$100ish Christmas gift recommendation

[cdepauli]

Hi!
I am mostly a lurker, but admire all the knowledge and skill that is displayed on this board.

I'd love to get my husband a nice accessory for our camera, but I already got him one thing and want to keep it around $100 (we have a baby now, so we cut our budget )

This is what we have: Canon T1i with kit lens that we do not use; Sigma 30mm f/1.4; Tamron 18-270 PZD; Tokina 11-16 f/2.8; Most recent version of Lightroom; HDR program that I can't remember the name of.

TIA!

 

[disneyboy2003]

There are a whole bunch of Christmas ideas for your photographer husband.

Is he the type who is very creative with his photography? You can look at getting him a Lensbaby (link). Although I personally don't have one, many people who do have this enjoy the unique and creative look the Lensbaby creates in their photographs. Actually, I just looked at their website, and the cheapest Lensbaby is the Muse, which is $150.

Does he already have a tripod? Consider getting a tripod that has a ball head. Try not to get a super-cheap tripod, such as those that can be found at Walmart or perhaps even Best Buy. A really good tripod is actually a very worthwhile long-term investment for photographers. You may have to stretch your budget a little more than $100 for a really decent tripod.

Or better yet, how about a Gorillapod? This is a very flexible short tripod that can wrap its legs around anything and everything. So you attach your dSLR camera on this Gorillapod, and you can wrap the Gorillapod around any tree branch, railing, pole, etc. consider getting the Gorillapod SLR-Zoom for $49.95 (link). If you do end up getting the Gorillapod, I would also get the ball head that goes with the gorilla pod. Unfortunately, the extra ball head is a separate purchase and is $69.95.

Actually, if you get the Gorillapod, you have extra money to purchase perhaps Photoshop Elements 10. This retails for $79-99, but I have seen this as low as $49 during recent holiday sales. I know he already has Lightroom, which probably handles 90-95% of his photo editing needs. Photoshop Elements 10 will handle the other 5-10% of his photo editing needs.

I don't know if your husband needs or wants a new lens, but the Canon 50 mm f/1.8 lens is about $100-125.

That's all I can think of for now off the top of my head. Hope that helps. Merry Christmas!

 

[cdepauli]

The nifty fifty is actually an excellent idea! I've actually shot with it and was impressed. I completely forgot about that.

We really need a speedlight, but I don't want to cheap out on that. We did cheap out on our tripod, but we don't really use it that often anyway, so it meets our needs.