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The Best Gifts for the Photographer or Videographer in Your Life
The gift-giving holidays are upon us, so it was fitting to put together a list of our favorite gift ideas for these upcoming holidays. Because if you’re a photographer or videographer, you’ve probably gotten a dozen of those lens-shaped coffee mugs at this point, so let’s make a list of products that we would actually find helpful. If you have any recommendations of your own, please chime in in the comments section below.
Under $50
Batteries
None of these under $50 recommendations are particularly glamorous – $50 doesn’t get very far these days. But you’re looking for a simple gift that the photographer or videographer in your life could actually use. In that case, the most obvious choice is batteries for their camera, lights, and other accessories. The most modern cameras are all mirrorless at this point, which means they drain batteries much faster than their predecessors. Many photography strobes are now also battery-powered, which calls for some pretty sizeable batteries. Photographers and videographers alike are always a little short on batteries, and they make a valuable gift for the creative in your life.
Memory Cards
On that same topic, photographers and videographers are also always short of memory – digital memory for this argument. Whether this means additional high-capacity SD or CFast cards, or just external hard drives, is entirely up to your interpretation. Either of those options would make for a practical and helpful gift.
Small Rig Magic Arm and/or Super Clamp
Working as a photographer and/or videographer usually involves some clever thinking when working on set. The use of gaff tape is often excessive, and if you’re not careful, you might get yourself a feature on @shittyrigs, which is why a perfect gift for the photographer or videographer in your life is, of course, the Small Rig Magic Arm, or a Manfrotto Super Clamp. Both these problems solve the same problem – adding mounting options to virtually everything. While one could argue that the Magic Arm is usually a videographer’s go-to, and the Super Clamp is delegated to the photographers, both sides can easily find a use case for each, and they are an asset to have in the camera bag.
Over $100
Amaran Ace 25c
A few weeks back, I went to an industry friend’s Halloween party. While I was making the rounds, I started up a conversation with this guy, who happens to be one of Aputure’s lighting specialists. He hardly had to give me a sales pitch before I was on Amazon purchasing the Amaran Ace.
At $100, the Amaran Ace is a 32-watt light that offers full RGB with plenty of mounting options thanks to the heavy-duty magnets on the back. I had a previous version of this light, with about half as much power, and I loved it, until a girlfriend took it to use it as her makeup light in her bathroom. But that’s what makes these lights so great. They’re high-powered, have a ton of flexibility and options, and you can use them for just about anything. I fully trust the color accuracy of Amaran, and would certainly use this on a photoshoot when I needed an extra pop of light, but rather, I’ve used this light as a work light when working on motorcycles, as a vanity light as previously mentioned, does a general household light for when I’m looking for stuff in the middle of the night. This light is incredibly versatile, and I imagine that anybody you buy it for will find a use case for it… While also having a high enough CRI for any film production.
DJI Mobile 7p/DJI Mobile 8
The following recommendation on my list is a necessity above all else. Personally, I’m not a videographer. I’m not eyeing the latest red camera system, and I don’t have the dream of being the next David Fincher. But I run into many scenarios where I need a clean and stable video file, whether for an Instagram reel or something else. And that is why, next time I list is a DJI mobile 7e gimbal system.
We’ve all got pretty capable pocket cameras in our phones, and the DJI Mobile 7p adds to those cameras’ feature sets and gives you really great stabilization when you need to shoot a quick video, and all you’ve got on hand is your cell phone. Additionally, with its built-in tripod, it makes a really good phone holder for quick FaceTime or Zoom interviews.
Pro Black Mist Filter
If you’ve ever seen those images with a surreal, dreamy feel to them, the secret behind that look is likely a Pro Black Mist Filter. The filter softens highlights, reduces contrast, and adds a blooming effect to most highlights in the image. I’ve talked about them extensively on this blog before, so I won’t go into it further, but they’re a lot of fun and an easy way to add a special effect to a series of images.
SZ filters
Continuing on the topic of filters, SZ Filters is another affordable recommendation that we just had to mention. There are practical filters like a UV or ND filter, special-effect filters like the Pro Black Mist mentioned above, and then there are SZ filters, which I’m not entirely sure how to describe. They specialize in the unthinkable, offering a ton of filter options, giving you some surreal effects you probably haven’t even thought of. From your standard star filters, to filters with glitter encased in glass, SZ Filters is really pushing the bounds of what you can create with a filter attached to the end of your lens. We also just started stocking some of their more popular options, so if you’re not sure which one to use, renting is always a good place to start.
No Budget
Amaran Ray 660c
Amaran has always been a product line from Aputure, considered more budget-friendly and lacking some of the features of their higher-end lights. But with the recent announcement of the Amaran Ray 660c, the line between the two has been blurred, offering a 660W COB with full RGB functionality, DMX capabilities, 95+ CRI, and lumens over 45,000. In short, it’s a compelling, feature-rich light priced at the very impressive $699. In short, if you have someone in your life who wants more light without much compromise, the Amaran Ray 660c is an obvious choice.
Fujifilm X100 VI
There isn’t much to be said about the Fujifilm X100 VI that hasn’t been said a million times already. This camera was released back in February 2024, and because of the hype, it’s only now starting to show up in stock at your favorite camera stores, nearly two years later. We’ve had a few that are constantly rented out, and the reason is clear: it’s the best small walkaround camera available. If you can find one in stock, it’s an obvious buy.
Gift card from Lensrentals.com
And finally, our last gift recommendation is a gift card from us. If there’s one thing that holds true for both photographers and videographers, it’s that we’re all sort of gearheads. Every photographer and videographer I know is constantly paging through the latest camera and lens releases, only to leave heartbroken by the price tags. We provide a unique service that allows people to try out new cameras and lenses and, if they like them, purchase used copies directly from us. You know how gift cards work, and I’m not trying to be too sales-pitchy in this article, but check out the options we have available on this page.
Do you think we missed anything? Feel free to add your holiday wishlist of gear in the comments below.
