lovelifey: [Photography] The dPS Holiday Gift Guide for Photographers (2021)

The post The dPS Holiday Gift Guide for Photographers (2021) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this 2021 gift guide, we offer plenty of gift ideas for photographers, whether they’re a beginner, a hobbyist, or even a professional.

We share the best gifts for photographers at all price points, including cameras, lenses, accessories, creative photography tools, and much more.

So no matter your budget and no matter the photographer, you’re bound to find the right item!

Take a look:

Featured: Photzy Snap Cards

In many ways, the best gift for a photographer is education, which can teach skills that’ll last for a lifetime. That’s where the Photzy Snap Card pack comes in; it contains 20 instantly downloadable cards, which are jam-packed with photography essentials, from autofocus and exposure settings to lighting and special techniques.

What makes the Snap Cards especially brilliant is their portability. You’re free to print them out and carry them in your backpack – then, when you encounter a problem, just whip out the Snap Cards, quickly study the relevant materials, and make the necessary corrections.

Of course, you can give the Snap Cards as a digital gift, but if you want to go the extra mile, why not print them out, laminate them, and add them to a key ring?

The Snap Cards are an amazing gift for any beginner photographer or enthusiast, and you can currently grab them for 93% off (just $7!), though be sure to buy them before the deal disappears.

Featured: Photzy Action Cards

Know someone who wants to improve their photos? Then get them the Photzy Action Card set, which features some of the best photography education on the planet – but condensed into 65 easy-to-understand sheets.

The Action Cards feature comprehensive lessons on every type of photography you can imagine, including:

Flower photography
Waterscape photography
Still life photography
Street portrait photography
Architectural photography
Newborn photography

And there are also plenty of Composition Cards, which cover key concepts such as:

Spirals
Patterns
Curves
Layering
Juxtaposition
So much more!

Like the Photzy Snap Cards, the Action Cards can be printed out, laminated, and carried into the field. They’re great for pretty much any student photographer, including beginners, enthusiasts, and even more advanced shooters, plus they’re 88% off (for just $39).

You can grab the Photzy Action Cards right here! And if you want to create the ultimate photography gift, why not grab both the Photzy Snap Cards and the Photzy Action Cards while they’re still on sale?

Sony a7 III

Yes, it’s been overshadowed by the launch of the new Sony a7 IV – but the a7 III remains one of the absolute best all-around full-frame models for still and video shooting and is a fantastic addition to any serious photographer’s gear bag.

Portrait and action photographers will love the outstanding autofocus as well as the blazing-fast continuous shooting speeds. Street and travel photographers will appreciate the compact design and excellent ergonomics, while landscape shooters will fawn over the class-leading high-ISO performance and pro-level image quality.

And the a7 III’s video capabilities are perfect for any vlogger or hybrid shooter, thanks to 4K/30p, in-body image stabilization, and S-Log recording.

If you know an experienced photographer looking to go full frame, or even a beginner hoping to dive straight into photography and/or videography, check out the a7 III here.

Fujifilm X-T4

The X-T4 is the latest flagship camera from Fujifilm, perfect for any hobbyist or professional photographer (and sold at a very reasonable price, too).

The X-T4 packs a whole host of high-level features, including dual card slots, in-body image stabilization, a weather-sealed body, 20 fps continuous shooting, and a beautiful electronic viewfinder. You also get 4K/60p recording and a fully articulating screen, which makes the X-T4 an excellent option for hybrid shooters and vloggers.

But the best thing about the X-T4 is the design; it’s retro, it’s minimalistic, and the dial-based shooting experience will change the way you approach photography.

To purchase the X-T4, click here.

Nikon Z fc

The Nikon Z fc is an eye-catching, stylish camera – check out the retro body, knobs, and dials – but don’t let that fool you; it’s still plenty capable, and should satisfy beginners as well as more serious shooters looking to make the jump to mirrorless.

Image quality is excellent, and the Z fc’s 4K/30p video quality is equally impressive. Vloggers will appreciate the fully articulating screen, while anyone hoping to capture action will love the 11 frames-per-second shooting speeds and snappy autofocus.

While the Z fc isn’t in the same league as the a7 III and the X-T4 featured above, its 20 MP sensor packs plenty of punch. Expect outstanding dynamic range, not to mention incredible sharpness and impressive performance at high ISOs.

