dSLR Dad

Just a Dad Helping other Dads Learn Photography

dSLR Dad Holiday Gift Guide Spectacular

Where to get all the great gifts for your dSLR Dad this Holiday Season.

Ahhh yes. it is that time of year again. The weather is colder, the turkey is being carved up into leftovers, and all the parking lots are filled with crazy people. But don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place. The dSLR Dad is going to help you pick out the perfect gift for your loved one.

First, there are only two places I recommend to everyone to grab their dSLR gear, and that’s Amazon and B&H Photo. Great sites, great prices, and none of the hassle. For those of you who may not know, B&H Photo is where all the professionals go for their equipment needs. They have everything, and normally at the best price. And Amazon, well everyone knows Amazon. You can find out more at the dSLR Dad Amazon Store.

The “I just Can’t Go Wrong” Gift

This isn’t just any, old gift card. This is a B&H Photo gift card. This is a gift that says I know what you love, go get it. Best of all, they start at $20.

Or, not sure they’ll find what they want at B&H? Then try an Amazon.com gift certificate.

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

If I may channel Randy Quaid as Eddie from Christmas Vacation, Clark, it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Seriously though, magazines are a great gift. They can offer not only quality information, but inspiration throughout the year. Why not give them as a gift?

Popular Photography & Imaging
Outdoor Photographer
LensWork is a fantastic a duotone, book-quality, paper-based, non-technical, anthology-style periodical publication which focuses on photography and the creative process
Photoshop User which is a community membership for all things Photoshop, not just a magazine (please see more below).

Give them the Gift of More Pictures

A gift that all dSLR Dad’s could use, more memory cards. But the key to this gift is it can’t just be any old memory card. The key for a dSLR Dad is speed and reliability. The quicker the card, the quicker the camera can write to the card. This means you will actually be able to use the high frame rate (fps) more often, with less delay in between bursts. You will also be able to download to the computer 2 to 3 times faster. Which is a big deal when a fast 4GB flash card can still take 3-5 minutes to download.

Reliability is another key. You want a card that not only has a lifetime replacement warranty (yes flash cards can and do go bad, like any other hard drive), but also works better in inclement weather and extreme temperatures. I have used both Sandisk and Lexar. Both are excellent, buy the better value.
For Sandisk, their Ultra II cards are a good place to start. Lexar’s mid-range is the 80x Platinum series. I recommend either the SanDisk 4 GB Extreme III or the Lexar 4GB 133x Professional Series CompactFlash Cards. They both offer higher speed, great durability, and include recovery software when your computer won’t recognize it. Note: Compact flash (shown) is what the majority of dSLRs use. Nikon’s D40, D50, and D80 series use Secure Digital Cards (SD for short). They’re smaller and look like a postage stamp. Make sure you get the correct type.

HoodLoupe Professional LCD Screen Loupe

The HoodLoupe Professional is something that every dSLR Dad would love to have and would use every time they were outdoors. But since it’s $70, it also is something they would never buy for themselves. I know it seems a tad pricey, but that’s what makes it a great gift. Go ahead, see how much they smile when they open this box

The Best Ballhead in the World

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with anything from Really Right Stuff. But their new BH-40 Ballhead is that piece of equipment that makes you question why you struggled for so long with that other inferior tripod head you had. It is their mid-sized ballhead and is perfect for popular light to mid-sized gear such as 70-200mm/f2.8 and 300mm/f4 lenses. This ballhead is load-rated at 18-pounds but weighs only 13-ounces. The BH-40 is available with a platform or with a quick-release clamp. All clamps are interchangeable and easily removed.

A great compliment to the BH-40 would be an RRS L-plate for your dSLR. It makes swapping between portrait and landscape mode super easy on your tripod. No need to recompose the shot. I absolutely love shooting with mine.

The Best Camera Bags in the World

Think Tank Photo is a company that has burst onto the scene and come out with products that meet the needs of both professional and serious dSLR Dad’s alike. They carry any number of shoulder or belt bags, rugged airport carry-on, or their fantastic modular system. You can download a copy of their catalog here (pdf link)

I’ve been using their Speed Freak Belt Pack for over 6 months now and I love it. It can hold my Canon 20D with a wide angle + lens hood on one side and a stowed 70-200mm f/2.8 right beside it. The belt system also accepts other modular components, so you add different lens or accessory pouches depending on your situation that day. Plus, the belt tucks into a side pouch so you can also use it as a shoulder bag. The feature set and attention to detail is incredible.

You can also check out Ben Willmore’s blog to get coupon code WS-055 for a free extra lens case or gadget bag on your order.

The Pee Wee Pixel Pocket Rocket

If you’re not looking for a new bag, how about a great accessory that anyone can use, the Pee Wee Pixel Pocket Rocket from Think Tank Photo. It stores four Compact Flash cards and three Secure Digital cards in an even smaller, more compact package. Can be attached inside of Think Tank Photo products or to your clothing. That way, it just doesn’t fall out of your pocket, lost forever. It can also hold business cards in the front face. Available for just $13.50. Note, the slightly larger Pixel Pocket Rocket comes standard with quite a few bags (including the one I bought).

