Our last-minute photography gift guide
It’s that time of the year again…the last-minute mad dash for Christmas presents. No matter how much we promise ourselves, Santa always falls into the trap of being a few presents short of a completed list.The good news is you can find some brilliant photography gifts in the eleventh hour. Our emergency photography gift guide lists some of unique gadgets and accessories that any professional or hobbyist in your life will appreciate.
Fospower Waterproof Battery Pack
Price: $27.99 Available from: Amazon
A lack of power is an inconvenience for tourists, but it could cost a travel or wildlife photographer their career-defining shot. This external USB battery pack from Fospower offers more than just extra charge; it’s built for protection against water, dirt, snow and just about every other danger nature poses – gravity included.
Lens Pen
Price: $10.99 Available from: B&H Photo
We’re amazed that there are still photographers out there who don’t keep one of these in their bag. The "Lenspen" is a quick cleaning solution that removes oily fingerprints and dust not just from your camera lenses, but from the viewfinder and LCD screens too. It's a go-to photography stocking filler, perfectly made for long-term use.
Wandrd PRVKE 21 pack
Price: $185 Available from: Wandrd Store
The market for camera bags is as overstuffed as it is for lenses, but that doesn't stop this carrier from being a real cracker. The PRVKE pack uses a minimalist exterior to mask a high-functioning design. Photographers will appreciate the pocket placement and weight distribution, regardless of whether they're shooting on the street or traveling the globe. Best of all, it's made with water-resistant tarpaulin to shield the expensive gear within. Check out this Wandrd Prvke review by our friends at Shotkit.
MagMod2 Basic Kit
Price: $89.95 Available from: Adorama
Flash photography is, ironically, hard to set-up fast out in the field. Enter MagMod's basic light control kit, which lets you switch between a full range of flash modifiers (including a Speedlite grid and colour gels) instantly. The ridiculously strong magnets beat nasty velcro and adhesives anyday, and you can actually customize the order of modifiers in a manner that suits you.
Palette Control Kit
Price: $299 Available from: B&H Photo
Mouse cursors are so last year. This aluminum peripheral features numerous buttons, dials and sliders that let you adjust the levels of your photos (temperature, saturation, etc.) with a single movement. This lets you find the finishing touch in your photo editing without darting your eye back and forth across the editor's UI. For the multi-talented creatives in your life, this kit is also great for video and audio editing.
Canon PC-E1 Protecting Cloth
Price: $28 Available from: Canon Store USA
When you shield your camera from damage, you still want it to be accessible. Canon's solution is this padded protective cloth -- which forms a tight seal around both camera and lens, and which can be easily unstrapped and unwrapped for when opportunity strikes.
DxO Optics Pro 11
Price: $69.99 Available from: DxO Shop
Buying software for photographers can be tricky, but you can't go wrong with the features offered by Optic Pro 11. This automatic lens corrector will check your image's EXIF data, and produce the best results based on a range of presets, or to your own manual preferences. As pointed out in Techradar's review, the raw converter in this program is arguably the best available.
Sirui T-025X Carbon Fiber Tripod with C-10S Ball Head
Price: $219 Available from: Amazon
Naturally, we have to finish our emergency photography gift guide with a highly recommended tripod. The Sirui T-025X is lightweight without compromising sturdiness, and the anti-rotation system ensures that the twistgrips can be undone via a single hand movement. Weighing in at under 2 pounds, it's easy to see why it's referred to as "the world's smallest and lightest tripod"!
Thanks for reading our emergency photography gift guide. We wish you the best of luck in acquiring those final presents!
If you're already all set, take a look at our findings on the State of Image Theft in 2016. The results were enlightening, shocking, and unsettling.