You can grab the Nikon Z fc (with several kit lens options) right here.

Sony a6400

The Sony a6400 is a high-quality, compact mirrorless camera, perfect for travel photography, street photography, vlogging, and more.

It offers a 24 MP APS-C sensor as well as access to Sony’s class-leading autofocus. The a6400 allows for high dynamic range capture, plus interval recording for time-lapse video.

It has a rear LCD screen that can flip up 180 degrees, which is ideal for vloggers or those who want to monitor footage while in front of the camera. And the electronic viewfinder is great for previewing exposure and color in the field.

You can purchase the Sony a6400 right here.

Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD

The Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 isn’t the priciest lens out there, but don’t let that fool you; it packs a powerful punch, combining a durable build, speedy autofocus, and a handy zoom range for very nice results.

Wildlife and bird photographers, in particular, will love the Tamron 100-400mm. You can capture environmental wildlife portraits at 100mm, larger mammals in the 200-300mm range, and birds at 400mm, plus you get a serious focal length boost if you shoot with an APS-C camera.

Then there’s the image quality: The Tamron 100-400mm is pretty darn sharp, which is impressive for a sub-$1000 telephoto zoom. Your wildlife photos will feature gorgeous detail, especially with Vibration Compensation active (this allows you to handhold at impressively slow shutter speeds).

So for hobbyist wildlife photographers, bird photographers, and even sports photographers, the Tamron 100-400mm is a great choice. See it for Canon and Nikon here.

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC ART Lens

The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM is fast focusing, it’s ultra-sharp, and it offers a great focal length range for landscape, street, and even portrait photographers – which makes it one of the most high-performing, versatile lenses you can buy in 2021.

Note that this is a Sigma DC lens, so it’s designed for crop sensors. But for photographers who have an APS-C DSLR, this is the lens to get. At 18mm, you can capture stunning landscapes; at 24mm, you can create beautiful environmental portraits and wider street shots; at 35mm, you can photograph standard portraits, detail shots, and more.

Also pay attention to the f/1.8 maximum aperture, which guarantees beautiful background blur at longer focal lengths (for that professional look so many photographers struggle to achieve).

For any casual photographer, street photographer, or landscape photographer, the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 is a stellar choice. You can purchase it for Canon, Nikon, or Pentax here.

Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD for Sony

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 isn’t the flashiest glass on the block, but it might just be the best value-for-money lens we’ve ever seen.

The 70-180mm costs just over $1000, yet it can hold its own against lenses three times as expensive. Image quality is outstanding, and the f/2.8 maximum aperture allows for beautiful background bokeh and low-light shooting.

The focal length range is outstandingly versatile; at 70mm, you can capture half-body portraits and casual street photos, while at 180mm, you can shoot intimate landscapes, portrait headshots, and even wildlife.

So if you’re looking to give a budding portrait, landscape, or event shooter the gift of their life, grab the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 right here.

Peak Design Travel Tripod

Every photographer needs a good tripod. Unfortunately, many are either bulky or unstable.

The Peak Design Travel tripod, on the other hand, manages to combine stability and compactness into a single lightweight package. The carbon fiber version weighs just 2.8 lb (1.29 kg), but it can handle up to 20 lb (9 kg) of gear. It’s also highly compact, so photographers can easily fit it in a suitcase or tripod sleeve.

You also get a nice center column for increased flexibility when positioning your camera in the field. And the legs can be expanded to almost 180 degrees, so you can capture close-up and low-angle shots from down on the ground.

For photographers who love to shoot landscapes, long exposure travel photos, and even portraits, the Peak Design Travel tripod is an outstanding purchase.

You can grab it here.

ON1 Photo RAW 2022

ON1 Photo RAW is a do-anything photo editor, featuring a comprehensive set of image organization and image editing tools (like Adobe Lightroom, but – in many ways – even better).

The layout is intuitive, which makes it great for photo editing beginners, and it’s sleek, too. Plus, ON1 Photo RAW manages to remain well organized, even while featuring a tremendous set of editing tools – including all the basic adjustments, but also masking, text design, image transformation, and more.

