Innovative Camera Accessories You Need in Your Bag
- Foolography UNLEASHED
- Wiral LITE Cable Cam System
- Peak Design Travel Tripod
- Marumi Magnetic Filter System
- Litra Torch LitraPro
- Camera Canopy
- Synology Diskstation DS 1019+
photo by rdonar via iStock
Let’s face it…
There are more photography gadgets available today to make photography an easier task than at any point in history.
Our cameras do more, our lenses are more capable, heck, even today’s tripods have innovative features that make them more functional than we could have imagined just a decade ago.
It’s like we’re living in the golden age of photography!
Granted, some of the “innovative” products out there aren’t all that great, and are more smoke and mirrors than an actual, functional product.
But the items listed below are certainly game-changing products that can help you take your photography to the next level.
Let’s take a look at a few innovative camera accessories that are worth picking up today.
Table of Contents
Foolography UNLEASHED
One of the best photography gadgets currently on the market is the Foolography UNLEASHED remote.
I know what you’re thinking...how can a remote be an innovative camera accessory?!
Trust me, this one is!
Aside from the fact that this thing is tiny (the remote for my Nikon Z7 is about the size of my thumbnail), it has a suite of functionalities that enable much greater creativity with your camera.
For instance, the remote has a companion app that allows you to control it via your smartphone. That means no more sitting there with your camera, constantly adjusting its settings.
Instead, you can kick back, relax in a comfy chair, and change things like aperture, shutter speed, and ISO using the remote feature. You can even adjust white balance and exposure compensation too.
Want to shoot a timelapse? No problem! The Foolography UNLEASHED enables you to easily make timelapse videos, even with day to night transitions.
Additionally, you can shoot long exposures, start and stop video recording, and geotag your photos in-camera. You can do all that for up to six cameras at once.
That makes Foolography UNLEASHED a next-level remote. This sucker is about way more than simply allowing you to trigger the shutter. Instead, this little Bluetooth wonder and all its incredible features will help you kick your photography game into high gear!
Learn more about Foolography UNLEASHED
Wiral LITE Cable Cam System
Another one of my favorite innovative camera accessories is the Wiral LITE Cable Cam system.
Cable cam systems aren’t anything new, but what makes this one so innovative is how small, lightweight, and easy to set up it is.
In fact, it takes about three minutes to get this bad boy ready to roll. And don’t think that because it’s easy to set up that it isn’t just as capable as cable cam systems that take ten times as long to get going.
What makes the Wiral LITE so simple to set up is that there are just three components - the main unit, the remote control, and the quick reel rope system.
The main unit (shown above) is just 1.3 pounds and 10.8 x 3 x 1.7” in size, so it’s super portable. I can slide it into my camera bag and head out the door, no problem!
With a payload of up to 3.3 pounds, you can use all sorts of cameras with it, from an action camera like a GoPro to a DSLR with a standard lens on it. You can even mount your phone to it!
The truly innovative part is the rope.
You get 164 feet (or you can opt for a 328-foot length) so you can span just about anything you want to shoot.
The thinness of the rope is absolutely incredible - it’s just 0.1 inches thick. It can be that thin because Wiral uses UHMWPE ultra static rope that’s incredibly lightweight without sacrificing payload capacity or safety.
It really is quite a marvel, which you can see in my video above. I think we got some pretty darn good footage myself!
Learn more about the Wiral LITE Cable Cam System
Peak Design Travel Tripod
In the introduction of this article, I mentioned that today’s tripods have more features and functionalities than we could have imagined just a decade ago.
I say that with one tripod in mind - the Peak Design Travel Tripod.
When Peak Design launched this tripod on Kickstarter, their goal of $500,000 was surpassed in just 50 minutes, and with good reason - this is one of the most innovative camera accessories ever made.
On the one hand, this tripod folds down to about the size of a water bottle, making it about half the size of most traditional tripods in their folded down state. That makes this the most travel-friendly full-sized tripod on the planet.
This is possible because the engineers at Peak Design figured out a way to eliminate wasted space.
If you notice in the photos of the tripod, there is no space between the ball head and the tripod. There’s no knobs that stick out, either.
As the image above shows, the ball head nests directly into the architecture of the legs. This space-saving design allows the tripod to be so small when it’s packed down.
But if you think that this small tripod has a small load capacity, you’re wrong…
Not only does the Travel Tripod have a 20-pound weight capacity, but it can extend to 58.5-inches tall with the center column deployed.
Its 5-section legs are weather-resistant and impact-resistant, and give you the ability to drop the camera to as low as 4.5-inches off the ground.
I could go on and on here, but why not just check out my video review above to see this thing in action. It’s truly an innovative camera accessory and one of the best photography gadgets of 2019!
Learn more about the Peak Design Travel Tripod
Marumi Magnetic Filter System
Filters are a must for any photographer that spends any amount of time photographing landscapes.
The benefits of having filters like a circular polarizer (shown above), a graduated ND, and a solid ND are just too many not to have them!
