20 Fantastic Photography and Filmmaking Accessories for Less Than $20 Each

Be warned: if you love gear, you might want to buy everything on this list. Gadgets and knickknacks galore, here are 20 useful items to help your filmmaking — and maybe photography — that each cost less than $20.

Caleb Pike knows his gear and loves optimizing the various rigs that he designs to make content creation as easy and efficient as possible. In this video, Pike has compiled an excellent list of bits and bobs, some to provide creative flourishes, others to simply make life that little bit easier.

Battery-powered LED lights have come a long way in the last couple of years, and while I think the light that Pike includes is now around $40 rather than $20, it’s still an absolute bargain given its extensive list of features and output power. There’s a ton of alternatives both on Amazon and B&H Photo, and they seem to drop in price every time a new model is introduced.

The other item that stands out for me is the power squid, which makes so much more sense for anyone trying to wedge a load of different plugs into one splitter.

What else would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments below.

Andy Day's picture

Andy Day is a British photographer and writer living in France. He began photographing parkour in 2003 and has been doing weird things in the city and elsewhere ever since. He's addicted to climbing and owns a fairly useless dog. He has an MA in Sociology & Photography which often makes him ponder what all of this really means.

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10 Comments

The LED lights are fascinating. If they were remotely controlled and would have a decent running time, I'd buy some immediately for double the price. But hey, I didn't check. I wouldn't be amazed if they already exist. Thanks for video, there are some good tips in there.

You do not need film to be a filmmaker.

You can choose to adapt or be bitter, angry, and disgruntled. Well, I guess we know which path you took. I suggest you get wit the times for it will surely pass you by.

The word filmmaker used to refer to the medium of film as an analogue process. Its meaning has since changed.

I'm not a filmmaker and have never claimed to be.

Filmmaking no longer implies shooting on film. Out of curiosity, which other outdated definitions do you cling to obsessively? Flirt? Meat? Nice?