Top 10 Gifts under $40 for Photographers
If you have a photographer in your life, you already know that there's an almost endless array of gadgets and tools that are useful - nay, required - to be a photographer. Unfortunately, some of those tools are quite expensive. If you're on a budget, here's a list of great photography items you can buy that will be much appreciated without breaking the bank.
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1 | WhiBal White Balance Reference Card - Pocket Kit Ask any photographer: there's nothing worse than spending hours after a shoot tweaking the white balance of photos to get the color balance just right. RawWorkflow's WhiBal card makes this step a snap. Just include the card in one of your photos and color balancing (setting the grey, white, and black points) can be done with just a few clicks. At $29 and change, this one's a real bargain when it comes to time-savings. If your favorite photographer shoots in RAW (just ask them), they'll love you for this one. |
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2 | Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera Bryan Peterson's classic is a must-read for all photographers - especially those who are ready to make the transition from the taker of the casual snapshot to something greater. This book had an enormous impact on my own photography. Understanding Exposure taught me how stopping down impacts sharpness throughout the depth of field - something that has helped me significantly improve my landscape photography. Ask around to find out if your friend/significant other already has this book on his or her shelf. If the answer is no - buy it NOW! It's that good. |
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3 | Nikon 8072 Microfiber Cleaning Cloth Now here's an inexpensive item that's worth its weight in gold. This slick little unit combines a microfiber lens cloth with a small carrying case to give you one nicely portable lens cleaning unit. At less than 7 bones, you'll put a smile on the face of your favorite photographer when they find this stuffer in their stocking. I just lost mine at a photo shoot last week - I'm dropping not-so-subtle hints that I hope to find another one in Santy's bag this year... |
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4 | Lumiquest Soft Screen, a Diffusion Sheet for On-Camera Pop-up Flashes If you've used your camera's on-board flash and been dissatisfied when your subjects came out looking like red-eyed demon spawn, you may want to consider this product. Sure, most post-processing packages now have slick options for fixing red-eye, but why go through the hassle if you can avoid it in the first place? This little contraption attaches to the camera in front of the pop-up flash and disperses the light to limit harsh shadows. It's no substitute for an external flash, but it's also less than 12 bucks. Check it out! |
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5 | The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter) If your favorite photographer shoots a lot of images, chances are she's already using Adobe Lightroom. Adobe released a significant enhancement when they released version 2 in 2008. To get up to speed on this version, consider gifting this great book by Scott Kelby. Kelby has a well-deserved reputation as a great Photoshop and Lightroom instructor. You'll find the same presentation style he's famous for in his videos and conferences coming through in his instructional books. Definitely a great reference for getting your head around the way Lightroom thinks you should approach workflow. |
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6 | Wireless remote Once your favorite photographer starts using a tripod to improve his photography, he'll wish he had a wireless remote control to trigger the shutter without having to use the timer. Remotes come in especially handy when the photographer wants to be included in the photo for group shots or self-portraits - no more sprinting from behind the camera to make it into the frame before the timer goes off! You''ll need to do some sly investigation to figure out which camera model your friend owns and then buy the right remote for his Olympus, Nikon, or Canon. |
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7 | Joby Gorillapod Flexible Tripod Any photographer will tell you that a tripod is almost essential to take a great landscape shot. In the next breath, that same photographer will tell you how much she hates shooting with a tripod. They're big, they're bulky, they're awkward. And if they're not those things, they're darn expensive. That's the genius of the Joby Gorillapod. For less than $25, you can outfit your favorite photographer with a mini-tripod with an attitude. Just wrap its flexible feet around a tree branch, fence post, or car mirror and you've got a platform for your camera that's significantly more stable than any other mini-tripod available. And when finished, your friend can easily slip it into her camera bag until she needs it for the next shoot. Nice! Note: If your friend owns a digital SLR, you'll want to opt for the beefier (and slightly more expensive) Joby GP2-E1EN Gorillapod Flexible Tripod for Digital SLR Cameras. |
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8 | Extra memory cards Whether your friend's camera takes SD, Compact Flash, or XD cards, having too many memory cards is sort of like being too rich or too good-looking - there is no such thing! Prices for memory cards have plummeted - load up on these stocking stuffers while the getting's good! |
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9 | Crumpler Red Bundle Medium Basic Photo Shoulder Bag For the budding photographer still using a convenient point-and-shoot, nothing says 'style' quite like a Crumpler photo bag. This one's less than $25 but still has that classy Crumpler look. Nice! |
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10 | CARL Bidex Professional Rotary Trimmer, 18" Cut Whether your favorite photographer is printing prints at home or having them printed at a professional photo lab, chances are she'll need to trim those prints before dry-mounting or framing them. While a 50" stand-mounted rotary trimmer is probably out of your price range this Christmas, this CARL 18" rotary trimmer could be just the ticket for those 16x20 or 13x19 prints your friend is likely printing all the time. Help your friend banish that Exacto knife for good when she steps up to the convenience and precision of a quality rotary trimmer. |
This list just scratches the surface. If you're buying for a photographer this year, you're in luck - there's no shortage of great stuff to buy for the camera enthusiast. Amazon.com has a huge selection of items for the diigtal photographer - be sure to check them out if you don't find anything to your liking on this list.
Happy shopping!
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