Make Every Lens a Macro Lens

Everybody wants to try Macro photography, but not everyone can purchase a separate macro lens. Especially if you’re new to macro photography and are not sure exactly what you would need. Well here is the perfect solution, the Canon 500D Close Up Lens(77mm at Amazon or B&H Photo). This is a two-element, precision optic that screws on to the front of your lens like a typical filter. It then reduces your lens’ focal length, so you can get close to your subject and fill the frame. It’s so good that I know Nikon professionals who swear by it. The 500D is for lenses with a focal length anywhere from 70 to 300mm. (Canon also makes the 250D which is suited for smaller prime lenses with a focal length from 30 to 135mm).

A great tip, when you buy this or any other big filter, get the biggest filter size you think you will ever use (probably 77mm). Then you can just use a Step-Up Adapter Ring to the 77mm Filter Size on any of your other lenses. That way, you can use the 500D or any other filter both on your prime and telephoto zoom lenses.

Getting that Sensor Squeaky Clean

I have tried a lot of different sensor cleaning products over the last year (tip: never change your lenses at the beach, change them in your car). Visible Dust is t he company that makes absolutely superior products. They are so good, whenever I went to my local camera shops, they all told me that while they could sell me some pad or swab, but they all used something from Visible Dust.

There are three steps to dust free images 1) Check 2) Dry Clean 3) Wet Clean. The Visible Dust 3 Step Dust Free 724 DSLR Sensor Cleaning Kit has everything a dSLR Dad would need to clean up even the dirtiest of image sensors. It includes:

Visible Dust Brite Vue Sensor Loupe with high optical magnification and 6 super bright LEDs
The Arctic Butterfly 724 Sensor Brush
Visible Dust Green Series Swabs

I have both the sensor brush and the green swabs and not only do they get the job done, they do it effortlessly.

Dell ULTRASHARP 2208WFP LCD

The Dell’s new ULTRASHARP 2208WFP has all of the performance benefits of the larger 24″ High-Color displays, at half the price.

1680 x 1050 native resolution – Stunning detail and more viewable real estate without compromising desk space.
High Definition (HD) – Everything looks better in HD.
Dell TrueColor Technology – 92% Color Gamut. This is a must for dSLR Dads. Most typical LCD monitors can only display 72% color gamut. Color gamut refers to how many colors the display can accurately represent. The 2208WFP can display more color shades and tones than previously possible and shows vivid hues, remarkable depth and pictures bright enough for viewing under most lighting. With deeper reds, crisper blues and sparkling whites, you’ll observe graphics in their most natural state – on a Dell widescreen with vibrant colors.
5 millisecond (grey-to-grey) response time (typical) – Helps reduce ghosting and motion blur when gaming or watching movies.
1000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (typical) – Produces darker blacks for sharper images, crisp text, better color saturation and greater detail for HD entertainment.

UltraSharp monitors are designed to fit just about any situation and give you a comfortable viewing experience. Adjust the height, tilt the panel forward and backward, swivel it left-to-right, even pivot from landscape mode to portrait mode. The UltraSharp 2208WFP adjusts to fit your optimal viewing position. Four convenient USB 2.0 ports and media card readers help you avoid the hassle of running out of USB ports on your PC or reaching around the back to access them.

Making Sure that Green is Green

One of the first computer accessories that any dSLR Dad must have their monitor calibrated. No monitor shows accurate color right out of the box. They all need a device called a colorimeter. This device will hang on the front of the monitor and detect the values of color patterns that flash on the screen. It will then create an accurate icc profile for your display that is stored in your computer’s system settings. Devices made by Pantone (just purchased by x-rite) are my personal favorite.

In the “I can’t live without it” camp is the Pantone huey Monitor Color Calibrator. It is not only easy to use and provides very good results, at $63 it also cost less than the memory cards I listed above.

My second recommendation is for the dSLR Dad who requires not only a more accurate color profile, but may also have two monitors. The Pantone Eye-One Display 2 has the ability to generate two separate icc profiles with the same computer. Great for those with either two desktop monitors or those with a Laptop and second larger display. If you don’t want to spend almost $200, the more portable Pantone huey Pro will do multiple monitors and costs half as much (it’s also the one I use)

Red River Paper Sample Kits

Red River Paper is a great company in Dallas, TX that supplies very good quality inkjet papers factory direct. For this holiday season, why not pick up one of their inkjet paper or greeting card sample packs. Each pack includes a two sheets of each paper. Red River also offers free ICC color profiles are available for the most popular papers on some printers.

You can find out more information about their inkjet paper kits here.
You can order the Greeting Card sample kit here.

NAAP: The Best Value in Photography

The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAAP) is the best deal in photography. For only $100 a year, you get Photoshop User magazine (12 issues) and access to the best Photoshop instruction and tutorials on the web. But wait, there’s more. You also get some tremendous discounts that will more than pay for the subscription fee. Not only can you get big discounts on Adobe Software (how about $100 off of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom), but also: