Photography Gift Ideas for the 2006 Holiday Season
The holidays are quickly approaching, and many of us can run into road-blocks when figuring out what gifts to purchase for a long list of family and friends. Here are a few unique gift ideas for photography enthusiasts, according to their special interests:
Best Digital SLRs |
The Sports Fanatic |
The Science-Minded |
The Art & Crafter
The Traveler |
Kids Gifts
The Best Digital SLRs:
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Nikon D80 Digital SLR (Shown with the 18-135MM Nikkor zoom lens) The Nikon D80 is one of the best digital camera values of 2006, offering most of the features and digital technology of the high-end Nikon D200 at a fraction of its price. With incredible speed and 10.2-megapixel image quality, this camera is bound to become a favorite for years to come. The 2006 holiday season is a great time to capture a great deal on this popular Nikon. The best value is the Nikon D80 bundle, offered by Ritz Camera, that includes the D80 body and two lenses (a 28-80mm autofocus (AF) zoom, plus a 70-300mm autofocus (AF) telephoto zoom) for a bundle price that is less that you can get the D80 with a 18-135mm lens only. Combine the bundle price with other holiday savings -- such as a $50 gift coupon from Ritz, a free HP Photosmart photo printer, and double or triple rebates from Nikon on other lenses and accessories -- and it's possible to save hundreds of dollars on a complete, top-of-the-line camera package. |
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Nikon D40 SLR Digital Camera The Nikon D40 is the 6.1 megapixel "little brother" of the Nikon D80. Designed primarily for the person who is just entering the world of digital SLRs and interchangeable lenses, it is a great value in its own right. Although it doesn't offer as many megapixels as the D80, it still contains the latest and most valuable Nikon technology at around a 40-50% savings on the larger camera's price. |
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Canon Rebel XTi (Canon EOS 400D) The Canon Rebel XTi is Canon's haed-to-head competition with the Nikon D80. With 10.1 megapixels and offering the latest technology in digital technology, this is also an excellent choice for the professional or serious amateur photographer. The Canon Rebel XTi also comes bundle-priced with autofocus lenses... during 2006 holiday season sales, it's possible to find the XTi and two zoom lenses for far under $1000. |
Photography Gifts for the Sports Fanatic:
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Lowepro DryZone 200 Waterproof Camera Backpack The LowePro DryZone 200 is the first completely waterproof camera backpack. With sealed seams & water-tight zipper, this camera bag provides total water and weather protection.Consider this a great gift for anyone who loves water sports, skiing, snowboarding, white water rafting, scuba diving, hiking, to name a few. Features include padded interior dividers and a tuck-away tripod holder. |
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Tamrac Digital Photo & Computer Backpack Another option for a camera or laptop bag in the form of a backpack, this backpack's main compartment is foam-padded and easily fits a professional 35mm or Digital SLR with a 200mm zoom lens. It can also hold multiple additional lenses and another camera body. |
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Lowepro Photo Runner If you know anyone who enjoys taking pictures while out running, cycling, or hiking, the Photo Runner is a lightweight camera pack that can be worn around the waist. This camera bag can actually hold a Medium Format Rangefinder system or a camcorder comfortably and with ease. |
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Garmin Color Handheld GPS The color screen handheld GPS units from Garmin is a useful gift for fishermen, backpackers, hikers, boaters, cyclists, etc. Tomas Kuehn, a Los Angeles, CA resident states, "As an outdoor enthusiast, fisherman, and backpacker, I would like to have a handheld GPS unit such as the Garmin GPS because it would enhance, rather than detract from, my outdoor experiences. The two most appealing elements this handheld GPS system offers are safety (ease of finding my destination and finding my way back), and the ability to track all the places I've been and things I've seen." |
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Samsung SC-X105L Sports Digital Camcorder This camcorder is made for sports fans, athletes, and those with active lifestyles. It works well as a webcam, MP3 player, and camera. It has a 10x optical / 100x digital zoom, and has a minimum 3 lux rating (making it great for filming at night), image stabilization (making it easier to film in high-action environments), and a remote lens. on top of that, it has a sleek, companct, easy-to-use design that makes it an ideal gift for the sports fan in your life. |
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Waterproof Camera Cases For anyone living an active lifestyle, taking their camera along for the ride includes signing up for a lot of risk to the camera's safety. Waterproof camera cases can not only offer an option to take a camera underwater, they can also offer protection from scratches and scrapes to the camera body during transport. All you need to know is the Brand and type of camera, and you can purchase a waterproof or water-resistant casing, if available for that camera. This is a fantastic gift for swimmers, snowboarders, skiiers, rafters, hikers, cyclists, scuba divers, etc. |
