As soon as I placed the order for my Canon 1D Mark IV I started to look into some accessories that I knew I would need. There are always a few things that you have to get when you buy a new camera (or any other electronic gadget for that matter) like batteries, memory cards, etc. Here are a few of the things that I immediately wanted to go with my new camera:

Batteries: This is absolutely the first thing I buy when I get a new camera. I can’t imagine why the manufacturers think it’s OK to ship a camera with a single battery, but they always do. The 1D Mark IV uses the same Canon LP-E4 battery as the other recent 1D cameras, including the 1D Mark III and the 1Ds Mark III. The OEM Canon version of these batteries sell for over $100, but there are many after market equivalents available for $30 to $50. I have always used aftermarket batteries in my cameras and have never had a problem, and I would have no problem recommending that for this camera as well.

Memory Cards: The 1D Mark IV takes both CompactFlash cards and SDHC cards. I have a pretty good supply of CF cards (be sure to get fast UDMA cards) but I needed to pick up a couple of SD cards. I recommend Lexar 8GB SDHC cards, but many other cards will do the trick too. Just be sure to get at least Class 6 cards for best performance with video.

Camera Bag: I want to be able to carry a good selection of lenses in addition to my camera body, and my old bag simply wasn’t big enough. Of course this happens all the time with photographers… We always need new bags! I did a lot of research and decided that the best bag for me was the Tamrac 777 Summit. Everyone’s needs are different, but this bag is definitely worth checking out.

Video Microphone: I haven’t done enough video with the new camera yet to really know, but everyone says that the built in mic simply isn’t good enough. So I immediately invested in a shotgun microphone from Rode called the VideoMic. I honestly haven’t even tested it yet, but I’m told that it’s a great mic for shooting videos with a DSLR. It attaches to the camera via the hotshoe and connects directly to the mic in port on the side of the camera.

As with all new cameras I’m sure there will be many more purchases over the next few months, but these things were enough to get me started. I’d love to hear about any other gadgets that might help make the camera better and easier to use!