Frugal Fathers Day Photography Favor

Do you have a Photographer Father you need a gift for?  Need a frugal favor to furnish?  DPOAB is here to help!!  (yes, I had to use thesaurus.com!).  Below is a list of 10 gifts for less than $25.  And dont limit yourself to Fathers Day or even Fathers!  Moms, girlfriends, boyfriends, aunts, uncles husbands and wives all like goodies for their hobby!

Nikon 7072 Lens Pen Cleaning System It is a little thicker and a little longer than a standard pen with a brush on one end and a cleaning thingy on the other. Its one of those thigns that you dont need until you really need and there is no real substitute.

Tiffen 52mm UV Protection Filter I choose the 52mm as my example but the price is close on the other sizes. "But he already HAS a UV filter. Why get him another one?" The whole point of UV filters, other than filtering UV, is to get scratched. Or more correctly, to protect the REAL glass from getting scratched. But what happens if one day into that dream hiking trip with the majestic views he puts a one inch scratch across his filter? I have a spare UV filter in each of the two sizes my different lenses take. That gives me one spare and then I have to start juggling. In the mean time I can order a new backup. Its a whole lot cheaper than buying one at Disney World or walking back to civilization with no pictures.

Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce Diffuser I picked one at random but you will need to get the one that fits your flash. Besides making you look really cool, you will get better lighting, fewer red eyes and fewer shadows using a diffuser. There are others out there but there is a reason pros use the Sto-Fen.


Tiffen Circular Polarizer Filter
 ***I changed this from the original Hoya filter because the pice went up beyond the $25 max I had set for this.  There is nothing wrong with the Tiffen filter.  I originally choose the Hoya because of the huge discount***Once again, get the size right for your lens. Besides being an insanely good price, polarizers let you get those deep blue skies. If you shoot near water, a polarizer will eliminate the glare and capture what is below in clear water.

OP/TECH 37012 Pro Loop Strap for Camera Equipment (Black) After one day of walking around with my 70-300 zoom and battery pack, I ordered this. Besides yelling "Steal Me!!" in bright yellow, red or blue colors, most manufacture straps are too thin and not padded. if you plan to USE your camera, get one of these.

Gary Fong Puffer Pop Up Flash Diffuser Think of this as a Sto-Fen for your popup because that is exactly what it does. If you do not have a flash besides your popup, you NEED one of these. Popup flashes are harsh and give you flat pictures with red eyes and creepy skin tone. If you love your family, buy one of these!!

Digital Concepts +1 +2 +4 +10 Close-Up Macro Filter Set with Pouch (52mm) QUALIFYING STATEMENT! I only have the 10x. And Im mad because I paid almost as much for the 10X alone as the complete set is here. And its only almost because this doesn't qualify for free shipping! These are sometimes called "ghetto macro" lenses. Besides allowing you to get some great pictures, they produce a very very shallow Depth of Field that gives the rest of the picture a nice soft focus look. If you like bugs or flowers, you will like having these.

eneloop 4 pack AA with Charger I picked up this setat Costco for $20 so if you can find it there, get 2. These are the best rechargeables I have ever used. Unlike other rechargeable batteries, the Eneloops don't get tired and lose charge when they are in your camera or flash. Charge time is a little longer than some but it is worth it. I routinely get over 1000 pictures out of a single charge.

PC to Hot Shoe Adapter with Connecting Cord.
I use this to mount my flash on a tripod for off camera flash work. Thats about it. Makes off camera stuff a breeze because you can bounce and deflect just like on your camera because it is oriented the same.

Sunpak 59.4" PlatinumPlus 5800D This, as far as I can tell, identical to the 6601UT except for the color and the bag. I have the 6601UT and while it is by no means a "professional" tripod, it does the job. Its reasonably light, reasonably sturdy and dirt cheep. I am only now starting to get inot lots of tripod work and I know I will eventually move up to a better tripod. This blog is about "good enough" and for most people, that describes this tripod.

So there you have it. 10 inexpensive gift ideas for you or someone else.