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Lexar 1GB JumpDrive Sport USB Flash Drive Encased in durable rubber, the 1 Gigabyte JumpDrive Sport (portable storage) is impact-resistant and can be fastened to a key chain or backpack. The removable drive uses USB 2.0 for high speed file transfers. |
Photography Holiday Gifts for the Science-Minded:
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Snap Science PC Microscope The PC Microscope is a fun gadget for your science-loving friends and family - images captured in the microscope can be sent and saved to a PC. Just imagine the fun... add text, email, modify images in a photo editor... and all that is needed to attach the microscope to a computer is an available USB port. |
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Eclipse Solar Gear Ion Camera or Video Bag w/Solar Charging Panel The durable Eclipse Ion Camera/Video Bag is the first in a line of solar-enabled camera bags from Eclipse Solar GT. Its integrated flexible solar panel provides to trickle-charging power to camera and rechargeable batteries, or electronic devices, such as cell phones or MP3 players. Side pockets allow for organization of memory cards, batteries, or other equipment and attachments. This bag can carry a digital camcorder and a digital SLR camera with room for accessories. |
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Meade ETX-125AT Telescope w/Autostar Controller and Tripod The Meade ETX series is a telescope highly suitable for astrophotography. Additional accessories can be purchased from Meade.com to enable images captured with the telescope to be downloaded to a PC. Two pieces are required: |
Photography Christmas Gifts For the Art & Crafter:
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ArcSoft Scrapbook Creator Digital Picture Software Scrapbook Creator is a fun gift that would allow one to preserve her original photographs, while placing copies of these images on a digital canvas. Within this program, she can then edit, cut/crop, stylize, position, or place special effects upon their images in a collage format, or alone. The project can then be saved to the computer in layers so it can be edited time and again. |
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Funhouse Funhouse is a software program by ArcSoft that allows you to create fun scenes of your family and friends with famous people (such as movie starts and world leaders), in famous places, and silly situations. This software comes with ready-made templates onto which you can place your own images, or create your own templates for greeting cards, websites, etc. Program includes Live Image Capture, which means with the use of a web or video camera, you can cpature the perfect facial expression to place into a template real-time. Funhouse is both inexpensive and flexible - there are free downlaods from the ArcSoft website when you want more templates to work with. |
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Amazon Imaging Canvas Cloth This bright white computer paper has a canvas texture, which can be great for printing out images to look as if they are painted on canvas, or just for a unique texture.
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The Big Box of Art 1 Million Over 1 million images: photos, clip art, animations, web graphics to be used on crafts projects, web sites, brochures, you name it - and all searchable by keyword. |
Photography Gifts for the Traveler:
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Sony HDPS-M1 Hard Disk Photo Storage Unit |
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Belkin 7-in-1 Retractable Cable Travel Pack The Belkin 7-in-1 Travel Pack makes it convenient to store and uitlize cables that connect from a computer to a digital camera, MP3 player, PDA, or cell phone, DSL/cable modem, gateway router, patch panel, and/or phone jack. This can make it easy for travelers to load pictures from camera to computer, freeing up storage space to take more pictures, and allowing for travelers to share pictures with friends and family while still on their vacation. |
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Vanguard Tourist Series Compact Travel Tripod with 3-Way Panhead Perfect for the traveling photographer or family vacationer, this tripod is small and compact, comes with a carrying case, and extends to a height of over 3 feet. |
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Axis 206 Network Camera Many travelers worry about their pets, kids, or house while away. This camera would allow them to get online and view the happenings in their household while away. The Axis Network Camera could allow many a traveler peace of mind, allowing them to better enjoy their vacation time. |
| See Handheld GPS |
Photography Gifts Especially for Kids:
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Hello Kitty Digital Camera |
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Digital Blue American Idol Digital Camcorder & Music Video Software Do you have a singer, producer, or director in the household? This video maker is as hot as the show that it's named after - American Idol! With the American Idol Digital Camcorder, your little one can make music videos like a pro. This set comes with everything needed to shoot, record, and edit music and video using elements from the television show American Idol, and is fully functional on most PCs. |
We will be periodically adding to and editing this list, so be sure to check back soon for more 2006 holiday gift ideas!
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