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Top 10 Gifts for Photographers Under $150

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Believe it or not, the Holdays are almost upon us! Since it's never too early to start shopping for your favorite photographer-type people, we're helping get you off to an early start. As always, we've listend to our members and followed the buying trends to bring you our lists of gifts sure to please any photography or cinematography buffs on your list. Here's the first for this year, with ten great gift ideas under $150.00. Happy shopping!

1. Syrp Variable ND Filter

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A Neutral Density (ND) filter is one of the most creative tools you can give a photographer or cinematographer. It enables creative effects by allowing wider apertures and/or slower shutter speeds in bright lighting conditions. The most well-known examples are probably those dreamy, foggy effects created by moving water in stills and elimination of “roll” in videos. This rugged, variable version eliminates the need to carry several ND filters by allowing from 1 to 8.5 stops of exposure reduction with one filter!

Learn more here.

2. Datacolor® Spyder®LENSCAL

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SpyderLENSCAL provides a fast, reliable method of measuring the focus performance on your camera and lens combinations. It allows photographers to obtain razor-sharp focusing or check to see that their lenses are working at their peak performance.

Learn More here.

3. WoodSnap

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Imagine your favorite photographer's work printed directly on wood! Give him or her a vibrant, 16” x 20” wood print, complete with mounting slots and ready to grace his, her (or your) wall! Each genuine wood print is completely unique. Upload a photo from Facebook, Instagram or your computer, or email it in to get started.

Learn more here.

4. Spider Holster

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Conventional camera straps are clumsy, hard on your neck and shoulders and not the fastest way to access your DSLR. The Single Camera System from Spider Pro transfers the weight to your hips and allows an incredibly quick draw of a full-size DSLR with lens when that killer shot comes up. It's revolutionary, rugged and perfect for active photographers.

Learn more here.

5. Perfectly Clear

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Perfectly Clear Complete for Photoshop and Lightroom offers incredibly effective, one-click enhancement of images.  You can use the 40 built-in presets or easily create your own with precise control.   With this bundle, you'll get complete control over exposure, contrast, noise reduction, and color.  Portrait photographers can also quickly enhance the eyes, skin, face, teeth and much more in one easy-to-use package.

Learn More here.

6.Wolverine F2D Mighty

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Most photograhers have stacks of negatives and slides just begging to be converted to digital images, and who doesn't have a bunch of old home movies to digitize? The Wolverine Digital Converter makes it easy to create high-resoultion (up to 20MP) digital files from film and positive transparencies. Give the gift of preserved memories.

Learn more here.

7. Promaster Multi-Function IR Timer Remote/Intervalometer

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Time-lapse sequences are among the most fun and rewarding things you can do with your DSLR. With this intervalometer, you can control your sequences remotely on most brand-name DSLRs and for those that don't have IR sensors, you can add an optional cable to use it wired. Of course, it also works as a standard remote shutter release with a little extra control, like controlling the number of exposures in continuous mode, all from up to 30 feet away.

Learn more here.

8. Sirui T-004X Aluminum Tripod with C-10S Ball Head

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This aluminum travel tripod from Sirui is compact and weighs in at just 2 pounds. Its legs reverse fold, so its closed size is just 15.7 inches. The adjustable center column can be replaced with the short center column for low angle shooting and three leg angle settings let you keep shooting on uneven terrain. Despite its small size, it can support up to 13.2 pounds and has a maximum height of 58 inches. The tripod even comes with a ball head with safety-lock Arca-type compatible clamp with quick release plate.

Learn more about the Sirui T-004X Aluminum Tripod with C-10S Ball Head.

9. Aquapac SLR Camera Case with Hard Lens

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How awesome would it be to shoot underwater with your DSLR? The Aquapac can make that happen! Not only is it guaranteed to let you shoot under up to 15 feet of water, it will float if you drop your camera overboard, and doubles as a protective “rain suit” to keep out moisture, sand and other contaminants. It also comes with an adjustable neck cord and moisture-detecting desiccant packets. Open up a whole world of new possibilities with this gift.

Learn more here.

Glide Gear DEV 235 Camera Track Slider 23.5"

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One of the coolest things you can do with videos and time-lapse sequences is to add smooth, controlled camera motion. This simple slider enables that without a lot of expense, but without sacrificing quality. It mounts to a tripod or can be set up on almost any surface with the adjustable legs and rubber ball feet. It accepts almost any digital camera, camcorder or video camera, so there's no need to worry about what your favorite photographer shoots with!

Learn more here.



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Top 10 Gifts for Photographers Under $250

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It's almost that time again, folks. The Holidays. Yep, it's later than you think, and before long you're going to wish you'd started shopping for your favorite photography buff. Unless, of course, that is, you're one of those smart readers that follows our Holiday Gift Guides here at PhotographyTalk. We've done the shopping for you – all you need to do is pick one of the great gifts we recommend. If you've got a photographer (even if it's you) to buy for and have a budget of $150 to $249.99, you're in the right place!

1. Syrp Genie Mini Panning Motion Control System

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Consistent, smooth panning can add impact to both time-lapse sequences and video. That's exactly what Genie provides, with a simple device that you can carry in your pocket! It works with your smartphone, GoPro, mirror-less camera or DSLR. You program it wirelessly through an included app, and factory presets make it easy to use, even for those with no experience.