For photo-editing beginners, as well as advanced editors in need of a no-subscription software, consider getting ON1 Photo RAW 2022 here (did I mention that the price is great?).

TourBox Neo

The TourBox Neo is a neat little console designed to enhance your editing experience, thanks to a set of handy knobs, dials, and buttons that interface with programs like Photoshop.

Instead of relying on menu dives and keyboard shortcuts, TourBox Neo lets you do pretty much anything with the tap of a finger. It’s intuitive, too; imagine spinning a dial to adjust exposure and contrast, tapping a button to create a new layer, and adding a color grade with a couple of quick touches.

Best of all, the TourBox Neo is compatible with dozens of programs, including editing staples like Lightroom and Photoshop, but also Capture One, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and even Microsoft Excel.

The TourBox Neo is the ultimate gift for a photo editor, video editor, or graphic designer. You can buy it here.

WD Elements 10 TB Hard Drive

These days, thanks to high-megapixel image files, computer hard drives fill up fast. Plus, without a proper backup system, it’s easy to lose photos to accidental deletion, hard drive failure, and file corruption.

Which is why every photographer should have at least one external hard drive, preferably with a lot of space. It may not seem like the most exciting purchase, but the WD 10 TB hard drive is a highly useful gift, one that any hobbyist photographer will appreciate for years to come.

Of course, you don’t have to go with 10 TB; WD sells 8 TB, 6 TB, 4 TB, and 3 TB drives, as well as larger 12 TB, 14 TB, 16 TB, and 18 TB options.

So purchase the perfect external hard drive right here.

Handheld Light Wand

If you’re after a creative photography gift, consider the Handheld Light Wand, a light-painting tool that’ll let any photographer capture gorgeous colors when shooting at night.

You can use the Wand to produce colorful off-camera lighting, or you can include it in the frame for eye-popping portraits, long-exposure landscapes, and even jaw-dropping car photography.

The range of colors is fantastic, plus the Wand is decently portable for shooting on the go (imagine doing a city photoshoot at night!).

So grab the amazing Handheld Light Wand right here.

KUVRD Universal Lens Hood

KUVRD’s Universal Lens Hood is one of the most innovative and unique products of the decade, offering a convenient way to cover every lens you own – without taking up critical space in your camera bag.

Standard lens hoods are big and bulky, plus you need a new hood for each lens you buy. Once you misplace a lens hood, then you’re without protection. KUVRD’s Universal Lens Hood, on the other hand, is, well, universal. It mounts on the front of pretty much any lens, which means you can take one or two KUVRD lens hoods in your bag and use them with all of your lenses. Plus, they’re rubber, so they can be folded and slotted into a side pocket or even a purse.

And the Universal Lens Hood offers additional benefits:

For one, it allows you to mount most filters in front of your lens, regardless of thread size. It also eliminates reflections when shooting through windows.

So for photographers looking for an easy, space-saving way to protect their lenses, the KUVRD Universal Lens Hood is a perfect choice. Get it here.

256 GB SanDisk Extreme Card

Without a memory card, you can’t capture a single photo.

Which means that this card will be appreciated by every SD-using photographer around, no matter their level of skill.

Now, this 256 GB Extreme card has a high-speed transfer rate of 150 MB/s, which makes it ideal for photographers who shoot lots of RAW photos – and the 256 GB capacity means you can fit thousands of photos without filling up. In fact, with 256 GB of storage, even trigger-happy photographers will be able to shoot an entire trip on a single card.

So to get this 256 GB SD card, click here.

Godox Flash Accessories Kit

Godox Flash Accessory Kit gift for photographers

For anyone looking to take their flash photography to the next level, light modifiers are a must-have.

Unfortunately, most modifiers are unwieldy, they’re bulky, and they’re difficult to set up.

Enter the Godox Flash Accessories kit, which packs a set of easy-to-use flash modifiers, including a diffuser (for creating beautiful, soft light), several gels (for creating colorful effects), a snoot (for creating an ultra-directional spotlight), and even a set of barn doors (for carefully controlling the light direction).

And you don’t have to worry about compatibility:

Thanks to a simple adapter, you can use the Godox Flash Accessories kit with a whole host of flashes, including Nikon flashes, Canon flashes, Yongnuo flashes, and more.

