Stablization. Sweat stablization. Most handheld footage ends up on the cutting room floor. At a minimum, get a monopod. A tripod is better. A steadicam, Glide Cam, or other mobile stablization device is best of all -- but most of these are beyond "home" budgets. One exception: the $14 Steadycam.

Lighting. Like stablization, lighting is a big deal. If you're just getting started don't worry about investing in lighting right now. Just realize you will be coming back to it for many indoor shots. 
You don't necessarily need the more expensive photo shop offerings to light your scenes. Many find they can live with the affordable lights found at auto supply stores, such as Canadian Tire.

External microphone(s). Most DV camcorders come with a built-in mic. But those mics tend to be positioned to capture the camera operator's narration, rather than the sound occuring in front of the camera. If your camcorder doesn't have a front-facing mic, and it does have a jack to plug in external mics, camera shops and electronics stores carry various types of external mics. (See our Video Links page on the right.)

How-to Resources. There are books, magazines, and web sites laden with good how-to information that can save you hundreds of hours and dollars. If possible, find a friend who has more video production experience than you and learn at his elbow. Videotaping is like riding a bike, practice makes perfect. But you can learn more quickly and less expensively by heeding the advice of others.

Bag, mic, lights and tripod are The Big Four camcorder accessories for most beginners. But you can start with just the camcorder and grow your camcorder accessory kit over time as you discover the need.
 

Copyright 2006-2007 John Cardiff