Gift idea for intermediate photographer!

tammyme

Hi Guys
I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me out!
I'm looking for a christmas gift for my mum thats related to photography.

Some info:
She has a Canon (something) camera- its a very good recent model (sorry i don't know much about it!)
She has a tripod, a wide angled lens, assorted memory cards, v good camera bag, assorted software.
She is nearly finished an introductory photography course involving shutter speeds etc. and some night photography.

so any ideas for a great gift?!
I've looked into photography 'experiance' days but theres not much on the net i can find! and i don't really know enough about it to know what else to get her!

any help would be greatly appreciated!!:)

Borderfox

A book or a course, maybe something like one of the books featuring some of Ansel Adams photographs for a bit of inspiration

wersal gummage

depending on budget, a weekend away somewhere? i find i'm more likely to take the camera out if i head off somewhere.

Bryan Peterson's Understanding Photography Field Guide is a solid book. Covers a lot about taking photos, aperture, shutter speed, etc. and also a lot on composition.

Without trying to take a digg at Borderfox's idea, Personally, I wouldn't be mad about books of other people's photos (though that's just me, i'm sure everyone's different). It's not at all difficult to look online on Pix/Flickr/Boards/etc. for some great images, so I think such a book could possibly be wasted. (again though, your friend may love such a book, I can only speak for myself, everyone's different).


Depending on how much you want to spend, too, you could pick her up a telephoto zoom lens. Nothing too fancy, of course, but if she doesn't already have one, it can be a great addition to a photographers kit, and really gives you something to play with.


The 50mm 1.8 lens is another present that'd be good, provided she doesn't already have it. It'll run you from €80-€120 I'd say, but it really changes a persons look at photography and enables them to photograph in poor lighting without using flash or such (or just play with depth of field to toy about with the results the lens can give). Since buying mine a few months back, it's only left the camera once or twice. It's my most commonly used lens.


All depends on your budget and such. I know Christmas will be tight for a lot of people this year. The Bryan Peterson book is something I really enjoyed, and is only about €12 here.

Nozebleed

macro lens!! so much fun.

macnab

50mm f/1.8 lens, excellent portrait lens by all accounts.

Just to throw in, if you do decide on a lens, make sure you find out what mount her camera uses, so you get a compatible lens (if I hadn't looked it up i'd have ended up with a film camera lens on my digital camera).

Get the camera model number (Canon's usually ave a number and a D. That is 1D, 5D, 20D, 450D, etc.) and post it here or do a Wikipedia search and you should be laughing.

melekalikimaka

some film camera madness, olympus trip 35mm or even send her down the lomo route

AnCatDubh

On further learning:

a Peter Cox workshop / weekend or an Institute of Photography training course.

On gear:

Also an external flash (speedlite). Again you'd want to do a little research as to what to buy - Or a lensbaby perhaps - people have lots of fun with them.

smelltheglove

Maybe a photoshop course?

I know this wont help with your christmas gift but I had my 30th last night and my cake had a nikon d300 on it, an edible version;) or my fav camera! Have to say it was perfect for me!

smelltheglove

smelltheglove wrote: »

Maybe a photoshop course?

I know this wont help with your christmas gift but I had my 30th last night and my cake had a nikon d300 on it, an edible version;) or my fav camera! Have to say it was perfect for me!

Happy Birthday, STG!



(ya ould one!)

tammyme

The 50mm 1.8 lens is another present that'd be good, provided she doesn't already have it. It'll run you from €80-€120 I'd say, but it really changes a persons look at photography and enables them to photograph in poor lighting without using flash or such (or just play with depth of field to toy about with the results the lens can give). Since buying mine a few months back, it's only left the camera once or twice. It's my most commonly used lens.


Thanks for all the replies! i don't think she'd be overly interested in a book and unfortunately a weekend away is out of the question for now (poor starvated student! :rolleyes:) but i think a new lens might be the way to go so that she'd have something new on christmas day to play around with! i've been looking up this 50mm 1.8 lens and some sites say it may be the lens already packaged with the camera? stupid question, but if i can get my hands on her camera when she's out, will it say somewhere on the lens what type it is?

I love the idea of a camera cake btw! will be keeping that in mind for her birthday!

smelltheglove

tammyme wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies! i don't think she'd be overly interested in a book and unfortunately a weekend away is out of the question for now (poor starvated student! :rolleyes:) but i think a new lens might be the way to go so that she'd have something new on christmas day to play around with! i've been looking up this 50mm 1.8 lens and some sites say it may be the lens already packaged with the camera? stupid question, but if i can get my hands on her camera when she's out, will it say somewhere on the lens what type it is?

I love the idea of a camera cake btw! will be keeping that in mind for her birthday!

Well it would be more likelly that she would have the 17-50, you say a wide angle and that would defo not be the 50mm. It is a great lens, especially for the money and pretty much anyone serious about photography will have one or will have had one and upgraded to a 1.4. Re the cake I did ask my hubbie how much it was, I love personalised cakes and know they can be expensive but he got it for 55 although some quoted over 200.

tammyme

she has a 'regular' lens as well, the one that came with the camera- my sister is going to try to sneak it out in a min and find out what type it is!

any recommendations where to buy? i've been looking online and some of the prices are INSANE!!:eek:

pixbyjohn

smelltheglove wrote: »

Maybe a photoshop course?

I know this wont help with your christmas gift but I had my 30th last night and my cake had a nikon d300 on it, an edible version;) or my fav camera! Have to say it was perfect for me!

Photos please:)

bonzer1again

50mm f/1.8 lens, excellent portrait lens by all accounts

can't beat a nifty fifty for value....this would get my vote...great pressie and great value.

tammyme

was just about to buy that canon lens when my sis found the camera!! Its a Nikon d3100 with a 55mm lens! i could have sworn it was a canon!!

You can find out what lens it is by looking at it straight on. Around the piece of glass, it says what lens it is, focal length, brand, etc.


A 50mm lens can't move. So if you're able to 'zoom' with the lens that your mam has, then she doesn't have the 50mm lens. It's only a small lens;





Just checked my own, and like in the picture above, it does actually say 50mm on the side of the lens (if it's on the camera, the 50mm will be at the top side of the lens).


If she has a digital camera, I believe she'll be wanting the EF or EF-S lens mount, not the FD one.



Edit: Good thing ya didn't buy it! Dunno the first thing about Nikon, so I'll quietly bow out of the thread now. Best of luck OP!

random_banter

If your mum got the d3100 then I would say it came packaged with the 18mm-55mm standard lens. The nifty fifty nikon lens you should be able to buy new for between €105-€125.

You'd be looking for the Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens and if you go to a decent shop, they will be able to advise you on this. The most important thing is to know the make and model number of your camera, and in the shop they will know which accessories will work with it and which won't.

I would def advise the 50mm - super value and helped me to learn a lot more about aperture vs shutter speed etc. Takes stunning sharp portraits, and at a low aperture produces beautiful "bokeh" as they say in the photog world

Good luck with your purchasing, your mum will love that you've put so much thought in.

This is it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-50mm-F1-8D-Nikkor-Lens/dp/B00005LEN4/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1289168735&sr=1-2

tammyme

Thanks a million for all the help guys!

i ended up getting a telescopic lens (i have the model details saved somewhere!)

Now i just have to try keep my mouth zipped 'till christmas!

mawk

In a similar price range.. Tamron 70/300 F3.5? somewhere thereabouts? Grand tele lens for the money