accesories for canon 450D

[hotspur]

I have just bought a new canon 450D and sigme 120 to 400mm lens,

i sold my canon 300D and it s kit lens,kept the canon 17 to 85mm "gold series" lens.

And now wanting to by some accesories,to add to the above,i bought a

circular adjust polarizer filter for sigma lens and can get step doen ring so it goes on other lens.

Thinking about extra bigger battery that goes underneth camera,may be

a horse shoe style flash,i am told these are dear.Where is the best place

to get accesories at a resonable price,and what i am likly to pay?

Also where is a good place to get tripod,i here monfato ones are good.

All helpfull pointers most apperciated.

thanks,Chris

[chris110]

Canon EOS 450D Digital SLR Camera an Excellent camera for Beginners
with 12.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor and 9-point wide-area AF with f/2.8 cross-type centre point
EOS Integrated Cleaning System, 14-bit processing and DIGIC III for enhanced speed and image quality
3.0" LCD with Live View mode and 3.5 frames per second continuous shooting
Customisable Picture Style image processing options with Digital Photo Professional RAW processing software
Compact and lightweight body compatible with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses and Speedlite EX flash

[troypiggo]

I suggested in your "Sigma lens" thread about joining POTN (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/)for research and learning more about the camera.

I wouldn't recommend the battery grip based on your (assumed) experience. They're more for hard core photographers, weddings, sports, where more grunt and battery life is important.

I would recommend a spare battery or 2. Don't need to get the genuine Canon ones. There are 3rd party ones available at much lower prices.

Also recommend a flash - hot shoe, not horseshoe ;) But might be a little early for that for you. What is your experience? And what do you shoot mostly? What do you think you need/want a flash for?

Tripods - Manfrotto are good. I have one. Again, what do you think you need one for?

I'll PM you some websites/stores I use and recommend. Got in trouble last time I did similar for spamming :(

[Waxing_Gibbous]

A 500mm IS L lens is a must-have. You simply can't take decent photos without one.:D
A shoe-mounted flash is a great accessory, but takes some time to master properly. However once you do you'll hardly ever take it off!
I find the battery packs make an enormous positive difference in handling, but others find them cumbersome.
Re your Sigma post: I can't add anything really useful, but stay away from cheap super-zooms. Or any super zoom for that matter.
As others have noted Sigma make some great lenses, particularly their Macros. AS good as most of their lenses are, Canon (and Nikon) also make some real duds, so check the reviews.
Photo forums like POTN, fredmiranda.com and dpreview. All have more info than you could possibly use in a lifetime and are well worth joining. POTN and fredmiranda have buy & sell sections where gear can be had for much less than retail - although sometimes you really have to work to get them to send it to Australia.
Happy Snapping!