In this holiday gift guide, you’ll find a handful of items any photographer would love to get this holiday season.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year again. Whether you’re looking at gifts for the photographers in your life, or just need an excuse to treat yourself, we’ve put together a list bound to have something any photographer will be happy to receive this holiday season. Since most photographers probably already have a camera body, we’ll be focusing on gifts beyond cameras.
DJI Mavic Mini
The DJI Mavic Mini earns a lot of high marks for a solid reason. While most people living outside of major cities can easily fly a drone just about anywhere (within reason), it’s very difficult for city dwellers to do so. But with the DJI Mavic Mini, you’ll have a much easier time of it. It’s small enough to fit into a day bag or your jacket pocket. For such a compact drone, it’s built solidly as well. The DJI Mavic Mini, by and large, is a drone for the city dweller. It’s smaller than most conventional drones and has great battery life.
Datacolor SpyderX Pro
SpyderX is the fastest, most accurate, easiest to use monitor calibration tool ever created by Datacolor, giving photographers and designers confidence and control of their creative vision. With SpyderX Pro, you can be sure that what is seen on screen is the most accurate representation of the shot you took. When you start editing and know the color on your monitor is accurate, you can confidently control every aspect of the image. SpyderX Pro has extensive color calibration options, as well as options for matching and tuning multiple displays.
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Tenba Roadie Air Case Roller 21
Whether you’re going from one shoot to another around the town or flying to another city for an assignment, the Tenba Roadie Air Case Roller 21 will ensure your precious camera gear will stay well protected. The Roadie Air Case Roller 21 is “uncrushable” and designed to resemble ordinary carry-on luggage. It has plenty of room for your expensive camera gear and will fit inside the overhead compartments of most domestic flights. The interior is well-padded and well-laid-out, with enough room to fit a pair of camera bodies along with up to three prime lenses for each. The velcro dividers also let you customize the case’s layout to suit your unique loadout. In addition to your cameras and lenses, there’s enough room to spare for speed lights/pocket strobes and other accessories. The frequent traveling photographer can rest comfortably knowing that the Tenba Roadie Air Case Roller 21 will help keep your precious camera gear out of harm’s way.
The PRVKE Pack Photography and Pro Bundles
The PRVKE Pack’s innovative design and high-quality materials make it an award-winning camera bag. This bag is perfect for photography, travel, and daily use. With three NEW sizes and upgraded Camera Cubes, you now have the ability to fully customize the internals of your bag! Pro and Pro+ Camera Cubes fit the entire internals of the PRVKE series. On the small end, the Mini and Mini+ Cubes fit the top portion of the PRVKE. The Essential and Essential+ Camera Cubes are designed for the bottom portion of the PRVKE bag and HEXAD Access Duffel.
Photography Bundles Begin at $274.
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Bay Photo – MetalPrints
At Bay Photo Lab, the staff has a true passion for photography, and that passion shows in everything they produce. This holiday season, give your images the gift of stunning presentation with their Industry-Leading MetalPrints. Their Curved MetalPrints and MetalPrints with Display Stands are perfect as gifts for the table-top. MetalPrints are available with a wide variety of wall display options, in sizes up to 48×96”. Clusters and Splits are a great way to expand your MetalPrint display across multiple prints. Which will you choose?
Gitzo Mini Traveler Tripod
Sometimes, to get the shot that you want, particularly when you’re shooting long exposure or from extreme angles, a tripod isn’t so much a luxury as it is a necessity. Unfortunately, a lot of public places have begun mandating permits in order to use a tripod, while others have outright banned them. The Gitzo Mini Traveler tripod’s diminutive form factor helps you remain inconspicuous while allowing you to capture the image you have in mind. I’ve been able to get the shot I envisioned by attaching my camera to the Gitzo Mini Traveler and placing it on hard to reach or space restrictive locations such as banisters, railings, or ledges where traditional tripods would have been impossible to deploy, or placing the combo very close to the ground for a unique perspective. Despite its small size, the Gitzo Mini Traveler is very sturdy when deployed; I’ve never experienced stability issues when using it.
1TB SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD
The SanDisk Extreme PRO® portable SSD leverages Western Digital’s lightning-fast, in-house NVMe technology to dramatically increase transfer speeds to up to 1050 MB/s, letting you move files faster and edit directly from the drive. Its ruggedized case helps keep your content protected no matter where you take it. And it’s no problem to deliver files when you have up to 2TB of space for a full library of content in a pocket-sized design. Whether you’re working on a PC or a Mac, and with USB Type-C and Type-A connectors, the Extreme PRO Portable SSD works the way you work, as fast as you do.
Lensbaby OMNI Creative Filter System
Any photographers who have experience shooting through objects like prisms, crystals, and mirrors to create unique effects in-camera will tell you that the results are often unpredictable. The process of using these optical modifiers can also be bothersome; you have to hold your camera with one hand while manipulating these modifiers with the other. Lensbaby’s OMNI Creative filter System features an innovative magnetic attachment system that simplifies this experience, making these in-camera effects much easier to achieve.
Exposure X5
Exposure is the best photo editor for creative photographers who want to create artistic images. Its large library of gorgeous looks provides inspiring starting points you can customize. Unique creative tools not found in other photo editors help your photos stand out. And Exposure’s efficient workflow keeps you in the creative zone. Exposure operates either as a standalone application that handles a full photography workflow, or as a plug-in to Photoshop or Lightroom. New in Exposure X5, you’ll find innovative 3D Color Masking, chromatic aberration and vignette correction, custom camera profiles, and much more.
