Least expensive accessory that made a difference

[Jac@stafford.net]

Alarm Clock - to wake me up early and get out when the light is best.

Clock. Clock. I seem to remember that word from before I retired.

[Ron McElroy]

Film. Hands down this is the least expensive aspect of LF work. This is true even in today's higher prices.

[Vaughn]

A pencil for writing down my metering/exposures info so that I can repeat the successes.

[pjd]

A hex key I found on the street. I have a Packard shutter fitted inside an 8x10 2D, the short end of the hex key works in place of the instant pin that would normally be fitted on a lens board. Removed for time exposures. With a board in place it can't drop out in use.

[Keith Pitman]

Rubber band and small binder clip to pull bellows out of the way when it droops into image area.

[Peter Collins]

Well, there are several, but the latest acquisition--free--comes to mind: Shutter - Tester v4 by Lukas Fritz. Available for use on Androids and iPhones. Works well in auditory mode from 1s to 1/125s. (I didn't buy the Photo-Plug, necessary for the higher speeds, because I don't use them. Or hardly ever.) Tested all my lenses and thereby removed one more potential unknown in the determination of exposure.

[Tim Meisburger]

I usually have a small piece of foam core in my bag, 2" x 4" that I can press fit inside my camera back. With it, I can shoot two images in one sheet. This has come in handy when I wanted to shoot a lot of portraits of relatives, and on the rare occasion I am out on a trip shooting and start running out of film. I guess I use it every year or two.

[Vaughn]

The comment about the allen wrench (hex key). I carry one with my Gowland PocketView 4x5 -- it is used to loosen and tighten movements, etc.

I was backpacking in the redwoods with the 4x5 and the suspension on my pack came loose and fell apart. The screw that came loose just happened to be the same size hex key -- saved my butt!