Photography accessories - the options are endless: cases, lenses, filters, diffusers, etc., etc. Of the multitude of accessories out there, we find that some are necessary - and others are simply taking up room in the camera bag. The Gear Patrol crew gets a lot of experience behind the lens, and we have sifted through many of the photo accoutrements out there.

The following list of gear contains items that we feel will actually make a difference in your photography...

External Hard Drive
10 Essential DSLR Camera Accessories #9

Protecting those photos that you have worked so hard to get is crucial - so back them up with an external drive. For that extra sense of security, go with a RAID-1 set up. Two drive "mirror" each other, i.e., both drives get the same data in real-time so there are two copies of the same information in case one drive fails. Newer Technology makes a great one - the Guardian Maximus "Quad Interface". This black box offers connectivity via Firewire 800/400, USB 2.0, and eSATA ports. Available as an "add your own drives" kit, or preloaded with a range of drives from 300GB + 300GB up to 2TB + 2 TB.