Christmas is next week, so I thought it would be fun to create a collection of gift ideas to buy for the photographer in your life (or even to treat yourself to)! From the plain to the bizarre, this collection contains something that matches everyone’s price range. Read on for some holiday inspiration!

Gorillapod

If you have ever read any of my articles before, you’ll know I am a massive fan of the Joby Gorillapod. What’s not to like? A flexible lightweight tripod that you can wrap around almost anything.

For more information about the Gorillapod check out my other Phototuts+ article: Quick Tip: Try a Tripod Alternative or alternatively see a few product examples through the image below:

Digital Photo Frame

An simple, fun way of showcasing your best photography in your own home. You can also purchase digital photo frames with built in Wi-Fi for easier updating of photos. You can usually purchase a decent digital photo frame from as little as $50.

Camera Cufflinks

For the well-dressed male photographer, how about a set of these camera cufflinks? They offer a little bit of fun to any shirt, and each cufflink is hand made.

Diana Mini Lomography Film Kit

Lomography is really fun type of photography. The images produced are unique, colourful, and often blurry, but despite this the little Russian camera is still very popular. You can pick up this modern day version from only $90, rather having to purchase a classic lomography camera which could can set you back several hundred dollars.

Wacom Tablet

Tablets allow you to control your image editing with the precision of your own hand. It makes editing photos much easier and often much more enjoyable. Prices start from around $67 for a small Bamboo tablet, ranging up to a Cintiq at around $2000.

Canon or Nikon Coffee Lens Mug

Canon released the 70-200mm coffee mug lens a couple of years ago and since then Nikon have also released their version. You or your friend can amaze on-lookers when you take a sip of coffee out of your $1000+ camera lens.

Priced at around $30-40, they are a fun novelty item to own.

Pelican Secure Digital Memory Card Case

Memory cards are getting ever-smaller, and are extremely easy to lose once you take them out of your camera. Placing them all in this secure memory case is one way to help prevent this problem. Pelican memory cases are available from $16, but you can find other cheaper cases from about $5.

Stuffed Pillow Applications

If you are a true nerd, or know of a friend who just loves Photoshop, then you can buy a pillow at $15. Check them out at My Suite Stuff.

Currently they are in the middle of revamping their shop, so orders cannot be placed for the next few weeks. There are plenty of these funky pillows to be found with a quick eBay search, so don’t despair!

Eye-Fi Wireless SD card

The Eye-Fi Pro wireless memory cards provide fast, wireless photo and video transfer from your camera to your computer and an online site of your choice. It works with most cameras including Canon, Nikon, Casio, Sanyos and more. It also saves the location of every photo you have taken.

The card is very impressive, but also quite expensive as a result. For an 8Gb card you will have to pay around $135.

Battery Grip

A simple accessory to increase the battery life of your camera. Disadvantages include the weight and size, but these are brilliant on longer shoots. They come in all different sizes for all different types of cameras and therefore range in price a fair amount.

Bush Hawk Shoulder Mount

Bush Hawk have created this awesome shoulder mount for use on digital SLR’s in order to allow users to capture smoother and stunning video. They also allow for perfect support of telephoto lenses.

Ranging from $150 to $250 for the premium package, these mounts are a decent price compared to their rivals over at Steadicam which often start at over $1000.

Binoculars

Binoculars are a perfect accessory for those who do wildlife photography. Often lighter and easier to see through than a telephoto lens, they make a sensible purchase. Prices range dramatically from $50 to over $1000.

Sandisk All-in-One Reader/Writer

Check out this stylish all-in-one reader and writer for most forms of memory. If you don’t already have an in-built card reader, or you know your friend doesn’t, then I would highly suggest it. It can be bought at an awesome price of $22.

The Digital Photography Book

Scott Kelby tackles the most important side of digital photography – How to take professional quality shots using the same tricks as pro photographers. His book is easy to read and not full of the jargon that you often find in other books, perfect for someone interested in getting into photography. Currently a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/032147404X?ie=UTF8&tag=photo05e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=032147404X”>Amazon are selling it at $16.49.

