Holiday Gift Ideas

With various holidays just around the corner, we are sharing some inexpensive photography-related gift idea for you or the people in your life. We buy a lot of our gear from B&H Photo because it has the largest selection, doesn’t charge sales tax, and they offer free shipping for most items.

Sandisk Memory Cards
We think it’s important to spend a little bit of extra money to get quality memory cards. They will be more reliable (which is incredibly important!) and faster than the cards you see at typical retail outlets. Fast cards are important for video capture and it will also save you time when transferring files to your computer. You can get a 32GB, 95MB/s SD card right now for $14. – Link

SD card

Eneloop Batteries
If your camera uses AA batteries, rechargeable AAs are definitely the way to go. Eneloops are our favorite because they hold a charge for years without self-draining due to inactivity. You can get a four-pack for $15. – Link

Lenspen + Rocket Blower
Cleaning your lens with mouth-fog and a t-shirt is a good way to cause problems. You could easily scratch the surface or, even worse, help promote the growth of fungus inside the lens. Instead, we recommend a rocket blower and the lenspen. This combo is great for people who have detachable lenses because the blower will help remove dust from inside the camera, while the pen will clean both sides of the lens. Together they are just $31. – Link + Link

Lenspen

Sling-style Camera Strap
We get a lot of comments about our sling strap. It’s one of our favorite accessories because it allows us to comfortably carry six pounds of gear for eight hours straight. That said, camera straps can be immensely personal so we don’t want to recommend one in particular. Instead, we’re including a custom filter on B&H for some models to consider. – Link

Sling

Flashpoint R2 Flash
An external flash will greatly improve the quality of your pictures. Whether you’re bouncing flash off the ceiling or using fill flash to minimize harsh shadows on a sunny day, the Flashpoint R2 is a great unit to start with. It’s a fully-manual flash, but it’s not overly difficult to learn. Plus, it’s relatively inexpensive at $140. – Link

Flash

Adobe Lightroom
Lightroom is our editing software of choice and we think it’s a must-have purchase if you want your photography to look professional. Lightroom is bundled with Photoshop for $9.99/month and we think that’s a fantastic price for what you get. – Link

Inexpensive Lenses
If you’re in the market for an inexpensive lens, the two below are great choices for Canon and Nikon photographers. They cost between $150-200 and they will each produce great images, especially in low light. – Link + Link

Nikon