Gifts For Serious Photographers

Simple little things like a remote shutter release are a huge advantage for someone with a serious interest in photography. If a camera is used with a tripod in a low light setting, the simple act of pressing down on the shutter button can cause enough shake to make a photograph blurry. A remote shutter release will keep this from happening. Be sure to choose the proper release for the camera you are buying it for, as they will have different end pieces on the cord where it connects to the camera.

If a photographer has more than one lens, they should have a nice bag to keep everything in. A good bag will have places for several lenses, the camera itself (preferably with a lens attached), compartments to store extra batteries and memory cards as well as a way to attach a tripod. I prefer a back pack style bag, but I can be clutzy and have been known to trip over my own feet. With a backpack bag, my camera is safe and sound even if I manage to fall flat on my face! However, a shoulder bag is nice if you will want frequent access to your camera and accessories since you don't have to take it off and set it down to open it. You'll need to decide which is better for your use. One note on this-backpacks usually have a place to attach a tripod and shoulder bags don't. Lowepro and Tamrack (I still have one my mother bought for her film SLR 20 years ago) make good bags, as do Canon and other manufacturers. Just remember that even if you only have one or two lenses now, you will probably find you want to expand your collection and you will want a bag that can accommodate this.

If you plan on shooting in a low light situation, or even something like a sunset or waterfall, you will want a tripod. No matter how hard you try to stand still or prop the camera against something, without a good tripod you're going to have some shake. Don't fall into the cheap tripod trap! You can certainly go to a store and find tripods for $40. They will work fine for a small point and shoot camera or light video camera, but if you have a DSLR, you want something sturdy. Don't invest hundreds or thousands of dollars in a camera and lenses and buy a cheap tripod. You won't be happy with the photographs (the cheap ones tend to be unstable and shakey, even with a remote shutter release) and even worse, there's the possiblity that it will fall and damage or break your equipment. I'm listing Bogen Manfrotto pods here, as this is the brand I have experiance with.

Tripods are sold as legs and heads. There seem to be an infinate number of combinations out there. There are different materials as well as head types. All I can say here is to find what fits your budget and look for reviews to see if it will meet your needs. We use 3021 (for a heavy telephoto lens) as well as 3001 (for a lighter "walk around" lens) legs and three way pan tilt heads.

Things to consider:
1) Weight. This is huge. If you're using a heavy telephoto or prime lens, you're going to have to buy legs that can support this and they will be heavier. If you're backpacking into the back country, you will have to find the best trade off between managable weight and the capacity of the legs and head.

2) Head type. I'm more familiar with pan/tilt heads-I've never used a ball head. I'd suggest looking into both to see which you'd be more comfortable with. Don't forget to check to see if the head you are looking at includes a quick release. I prefer this, since we tend to move from place to place and take a number of photos as we go, but I don't feel comfortable leaving my camera mounted to the tripod as we walk. The heads without a quick release would leave me to choose to either unscrew the camera each time and reattach it each time, or leave it mounted.

3) Weight of your equipment. Even if you are shooting with a relatively light set up now, consider if you will be looking to buy heavier telephoto or prime lenses later. Considering the investment a good set of legs and a head is, you will want to buy with the future in mind. I personally don't like to shoot with heavy telephoto lenses (my husband does), so I knew I could buy a lighter set up since I would never need to upgrade due to buying heavier lenses.

4) Height of the combo. If you are tall or don't like to/can't bend a bit to look through your viewfinder, you really need to pay attention to this! A lot of the lighter leg sets don't extend past 60" or so, even with the column fully extended. The head will add some height, but if you're over 6', you might want longer legs. You'll sacrifice some weight, but it's up to you to decide if it's worth it.

This is for a more advanced photographer that has mastered the art of shutter speed and f-stop settings (or wants to). A light meter will help them to decide where to set the camera on a manual setting (leaving it on automatic will use an internal meter in the camera itself to decide, but it may not produce the desired effect the photographer is looking for).

If you're going out into the back country or on a trip and don't want to bring a laptop (or don't have one), you'll want a place to store your images and clear them off your memory card. Nothing is worse that finding the perfect shot and having a full memory card! These handy devices can be stored in a camera bag.

Netbooks-the new answer to laptops! A decent netbook is a great alternative to a laptop or storage device for downloading images off of your memory card in the field. The netbook is pricier than the storage device but cheaper than a typical laptop. You can also connect to the internet, so if you're on a trip you can use it to check your email in a WiFi hotspot. It won't give you the option of a laptop and has a smaller screen, but you will be able to view the photos you took. This is a huge advantage if you're in a location you won't be returning to soon-this way you can be sure you got what you are looking for. Nothing is worse than finding out you had a big hunk of dust on your sensor right over the perfect shot of that rare bird or somehow your setting got changed and everything is too bright or too dark.

There are a lot of kinds of filters out there. I'm only going to list UV filters there. These really just reduce a bit of glare and more importantly, protect the end of the lens from scratches should you forget to put the cap on (or it comes off). You will need to know the size of the lens it's going on, as they do vary. When a good lens can cost hundreds of dollars, these little guys are cheap insurance against lens scratches!

While most cameras have a way to connect a cable to download images from the storage card to your computer, you'll save battery life by using a card reader instead. Also, many cameras use a rubber like "plug" to cover the connection point, and frequent use will likely wear this out and it will fall off. Card readers aren't expensive and can easily be kept in a camera bag so you can locate it when you need it. You will need to know if the camera uses an SD or Compact Flash card.

Dust. It's pure evil to a photographer. While major sensor cleaning is best left to a pro, there's nothing wrong with having a nice little kit around to clean up your equipment yourself. There's little worse that finding a day's worth of great shots marred by dust, especially if it's not easily cloned out!