Tuts+ Membership

How about purchasing a Tuts+ Premium membership for a friend? One payment of $78 for the whole year gets you access to all the Premium sites, tutorials and articles on photography, Photoshop, web development, motion graphics, vectors, music, computer graphics and flash.

Alternatively you can purchase Premium at $9 a month or $22 for 3 months.

A Brand New Lens

Every photographer loves getting a new lens. If your budget can afford it then go ahead, with thousands to choose from at least one will make a nice gift. If you’re on a smaller budget, how about picking up a fixed focal length lens?

Flash Guns

Ranging from around $20 to $1000, flash guns come in all shapes and sizes. They are extremely useful for portrait photography.

Focalware iPhone application

Focalware calculates the sun and moon position for any given location and date. Use the interactive compass to determine the path and height of the sun or moon. Photographers and film makers who are always asked by their clients for the sun, moon and stars, can now deliver. Focalware is only $5 and can be gifted to friend.

Prints

Why not print your friend a canvas, mouse mat or even a calendar? Various websites offer this service, but you could try Eye-On Designs, or make use of the service built into iPhoto and Aperture.

CyberShot Digital Camera TX9

How about a digital compact camera that can shoot 3D photos using just one lens? At just under $400, it is pretty expensive for a compact but the price is well justified due to sheer range of unique features.

Not Sold? A Few More Ideas…

• Film camera – You can pick up old film cameras for as little as $30
• Film scanner – To scan your old film slides into your computer
• Subscription to a photography magazine
• Memory – A tad dull but important nevertheless.
• Filters – How about a set of creative filters?
• Wireless Triggers – If they own a flashgun, a wireless trigger is always handy.
• Remote – A timer remote is handy for anyone doing long exposures.
• Light meter – Helpful for any photographer to use.
• Reflector – Used to reflect light onto a subject

Good Luck!

Hopefully, these ideas will help you to pick the perfect gift for the camera-lover in your life. Fortunately, it’s a gadget-heavy hobby, with plenty of different presents to choose from!

Are you hoping for a particular photography-related Christmas present? Let us know in the comments!

The long-awaited presence of the Nikon d7000 is now upon us. Look what else is in our reach: DP Review‘s first look at the machine: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond7000/

Check out the review for yourself. In my ongoing battle of trying to decide which DSLR camera I want to end up with, so far the d7000 is the big winner, even though I’ve always been biased towards Canon. I think I may be a Nikonhead in the near future.

Related articles

• 2010 Camera of the Year (photofocus.com)
• Video recording with D7000 (photoclicker.wordpress.com)
• Nikon’s D7000 Pricing Could Make You Turn Grey (gizmodo.com.au)
• Secrets of the Nikon D7000 (pixiq.com)
• Nikon D7000 Packs a Whole Lot of Pro Into a $1200 DSLR [Digital Cameras] (gizmodo.com)

HIGH ISO DIGITAL SLR

Veteran Canon EOS-1D and 1Ds shooters will feel right at home with the new Canon EOS-1D Mark IV camera, built on a dust- and weather-resistant magnesium alloy body. Upgraded features include increased sensor resolution and ISO, reduced noise, an increased frame rate, a new medium-sized RAW file, and if that’s not enough, HD video capture.

The Mark IV has an APS-H 27.9×18.6mm sensor that packs 16.1 megapixels (4896×3264 in RAW) of capture resolution. The new M-RAW format (3672×2448—9 megapixels) joins the S-RAW (2448×1632—4 megapixels) format introduced in the Mark III.

The ISO range of the sensor gets a major boost. The standard range is 100–12,800. The L setting remains at 50 while H1 moves to ISO 25,600, H2 is 51,200, and H3 has an amazing 102,400. That’s four stops higher than the Mark III. The dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors handle image quality at high speeds. I made several captures at the top of the standard range (12,800) and the results—especially when processed with the Camera Raw 6 Process Version 2010 (PV2010) using the Luminance Noise Reduction slider—provided truly wonderful results. At the risk of showing my age, photographs made at this ISO are much better than ISO 800 film I used to shoot.

