There are a large number of digital camera accessories available in the market today. Even though you might have invested a few hundred dollars in your digital camera (although they are getting cheaper by the day), you should buy yourself a few accessories as well so that you can enhance the photo quality of your pictures and be able to capture anything that comes along in your daily digital life.

Software that can help you to organize your images properly is one of the essential digital camera accessories that you need. Remember the time when you returned from a vacation with your friends and you had over 100 images to organize? This is when you realize the value of such software.

There are a large number of such software apps available today. These include image-editing programs such as Photoshop Element 3 by Adobe. This program is an improved version of the older Photoshop Album and consists of some great image organizing tools. Then, we also have the Digital Image Suite 10 by Microsoft that has some cool features that allow you to very easily arrange your images in a particular order.

In addition to image enhancing capabilities, another problem that one faces is that normally digital cameras come with a limited data storage capacity. And when you are out vacationing, it is not always possible to keep on loading your pics onto your laptop (especially if you are trekking up Mt. Everest). So, one of the most handy of digital camera accessories is a Memory Card or a Secure Digital Card. These are extremely cheap, i.e. the price starts from a mere $30 and increases according to the memory capacity that you need. They are available in all stores that sell office or computer related items. Stock up your kit with several extra memory cards and you will never run out of room to store your images.

Now that you have purchased a memory card, the next step is to go buy yourself a memory card reader. This will help you to get rid of your USB cable and can be used to read the memory card when you want to transfer photographs to your computer. These are extremely handy and can easily be carried around in your laptop bag while traveling. But ensure that you are picking up one that is USB 2.0 compatible, since the transfer speed is much faster than the regular USB 1.1. This new standard is awesome. Now you can achieve transfer rates via USB that rival fast drives.

Once you have started collecting digital camera accessories, you will realize that there are many, many items that you can purchase. These include lenses that can add an extra zing to your images, an extra flash to help you during times of crisis, filters for creative work, a tripod (I recommend a large version and a small lightweight plastic version that can be taken anywhere), a nice camera bag to hold it all in ? and loads more. So, get going and start your collection. Protect that investment!

Kevin Rockwell worked as a network TV cameraman for 20 years shooting news and sports. Now a devoted fan of digital photography and video he works to gather information, tips and news for digital camera users. Oh and he loves to shoot pictures of his kids playing sports. http://www.great-digital-cameras.com/gdcj.html