CameraPorn

So for the last few weeks I have been toying around with the idea of doing a holiday gift suggestion post, but until now I couldn’t get motivated to do it. Why? Who knows, maybe because most of these so-called “gift guides” are nothing more than paid advertisements and big wastes of time. So you might ask, what motivated me to finally get off my ass and do it? This…

Well, to be more specific, the first page. Now, I do love PopPhoto, and usually get a lot out of what I read there, but when this one popped into my feed reader and I clicked through, I almost didn’t make it past the first page. I mean, a 3D space navigator mouse thingie? an $80 card reader? a USB thumb drive? and a few other things that if I received I would smack someone. But seriously, what photographer wants this crap. There is a LensPen, good, at least one ray of light. Luckily, I was able to suppress the urge to break things long enough to get to the second page, and there we are, some good stuff, and the PopPhoto gift guide was saved, and actually has some really cool stuff, some of which I will mention here. If you plan on checking it out, I suggest starting on page 2

So now you are probably wondering, what do the crazies at CameraPorn think you should get for that special photographer you love? Well, everything I’m going to list are things you should get for yourself, and if you have a few bucks left over, buy your friends something. I’ll keep it short, sweet and cheap. List after the jump.

1. Photographic Solutions Digital Survival Kit - Price: under $20

Certain people I know are too timid to clean their own sensors, and think just because the manual says so, you need an authorized professional to do it. Guess what, myself and thousands of others like me have the balls to clean our own sensors. All it takes is a steady hand, a relatively dust-free area and the right equipment. I personally use Photographic Solutions products, and I like them. The Photographic Solutions Digital Survival Kit includes Eclipse cleaning solution, a few sensor swabs, some Pec-Pads (my favorite lens tissues) and some optical wipes AND it comes in a nifty little case. One note: Make sure you get the right size for your camera, the link should show you 3 options, each list the types of cameras they are compatible with. Buy it on Amazon.

2. Sto-fen Omnibounce Flash Diffuser - Price: Under $15

This little piece of plastic just might be the most useful accessory I own. If you own an external speedlite/flash and you don’t have one of these, get one, NOW. For a little cheapo piece of plastic, the Sto-Fen Diffuser makes a flash work like its supposed to work, and mine pretty much never leaves my flash. It cuts down shine on peoples faces, evens out light and diffuses to make flash work seem much more natural. Buy it on Amazon.

3. Joby GorillaPod SLR Zoom - Price: Under $50

How many times do you find yourself too lazy to bring a tripod? For me it happens quite often, but the solution I found to this was the Joby Gorillapod. It’s a decent replacement to a tripod when you don’t have the energy or space to bring one, and it collapses small enough to fit in any decent sized camera bag. Other cool points, it wraps around things, can be hung from things, and can be contorted into all kinds of shapes to suit your needs. I highly suggest getting the SLR Zoom model (of 3 to 4 available) as it will support the most weight. Buy it on Amazon.

Here are a couple shots I’ve taken with the GorillaPod:

4. Giottos Rocket Blower - Price: Under $10

If you are a reader of this site, you know I’ve mentioned this odd looking contraption before. To keep things easy, here’s a link to my Giottos Rocket review post and a little recap. It’s cheap, its idiot-proof and it works. I use it for loose dust on my sensor as well as a quick blow every time i switch lenses. Probably my second favorite accessory. Buy it on Amazon

5. Crumpler 7 Million Dollar Photo Bag - Price: $128.50

Best. Photo Bag. Evar.

Seriously, it’s that awesome. Yes, not near as cheap as the other items I’ve mentioned, but man is this a great bag. It can hold a deceptively huge amount of gear in a tiny package, it doesn’t look like a camera bag and for a photowalk or a weekend trip, it is pretty much perfect. I’ve actually had it fully loaded with the 30D, 4 lenses, flash, gorillapod, and giottos blower and it took it all like a champ. I have one, Chris has one, and we both love them. For more info, I found a decent review here, but expect a full CameraPorn review at some point. For now, you’ll just have to trust me, and besides, you need somewhere to put the 4 other things on this page you are going to buy . Buy it on Amazon.

So thats gonna do it for my list, and its lookin like the total for all the items is just a bit over 200 bucks. In CameraPorn land, we call that super cheap. But seriously folks, all of the items here I own and most I use on a near daily basis, and I know they may not be as impressive as a 3d Space Navigator Super-Duper mouse, but they will most definitely not end up on ebay or in the back corner of a drawer. If you have anything to add, let us know in the comments.