Learn more here.

2. Datacolor® Spyder®5PRO

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Here's an advanced color accuracy solution, with room lighting settings for optimal monitor brightness, to help you get true colors on screen and in print. Advance-featured, interactive calibration for laptop and desktop displays.

Learn more here.

3. MyStudio MS20 Professional Table Top Photo Studio

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Having professional looking photos of your products is so important, especially in any kind of eCommerce, but it can be a very time-consuming, challenging and often expensive process for people without much (or any) photographic experience. The MyStudio® MS20 Table Top Photo Studio is a superior, all-in-one table top photo studio system that will help you take amazing product photos even if you don’t have a lot of photography experience. It is a very affordable yet versatile photo studio kit that provides everything you need to take professional quality photos of your products. Featuring a unique 20”x20”x12” seamless “cyclorama” background and soft, wrap-around 5000K “daylight” lighting, the MS20 will help you take your product photos to the next level.

Learn more here.

4. Plustek ePhoto Z300 Photo Scanner

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If you’ve got piles of printed photos laying around and want to digitize them, there’s no need to send them off to a third party when you can do it yourself with the Plustek ePhoto Z300 Photo Scanner. This scanner is designed specifically to gently handle prints to avoid damaging delicate surfaces. With a 300 dpi CCD scanner, the unit will create high-quality digital reproductions of prints ranging in size from 1x1” up to 8.5x11.7”. If time is of the essence, don’t worry - the Z300 takes just two seconds to fully digitize a 4x6” photo and can handle a printing load of up to 500 sheets per day. It comes bundled with software that auto-deskews and adjusts your photos, allows for easy editing, and has a one-touch social media share button. It will be a great addition to your collection of gear and makes an ideal gift for other photographers in your life as well.  If you’re after a film to digital scanner, then another option worth considering is the Plustek Optic Film 8100.

5. HoldFast Gear MoneyMaker Multi-Camera Harness

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If your photographer shoots with more than one camera – or wants to, here's a gift that will make that happen in style. This beautiful, high-grade leather harness is designed to hold two cameras near your hips, and allows them to slide up in an instant for that quick shot. All sorts of accessories can be added, including an option to carry a third camera!

Learn more here.

6. Singh-RayLighter, Brighter” LB Warming Polarizer

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There is no substitute for a polarizing filter when you need one. Not only does it make pale blue skies more brilliant, it's most important function is removing glare from your images, allowing you to do things like photograph what's under the surface of a body of water. It also restores color and details on reflective surfaces. This filter adds a subtle warming effect, adding a little more “punch” to your images.

Learn more here.

7. Sirui Urbanite BP Camera Backpack

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For photographers on the move, having a handy way to store, transport, and protect their gear is of the utmost importance. Why not give them something stylish too? The Sirui Urbanite BP offers plenty of space for a DSLR camera, up to 4 lenses, camera accessories like spare batteries and memory cards, and room for a 15” laptop and 10” tablet! For added security, all camera gear is organized in a padded, zippered compartment that’s accessed from the rear. On top is a zippered compartment for things like a phone, car keys, and other belongings that you might need quick access to. The unique internal flow-through design lets you safely store a long telephoto lens or compact travel tripod out of sight. Carry all you need in a great looking backpack that doesn’t scream “photo gear inside!”  

Learn more about the Sirui Urbanite BP Camera Backpack..

8. MyStudio® MS20J Table Top Photo Studio w/ Jewelry Kit + Tripod

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Jewelry photography can be a real challenge. Even if you don’t have a lot of photography experience, this all-inclusive jewelry photography kit from MyStudio® provides everything you need to start taking professional looking photos of your jewelry. Featuring the best-selling MS20 Table Top Photo Studio with a seamless cyclorama background and 5000K “daylight” lighting, and combining it with the MyStudio® 12pc jewelry photography prop and tool kit and a bonus tripod, you will have all the tools needed to make your photos stand out. The included DVD is packed with demos and tutorials that will help you take your jewelry photography to the next level.

Learn more here.

9. SlickforceSystem Trilogy - Mastering Lighting, Retouching & Compositing

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This incredible bundle from Slickforce will take you step-by-step through the process of becoming an expert at lighting, retouching, and compositing your images. Your favorite photographer is sure to love the way that master photographers deconstruct their methods and make ground-breaking photography processes accessible and easy to understand. Whether it’s lighting your subject like a pro, learning advanced retouching techniques, or building the skills needed to create stunning composites, the SlickforceSystem Trilogy has the photographer in your life covered from A-Z!

Learn more about the SlickforceSystem Trilogy.

Marumi 77mm EXUS Circular Polarizer Filter

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If you don't need the added warming of the polarizing filter above, here's an extremely high-quality one that retains the cooler colors. The thin filter ring design is ideally suited for use with wide-angle lenses and features multiple light-blocking ridges, a satin finish, and a black ink coating to provide a surface reflectivity of less than 0.6% to reduce the likelihood of lens flare and ghosting. Additionally, the male threads of the filter ring are coated with Teflon to help eliminate filter jamming and promote easier installation and removal from lenses.

Learn more here.



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