this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2026
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It looks like it comes with a uv filter, that would be my first suggestion. Not because you need uv protection, but because if you smash your lens it'll protect the lens itself from being broken.
Other than that its easy to spend money on accessories, and my suggestion is don't. Start taking pictures first and learn.
To this end, Beyond Point and Shoot by Darrel Young is a really good book for beginners looking for technical advice and understanding the jargon. I don't know OPs current skill level ofc, but it helped me a lot
that book looks exactly right for my level, thanks!
UV filter is completely unnecessary, taking photos with that on degrades image quality (even if just by a bit) and lens hoods or lens caps are way more useful if you're worried about breaking a lens
Image quality difference is negligable. I've had a lens saved by the UV filter (tripod got knocked over, lens hit a rock head on). IMHO it's worth it. Lens hood is a good call too, cap only helps if you're not shooting when it falls.
Don't use a cheap UV filter and you won't notice it. https://photographylife.com/filters-affect-resolution-lenses
I use a cheap UV filter and I still don't notice it. My Chinese knockoff set also came with a pair of ND filters which I haven't used much. But so far, so good.
I dunno. Looks a'ight to me.
I've definitely been grateful for the times when I've had crap flung me or my camera by the wind, animals, or often enough also nearby inattentive tourists. It's also nice to be able to just unscrew the thing in order to handle it when you need to give it a thorough cleaning. Walking around with your lens cap on all day to "protect" your lens is mostly just a great way to miss the opportunity for shots.
There definitely is a difference between good and bad filters.
I like this blog post even though it's from 2011: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2011/06/good-times-with-bad-filters/