Summertime is beach season and that means swimming, surfing, snorkeling, water sports, volleyball, beach parties, and of course taking lots of great pictures of folks having fun in the sun! Here’s a selection of cool and affordable items guaranteed to enhance your surfside picture-taking experience and also help you to capture great beach pictures you’ll treasure for years to come.
Sirui W-1204 Waterproof Tripod
Adorama price:
If you’re an avid beach shooter this innovative tripod may be the one for you. It’s submersible, dustproof, and waterproof to IPX Level 7 standards, using a proprietary ring system that prevents water from seeping into the legs and causing damage. Its 10-layer carbon fiber legs have ergonomic 3-position leg-angle locks that lock into position automatically, and fold back 180 degrees to achieve a compact folded length of only 19.3 inches. Other features: one leg converts to a waterproof monopod, detachable center column can be inverted for low-angle shooting and has a bottom hook for adding stabilizing weights, slip-resistant rubber feet can be replaced with included steel spikes for rough terrain, and a bubble level provides fast horizontal adjustment. The Sirui W-1204 extends to a maximum height of 65 inches with center column extended, weighs in a 3.7 pounds, and has a hefty load capacity of 33.1 pounds.
Glow Portable 5-in-1 Portable 42” Reflector Kit
Adorama price:
This versatile light modification tool literally lets you harness the sun by controlling and directing the world’s most powerful light source. It includes white, silver, gold, and black discs plus a one-stop translucent diffusion disc and it’s great way to achieve the precise lighting effects you want when shooting at the beach, in the field, or in the studio. The white disc provides a neutral fill, the silver one adds contrast and increases specular highlights, gold adds a touch of warmth, black blocks unwanted reflections and eliminates light spill, and the translucent disc cuts the light by one stop and creates broader, softer lighting effects. The 42-inch size of the discs makes them suitable for ¾-length portraits and medium-sized still life subjects, and they fold to 1/3 their size for convenient storage in the included carrying bag.
Sunpak DF3000 Digital Flash
Adorama price: (Canon), (Nikon), (Sony/Minolta)
It may seem counterintuitive, but an add-on flash is a great accessory to use in bright light and at the beach to provide fill and tame harsh shadows and excessive contrast. This powerful compact flash unit is available in 3 dedicated versions for Canon, Nikon, or Sony/Minolta DSLR systems, provides a zoom head diffuser with a 28-85mm range and manual zoom settings, and its head tilts upwards to 90 degrees, and swivels 180 degrees to the left and 120 degrees to the right for bounce applications. Delivering a high (ISO 100 at 85mm) guide number of 92 and fast recycling from 0.5-7.0 sec, it’s suitable for outdoor as well as low-light indoor applications, provides auto setting of shutter speed and aperture, auto power off, a focus assist beam for low-light-shooting and TTL (but not wireless TTL) compatibility. The Sunpak DF3000 uses 4 alkaline or Ni-MH batteries for power (not included).
Zing Designs Large DSLR Reversible Camera Cover
Adorama price: (in gray)
A great way to protect your DSLR or mirrorless camera at the beach, this attractive one-piece, wrap-around neoprene cover stretches over the lens, secures without buckles, snaps, etc., and has a removable retainer strap that clips into the camera strap to keep the cover away from the lens while you’re shooting. Designed to accommodate consumer-size DSLRs with lenses up to 4 inches long, its closure system fits snugly at round the camera to provide maximum weather resistant protection with minimal bulk. It weighs only 5 ounces and folds for easy storage when not in use.
Manfrotto Compact Aluminum Monopod Advanced
Adorama price:
A monopod is a great ultra-portable accessory that takes up little space and can add crucial stability when shooting beach pictures and videos with long telephoto lenses or after sunset. This sturdy 5-section unit folds to 16.3 inches, extends to an eye-level 61.3 inches, will support cameras up to 6.6 pounds and weighs just 12.3 ounces. It has fast operating flip locks for easy setup, a quick wheel that lets you hold the camera with one hand while mounting it with the other, an ergonomic soft grip, and a wrist strap for added security.
Davis & Sanford Traverse Compact Tripod With Ball Head
Adorama price: (with padded carrying case)
This versatile ultra-portable aluminum tripod is the one you’ll actually take with you—to the beach or any vacation destination. It folds to only 12 inches long by pivoting its legs back 180 degrees, over the easy-glide center post, and fits easily in most camera bags. Weighing in at only 2.6 pounds complete with Dual-Control ball head with calibrated base and Arca-Swiss-compatible quick release, it extends to 53 inches, has a robust carrying capacity of 10 pounds, and its sturdy 23mm-diameter 5-section legs have freeze-proof rubberized twist locks, 3-position independent leg-angle adjustments, foam-cushioned insulators, and rubberized leg tips.
Sigma WR Ceramic Protector Filter
Adorama price: (67mm size)
Many experienced shooters use a clear or UV filter over their lenses to protect their precious glass from dust, sand, scratching, and direct physical impact, but the Sigma WR Ceramic Protector Filter takes this protection to a higher level, employing a super-hard ceramic substrate that combines an impressive 99.7% light transmittance value, a hardness greater than chemically strengthened glass, and flexibility than greater sapphire crystal. As a result it delivers superior shock, scratch, and impact resistance even under adverse conditions and it features a water-repellant, anti-static coating that resists water droplets like ocean spray, fingerprint smudging, and is easier to clean.
Tiffen ND Filters
Adorama price: (77mm size)
The Tiffen Variable Neutral Density Filter is great for shooting at white sand beaches and other bright, highly reflective environments. It has a rotating ring that can be set to provide from 2 to 8 stops of light reduction, allowing you to shoot at wider apertures to achieve bokeh effects in portraits and landscapes, or to shoot at slower shutter speeds for a more natural look with moving subjects such as ocean waves. It has a wider profile front ring to minimize vignetting. Neutral density filters do not affect the overall coloration of the image, and Tiffen ND filters are manufactured using the proprietary ColorCore process to ensure uniformity.
Sigma 2x EX DG APO Teleconveter
Adorama price: (Canon EF, Nikon F, and Sigma SA mounts)
This highly corrected 2x converter mounts directly behind the lens to double its effective focal length while losing only 2 stops of light—e.g. a 50mm f/1.4 becomes a 100mm f/2.8, and an 85mm f/1.4 becomes a 170mm f/2.8. It’s great for shooting action pictures of distant swimmers and surfers and enhances overall shooting flexibility on the go. It also maintains communication between the lens and the camera so auto-exposure (AE) and AF functions operate normally. Multicoated to maximize light transmission and minimize flare and ghosting, and it’s a compact, lightweight alternative to carrying extra lenses.
Pelican 1040 Micro Case (Clear Yellow with Colored Lining)
Adorama price:
Water-resistant, crushproof, and dustproof, this cool case is made of strong, durable polymer, has a rubber liner that doubles as an O-ring seal, and is designed for carrying small items such as cell phones and electronic gear. It has a pressure equalization valve to balance interior and exterior pressure and keep water out, employs stainless steel hardware and comes with a carabiner. The case floats in salt water with a payload up to 1.26 pounds, measures 6.5 x 3.87 x 1.75 inches internally, and weighs 11.36 ounces.
