Holiday Gift Ideas

[Sled]

At this time of year I'm sure I'm not alone in looking for a gift with little to no information to help me along my search. I thought it would be a good idea to share our collective experiences to help solve each others problems.

1. My wife is a photography hobbyist. She is looking for a "bigger lens" so that she can take close up pictures of things far away. I have no clue about camera's or lenses. She has a Canon Rebel XTI that is about 2 years old. Her current lens is what I would consider short (2.5 to 3 inches long). What are the best options out there?

Of course I will help you with your questions to the best of my abilities.

[Rathji]

My advice, get her a present!

[Tron_fdc]

I recently got into photography, and there is a never ending list of things that you can get into.....lenses, flashes, grips, tri-pods, it never ends.

What does she take photos of? That will largely determine what type of lens to get, and how much to spend. I just picked this one up http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/...p8_is_usm_c16/ and it's pretty much Canon's flagship lens for the hobbyist. Not the cheapest, but it's the closest thing to pro without the huge dollar attached to it.

Try the Camera Store on 11th if you're looking for camera stuff, they've been really helpful to me in the past.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by fotze

I'm loking at getting my son something super cool but I have nothing. A big dumb kiddie escalade is pretty big and dumb. Do those little remote control planes/bug/helicopters actually work?

You can't go wrong with a Steel Tonka truck and a trip to a big hill for the day, can you?

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by Sled

1. My wife is a photography hobbyist. She is looking for a "bigger lens" so that she can take close up pictures of things far away. I have no clue about camera's or lenses. She has a Canon Rebel XTI that is about 2 years old. Her current lens is what I would consider short (2.5 to 3 inches long). What are the best options out there?

I have the same camera and have a Sigma 18-200mm lens. Great all around lens and would bring things in close. Not sure what your price range is but this lens was $700, not sure what it is now.

[Sled]

Originally Posted by fotze

I'm loking at getting my son something super cool but I have nothing. A big dumb kiddie escalade is pretty big and dumb. Do those little remote control planes/bug/helicopters actually work?

How old is your son? Last year I got my 6 year old the nerf dart gun and it was a big hit.

http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/n-strike/

[octothorp]

Lensbabies are really cool gifts for photographers, especially if they like doing artsy photos that play around with focus and depth of field.

http://www.lensbaby.com/