Speaking of speed, the Mark IV shoots at a continuous 10 frames per second (fps) for 28 RAW files or 121 JPEGs using a high data rate UDMA CompactFlash memory card. The shutter is rated up to 300,000 exposures.

Autofocus in the Mark IV gets attention, too. Canon’s new AI Servo II AF 45-point system has the ability to manually select 39 cross-type points for fast, precise focusing. Custom functions allow the photographer to set a custom focus point that automatically switches when the camera is moved from horizontal to vertical positions. Adjacent sensors can be added to the primary when working with moving subjects.

One of my favorite features is the Mark IV’s 100% accuracy in the viewfinder. Another thing that’s easy to love is the ClearView II 3″ LCD monitor that has a multicoated screen to reduce glare and a 160º angle of view, so photos can be easily seen by the photographer and onlookers.

The Mark IV’s sensor size is close to the aspect ratio in professional motion picture cameras shooting super 35mm movies. The APS-H sensor uses a shorter normal focal length lens, allowing increased depth-of-field especially with wide-angle lenses. Automatic Exposure (AE) control sets the meter to center-weighted average metering. Manual exposure is also available. The 1920×1080 HD video may be captured at 29.97, 25, or 23.976 fps—which are the rates for television and motion picture, respectively. It has 1280×720 HD or 640×480 SD (standard definition) at 59.94 fps. All video is recorded in the MOV format and will record a single clip up to 4 GB (about 12 minutes in length), and the quality is good. The built-in microphone has mono recording and stereo sound is possible with an accessory microphone.

The Mark IV captures stills and video using CompactFlash or SD cards, or both, automatically switching from full to empty cards. The desired file’s size can be set for either card. Photographs may also be recorded to both cards at the same time to make a backup. Movies, however, can’t use this function.

Some photographers who are used to a lighter camera might have an initial adverse reaction to the Mark IV’s heft. I believe that after giving it a chance they’ll overcome size issues and fall in love with this machine. This is a professional’s small-format hoice for extraordinary options in one digital camera body.

Company: Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Price: $4,999
Website: www.usa.canon.com
Rating: 5
Hot: 16 megapixels; insanely high ISOs; low noise
Not:

Sometimes when you take a photo the result isn’t quite what you expected, it could be overexposed (too much light), underexposed (too dark), or simply is out of focus. The principal settings you have to adjust when taking a picture are the film speed, shutter speed and aperture of the camera.

If you read the paragraph above and couldn’t understand what I was talking about, well don’t worry, this article intends to guide amateur and beginners in the world of photography.

Please note: in the paragraphs to come there will be values for different camera settings. These values are not standard in all cameras but they are the most common ones and will serve as reference.

Film Speed and Light Sensitivity

First, a little bit of history. Back when cameras needed to use photographic films, they came with different ASA (American Standards Association), DIN (German Institute for Standardization) or GOST (state standard, from Russia) values according to the film sensitivity to light, where lower numbers are less sensitive and higher numbers more sensitive. This means that lower values were used in situations with a lot of light and higher values in darker environments.

For example, to take a picture on a sunny day it would be recommended to use an ASA 100, if you had to take a picture in a not so bright environment, such as a room with mild light incoming from a window, you could use an ASA 400 (and for night shoots you could use films with higher ASA value).

Now imagine this; the film is composed of grains, each of them store a part of the picture you took. The lower the ASA value, the smaller the grain diameter, so an ASA 100 film will have finer detail compared to an ASA 400 and thus, the quality would be better. But, as the 100 has more grains, it needs more time of exposure to store the same information as it would take in a 400, so the first film is considered slower than the second.

Film grain comparison could be illustrated like this:

Nowadays digital cameras use a plaque instead of an organic film, it could be a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor. The sensor captures the image, registering the quantity of light, then the camera stores it in memory. The international standard for film speed in digital photography is called ISO which can be selected even in some cell phones.

