What are /r/AmateurPhotography's favorite Products & Services?

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The rubber hood is a simple way to take photos through glass (as long as the glas is clean enough) and you can even get them to put on a smart phone

You just push it against the glass and it excludes light from outside the tank

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-ULHmobile-Ultimate-Mobile-Phones/dp/B082VKFDDD

light is tricky with macro, so you might consider a light source for macro due to the F stop needed to get the desired DOF

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Nc-Macro-Display-Compatible/dp/B08NMTDYCL/ref=dp\_prsubs\_3?pd\_rd\_i=B08NMTDYCL&psc=1

look for lenses with the smallest MFD , the MFD on your tamron is over 3'

some general purpose 50mm lenses have an MFD less than 1' , so no need for an expensive macro lens right now.

there is a 100mm f2.8 vivtar for EF that i found on ebay.

did a good job, with a cheap feel to it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/42098856@N08/30147880761/in/dateposted-public/

For a cheaper option, I love the rope-style straps: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08T7JKW2V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I love my Peak Design wrist strap and camera clip, but I haven't sprung on their full size strap yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Rebel-EF18-55mm-75-300mm-Double-Zoom/dp/B0101RW3QK/ref=sr_1_5?crid=25YK917RN89RH&keywords=canon+t7+bundle&qid=1647479043&sprefix=cannon+t7+bun%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-5

This is the bundle I bought when I started photography a couple years ago. It gave me the opportunity to experiment with 2 lens and it has done everything I needed!

thanks man! is this a good deal?

Hey, amazing picture, would you be able to fill out my survey about amatuer photography. Its for some market research and it would mean a lot! Thankyou guys

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAO__TDem2VUNDRaM08yNktJQUNMTU1EQlE5SVg2QUtISC4u

Hey, amazing picture, would you be able to fill out my survey about amatuer photography. Its for some market research and it would mean a lot! Thankyou guys

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAO__TDem2VUNDRaM08yNktJQUNMTU1EQlE5SVg2QUtISC4u

Hey, amazing picture, would you be able to fill out my survey about amatuer photography. Its for some market research and it would mean a lot! Thankyou guys

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAO__TDem2VUNDRaM08yNktJQUNMTU1EQlE5SVg2QUtISC4u

Hey, amazing picture, would you be able to fill out my survey about amatuer photography. Its for some market research and it would mean a lot! Thankyou guys

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAO__TDem2VUNDRaM08yNktJQUNMTU1EQlE5SVg2QUtISC4u

Seriously, get Lightroom, shoot RAW, get Google Nik Collection, buy a Neutral Density filter, cause that will help you with long exposures when it’s light...This shot is really cool. Love shots like this. But it would benefit from a sunset, I think. That’s something I’ve not done yet...

Currently, I'm doing 100% of my photo editing with Photoscape X. It's available on both Mac & Windows.

I've also downloaded Darktable, but for some reason the resolution on my screen and the default layout of the app is too large and I can't figure out how to fix it.

Hi,

I think it's a good idea to keep everything. I also recommend shooting in RAW. It takes too much time (if you shoot a lot) to have every RAW file uploaded to the cloud. Also, you don't necessarily want to save every single photo you shoot in the cloud.

I recommend saving everything to an external HD when you import photos. I like Lightroom, and it can automatically save photos to one or two external HDs upon import. That takes care of your archive.

THEN you can create a gallery in Lightroom, and you can edit that gallery to your best shots. These I typically adjust, save, and upload to Dropbox. You can choose the service - Amazon, Google Drive, Flickr, etc - that you like most.

There are many ways to accomplish these tasks, and I'm sure everything people have mentioned below will work well. The key is to find a method that's simple and easy for you to do consistently and without having to think too much; you want a system.

By the way, I recently purchased a Samsung SSD that holds 1TB of data and is very compact and lightweight. It's also sturdier than a drive that has moving parts. For those of you who travel a lot, or keep your stuff in a backpack that goes everywhere, you might like checking out these drives. They are expensive but solid.

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-T3-Portable-SSD-MU-PT1T0B/dp/B01AVF6UO8

I hope this info is helpful. If you have any questions, just let me know. I'm happy to help however I can. If you'd like some photo tips you can download a free PDF here:

http://www.captainofyourcamera.com/getstarted

Good luck, I hope this editing / archiving info is helpful.

Happy Shooting!

Jeffrey Luke Photographer / Author

animaldonut.com captainofyourcamera.com

consider these books https://www.amazon.com/dp/1780673353?tag=duckduckgo-osx-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Within-Frame-10th-Anniversary-Photographic/dp/1681984563/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=duchemin&qid=1595291303&s=books&sr=1-4

Hey! thanks for replying.

I've read that as well haha, Sigma 18-35 f.18 got it. Is there any significant difference between the nikkor lens and the sigma lens though? Nikon costs 650$ and Sigma costs $800

This is confusing...

The tripod below is over budget and not the lightest. However, it's worth noting that something with some weight is required to keep your camera steady. It holds my 5d mark II with a battery pack and a 400mm prime just fine. This tripod is very solid and I've owned it for 3 years so far. It's been great for me. It can also reach 74" in height. This thing is a tank and it won't break, ever.

SLIK PRO 700DX Professional Tripod with Panhead (615-315)

Overkill? Probably, but you won't ever complain about a flimsy tripod again.

Go mirrorless-- you'll get the same image quality as a DSLR at a fraction of the size. She won't want to carry a huge camera around all the time, unless she's really interested in photography (in which case you may want to reconsider choosing a camera for her.) That said, it doesn't have the impressive look of a DSLR so there's less wow when she opens the box.

The Sony a5100 is a little more expensive than the one you listed, and it doesn't come with all that extra crap, but it has the same size sensor and everything you need to take excellent photos.

I'd also recommend against getting a super huge bundle like that. A regular 18-55mm kit lens is all you need for everyday photography; the fisheye adapters and the 75-300mm lenses are something that you don't need unless you know you need them. The only important accessories are an SD card or two, and maybe a battery or two. If she has a desire to learn to use it, get her a flash as well.

Edit: The sony a5000 is the same price as what you listed, and is nearly as good. You could also go for a micro 4/3 camera, which won't quite get the high ISO low light performance of a sony mirrorless (because it has a smaller sensor), but they're cheaper and there are some seriously cool ones out there.