Scott’s Photographer Holiday Gift Guide
Now that the madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday have calmed a bit, I wanted to throw up a quick post with my list of what every photographer needs for Christmas or Hanukkah or Festivus (my holiday of choice) or for no reason whatsoever. Well, maybe not every photographer, but I sure wouldn’t return any of these gifts if I found them under my tree this year!
Apple MacBook Pro
I’ve done a bit of a review on Apple’s new laptop line in the past, but just to reiterate, this is the one you want:
15-inch MacBook Pro
- 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
- 320GB Serial ATA @ 7200 Hard Drive
Apple 24″ LED Cinema Display
If you’ve got a desk where you frequently use your new laptop, you’ll really enjoy one of these.
From the Apple website: When you’re working in your office, enjoy the convenience of a display designed specifically for the new MacBook family. In three easy connections you’ll extend your desktop, charge your Mac, and extend your USB ports to connect your iPhone, iPod, or other peripheral. The stunning, all-digital, 24-inch LED-backlit widescreen display is mercury-free and features a glossy finish that makes graphics, photos, and video appear with rich color and deep blacks. It offers 1920-by-1200-pixel resolution for viewing high-definition (HD) content with room to spare. The unique built-in MagSafe power connector will charge your Mac when connected, so you can keep your power adapter in your travel bag, ready to hit the road. And it offers three USB 2.0 ports, a built-in iSight camera, microphone, and speakers, ideal for having video conferences, listening to music, and watching movies.
Available at the Apple Online Store.
Wacom Intuos3 6 x 8-Inch Pen Tablet
Check out this article for more on using a tablet in Lightroom. The Intuos3 6×8 is my tablet of choice, but there are some other options that I outline in that article.
Basically, I like the option of having this larger size available when I need it, plus I enjoy the extra set of buttons.
You may as well get the cool Intuos3 6X8 Travel Bag
Data Robotics Drobo USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 Fully Automated SATA Robotic Storage Array
Yeah. I know. That’s a mouthful! But this thing is pretty cool. If you’re not familiar with it, check out the link above (it goes to Amazon, but there’s a video there). Basically, it’s a storage device, similar to a RAID, that allows you to turn up to four hard drives into a single, large drive that can help protect your data from hard drive failure. (Help protect…not guarantee! Always keep backups!).
If you have a network at home or at your studio/office, you might enjoy the Droboshare, Network Attached Companion for Drobo
Plus, if you don’t have any spare hard drives lying around, you can turn your new Drobo into a 4+ TB storage monster with four Seagate ST31500341AS 1.5TB Barracuda SATA 7200 RPM 32MB Cache 8.5MS Hard Drives
LaCie Rugged Portable Hard Drive
If you need a portable hard drive, and everyone needs portable hard drives, my recommendation is the LaCie Rugged All-Terrain 500GB FireWire 800/ FireWire 400/USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive
It is rugged, but, just to be sure, I carry mine in a Case Logic Compact Portable Hard Drive Case
Completely unnecessary, but geekily fashionable, are the set of 3 colored sleeves
Lexar Pro Series CompactFlash Reader Firewire 800
If you’re working in a high volume shooting environment, a fast card reader is a big time saver. the Lexar Pro Series CompactFlash Reader Firewire 800
To get the best performance out of it, you’ll need a UDMA CF card like the 4GB Lexar Professional UDMA 300X CompactFlash Card
Of course, you’ll need a camera that’s compatible with UDMA cards, so why not throw down for the:
Nikon D700
The Nikon D700 12.1MP Digital SLR Camera
The 12.1-megapixel FX-format (full-frame) sensor and high ISO/low noise (from ISO 100 (Lo-1) to 25,600 (Hi-2)) performance really interest me. Of course, the High-Def video from the Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Use the comments below to ask any questions, share your holiday wish list, or “air any grievances” you may have.
Filed Under: (02) Product Reviews
About the Author: Scott Rouse is an Adobe Certified Expert (ACE), photographer, teacher, and graphic- and web-designer in Missoula, MT. His photography focuses on wildlife and adventure sports and can be viewed at 
Thanks, Dave. I guess I should put my gear list together, too. I must admit, I’m in the process of downsizing.
Sorry to hop in so late here, but I thought the Canon shooters out there might be interested in my gear. This is the stuff that I truly own and use. These are the lenses and camera bodies that work best for me as a professional outdoor sports photographer with a limited budget.
My Camera Equipment
[...] mentioned my favorite portable external hard drive, the somewhat-more-pricey LaCie Rugged Drive in my previous Holiday Wish List post, but I also carry one of these Western Digital Drives to use as my Time Machine backup drive on my [...]
[...] TheLightroomLab.com – Scott’s Photographer Holiday Gift Guide [...]
Or I guess I could join a gym! Thanks Scott. Save me some sore arms and some moolah too I’m guessing.
And, yes. I’m quite jealous!
The AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED or AF Zoom- NIKKOR 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D IF-ED would probably work out well for you. 35oz and 13oz respectively. That 18-35mm would save you some sore arms.
UWA=Ultra Wide Angle
Oh yeah, what’s UWA?
Wow.Lots of great input! thanks to all and I love Seshu’s site! OMG! I cant wait to go back and really look at it, ( I am certain I was Indian in a previous life) I am, and don’t hate me Scott, shooting with a D700. I figured, WTH. I will definitely grow into this camera, not out of it. I want to be able to do professional interiors and architectural as well as funky portrait work. I wanted to see if speed on a wide angle (when I can use an iso of 1600 easily without much grain) is really necessary. I do figure it will be used on tripod for interiors but for evening wedding receptions, it will be my bare hands. They are, by the way, having difficulty holding up a d700 by the end of the evening so weight of lens is a consideration, not a deal breaker, just a consideration. All these lens purchases are now business decisions so I am wringing my hands about spending 1600 to make income if I can make the same income with a less expensive lens. Comments appreciated.
Mine is the Sigma 10-20mm EX DC. It’s a whole lot of UWA bang for the buck.
Thanks, Scott! Every shot in the set you linked to above was shot with the Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L. I love this wide angle, short range zoom and have it on my camera 90% of the time… The other 10% I am shooting with the Canon wide angle EF 28mm f/1.8 USM.
Jeff
Really depends how wide you need to go and what body you’re working with (ie crop sensor or full frame) but I’ve been using a Sigma 20mm f/1.8 for the last few years and it’s my go to wideangle lens. However as I’m using an EOS 20D I’ve been investigating the Sigma wide zooms for the extra range. Both the 10-20mm f/4-5.6 and 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 seem well regarded from the reviews I’ve read as is the Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 if you don’t mind trading range for speed.
There’s quite a lot of choice in this end of the market so it’s best if you decide what your range, speed and price perameters are and then go review hunting (fredmiranda.com being a good place to pick up consumer reviews of lenses)
Scott – thanks for posting the question on twitter!
I use the Sigma 10-20mm DX lens with my Nikon D300 so the effective range is 15mm-40mm. I have been VERY happy with it – great price/performance range. The Nikon 12-24 would be great but it is 2X the price. Of course, if someone wants to give me a Nikon 14-24 or a PC/tilt shift lens, I will gladly except it!! Wide angles are great for distorting near perspective subjects. Here is one good example. [http://www.jharrisonphoto.com/photos/289942249_yxo4s-M.jpg]
Cheers,
John
Thanks, Jeff. All are welcome…Canon, Nikon, or other!
I’m not sure I remember which brand Marj shoots.
Loving the saturated, high-fashion look of the shots on your site. These are my favorite.
Thanks, Mike. The example images are a big help. They look great!
Coming in from this tweet and now I see this is probably aimed more at Nikon users, but even on the Canon side, I use the Canon 17-40 f/4L. Not as fast as the f/2.8 lenses discussed here but I normally shoot with multiple strobes. Anyway, the 17-35 f/2.8 sounds like a great piece of glass!
Jeff
Thanks, Seshu, for the input.
By the way, people, have you seen Seshu’s wedding photography? Very nice! Check it out at http://www.seshu.net/.
My current wide angle lense of choice has be rather spoiled, 12-24 Sigma mounted on a 5d, so yes, I get 12mm with nearly no vignette on a full frame sensor. Examples can be seen here: http://www.mikepanic.com/bee/ – many of those were shot with the 12-24, the rest were shot with 70-200 f/4L IS
One day I’ll afford and buy a 16-35L lens, for now, I really enjoy the Sigma.
For the Nikon users out there, it’s really hard to beat the 14-24 f/2.8 lens, I had the chance to shoot it strapped on a D3, photos are here: http://www.mikepanic.com/skateboard-sequence/
I use the 17-35mm f/2.8. Yes, it is heavy and is quite a workout, but that’s the price you have to pay for great glass to create great images. I don’t like to skimp on quality gear. Would love a D700 but for what I do the D300s are extremely good.
As a Nikon shooter, I’ll just cover the Nikon realm. Maybe Dave will chime in with his suggestions for the Canon shooters out there.
My wide angle zoom is the Nikon 17-35mm f/2.8 AF-S ED-IF lens. It’s priced just shy of $1,500 from Amazon.com
or B&H Photo.
I was very happy with it when I had my F100 film body, but on my smaller-sensor D2x, it just doesn’t go wide enough for me. Many people have solved this issue with the “digital-only” Super Wide Angle AF 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom. It’s around $850 from either Amazon.com
or B&H. The problem here, of course, is that it will only work on Nikons with what they call their “DX-Format” sensor. The new larger sensor on cameras such as the D700 and D3, the “FX-Format” sensor, is the same size as 35mm film so these DX lenses won’t work properly on them.
One of the other problems with the 17-35mm f/2.8 is that it’s pretty heavy. I went all out years ago and bought a D2x, 17-35mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f2.8, and 70-200mm f2.8. That combination has proven too heavy for me lug around. I’d really like a full-frame Nikon D700 and a lighter, more versatile lens such as the AF-S VR Zoom 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED. It’s less than $500 at Amazon.com
. It’s not a really wide angle lens, but I think it would make a nice travel lens.
I haven’t really kept up with the third-party market lenses such as those from Sigma and Tamron. Both of these companies have some high-quality products and will be something I’ll seriously consider when I’m ready to purchase.
Hope that helps.
Anyone else? Feel free to chime in with your favorites.
-Scott
So what would be/is your wide angle zoom of choice????
[...] set out to write a simple holiday gift guide like the one that my buddy Scott Rouse posted recently. I started out trying to make a list of goodies that any serious digital photographer might want, [...]
The D3X looks cool, but I’m looking to downsize. I’m tired of carrying that giant D2X around!
Heh… Not going cheap, are we?
D700… Pfff!
How about…
http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/15/24-4-megapixel-nikon-d3x-dslr-in-the-works/