Screenshot from the Camera settings of a Samsung Omnia SCH – i910:

Which ISO Fits Your Needs?

Low sensitivity, ISO 25 – ISO 50

Pros: Excellent definition and great contrast, the best range to use when you need to amplify an image.

Cons: Used in places with good illumination only, use of tripod is recommended.

Recommended seasons: Summer and Spring.

Medium sensitivity, ISO 100 – ISO 200

The most popular range for beginners and professionals, maintains a good proportion of definition and contrast and can handle decent amplifications.

Used in places with normal illumination.

Recommended all year around.

High sensitivity, ISO 400 – ISO 3200

Pros: Ideal for indoor photography, night shots, concerts. When using with flash you can achieve greater depth.

Cons: Contrast and definition can be a little poor, and the big grains associated with high speeds are notable (meaning your photos can appear pixelated).

Recommended seasons: Autumn and Winter.

Now let’s see some examples. The following photos were taken at night without flash, just a common light bulb on the wall.

ISO 100

ISO 200

ISO 400

As we expected, there are notable differences between all three. In the first one it’s too dark to appreciate anything. The second one has a better light distribution and you can see the environment. The third one shows you more of what’s surrounding the tree and even caught the TV light from the room at the back.

Shutter Speed (V)

The shutter speed is the length of time we let light pass through the camera, or the time we expose the image to the sensor. This time directly affects the illumination degree in our photo. That’s the reason we use the term underexposed when a picture is too dark and overexposed when it is too bright. In both cases the problem was incorrect exposure time.

Example of Overexposure

Example of Underexposure

To avoid these problems, it’s common to use slow speeds in places with poor light because these situations require a longer exposure time to achieve a good result. On the other hand, if our location is well illuminated we should use a fast shutter speed, or short exposure, so the camera can capture the correct colors without the interference of light.

These speeds are measured in fractions of a second, like 1 / x where x is the number you can select. For example if you see a 500 speed available, the time the shutter remains open is 1 / 500 or 0.002 seconds. Other example, a value of 2 means the shutter remain open for half a second as 1 / 2 equals 0.5.

If you see quotation marks on the right side of a number (like 1″) it means the shutter will remain open for a full second, so please take a good look when selecting the speed since 2″ is very different from a single 2. The former means the shutter will remain open for two full seconds and the latter, as we said before, will remain open for just half a second.

In some cameras you can also find a “B” or “T” speed available, these letters stand for:

B (Bulb): Keeps the shutter open until you release the button.

T (Time): Keeps the shutter open until you press the button again.

Commonly, the shutter speeds are divided in two ranges: slow and fast. The first one is for speeds from “B” or “T” up to 30, and the second is for speeds from 60 and above. When shooting with slow speeds it is highly recommended to use a tripod to avoid involuntary movement of the camera, one of the main causes of blurry pictures!

As a summary we can say:

Aperture (F)

Your camera has a diaphragm, the function of which is to control the amount of light that passes though its aperture. It is located in the lens or objective. Most cameras have an adjustable diaphragm with a mechanism of blades that can open or close according our needs.

The aperture is responsible for the Depth of Field (DOF). This is how sharp the focal point in the picture will appear, and the amount of blur that other areas will take on. Aperture is measured in what is called an f-number. The relation between the diaphragm, depth of field and f-number is the following:

So, with f1.4 selected, the blades of the diaphragm are wide open letting more light pass through and we get a poor/shallow depth of field. As the f-number increases, the diaphragm blades reduce the aperture letting less light pass and resulting in a greater depth of field. A common mistake is to assume a high f-number means a bigger aperture when reality is the complete opposite.

Example of open diaphragm:

Example of closed diaphragm:

Notice in the first picture how only the bricks in the front are well focused and as the image goes back the objects start to get blurry. In the second picture you can see how all the objects well defined; this was achieved by using a smaller aperture.

