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5 gift ideas for photographers (friends, sons, or daughters)

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If you have a photographer friend, you probably think you hit the Gifting Jackpot. There are so many things photographers need, or want, or desire. There is a whole universe of gift ideas for photographers just waiting to be discovered.

Sadly, this is not the case. If you have a photographer friend, you probably already know that, yes, there are many things that a photographer son may want, but photographers are incredibly specific. Your photographer daughter is almost surely in need of a new lens. But at the same time, the chances that you would get the right lens for her are zero.

She needs a specific lens, for a specific camera, and unless you have a discussion first, you are just not going to get her the right gear. This is why I created a list of five items that every photographer will love to get, no matter what system they are using and no matter how advanced or novice they are.

The Nitecore CineWind CW30 is an NP-F powered portable fan for use on set

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Fans are surprisingly common on shoots. They’re often used to help provide a little lift and life in things like hair and clothing. They provide a look that’s a little more natural than just obeying the laws of gravity in the studio.

They’re often quite big and AC powered. The new CineWind CW30 (buy here) from Nitecore, though, is a small and portable option. And you probably already own the batteries to power it.

The Nitecore BB Mini is a pocket-sized blower for cleaning your lenses with wind output of 40mph

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Nitecore has announced the BB Mini, a smaller variant of the recently released Nitecore BB2 (review here). The BB Mini ($39.95) is a little less powerful than its larger sibling, but not by all that much. The BB2 puts out air at up to 80km/h (49.8mph), while the BB Mini still puts out an impressive 65km/h (40.4mph). The company claims that’s 185% of that put out by a more traditional rocket blower.

The other touted benefit of a powered blower such as the BB Mini over the standard rocket blower is that it puts out its air continuously in 10-second bursts instead of having to keep stopping every second or two to fill the thing back up with air and then giving it another squeeze. A built-in battery provides 150 cleaning cycles, which they say covers about 30 lenses on a full charge.

Nitecore BB2 – The best fan for your sensor

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When I made the move from Nikon to Sony, dust became an issue for me. I was not only moving from one brand to another but also from a DSLR to a mirrorless system. While my Nikons were not immune to sensor dust, it was never a big issue. I suspect that the mirror protected the sensor from stray particles. With the mirror gone1, dust seemed to be magically attracted to the sensor every time I swapped a lens.

I used to fight dust with a Rocket Blower. But recently, I also started carrying a small Nitecore BlowerBaby BB2 fan. It’s about the same size as the Rocket but can do a bit more. Actually, I like it so much that I think it’s the number one sensor fan in the world2.

Nitecore’s new BB2 camera cleaning tool really blows – with speeds up to 80km/h

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Nitecore has announced the BB2, their new electronic photographer blower. No longer do you need to expend energy constantly squeezing the bulb of a rocket blower, now you just need to flick a switch to get air with speeds of up to 80km/h to blow the dust and other debris off your camera gear. It also features a built-in brush to help you dislodge that stubborn dirt.

It’s powered by an internal 11.1v 650mAh (7.2Wh) battery that charges up over USB-C that pushes a 33.6W motor for blowing away dust on your lens, camera body or other pieces of gear. Nitecore says this is a 51% increase in motor power over the previous generation. It slots into your camera bag so it’s always at the ready when you need it and features a lock mode to prevent it accidentally turning on when you don’t want it to.

You don’t need to buy a charger for this Sony battery

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With a raise of hand, how many of you have more than one battery for your photography gear? More than 2? More than 5? More than 10? I personally have more than 20. Each with its own proprietary charger.  Actually, with all those chargers, I am not surprised that some people build a small shrine to worship all those battery maintenance devices.

With some engineering background, this seems highly inefficient. Why not make one standard to charge all batteries. Well, there is such a standard, it’s called USB-C. And Nitecore just brought a Sony-compatible battery that charges via USB-C, the Nitecore UFZ100 (announced here).  It has some other perks as well. hit the jump to learn more.

Nitecore’s new UFZ100 Sony battery charges through an integrated Type-C USB port

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How many times have you gone to look for a battery charger and it’s just nowhere to be found? I know I sure have. I seem to have about five different chargers at the moment between different Nikon and Panasonic cameras for different batteries and I always seem to be able to find all the chargers except the one I need at that very minute!

Well, Nitecore wants to solve that problem, at least for shooters, with their new Nitecore UFZ100 battery (their alternative to the Sony NPFZ100) which features a built-in Type-C USB socket so you don’t need a dedicated battery charger. You just plug it into your regular USB charger or a power bank and you can go from flat to full with just a Type-C USB cable.

Nitecore soon to produce camera lenses, announces five full-frame cinema primes

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Nitecore is a Chinese company producing rechargeable flashlights and third-party batteries (including smart batteries no one asked for). But now it’s about to make camera lenses as well. The company has just announced five full-frame cinema primes ranging from 25mm to 100mm. They will be compatible with a range of mounts, and the company promises “optimum optical quality.”

Nitecore solves problem nobody had with their “World’s First Smart Battery” for Sony mirrorless cameras

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Nitecore has announced its “World’s First Smart Battery” for Sony, the Nitecore NFZ100. It’s a drop-in replacement for the Sony NP-FZ100 used in the Sony A7 III, A7R III, A7R IV and A9 mirrorless cameras. At least, it is if Sony doesn’t make 3rd party batteries impossibly impractical to use again.

As a “Smart” device, the new Nitecore Smart Battery talks to an app on your phone; Nitecore NNERGY. The app will be available for both iOS and Android and lets you monitor the battery health and other details wirelessly. Obviously, it needs power to do this, and I’m not sure a battery that drains itself is necessarily a great idea.

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