Gift for a newbie photographer?

[Headshotzx]

Hey guys, I know I've been posting lots of gear related threads these few days, but bear with me haha.

Here's my situation now. I intro'd dslr photography to my tutor, who's leaving to the UK for his studies with his photogear as well. My dad wants to give him something before we leave. Thing is, it can't be too expensive (at best around S$100, can up by a small amt if needed) and should stay useful.

He's got:
450D, kit lens, 55-250IS, 50mm 1.8 (darn it, wanted to buy him this!) and a small bag that fits everything he has. I believe he's still stuck with the supplied 4gig SD card, and has no cleaning kit or filters.

So, what are my options?

I was thinking of a cleaning kit, but S$12 for a blower and a lens pen and cloths just don't seem like a good gift. I was also thinking about a set of filters (2x 58mm UV, 1x 52mm UV, 1x 58mm CPL) but don't know if it will benefit him or not.

What about Jack006's benro tripod? The S$120 set one. How'd that serve him?

He loves taking pictures of his family and loves landscapes. Traveling to UK, he's bound to take some landscapes, so a CPL filter or tripod would serve him well me thinks.

What say you?

Cheers
Zexun

 

[Kit]

Why must it be another piece of equipment?

Buy him a good book on landscapes photography and he can decide what to get later.

 

[Headshotzx]

Why must it be another piece of equipment?

Buy him a good book on landscapes photography and he can decide what to get later.

...Dad said de =/

 

[eosdigital]

How about forking in your money to buy the battery grip for him?

 

[Headshotzx]

How about forking in your money to buy the battery grip for him?

He doesn't like the batt grip of my 400D. Says it makes the camera too bulky for his liking, so I'll pass on that one =)

 

[eosdigital]

He doesn't like the batt grip of my 400D. Says it makes the camera too bulky for his liking, so I'll pass on that one =)

Haha..difficult choice..unless perhaps u wanna buy a B+W filter for his most used lens if he's not using one

 

[Headshotzx]

B+W filter for plastic mount lenses? O___o

 

[Del_CtrlnoAlt]

give him something priceless...

tell him whatever photo he take, send it to you and you will say its nice... give him "confidence"

 

[ExplorerZ]

tripod is good, provided he use one... I noe people who throw their tripod at home collecting dust. :bsmilie:
but like what Del_CtrlnoAlt said, something priceless is even better.

 

[eosdigital]

Lol..im..out of suggestions. :sweat:

 

[mountainsmith]

how about a digital photoframe?

 

[Headshotzx]

Yeah he was looking for a tripod that wouldn't cost him S$100 or more, but he found no good ones and gave up the search.

Digital photoframe? For his UK college dorm?

EDIT: Mod, thanks for moving to appropriate forum.

 

[chiangkxv]

Hw abt a 7 million home? a nice bag to carry ard and take pic.

 

[eosdigital]

Is there a GPS Unit(from what i heard in the N camp) for the XXXD dSLR available? I think it would be nice for the tutor to have a GPS-ed photo which he can refer back at home.

 

[bovine]

How about a $100 voucher from photo stores (if they have any) or UK's book vouchers for him to buy photography books? Must be present? Cannot be red packet?

Will he read this? Is he a member of CS too?

 

[sORe-EyEz]

drop the filter idea, in the beginning dun load newbie with too many toys. some may not get used frequently.

maybe another bag. if he got backpack, buy him a shoulder 1, vice versa?

tripod idea not bad, but must be small & yet can tahan the set-up. like

http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/cache/offonce/pid/2605 looks like ned to buy mini ball-head.

http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/pid/3193

 

[bovine]

drop the filter idea, in the beginning dun load newbie with too many toys. some may not get used frequently.

maybe another bag. if he got backpack, buy him a shoulder 1, vice versa?

tripod idea not bad, but must be small & yet can tahan the set-up. like

http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/cache/offonce/pid/2605 looks like ned to buy mini ball-head.

http://www.manfrotto.com/Jahia/site/manfrotto/pid/3193

Ya good idea from sore-eyes. Perhaps a bag where he can store his documents too while travelling ard on short trips.

 

[pixie]

HDD to store his photos.. and of course those edited!

Load in some recommended software so he can try it out when he is stuck in the plane too =)

 

[linkandzelda]

A dry cabinet?

 

[coolsigg]

Cokin filter set with some GND filters for landscape shots!