It’s the perfect buy for photographers just getting started with a flash. So make sure you check it out here.

Altura Cleaning Kit

A camera cleaning kit is a must-have for every photographer.

It’s impossible to keep lenses and sensors completely clean all of the time. Dust and dirt can easily make their way onto the front of the lens and sometimes onto the sensor when changing lenses (especially when you’re out in nature).

This Altura cleaning kit includes a brush for sweeping away dust, a rocket blower for removing dirt, a two-sided lenspen for removing particles from your front lens elements and filters, plus much, much more.

A camera cleaning kit may not be glamorous, but it can be a photographer’s savior when out on a shoot!

So grab your handy Altura cleaning kit right here.

KUVRD Universal Lens Cap

The KUVRD Universal Lens Cap is the perfect way to keep your camera equipment safe.

Unlike a standard lens cap, the Universal Lens Cap fits nearly all lenses, which makes packing a camera bag far easier. It’s also foldable, so you can pop the Universal Lens Cap into a pocket, a purse, or a bag with ease. And the rubber design provides shock absorption, so you won’t worry about your lenses breaking when stored away.

Here’s the bottom line: The Universal Lens Cap protects your precious lenses from dust, dirt, sand, scratches, bumps, and more, which is why it’s the perfect gift for pretty much any photographer!

You can purchase the KUVRD Universal Lens Cap right here.

Peak Design Everyday Backpack V.2

The Peak Design Everyday Backpack offers everything anyone could want in a camera backpack.

It’s durable. It’s stylish. And it fits a surprising amount of camera equipment into its highly configurable storage compartments.

The Everyday Backpack also includes a laptop sleeve, so you can edit your photos on the go. And the clever locking mechanism ensures your gear is always safe from others – but easily accessed by you!

So for photographers in need of a spacious camera backpack that’s easy to use, boasts a lot of flexibility, and looks great, the Peak Design Everyday Backpack is an outstanding choice.

To take a closer look at this gorgeous photo backpack from Peak Design, click here.

Joby GorillaPod 3K Kit

This flexible mini-tripod is an ideal photographer’s companion; it’s perfect for anyone who needs a tripod but doesn’t want to take up too much space in their camera bag or backpack.

The GorillaPod’s flexible legs allow you to wrap it around objects such as tree branches, poles, and much more – so that you can stabilize your camera when capturing photos and videos in just about any location.

You can purchase the GorillaPod 3K kit right here.

Sekonic L-308X-U Flashmate Light Meter

A light meter like the Sekonic L-308X-U Flashmate is a lifesaver for serious portrait photographers and videographers.

Why? While most cameras offer built-in light meters, they just don’t boast the same level of flexibility and accuracy as the Sekonic L-308X-U Flashmate.

So for photographers looking to get their exposure consistently right, this handheld light meter is a great buy. It’s the perfect studio photographer’s companion – but it can also be taken on location when shooting portraits.

Check out the Sekonic L-308X-U Flashmate right here.

Lens Coffee Mug

Need a photography gift for a coffee drinker? Consider this coffee mug, which looks just like the Canon 24-105mm f/4L, and features a carefully designed exterior plus a “front element” cap for added realism.

It’s nicely sized, it includes a stainless-steel liner for added durability, and it’s budget friendly, too. Of course, it’s not the most serious of gifts, so make sure the recipient has a sense of humor. (And whatever you do, don’t give it to a Nikon or Sony user; you never know how they might react!)

You can purchase the lens coffee mug here.

Camera Collection Puzzle

Know a photographer who likes to puzzle? Consider gifting them this 500-piece Camera Collection puzzle from the New York Puzzle Company, which features over 100 cameras and lenses – from the classic Kodak Brownie all the way to (semi) modern SLRs.

The puzzle itself is well made, though it’s not for the faint of heart (as one reviewer pointed out, many of the antique cameras are nearly identical). But for the serious puzzler who loves cameras, it’s the perfect gift.

Check it out here!

Best gifts for photographers: final words

Well, there you have it:

24 photography gifts, covering cameras, lenses, accessories, software, and more. Hopefully, you found what you were after – and you’re ready for a fantastic holiday season!

Now over to you:

What do you plan to get as gifts for photography lovers this year? Share your gift ideas for photographers in the comments below!