Judging by the amount of email I have received about last minute gifts, there are a few people out there that still need help. If you need a reasonably priced last minute gift for a photographer here are some items that I use and recommend.
Lens pen – http://www.lenspen.com/
I never leave home without a couple of these, they work great to clean all optical surfaces. Shop links: Adorama (Nikon branded version) / BH
Sensor Pen - source
This is the best way to clean digital camera sensors, I use this with a rocket blower and a sensor scope for quick and clean results. Shop links: Adorama / BH
Rocket Blower - http://www.giottos.com/
These are best out there and I always keep one of these handy especially to clean camera sensors. Shop links: Adorama / BH
Sensor Scope – source
There are a lot of other companies making sensor scopes but the Delkin version is a good value for the money at about $50. I have been using one of these for years and years. Shop links: Adorama / BH
Display Protector – http://www.clarivue.com/ or http://www.zagg.com/
All of my phones, point and shoot cameras and DSLRs have a display protector installed. These are cheap protection against smudges, finger prints and scratches.
Think Tank Eye Piece – Think Tank Photo
These are more comfortable and easier to use since they stick farther out and best of all they will not pop off as easily as some of the factory versions. They work with Think Tank rain covers to seal the viewfinder.
Cable Management Bags – Think Tank Photo
People ask me about these accessory bags all the time. Think Tank makes a few of them here are the two that I use:
Cable Management 10
Cable Management 20
USB Hard Disk Drives
Prices are so low these days its amazing, I picked up my 1 TB USB 3.0 passport drives for $99 each at Costco earlier this year. Due to recent problems in SE Asia prices have gone up but there still are good deals out there. I use Western Digital Passport drives, they offer them in PC or Mac format – http://www.wdc.com/en/products/external/portable/
Nikon User’s Guide – http://store.birdsasart.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=329
Learn how I set up my camera for nature and wildlife photography. Recommended for all Nikon D300s, D700, D3S, D3X DSLR owners.
Nik Software – link
If you are not using Nik you wont believe what you are missing. You can cannot go wrong with any of these Nik plugins, these are my favorite plugins of all time.
These are my recommendations:
Dfine® 2.0
The best noise reduction plugin available today.
Viveza® 2
Using control points, Viveza 2 is the most powerful and precise tool available to selectively control light and color in photographic images. Just click and adjust.
Color Efex Pro™ 4 Complete Edition
Very powerful and very easy to use.
Silver Efex Pro™ 2
Easy to use and works very very well.
Complete Collection Ultimate Edition
Includes all of Nik Software’s award-winning plug-in software titles for Adobe® Photoshop®, Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® and Apple® Aperture®.
