Buying for someone Whose love of taking photos clashes with the creative limitations of your iPhone's camera roll? There's a whole world of photography gifts and gear out there, but you don't have to buy an expensive new camera body to get a gift that counts. If you want to stay well under the $1,000 threshold you'd spend on a new mirrorless digital camera, these fun options put play first and can broaden anyone's photography horizons.
As hobbies go, photography is extremely personal: everyone has their own style, preferences, and equipment setup. Personally, I started photography about two decades ago with an old 35mm camera inherited from my grandfather (a now ancient Canon AE-1 – they used to be everywhere!) and I still prefer the simplicity of relatively rustic equipment.
As a hobbyist who primarily shoots adventure and night sky photography (outside of work-related photojournalism) and occasionally sells my prints, I've tried all kinds of photography gear, including DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, action cameras, and many, many lenses. Nowadays, I primarily photograph digitally, but film and physical prints are making a comeback, a trend our gift guide makes extensive note of.
For anyone experimenting with photography and looking to break out of the smartphone-shooting mentality, film and instant photography offer an exciting and tactile starting point.
Price: $79 on Amazon
In recent years, the predominant aesthetic on social media has gone from perfect and polished to something much more casual, dating back to the heyday of Polaroids. After an untimely death, Polaroid is thankfully back, but Fujifilm seems to be having more fun with instant photography right now.
He Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 is the perfect embodiment of that. The camera isn't very expensive and doesn't take itself too seriously, with a toy-like design that would be right at home on the back of a Twitch streamer's pastel dreamscape. The format is a little smaller than a classic Polaroid, but the film is available and still captures the fun and serendipity of printing photos on the go.
Price: $33 on Amazon
If you have an aspiring content creator on your gift list, or anyone who simply wants better vacation shots, Joby's line of tripods will instantly up your game. This gorillapod, designed for smartphones, allows you to securely mount your phone virtually anywhere so you can take advantage of its higher resolution front camera. The flexibility can also be useful at home, for example, to record content for that magical close-up YouTube channel or for TikTok with original mushroom crochet crafts.
Price: $295 on Amazon
GoPro is synonymous with action photography for a reason. These cameras are rugged, small, and designed from the ground up for extreme environments and fast-paced adventures. Whether you want to record a surf session or an epic snowboard line, GoPro is the industry standard for a reason. They take excellent photos and videos considering the circumstances and the small square cameras can be purchased with a host of accessories that make them even more indispensable, from mounts and grips to flotation devices. If you want to save some money by purchasing a GoPro, check out a model from a year or two ago (the GoPro Hero 12 Black is the current model): the best deals on photography tend to be cameras from a few years ago that manufacturers keep in stock. This same logic applies to almost all cameras and camera bodies, so keep that in mind if you're looking for a good deal.
Price: $219
Price: $90
Photography gear is personal, but so are bags (as each TechCrunch bag week makes abundantly clear). Everyone has different preferences on what they want from a backpack, shoulder bag or shoulder bag. On the other hand, no one minds having too many bags to strategically carry different combinations of things to various remote locations. Peak Design is known in the photography community for its thoughtfully designed camera bags and accessories, but also check out Wandrd for what we think are more attractive packages with plenty of nooks and crannies for gear. Both brands have a variety of options in all price ranges, from small fanny packs for a single extra lens to backpacks that fit a full set of gear while traveling.
Price: $234 on Amazon
Photo credits: fujifilm
Well, we already talked about another of Fujifilm's instant cameras, but this one is in a class of its own. He Instax Mini Evo It takes a different approach to instant photography, adding a bunch of filters and relatively sophisticated options without undermining the point-and-click ease that makes instant photos so fun. The Instax Mini Evo works like a traditional instant camera like its siblings, but offers a big twist. Instead of taking and printing immediately, you can take and then select which photo you want to print, a big plus considering how many poorly framed snapshots we've printed while trying to get the right shot. You can also use the Mini Evo as a standalone instant photo printer, sending photos from your smartphone to the device wirelessly to print your best shots. Sure it's a trap, but it's also very flexible and fun, and that's what photography is all about.
Image credits: Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images
Old camera (variable)
If we take the trend of grainy, dreamy photography to its logical conclusion, why not go all the way back to film? Like instant photographs, film photography is making a comeback, and with good reason. Shooting with film is nothing like taking a million photos with an iPhone. The process slows you down, forces you to be deliberate, and the shots end up looking much more special. For a truly special camera gift for those who appreciate the retro aesthetic, head to your local vintage camera store and pick up a 35mm camera and some good film. You could buy online, but browsing in person if you have an old-school store nearby parallels the tactile charm of film photography. Either way, you'll help keep film photography stores open and end up with a unique and thoughtful gift.
Check out some of our other 2023 gift guides:
