 2022.
Camera Accessories You Need in 2022
I have selected each and every item on this list from gear that I personally own. All items on here are accessories that I don’t believe that I could live without and at some point I have found myself needing to operate my photography business. So without further ado, here are camera accessories that I believe every photographer in 2022 should have.
1.) A Durable and Sturdy Tripod
A tripod is one of the most important accessories that a photographer can have. Tripods are very handy for a variety of reasons! If you have a problem with holding your camera steady or your photos often have motion blur you should start using a tripod! Tripods are also great for shooting long exposures, photographing in low light, photographing animals with a telephoto lens, photographing with lens filters, photographing landscapes (to help you compose the scene better), shooting video, shooting time lapses, shooting astro photography, and shooting HDR photos. It is important for your tripod to be portable, lightweight, and durable so it can attach to your camera bag and you can take it with you anywhere that you may find yourself needing it. I personally use a Zomei M5 Tripod and it works great for me! Not only do I use the durable ball head that comes with the tripod, but I also use a Neewer Wildlife Gimbal that works great for me when photographing wildlife. A tripod is a crucial piece of photography gear that I wouldn’t be able to live without and you absolutely need to invest in one now!
This tripod is the Zomei M5 which is a tripod I can recommend to you with extreme confidence in it’s abilities.
2.) SD Cards
Obviously, every photographer needs SD cards. They are literally what your pictures are written onto inside of the camera. However, it is unfortunately common for photographers to lose and even forget SD cards when going out to shoot. Not only is it important to have SD cards, but it is important to stock up on them as well. I recommend putting SD cards anywhere where you may end up needing them. Some good places to store SD cards are in your camera bag, in your car, in your office, in you photography blinds, and anywhere else that you may find yourself creating photography often. Anytime I purchase SD cards I purchase the brand SanDisk. These cards are fast, reliable, and not overpriced. 
3.) External Flashes and Lights
It's important to have proper lighting when taking photos. A great way to ensure that you always have good lighting is to have external lights and flashes. External lights are also great for studio portraits, product photography, outdoor portraits, video production sets, and much more. For my camera I use a Neewer external flash when taking portraits and product photography shots. External flashes come in handy not only in low light conditions, but they can also help soften hard light so they are a must have. For external lighting I use this small portable light for product photography and other things and it works fantastically! External lighting is very important and it is important to have a flash and an external light!
I snapped this product photography photo with my small, portable Weeylite RGB light with an indoor backdrop. Without the light, this photo would have looked plain and boring… proving that every photographer needs an external light!
4.) A Durable Camera Bag for Traveling
Camera bags are one of the most important pieces of photography equipment that you can invest in. Camera backpacks are made for carrying your cameras, lenses, laptops, and other pieces of gear that are valued at thousands of dollars. You don't want to choose just any random bag to protect you equipment that you spent thousands of dollars on. You need a good weather sealed, durable, and portable bag that is going to keep your gear safe. If you're wondering what camera bag is right for you, feel free to check out my YouTube video where I talk about how to choose a camera bag that is right for you: Choosing A Camera Bag That is Right For YOU. However, I want to recommend to you the camera bag that I currently trust to transport all of my expensive camera gear. I use the Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW II and it is a superb bag that keeps all of my gear safe and out of harms way. I do a lot of traveling and outdoor work. The bag carries all of my heavy lenses (including my heavy 200-500mm telephoto lens), my cameras, as well as other equipment that I find myself needing out in the field. I have also used the bag as a carry on airplanes, it works great and fits under the seat perfectly while keeping my gear safe and unharmed!
5.) External Hard Drives
Most people, including some photographers, have no idea how important that an external hard drive can potentially be for photography. If you look for very long online, you can find a variety of horror stories about photographers losing all of their work and not having anything left to show for. External hard drives give you the opportunity to back up all of your work onto a secondary storage device to ensure that you don't have to worry about losing everything. I back up not only my edited photos, but also my RAW images onto my portable hard drive as well as a variety of other places. I would be devastated if I lost all of my years of hard work, but external hard drives give me peace of mind knowing that I don't have to worry about it. I use Segate Portable Hard Drives and they work great for me! I 100% recommend getting one of these external hard drives in order to prevent losing all of your work!
Why wait? Hurry and order your hard drive now!! You never know when your computer could crash and lose all of your files!!
6.) Memory Card Holder
If you are going to be purchasing a lot of SD cards as I previously advised, it is important to have a place to store them when out in the field and when you fill up the card. That is why it is soooo important to make sure that you get a good SD card holder! This SD card holder is a great choice because of the fact that not only does it store 12 SD cards, but it is also weather resistant! Not only is it great to store SD cards in at home once they are full, but it is also great for taking your cards out into the field because you don't have to worry about them getting damaged. 
As you can see here, these memory card holders are great to keep your cards safe!
Don’t waste your time! Get your own SD card holder now!1
7.) Rocket Air Blower
Although you should do additional research before cleaning your camera's sensor, chances are at some point you will find yourself needing a rocket blower to clean sensor dust. Sensor dust is little black colored dots that may appear on your photos that are actually dirt and dust. These blowers are a great way to get rid of dust quickly when out in the field or when you don't have enough time to properly clean your camera's sensor. This Rocket Air Blower is the one I use and it comes in a pack of four. I absolutely believe that you need one of these to go with your other camera accessories and it can be a great tool to have in your camera bag!
8.) ND Filters
ND filters are one of the most useful accessories for landscape photographers. ND (neutral density) filters have a variety of purposes but their two main purposes are allowing you to use longer shutter speeds and have lower f stops in harsh light. There are three different types of ND filters which are: solid ND filters, variable ND filters, and graduated ND filters. In most scenarios I find myself using solid ND filters 95% of the time, but on rare occasions I like to use graduated ND filters as well. Most of the long exposure photos that I have taken have been with ND filters. When it comes to moving water, I can pretty much guarantee you that there is an ND filter in front of my lens, unless it is a really dark and dreary day outside. There are a lot of great ND filters out there that you can purchase, but the ones that I currently use are fairly inexpensive and they get the job done. Although the filters I have are no longer available for purchase, these filters would be a great alternative option! Make sure that you also find a proper ND filter adapter ring so you are able to mount your filters to your lens!
This is the effect of a long exposure. ND filters can help give the water this silky, smooth look that makes the image have a unique look.
I hope that this article has provided you with the proper knowledge that you will need to purchase you next piece of photography equipment. The best piece of camera gear isn’t always a new camera or lens, but can sometimes be something as simple as a new tripod! It can be complicated to navigate the world of camera gear, but I have confidence that you can do it! For any questions regarding camera gear or anything else photography related, feel free to reach out to me anytime at my email: rylansamazingphotography@gmail.com.
To see more of my photography and connect with me follow me over on Instagram! @rylansamazingphotography