Good Gift for New DSLR Owner?

February 22, 2008 8:37 PM

GiftFilter: Please help me cheer up my sister in law.

Relevant facts:

1 - My wife's sister is a professional graphic artist / designer.

2 - We recently co-conspired to research the current state of the art in digital photography, having in common a fair-to-middling fetish for that sort of thing.

3 - She subsequently bought a shiny new Canon EOS D40 with the intent of going back to school and earning her Master's, and yes I'm jealous as hell. Of the camera that is; I hated school.

4 - She's having a significantly difficult time in her marriage right now, and could use some cheering up.

In summary, I'd like to find a (not too terribly expensive, I'm afraid) gift relevant to digital photography for someone who has (1) a brand-new DSLR (2) much better taste than I do and (3) a professional background in visual arts, but not yet photography.

Thus far, I have discovered this thread and there are some interesting ideas, but the focus is on setting shop up as a pro, and that's not quite the angle I'm looking for. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

posted by ZakDaddy to technology (13 comments total)

Not sure what you're looking for--lenses or other gear? books? something like a gift card to online photo printer? A digital photo frame?
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:13 PM on February 22

When I was first getting into photography, "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson is the book the single-handedly put my mind in the right place.

How about a nice proper flash? The Canon Speedlite 430EX goes for only about $250.

Does she have a bag? Crumpler makes some nice looking photography bags.

One who plans on getting heavily into digital photography will eventually start experimenting with RAW. They will also collect lots and lots of photos, which will need to be organized. How about a copy of Adobe Lightroom?
posted by tomorama at 9:17 PM on February 22

AdmiralHaddock - Yeah, I was thinking about a nice 50mm prime, but apparently she picked up an 85mm 1.8 at the same time, so no shakes there.

Tomorama - $250.00 is a bit too much; I'm going to have to stay under $50.00 I'm afraid.

That makes me think, though; my own personal frustration when I dabble in photos is (1) slow lenses and (2) harsh light (read: direct flash. ew.) I wonder if there are low-cost lighting enhancements..? It doesn't help that I don't really know what kind of photography she'd like to do.
posted by ZakDaddy at 9:28 PM on February 22

A lens that is both cheap and fast will be a prime lens. AFAIK, the 50mm f/1.8 is the only one that will come close to your $50 price tag. Going with option 2, I have seen small diffusers made for on-camera pop-up flashes.
posted by tomorama at 9:37 PM on February 22

OK, so I was going to suggest the 50mm F1.4, but that's more than $50.

Instead, I HIGHLY recommend the Gorillapod, a flexible tripod that can be wrapped in all sorts of crazy positions, like hanging off of a tree etc. I've used mine all over, and just got one for my dad for Christmas, and it was a hit. The good thing about it is 1) it's in your price range, 2) it's a useful tool and 3) it gives the recipient a real state of wonder as they play with it and try to find neat things to attach it to. You could combine it with a cheap Canon remote, which makes it fun for self portraits/travel.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:42 PM on February 22 [1 favorite]

And to be clear, you'd need the SLR-zoom for the 40D. The smaller ones would not be able to hold that camera and a lens.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:44 PM on February 22

Ugh. To be more clear, "SLR-zoom" is one of the models of the Gorillapod.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:45 PM on February 22

That 50mm 1.8 lens is fantastic, I bought one after reading that thread. Photos look amazing.
posted by filmgeek at 10:02 PM on February 22

Oh, and if I'm wrong, the 50mm/1.8 lens is totally the way to go. The Gorillapod is pretty cool too, but nothing beats glass if it doesn't duplicate something you have already.
posted by Caviar at 6:02 AM on February 23

That makes me think, though; my own personal frustration when I dabble in photos is (1) slow lenses and (2) harsh light (read: direct flash. ew.) I wonder if there are low-cost lighting enhancements..?

Unfortunately, $50 isn't a whole lot of dough when it comes to photography, but I'm sure you're already well-aware of that fact. If you don't mind getting used equipment (and you shouldn't!), Keh camera brokers are my personal favorite dealer because their rating system is extremely honest. You say she's already got a 85mm, but remember that digital cameras have a crop factor of ~1.5x, which means such a perfect portrait lens all-of-a-sudden becomes too zoom-y. In fact, a 50mm with the 1.5x crop factor is a lot closer to the sweet-spot than the 85mm.

But I don't want to mislead you: the 85mm is just one hell of a good lens, and while it would be nice to "flesh out" her collection with a small, reliable 50mm, I think a new lens is probably not the best way to go. When it comes to glass, in general there's a direct correlation between money and quality. I guess what I'm trying to say is, there's no point spending $50 on a lens that never gets used: you'll just be throwing money down the toilet.

That said, there are a few things every photographer needs to have that they often never take the time to get for themselves. A light meter, for example. A circular polarizer. A tripod.

The single most important thing you can get her that will directly, positively affect her photography and her options is to get her a decent tripod (if she doesn't have one already--most people don't get one until the time comes when they need one, don't have one, and get burned with missed shots). Problem is, a good tripod--even a used one--is going to cost about 3 times your budget. And then you have to get a head for one. There are always deals to be had, particularly on eBay! The 'bay is probably the best place to find used quality tripods. The best bang-for-buck is the Bogen/Manfrotto 30X1 lineup. This series is like the textbook definition of "tripod," and come in an excellent range of sizes and weights. The 3011 (lighter, more transportable), 3021 (best compromise, IMHO), 3031 (heavier, more stable), and the beast, the 3051--one of the most stable tripods ever made. Everyone's always looking for used 3021's and 3031's, so a lot of quality 3051's can be snagged up if you look carefully. :)

If you can't find a decent tripod and strike out on eBay, the next-best thing to get that everyone forgets is probably a circular polarizer. Just make sure you get the largest diameter one you can afford and use step-down adapters on the lenses. 72mm is probably a safe guess (the 85mm 1.2L, for example, is 72mm, while the 1.8 is 58mm). You want to err on the large side because a smaller filter will block off a larger lens. A 72mm cir. polarizer will probably run you about $50.

You don't have enough for a flash (I'm guessing she'll want to get the 550EX), but when the time comes that she wants to get a flash (or if she already has one?), the best diffuser dome I've ever used is the Lightsphere. Warning: it looks ridiculous, but the damned thing works wonders to soften up normally harsh flashes. They're exactly $50... but again, only useful if she's already got a flash. If she doesn't have a quality flash, by the way, the defacto-standard, inexpensive, built-like-a-tank alternative to Canon's fancy-pants EX flashes is the reliable Vivitar 285. But I wouldn't get one for someone unless I knew they had a reason for it.

Anyway, hope this gets the gears turning.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:47 AM on February 23

One other thing for the person who already owns a tripod: the Panosaurus Panoramic Tripod Head is one of the awesome-ist products for DSLR owners. It allows you to create ultra-high resolution panorama stitches with relative ease. This is just the sort of thing that you can't justify buying for yourself, but would love to have as a gift. (Of course, it requires already owning tripod).
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:06 AM on February 23

C_D: I love you to bits. Thank you.
posted by ZakDaddy at 10:12 AM on February 23

Glad to help.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:37 AM on February 23