What should accessorie should I buy my husband?

[buyingmyhusbandapresent]

He is currently into learning how to take pictures and edit them.

This is what he already has:
Nikon D60
Nikon SB 400 flash
Nikon Circular Polar II
nikon af-s nikkor 35mm, 18-55mm and 55-200mm
Lens Pen

What might he like for his camera that would be useful? Right now he is taking pictures of family, animals and nature (all still things). May take an interest in taking action shots later.

Thanks for the input!
~Holly

[SmartWombat]

Flash diffuser for portrait and close-up animal pictures.

[Franglais]

He seems to be pretty well equipped already. When I look at my travelling gear, there are only a few extra things:

- Camera bag. Probably he already has one but you forgot to mention it. Huge range of possibilities
- Spare battery. This is very important (and fairly inexpensive). The capacity of the D60 battery is not that great and I have found I've run out out battery while on holiday. It's useful to have a second one in my bag
- Spare SDHC card. When I'm out on holiday for a few days with some precious shots already done, I remove the part-full one, store it in a safe place and put a fresh one in the camera
- Wide wide-angle lens, like the Nikon 10-24. This is an expensive present, especially if you're not sure he's going to use it, but it's fun if you've never used this sort of lens. Note: the D60 needs lenses with a built-in autofocus motor. The Nikon 10-24 has one but the Tamron 10-24 doesn't

[mjs1973]

Welcome to the site. I usually suggest a gift card in these types of situations. I'm pretty particular about my gear and I like to pick it out myself. That being said, a couple things came to mind when I saw your list.

The first thing I thought of was a macro lens. I'm not familiar with Nikon gear but I think they make a 105mm macro lens.

The other thing that came to mind is a tripod. There are tons of choices out there depending on your price range.

[Frog]

I guess the first thing that should be asked is how much you want to spend?
I think the gift card is a good idea as it really does come down to personal taste.
You can also pretend to have come across an ad for, lets say, a tripod and innocently ask him why a photographer needs a tripod. If he get into a lot of explanation and the benefits of certain ones and that he has been looking at one, then you've hit the nail on the head.
If he says,"oh that's only for fancy studio work", or something of the sort, then he's not ready for one. He needs one but just doesn't know it yet.
If you think he is or might be into macro photography, the cheapest route would probably be some kenko lens extensions. You can get a set of three for around a hundred bucks.
A good smaller gift would be a Rocket Blower. Every one has one. They blow the dust out of the insides of the camera that accumulates when he changes lenses and will even blow dust off of sensors.
I'm not sure which third party lenses will auto focus with the D60 but they are usually a cheaper,(sometimes significantly), than the Nikons and some have quality that is almost equal to the Nikons.
What editing software is he using? If he's using just what came with the camera or something like Gimp, then maybe you'd like to get him Adobe Photoshop Elements 7,($75 on Amazon right now), if you are using vista or xp. Be prepared for some frustration language as he learns to use it.
You could also sign him up to join this crew. Its free!! It is also one of if not the best place on the web to learn.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUR DEALER FEEDBACK FORUM BEFORE BUYING ANYTHING ON LINE!
http://forums.photographyreview.com/...splay.php?f=10



Good luck and I wish my wife would ask that question.

[buyingmyhusbandapresent]

Thanks everyone! Those are great ideas that I would never have come up with! Tired of the same old clothes... Rocket Blower sounds awesome as I don't think he is to the point of knowing that he is going to need that.

[buyingmyhusbandapresent]

What is macro photography?

[mjs1973]

The Rocket Blower is a great idea! Another small gift that really comes in handy is a level that fits in the hot shoe (where the flash goes) on top of the camera. It works great for keeping keeping your horizons straight. I find this to be a great too, but only when using a tripod.

[mudd]

Buy him a class at a local photography school. He could learn some technique he wanted to learn or even learn the fundamentals of photography. Some schools offer field trips to work on a specific subject or help a photographer to 'see'.

The only school that I can recommend is in Metro Detroit, but I did a quick google search on Cinnci and there seems to be few options. Good luck!

[opus]

A flash stand, umbrella clamp and umbrella. All can be got for under $100 total. He might have a blast learning how to use better lighting to take wonderful portraits of friends and family.

umbrella ($19)

umbrella bracket ($15)

light stand ($20 +)

and then either a remote cord or a wireless transmitter; someone here should advise on which , since I'm not a Nikon gal.

[Frog]

Macro photography is basically close-up photography. When you see close ups of flowers or bugs or something it is probably macro photography.
It takes special lenses or extension tubes to be able to focus close enough.

[Anthony Reiss]

Buy him a really nice camera strap free from any name brand advertisement emblazoned in bold letters around his neck that shouts out to the crowd: "camera: steal me."
He would like that.

[KmH]

A good camera strap like the ones www.blackrapid.com have (R-Strap).

Here's a video about the R-Strap http://www.blackrapid.com/video/intr...on-to-r-strap/

A good tripod: Giottos MT-9360

A Battery Grip.