There’s a ton of advice out there about which device you should buy in 2022. But, if you look beyond the way companies market, is there a device you might not need in 2022? The answer is, yes, there are a lot of devices that you don’t need. Here are my top picks for what you shouldn’t get.
Before you read this list in full, be aware and acknowledge the fact that it is simply my recommendation for the vast majority of photographers. Sometimes a photographer will need all of these, but let’s face it, most of us don’t.
Filter
The dumbest purchase you can make is a UV filter. It sounds very harsh, and I will admit I made this mistake. While there is a case for securing your front element with one of these, I don’t think it adds anything. What a filter does is simply create another layer of glass and another possibility to reduce the quality of your image. The lenses are already complex enough and everything but the best optical quality will produce images below face value. By adding a filter, you simply negate all the engineering of your lens. Cheap filters can also cause unwanted lens flare among other nasty artifacts. 
For those who put in UV filters to protect the lenses, I’d say the lens hood does the job and offers much better protection. I always carry a lens hood with me in case I bang my lens on something.
UV filters used to be very useful in the film days when UV light would degrade the image quality. The same can be said about other filters, such as the graduated filter.
Again, in the days of film, you didn’t have the power to edit an image to precise detail and “restore” detail from a heavily underexposed/overexposed image. Nowadays, you can use Lightroom or Capture One for this purpose. There are certain filters such as variable ND that are useful in some applications, but they also need to be of the highest quality to ensure the best possible image quality at the end.
Truss case / cage
A rig case is useless unless you make videos. I would struggle to find a useful app for an app in photography. Perhaps if you need to mount several things at once, such as flash triggers, Speedlites and a few others. But otherwise, you don’t need to spend money on metal flakes and pieces that make your camera look “more professional”. Other than adding weight, it won’t do anything. Save money and invest in something that will help you take better photos. 
Light meter
I would like to make the case that you don’t need a light meter in a modern photography environment. Measuring light is as easy as taking a digital frame and seeing how everything looks. If you want to be extremely precise, you can even measure the color level of individual pixels in Capture One or any other software of your choice. But it makes no sense to own a light meter these days. Even if you shoot movies, there is a high chance that you own a digital camera. Even in that case, you can still take a shot of the frame on digital, the so-called Polaroid, if you want, cross check and then proceed to shoot on film. I’ve done this so many times, and it works like a charm. Trust me, you lose more than that using a light meter. First of all, it means a slower workflow because you have to trigger the flash, walk to the set, and then calculate the flash output. It takes away the speed and intuition of setting light by eye, not by predefined rules about getting the right exposure. There have been many times when I overexposed or underexposed a photo and got the desired results that the client and myself were pleased with. If everyone only exposed what the light meter says, most photos would be the same. An analogy would happen if people cooked a dish with the same ingredients or drawn with numbers. Using a light meter will not only slow you down but also limit your creativity. The amount of light in the picture is for you to decide, not by the light meter. 
Lensball
Lensball will be an item you will regret. Not only is it an expensive glass ball, but it is also the dumbest photography accessory that has survived to date. What Lensball does is create a unique look that all photographers know. It is argued that there is nothing creative about the Lensball, that is, if the Lensball can even be considered a creative tool. There’s not much to say about this product other than a waste of money on something that screams “lack of creativity” and “amateur hour”. 
Camera skin
This is the pinnacle of ridiculous trading. A team of designers worked on making your camera black, invisible while also making the logo stand out. Furthermore, nothing has ever shouted “amateur hour” to me more than having a camera or lens. Not only will it fail to protect your camera, but it will draw attention to it, which is something you shouldn’t want. Failure to pay attention to your camera and other expensive equipment will make the probability of theft much higher. If you want a camera leather, consider honing your precious camera for a few years, wrapping it in tape, and using it as a tool. I promise you, you’ll be able to tell it’s your camera just by looking at where the scratches are. 
If you’re a professional, you probably own two of the same cameras; in that case, having a camera skin is even more useless, because you just put a sticker with “1” and “2” on the camera. I could see the filter, light meter, and even the rig case being useful in a select few cases, but in no case did the camera skin or the Lensball benefit. Save money and get some good photography education instead.
