A Holiday Gift Guide For Committed Photographers

The season is wonderful for the attitudes of kindness and
gift giving in our hearts.  I say make the most of it!

Each Christmas season, listening to photography YouTube channels, podcasts as well as reading some blogs, I find lists generated suggesting gifts one could give to your photographer loved one or friend during the holiday season.  The problem, as I see it, is the people who should be seeing these lists aren't photographers and don’t watch those channels, read those blogs or listen to those podcasts.  It is the photographers themselves who see the lists so the loved ones don't get the message so they can surprised you with a gift you want.  

So, I thought for the first time on this blog, I would create a Christmas or Holiday list for you photographers to buy gifts for yourselves.  After all, who better knows what you would like than you.  Just remember, this is all about me just trying to be helpful.  Here goes…

For those of you who would like to jump in to medium format, I suggest the Phase One XTIQ4 150mp camera and lens kit.  But three lenses are a minimum working kit, IMHO, so you'll need a couple more.  The lenses I’m suggesting are 28mm, 40-80mm zoom and 80-160mm zoom.  The Phase One XTIQ4 150mp camera with a lens listed at $62,400 US. Those other two zoom lenses to go with it can be added for only $18,000 more.  That's not too bad..  Seriously.  We're talking about your happiness here.  

But what about the wonderful Fujifilm X100S or newly introduced X100 II?  They aren’t quite up to what your standards should be.  They aren’t expensive enough.  Don’t cheap out.  Phase One too expensive you say?  It’s only money.  Never undervalue yourself.  Don’t sacrifice your self-esteem.  You know you’re worth it.  You have to go big or go home.

We go on...

For those of you who are still living in the DSLR world, it’s time to update your camera.  If you currently use a high megapixel camera such as the Nikon D850 or Canon 50D, then I don’t think you can go forward successfully if you don’t get yourself a Nikon D6 or Canon 1Ds Mark III, which are both speed demons.  Having the high megapixel camera perfectly melds with a high speed camera.  Make sense?  The Nikon and the Canon each costs $6500, both bargains today.  You might want to consider buying two in case they are discontinued in the future.  Afterall, you won’t miss out down the road.

Now, for you mirrorless photographers.  I have several gift ideas for you.  The Nikon Z9, the Canon R3, the Sony A1 or the newly introduced Sonya A9III would be perfect stocking stuffers.  With the exception of the new Sony, you should be able to score a bargain.  The Z9 can be picked up for only $5500.  The Canon for $5000 and the Sony A1 for a measly $6500.  Not bad prices if I say so myself.  Ha!  You say.  You think you can do as well with the Nikon Z8, the Sony A7rV or the Canon R5?  Don’t fool yourself.  It won’t happen.  Don’t go cheap on me now just when we’re rolling along with this list.

To go with that new camera, of course, you need to treat yourself to a new lens or two if you already have one of these cameras mentioned.  Uncle Dennis is here to help you.  If you shoot Sony, I suggest that pretty new 600mm f/4 lens for only $13,000.  Are you a Canon shooter?  Well Canon makes the perfect lens for you.  It’s the 800mm f/5.6 and you can easily slip one into your shopping cart for a bit less than $17,000.  Nikon you say?  You’re a Z camera user?  That new Nikon 400mm f/2.8 with the built-in tele-converter will fit your bill nicely.  At $14,000, it will barely put a dent in your credit card’s limit.  But wait.  You’re a diehard Fujifilm user.  Got just the solution for you.  That beautiful 200mm f/2 lens fits perfectly on the front of your X-T camera for only $4500.  One more.  If you love your OM camera, then you have to write a quick check for the $7500 150-400mm f/4.5 lens.  There is no argument about that.  But you say you don’t need a long telephoto lens. Pshaw!  Don't be a denier.  I guarantee that there will be a time when you’ll be walking along and see something in the far distance and you will need it then.  You will be more than happy you made the investment in your photographic success.  Better to buy it for yourself now and not be caught short.