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Layflat Photo Book, Blurb
Made with ultra-thick Premium Lustre paper, Blurb’s Layflat Photo Books are the perfect showcase for stunning, panoramic images. Give each beautiful photo the room it deserves, with freedom to reach, uninterrupted, across expansive double spreads. Each Layflat book comes with up to 110 pages and an ImageWrap, Hard Cover. Start your Layflat gift today!
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Fujifilm Instax Mini Link
For anyone who has used older Instax printers, Fujifilm’s Instax Mini Link is a game-changer. Instead of having to futz around jumping between different wifi networks like you would with older Instax printers, all you have to do is fire up the Mini Link app, turn on the Instax Mini Link printer, and the Bluetooth connection will automatically connect. When it comes to creating Instax prints easily and quickly, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link just works. If you love creating Instax prints regularly, the usability improvements alone are worth the price of admission.
Moab by Legion Paper Sample Box
Moab’s fine art inkjet sample box is the perfect way to try all the Moab papers without committing to a full box. Containing two sheets each of the entire range – including the popular Entrada Rag and the specialty, Slickrock Metallic – you’ll discover how these high-quality, fine art papers from Moab enhance your images to bring your printed work to a higher artistic level. With product names like Anasazi, Lasal, and Moenkopi it doesn’t take much to see the source of Moab’s inspiration and its connection to the southwestern United States.
BONUS: Fine Art Printing eBook – get a free copy of the Ultimate Guide To Fine Art Printing.
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Tamron 18-400mm Di VC HLD
The Best Travel Zoom Ever! With Tamron’s 18-400mm ultra-telephoto 22.2X all-in-one zoom lens, enjoy wide to ultra-tele photography. This compact and easy to handle lens provides the versatility only an all-in-one can offer. It’s ideal for travel photography to capture everything from stunning landscapes and neon-lit cities to portraits, and with its 1:2:9 macro, you can capture beautiful close-up images of details and food. Rounding out this impressive lens is the moisture-resistant construction that provides peace of mind when shooting in rain, and its image stabilization. Now just $549 after a $100 Holiday Instant Savings at your authorized Tamron USA retailer.
Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm F4 S
The Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f4 S produces remarkable images with outstanding sharpness and little to no distracting aberrations. It’s also constructed to withstand the elements while maintaining a diminutive footprint. For photographers specializing in architectural, landscape, real estate, and travel photography that have moved to Nikon’s Z series of Full Frame Mirrorless cameras, the NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f4 S ultra-wide-angle is a must-have.
IRIX 150mm F2.8 Dragonfly Macro Lens
The IRIX 150mm f2.8 Dragonfly Macro Lens is hitting the ball right out of the park. This lens exhibits great image quality in a lightweight body. Somehow or other the company managed to cram 11 aperture blades, solid weather sealing, sharp optics, and an overall nice feeling into a moderately sized lens. And boy does it produces some beautiful bokeh. As long as you’re okay with focusing manually, you can’t go wrong with the IRIX 150mm f2.8 Dragonfly Macro.
Sony FE 35mm F1.8
The Sony FE 35mm f1.8 is small, lightweight, weather-sealed, fast to focus, and can deliver excellent image quality. For the photographers who need speed, like street photographers, event photographers, and documentary shooters, it’s there. For those who want details and beautiful bokeh, like portrait shooters, it’s also there. Combine this with the reliability of weather sealing, and you’re getting a winning combination.
Fujifilm 16mm F2.8 R WR
If you’re a photographer shooting with one of Fujifilm’s X-Series cameras and you’re on the hunt for a compact, weather-sealed, and affordable ultra-wide-angle lens, you can’t go wrong with the Fujifilm 16mm f2.8 R WR. This lens is so compact and lightweight that when we were first testing it, we managed to fit it and the XT-30 it was mounted onto inside one of our pant pockets. Autofocus is quick and consistent, and like many of the other lenses in Fujifilm’s lineup, the 16mm f2.8 R WR was built to withstand the elements. Having shot with this lens in both rain and snow, we can attest to its weather-sealing prowess. This is one ultra-wide that should be on every Fujifilm shooter’s shortlist.
Rokinon 85mm F1.4 AF
The 85mm focal length is preferred by many portrait photographers, and the Rokinon 85mm f1.4 AF is a fantastic and affordable option for Canon, Nikon, and Sony shooters. The Rokinon 85mm f1.4 AF produces images that are sharp, with creamy bokeh and Portra-like colors to boot. It’s also weather-sealed as well. The best part: the Rokinon is quite a bit more affordable than first-party options.
Flashpoint XPLOR 400 Pro TTL
The Flashpoint XPLOR 400 Pro TTL is one of our favorite rechargeable lights. This affordable monolight produces studio-quality light in a portable form factor. At 400ws of power, you’ll be able to shoot with the XPLOR 400 Pro TTL in just about any lighting condition, including when you need to overpower the sun. The XPLOR 400 Pro TTL is compatible with all major camera brands as well, with Flashpoint R2 triggers available for all major camera brands. The rechargeable battery life will keep you shooting for a long time, with enough juice to last for about 390 shots at full power. With fantastic build quality and an easy to read screen that displays easy to navigate menus, the Flashpoint XPLOR 400 Pro TTL won’t let you down.
Wacom Intuos Pro Small
If you have always wanted to have extra control over the edits to your images, and don’t want to spend a ton of money on a tablet, the Wacom Intuos Pro Small might just be what you’ve been looking for. This tablet is feature-packed for the price, and it will allow you to make sophisticated edits effortlessly. The tablet and pen are well built, the wireless functionality is fantastic, and the levels of customization will impress you.
Editor’s Note: This post contains sponsored placements.