A polarizer brings skies to life with more contrast and saturation while a graduated ND helps even out the exposure for a shot that has manageable dynamic range. A solid ND is also a must if you want to capture ethereal scenes with beautifully blurred motion.
And the best filter system for doing all that while you're traveling? The Marumi magnetic system!
The Marumi M100 filter holder and its companion magnetic filters strong and durable, which is just what you want for your travels.
The M100 filter holder, for example, is made of aircraft aluminum, which helps it stand up to the bumps and bruises of travel without adding extra weight.
The gaskets on the front of the holder form a seal around the back of the filter, preventing light leaks from occurring.
The magnetic filters (like the solid ND shown above) are made of high-grade Schott 5270 glass, which offers high-definition results.
Each filter also has anti-scratch, anti-reflective, and water and oil-repellent properties to stave off damage, unwanted aberrations, and dirt and grime.
It truly is the ideal travel companion for photographers - a lightweight, easy-to-use, and durable filter system that allows you to improve the quality of your photos whether you're photographing mountains, plains, water, forests, or something in between!
Litra Torch LitraPro
Again, it might surprise you to see a light on a list of cool photography accessories, but, again, once you get to know the LitraPro, you realize just how incredible this innovative photography gadget really is.
Weighing in at just 6 ounces and measuring 2.75 x 2 x 1.2 inches, you might not expect much from this light.
But since Litra works so hard to give us the most innovative camera accessories, this little guy puts out A LOT of light…
In fact, Litra has crammed 60 LEDs into this thing, which put out 1200 lumens of light.
It’s good light, too - super clean, very crisp, and flicker-free. That’s just what you want in a light for photography!
On top of that, the LitraPro is bi-color and adjustable from 3000K to 6000K so you can customize the color of light to your specific needs. Not bad, right?!
You get excellent coverage thanks to its 70-degree beam angle, and since it’s built to MIL-SPEC 810 specs, you know that it will give you rugged durability for years to come.
It’s even waterproof up to 90 feet!
Add to that 10 hours of battery life (on low output), an OLED display, fully dimmable output, and Bluetooth control, and you have the makings of one of the best photography gadgets you can get your hands on!
Learn more about the Litra Torch LitraPro
Camera Canopy
If you shoot landscapes like I do (or any subject outdoors, for that matter), you know the stress of worrying about the weather.
Will it rain? If it does, do I have time to get my gear out of the elements? If I keep shooting, how hard will it be to reach the buttons and dials to change settings?
These are important questions to ask, and fortunately, with Camera Canopy, those questions are easily answered.
As you can see above, the Camera Canopy simply attaches to your camera’s hot-shoe mount, so it’s incredibly easy to deploy if the weather takes a turn for the worse.
The canopy easily extends or retracts, so you can customize how much protection you need based on the lens you’re using.
What’s more, unlike those awful camera rain bags that restrict your ability to change camera settings or even see the LCD, camera canopy leaves all that real estate open (yet still protected). That means you can quickly and easily change camera settings, access the camera’s menu system, and review images on the LCD.
Best of all, there are versions for DSLRs and for mirrorless cameras too. I picked one up for my Nikon D850 and then another for my Z7, and in inclement weather, there’s no better companion to have for my camera!
Learn more about Camera Canopy for DSLRs or Camera Canopy for Mirrorless Cameras
Synology DiskStation DS1019+
Okay, so technically this isn't something you'd carry around in your camera bag, but a good backup device is an absolute must-have for photographers, and the DS1019+ is one of the best money can buy.
I had a scare with a hard drive failure last year, and I didn't have a backup at the time. You can imagine how quickly I began researching backups!
I got the DS1019+ for several reasons.
First, Synology has a rock-solid reputation for developing reliable products that have innovative features. These units are easy to use too!
I'm no network storage genius by any means, yet I was able to quickly set up my DiskStation and back up my files.
It has an operating system that's intuitive and simple to use, and adding disk drives (2.5-inch or 3.5-inch) is a breeze as well. In fact, if you use 3.5-inch drives you don't even need any tools to install them - Synology has incorporated tension brackets to make the installation quick and easy. That's just one innovative feature you'll appreciate about the DS1019+.
Second, this unit is small enough to fit on my desk without being obtrusive.
It's 6.5-inches x 9-inches x 8-inches and even with drives installed, it only weighs about 5.5 pounds. Though I don't take it with me when I travel, I suppose you could do so with relative ease!
It also looks great with a sleek black design that looks modern and is a nice addition to my desktop.
On top of all that, it's quiet - something I really appreciate when I need to crank out a lot of work.
Lastly, I appreciate all the features that Synology has crammed into this device.
It has an Intel Celeron J3455 1.5 GHz quad-core processor, 8 GB of RAM, and read/write speeds of up to 225MB per second.
Add in data encryption, built-in audio and video applications, and dual M.2 NVMe SSD slots that don't take up space in the drive bays, and you have the makings of a fully-featured backup system for your photos and videos. It's innovative, feature-rich, and priced right.
Get all the details on this must-have photography accessory by reading my complete Synology DiskStation DS1019+ review.