17 best gifts for the photography nerd in your life — camera and video gear to buy this holiday season

Neoprene camera strap: $9 @ Amazon
Don’t underestimate the value of giving your photographer friend a comfortable neck strap. See, the straps often supplied with cameras are made from coarse leatherette which often chafes. Thankfully, you needn’t spend big to avoid this. I have an entire drawer of straps, but always end up using this $9.99 neoprene strap from Amazon. It’s strong, simple and comfortable. It’s also long, so you can use it as a neck strap or shoulder sling.

Retro wrist strap: $15 @ Amazon
Many photographers prefer a wrist strap, like this $15 quick release wrist strap from Amazon, as these straps keep the camera in or near hand at all times. Wrist straps also look pretty cool, matching the retro vibes of retro cameras like the Fujifilm X-T5 or Nikon Z f. A wrist strap is also a great accompaniment to a neck strap, allowing you to wield more than one camera at a time.

Lens cap leashes: $7 @ Amazon
A pack of humble neck cap leashes, like this $7 pack from Amazon, is the perfect inclusion to any photography gift bundle. While these aren’t the most glamorous gift around, they’re certainly one of the most useful, and any photographer will appreciate the value of them. There’s nothing worse than dropping your lens cap, or having to fumble around for ages in a bag to find one again. This will prove to your photographer buddy that you understand the day-to-day frustrations of their craft.

K&F Concept Variable ND filter: $37 @ Amazon
Neutral Density filters are basically sunglasses for cameras, allowing photographers to use long shutter speeds or wide apertures in brighter conditions without overexposing an image. ND filters come in various levels of light reduction, but this $37 K&F Concept Variable ND filter from Amazon features multiple grades all in one, making it a highly versatile accessory. It’s available in lots of thread sizes for different lenses, so make sure to find out the thread of your photographer buddy’s favorite lens.

Lexar Silver Pro 256GB SD card: $69 @ Amazon
As sensor resolutions get higher, the file sizes of digital photos keep increasing. A RAW file from the 100MP Fujifilm GFX100S II will take up 200MB. And that’s not even mentioning 4K video, which just eats up the storage. An ideal gift for a friend or relative with a powerful new camera is a large capacity SD card. I use Lexar cards in my photography, so I highly recommend the Lexar Silver Pro 256GB SD card, $69 at Amazon. It’s UHS-II and supports 280/160 MB/s read/write speeds, so is fast enough for high speed photography, 4K video and quick transferring to external storage.

DJI Mic 2: $219 @ Amazon
If you know an aspiring content creator trying to shoot professional-looking video, they need audio to match. Without clean, clear audio, any footage is going to sound amateur. I highly recommend the DJI Mic 2, which is one of the best microphones around for content creators and currently $219 at Amazon. It’s wireless, stylish and features AI noise cancelation to ensure clean vocals.

PowerExtra batteries & charging adapter: from $26 @ Amazon
Call me old school, but I miss the days when cameras would ship with a spare battery and a charging adapter, allowing you to charge a battery quickly at the wall while shooting with the other. Gift your photographer friend a set of spare batteries and an adapter, like this $45 PowerExtra bundle from Amazon. I’ve used PowerExtra batteries and chargers on multiple cameras for the last 4 years with no issues — it also produces similar kits for Canon ($49), Nikon ($26) and Fujifilm ($40) mirrorless cameras.

SanDisk 512GB microSD card: $42 @ Amazon
4K video files take up a hell of a lot of room, making high capacity microSD cards a must have for any action camera owner. This $42 SanDisk Extreme 512GB microSD is enough for multiple hours of 4K/60p footage, and as it’s SanDisk, you can rest assured this card is very unlikely to corrupt and lose footage.

Action camera 61-piece mounting kit: $33 @ Amazon
The beauty of action cameras is that they can be mounted anywhere. But obviously, you need the mounts in the first place. This $33 mounting bundle features 61 mounts, giving the content creator in your life lots of options for creative angles.

Underwater action camera case: $49 @ GoPro
If you know any swimmers or divers who film their underwater exploits, this $49 GoPro underwater case could be the perfect gift. The case extends a GoPro’s (Hero9-13 Black) waterproofing from 33 feet to a whopping 196 feet, which is perfect for deep water diving. If they aren’t a GoPro user, you can buy similar cases for DJI cameras and Insta360 cameras.

GoPro Fetch dog harness: $39 @ Amazon
Action cameras aren’t just for humans, so if you know a keen content creator who also loves their pets, this $39 GoPro Fetch Dog Harness is an amazing gift, allowing them to capture footage from a pup’s perspective. GoPro were kind enough to lend me one of these harnesses for testing, and I honestly love it. You can check out some of the footage in my GoPro Hero13 Black review. This harness uses a standard fork mount, so it isn’t just for GoPros and will fit any action camera.

Insta360 invisible selfie stick: $24 @ Amazon
If you know someone that owns a 360 camera like the Insta360 X4, then an invisible selfie stick is a fantastic gift, allowing them to capture footage from an overhead point of view with no selfie stick — it’s as if the camera is floating above them and looks very surreal, but very cool. You can pick up the Insta360 Invisible Selfie stick for $24 at Amazon.

K&F Concept professional camera cleaning kit: $49 @ Amazon
For those deeper cleans, this $49 K&F Concept camera cleaning kit is something any photographer will thank you for. Not only does it include microfiber cleaning cloths, but a cleaning pen for lenses, soft attachments to wipe sensors and an air blower to avoid touching camera sensors at all. The lens blower in particular is a must have! The kit also comes with a handy carry pouch.

Vanguard VEO camera backpack: $219 @ Amazon
If your friend or loved one is anything like me, they’ll have way more camera gear than they can ever carry by hand or fit in their pockets. A decent camera backpack is worth its weight in gold and will last years… if you get the right one. This $219 Vanguard VEO camera backpack is one I personally own, use and love. It’s compact, but will still fit a large camera with multiple lenses or two smaller cameras and lenses. I’ve used Vanguard products for years, and they’re super high quality. This bag also comes with storage pockets, internal dividers and a bottle carrier, plus hooks for carabiners.

Vanguard Alta Pro tripod: $139 @ Amazon
Whether they shoot landscapes, food or video, every photographer should have a sturdy tripod in their arsenal. This $139 Vanguard Alta Pro tripod is another fantastic product from Vanguard which I have owned for several years and can highly recommend. It’s sturdy, with plenty of adjustability, a ball joint grip handle and embedded levels to ensure your shot will be flat. Thanks to a pivoting joint, it can also be used for overhead photography, so if you know a product photographer, this is an ideal tripod for them.

Neewer RGB sticks: $89 @ Amazon
If someone you love shoots lots of video, is a content creator or simply needs to add some colored tints to their photography, this $89 Neewer RGB stick is perfect. Here at Tom’s Guide, we often use these sticks while shooting video in our U.K. testing lab, and love how easy to use they are, with touch sliders to change color and brightness. They’re battery powered and have both a ⅜” thread and a magnetic back so you can mount them in lots of places.

Joby GripTight GorillaPod Pro 2: $85 @ Amazon
Full size tripods are a must have, but they’re naturally rather large, so it’s important for a photographer to also have a smaller tripod which they can take anywhere for level shots or footage. This $85 Joby GripTight GorillaPod Pro 2 takes the top[ spot on our best iPhone tripods roundup and for good reason. It’s super flexible and malleable thanks to its GorillaPod legs, and also comes with an adjustable smartphone mount with accessory cold shoe. Take the phone holder off and it’s a standard ⅜-inch thread for use with cameras and action cams.