Holiday Gift Guide
Gift Certificates for Hartong Digital Media Classes or Private Lessons: use code HOLIDAY during our Black Friday Sale for the BEST PRICES EVER – hurry – ends 11/28!
Nikon Users
- Camera – both current consumer models are AMAZING in low light! Both shoot at 5 frames per second – the same as my “big” slr. Prices below are with standard wide angle lens at the time of publication.
- D3400 – bluetooth – compact, great “starter” but still packed with features! average price $499
- D5500 – wifi built-in – better action focus, flip-out screen so you can shoot high or low without putting your face there – like kids on the floor. Also better for larger hands than the D3400. Average price $699
- Flash: SB500 – also has a video light – you can use with ANY camera, including your phone. Pocket size. Small, light-weight, uses only 2 AA batteries, does bounce, swivel and remote. $249 or $189 refurbished from NikonUSA.com
- 50mm f1.8 Lens – Be sure to get the AF-S version so it auto-focuses with today’s camera models. Great for low light, holiday lights, gorgeous shallow depth of focus portraits within 1-2 feet of your subject. Around $200 on sale.
- Telephoto Lens. Remember – AF-S! My favorite zooms to 300mm (about 6x closer than we see) – better for sports & wildlife than 200mm (4x)
Canon Users
- Camera – Rebel T5i – features similar to D5500. But my favorite Canon is the 70D – amazing exposures keeping detail in highlights without overexposure.
- Flash – 320EX – also has video light! or 430 EX – longer range with more power. Both are currently $250 on Roberts Camera website
- 50mm f1.8 lens
- Telephoto – image stabilizer will make a difference for sports! Check out this one! 70-300mm
iPhone
- Olloclip 4 in one lens WITH CASE! 2 macro lenses, wide angle, fisheye all in one, and just clips over the case it’s made to work with.
- Camera Plus – app with macro, shutter priority, editing, and more
- Snapseed – FREE app – awesome editor for phone/ipad – incredibly FAST & easy
iPad Pro
- Apple SD Camera kit – sd card reader to download your favorite photos on the run
- Apple pencil (with skin suit from Amazon) – pressure sensitive drawing & retouching
- Lightroom Mobile app – DROP DEAD AMAZING photo editor, get the subscription for maximum use.
- Keyboard – I like my little Zag Keyflex but it’s no longer in production. Any keyboard made for your iPad gives you back TONS of screen room – very handy & faster! to feel more like “real” typing too.
Photo Editing Tools
- Lightroom/Photoshop subscription – from adobe or several other sources – $10 month but on sale during Black Friday. You get BOTH apps always up to date. See my blog post!
- Spyder Express – your screen is NOT what you see is what you get – more with Windows than Mac, but still – if WYSIWYG is your goal – spend $130 to keep your screen calibrated.
- Wacom Intuos Photo Pen Tablet – while some folks take a while to get used to using a pen – it’s WAY better than a mouse for intricate photo editing. OR – use Astropad on your iPad.
Need more help? Contact Me or Nick Henry at Roberts in Indy- 1-800-726-5544 – he’s great & won’t “sell” you something you don’t need or can’t use.
Just Need a Lens or Flash for a Week? Use this special savings code:
Save 20% at BorrowLenses too! Use code SHIP50 to save HALF off shipping on orders $99+