Gift for a car enthusiast photographer

A friend of mine's birthday is coming up and I really don't know what to get him.

 

He likes photographing drift events and races. He's really into mechanics and cars in general, so I wanted to get him something he could

use when he does that stuff.

 

He mentioned he wanted a flash, but I don't really know which would be good for him.

 

He has a Nikon D3200.

 

Thanks

<p>Nikon flashes are excellent but expensive, other than the SB-400 and perhaps one other model. Yongnuo makes an iTTL compatible flash for the D3200 that is very affordable (around $100 or less) and has a decent reputation.</p>

<p>If he uses the D3200 video or a phone video a lot, but gripes about the inconvenience or quality, he might enjoy a small dedicated video cam. Especially if he's into race driving, cycling or other activities he might enjoy a rugged video camera like the GoPro Hero. Sony also makes a very good comparable video camera for action oriented stuff. But GoPro has tons of accessories available for water activities, mounting cameras to vehicles, etc.</p>

<p>Photographers can almost always use more memory cards and batteries. Especially using live view and/or video on dSLRs like the D3200 - you can burn through batteries really quickly. And HD video runs through cards quickly too. SD cards may not seem like a special gift but Class 10 or faster cards in 8GB or more are always useful. Regarding batteries, I've had good luck with the affordable third party batteries for my Nikon V1. However there are <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/09/nikon-camera-update-battery-block/">reports that a Nikon firmware upgrade</a> for the D3200 and other Nikons may have interfered with the use of affordable third party batteries, so a Nikon brand battery might be a safer bet.</p>

Lex,

 

Thanks for the ideas!

 

Yeah, the GoPro would've been an awesome idea. But he has one already lol. He really likes that thing too.

 

I dont think he uses the video on the Nikon that much, but the SD card idea might be something I'll do. I'll also look into your flash, since

he was going to buy an awful $35 one on ebay.

<p>Every time somebody asks what do buy for a photographer friend, I have to answer: don't.<br /><br />Photographers always have a long list of things they want but they are very, very picky about what they want. When they want something, they want that exact, specific item. Something else won't do and there is no such thing as "the same as."<br /><br />Things that a photographer want also tend to be expensive -- if they weren't, they would have already bought it. So you run the risk of shelling out a lot of money on the wrong thing. (Using the $35 flash for example, I'm sure you meant well but the cable that connects a flash to the camera costs more than that.)<br /><br />Best thing to do is to take your friend to the camera store (or his favorite photo store web site) and tell him you'll buy him anything he wants to a certain dollar amount. If what he wants cost more, offer to contribute that dollar amount if he pays the rest. That way he will get what he wants and you get credit for getting it for him. Don't worry that it's not the same as surprising him, etc. Trust me.</p>