How about a new tripod?  Everyone needs a good sturdy tripod.  I have a couple of suggestions to help you.  Really Right Stuff makes top quality tripods.  Don’t settle for less.  Nothing worse than getting home after a trip out photographing and finding your images have camera shake from the wind blowing your current inadequate tripod.  I suggest the RRS Ascend. Great tripod.  Sturdy.  Made of carbon fiber and tall so you can extend those legs down a steep hill if necessary.  It costs $1645 but you can't afford to not buy it.

Now that you’ve settled on that RRS tripod, you need a variety of heads to mount on it.  Different tripod heads for different types of photography.  You’ll need a ball head, a geared head and a gimbal head.  Luckily for you, I’ve already done the research for you.  Here is what I recommend.  Is there any other worthwhile bullhead than the RRS BH55?  At $700 it is well worth the cost.  Photoclam makes a great geared head for the low price of $1230.  The gimbal head is absolutely necessary when the right circumstances present to you.  You can’t be successful without one.  I think the RRS MK2 Pano Gimbal would serve you in two ways and it’s a steal at $950.

How about some little stuff—accessories for your camera?  Filters, for example.  Everyone is buying the new magnetic filters.  I've heard Maven and Kase Revolution magnetic filters, along with some others, are pretty well made.  You'll need to buy a set of at least 82mm filters along with some extra step-down rings for the various lenses you own.  A nice set with various accessories shouldn't cost you more than $700 US.  Do it.

We can't forget that after we return home to edit our images, we need a decent computer with a good graphics card and a calibrated monitor.  Oh!  Don't forget you'll need to back up your images as well.  For that, you'll need at least a few large hard drives and possibly a Network Attached Storage (NAS) or Direct Attached Storage (DAS) unit.  For computers, for Apple users, I suggest you settle for no less than one of the newest machines with the M3 chip.  Those M2 and M1 chips are way too slow theses days.  May I suggest a Apple Macbook Pro M3 Max?  At $4000 US it is a bargain.  After all, if you can make an edit in 1/4 second instead of 3/8 second, it is worth the extra cost.  Never enough speed.  The monitor is the easier decision.  The  Apple PRO display XDR for $5000 will fit the bill perfectly.  If you don't have a good monitor to see your images, what good is it to have all of that gear I just recommended?  

For PC users, I would suggest a Dell 7780 Precision Workstation for $5500.  That machine should handle your editing chores very nicely.  You'll need a monitor for that Dell laptop and I suggest a great one specifically created for photographers and graphic artists.  The Wacom Cintiq Pro 27" all in one monitor and tablet will save you space on your desktop.  A bargain at $3400.  

It makes no sense to have a good monitor and not calibrate it so the colors are dead on accurate.  I suggest the X-Rite i1Basic Pro 3 Plus, 1024x768 Pixels or Higher, for a pittance of $2155.  With that software and calibrator, you can be assured that you'll see the absolute correct color, contrast and saturation of you images.

As for back up hard drives, I think you should look at three Sabrent Rocket NVME M.2 8TB SSD drives with heat sinks and cases.  Why three?  We all know the admonition to keep two backups locally and one off-site.  As small as these are, they will never unnecessarily take up valuable desk space. Only $1000 US each.  After all, you need the speed to get to and edit all of those thousands of images you have made. 

Finally, with all of your first class gear, you need places to go to use it.  I suggest a Safari to Africa, then a two-week trip to Patagonia followed by a cruise to the Antarctic.  Each of those will cost upward of $10,000 to $15,000.  But how can you put a price on those kinds of experiences?  Do it!  Do it, I say!  If you still have some extra time you could also take a month long road trip to the western United States.  There is plenty to photograph from the Canadian to Mexican borders from Colorado and New Mexico to Washington and California.  Sixty days in a rental 4WD SUV, hotel, food and miscellaneous expenses shouldn't run you more than $10K or $20K, depending upon how you decide to travel.  Again, well worth the cost.

Merry Christmas.  Happy Holidays!  I wish I had affiliate links for all these suggested photographic gifts so when dozens of you buy all these things, I could clean up monetarily!  I could actually go on a safari or photographic trip.  Oh well.  No affiliate links, only an attempt to make you smile. 

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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