Tripod
When buying a tripod buy the best you can afford. With Landscape Photography a tripod is an invaluable investment as you’ll likely be using it most of the time to make your images. Your tripod should be able to extend to eye-level and if you’re someone who favors a bit of hiking then I also recommend opting for a tripod made form carbon-fiber due to it’s light weight.
Tripod Head
A tripod is only as good as the tripod head. So when buying a tripod I suggest saving a bit of money by getting a heavier build tripod made with magnesium alloy legs, rather than carbon-fiber which will allow you to invest in a better tripod head. Get a compact head capable of making precise adjustments, strong enough for better stability, and ideally one with it’s own leveling base to keep the camera level when shooting panoramic images. A tripod head with compatible panoramic accessories are an asset but not essential.
Panoramic Accessories
An ideal tool for creating panoramic images, a leveling base is an accessory that fits between your tripod’s legs and head allowing you to make micro adjustments in any direction to keep your camera level. Another useful piece of kit known as a Nodal Slide will also help adjust your camera’s position to keep it level, prevent parallax errors and make it easier to stitch panoramas during post-processing.
ND and Polarizing Filters.
A must-have when heading out to shoot landscapes, a polarizing filter will not only remove reflections on water and rocks but will also deepens blue skies for adding contrast. Another filter you should also consider is a six or ten-stop Neutral Density filter for those creative daylight long exposures – check out the filters made by Formatt-Hitech. Additionally you can get a few soft and hard-edged ND grads such as a 2-Stop and 3-Stop for balancing out the sky and land when shooting scenes with high contrast.
Remote Shutter
Essential when your scene calls for a long exposure. Avoid the risk of camera shake which can occur when you press the shutter by using a remote trigger. Rather than spending the extra buck to purchase an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) remote shutter, look at more affordable brands such as SmallRigg and JJC.
Lens Hood
How many photographers actually use a lens hood? Well, when shooting landscape photography a lens hood is crucial for preventing lens flare by shielding the front element of your lens from the sun which can occur if you’re using an ultra-wide angle lens for capturing a grand vista with the Sun in frame.
Hot Shoe Bubble Level
One of the more affordable options to a tripod leveling-base a hot-shoe spirit level attaches to your camera’s hot shoe to keep your camera level and avoid wonky horizons. My personal favorite is the Manfrotto 337 Hot Shoe Bubble Level – 2 Axis.
Backpack
When buying a backpack pick a lightweight backpack that’s comfortable and secure with preferably reverse access to your camera gear as well as a rain cover for those downpour days. You’ll want a backpack with enough space for fitting a DSLR/Mirrorless, a telephoto lens and a wide-angle lens at the very least.