Photometer

Illumination is the key factor in photography; according to it we select the ISO, define the shutter speed and regulate the diaphragm to let an adequate quantity of light reach the sensor.

Fortunately there is a device that measures the amount of light in the environment. It’s called a photo meter, or light meter. It meters the light that passes through the lens and lets us know if it is adequate or whether we need to make some adjustments. If your camera displays a photo meter you should be able to see a little indicator like the following:

- 2 . 1 . 0 . 1 . 2 +

An indicator will let you know you if your current settings are right, normally if it’s around “0″, you are ready to shoot. If the indicator is at the right, the positive side, it means there is too much light. If it is on the left side, the negative, it means you need to let more light pass though. In both cases you can change the current ISO, shutter speed or aperture until the indicator is around the 0 – it really is up to you which one to move.

In cameras, this metering is called TTL (Through The Lens), calculating the light reflected from the object. The most common modes are matrix and spot. The first one calculates the average light in the entire scene, like pieces in a puzzle, and each one has its own value. The second one just meters the spot you are pointing at and excludes all of its surroundings.

Exposure Value (EV)

Almost every camera comes with this tool; it’s the combination of the shutter speed and aperture that let us adjust the exposure by adding or subtracting light gradually without changing any other setting previously made. This tool is mostly used for quick fixes, but if you can’t achieve the desired amount of light, you need to adjust the traditional way.

Take a look at this photo, the flower in the meddle is the “original” picture taken with 0 EV, the one on the left was took with +1.0 EV and the right one with –1.0 EV.

Theoric Examples: Apply What You’ve Just Learned

These specific figures may not be accurate for your camera – the values and situations are for practice purposes only.

Situation 1: Imagine you are visiting a new town and you just saw a building you want to photograph. Your current settings are: f 4.0 v 250 ISO 200, your photo meter is slightly toward the right side and you don’t want to lose quality.

Solution: When the photometer is at the right side it means you have excess light, so you can select a faster speed (lets say v 500), or you can simply close the aperture a bit taking it to f5.6. As you don’t want to lose quality you don’t change the current ISO.

Situation 2: You are a motor sports fan and want to take pictures in a race. The current settings are: f8.0 v 100 ISO 400 and your photo meter is again heading to the right side.

Solution: You know cars will pass fast, so you need a faster speed like v 1000. That will make the photometer come down a little bit, but it still is on the right side and you notice your ISO is too high for the occasion so take it down (let’s say to ISO 200). Finally the photometer is at the middle, and you can sit down and wait for the cars to pass by!

Situation 3: Your friend is playing with his band in a pub and the only illumination is candlelight in the tables and some low light in the venue. Your settings are: f11.0 v100 ISO 200. The photo meter is heading to the left side, and flash is not allowed.

Solution: It is really dark so you may need to adjust everything. Choose a lower speed like v30, and increase your ISO to around 500. Still at the left? Finally, open the aperture. Take it to f2.0, and now you are ready to shoot (but remember you have low speed settings so you may want to use a tripod or something to lean on!)

Other Advice

People learn in different ways. Some find easier to understand their camera by learning to change one setting at a time, while others like to experiment with all the things they can. Do what makes you feel more comfortable!

If you can, write down the settings each time you take a picture. It’s the best way to know your camera and will let you analyze the results later. If it went right, you may want to use those settings in the future, if it wasn’t quite what you expected you can analyze and try to figure out what went wrong.

The photo meter is there to help and should not be taken as the final word. If you are just beginning, it’s better to take multiple pictures of the same situation and see which one ended well.

Take some extra memory cards, as there’s nothing worse than going to take a picture and realising that you have no space. Well, actually there is something worse… a camera without battery! But you already know what to do to prevent that.

Conclusion

Sometimes you’ll find something you want to highlight but the object itself could be a little problematic due the quantity of colors and light involved; thankfully you can configure your camera according to your needs.

I hope this tutorial has helped introduce you to a few new concepts in an easy way – feel free to ask any questions in the comments, and we’ll do our best to answer!