Fstoppers Holiday Gift Guide 2014 - Best Photography Gifts Under $500

All this week, we've been providing you with the best gift guides this holiday season for photographers and videographers alike. A few days ago, I showed you the best deals under $75, and yesterday touched on the best deals under $200. Today, I'm here to show you the absolute best photography gifts for your loved ones that are under $500.

$500 typically won't get you too much in the photography scene, especially if you're looking to upgrade your camera body or invest into some premium lenses. However, there are a lot of really amazing pieces of gear that can be bought in this price range that you never may have considered. That said, if $200-500 is less than what you're planning on spending on your loved one this holiday season, be sure to check out our other lists - Best Gifts Under $200, and Best Gifts Under $75.

Pixelstick

A little over a year ago, we showed off this incredible product that was coming to life through crowd funding, called the Pixelstick. Essentially, Pixelstick is nothing more than a pole lined with RGB LEDs, but what you can do with it using a slow shutter speed is kind of incredible. Using the same principle as long exposures, you're able to program these LEDs to create images, beams of brightly colored lights, and more. While the effect is pretty limited in design, it certainly is cool.

Seagate 8TB Archive Hard Drive

If you're anything like me, you probably have half a dozen external drives laying around your place. Sadly, hard drives come in only a select sizes, and if you're shooting everyday, you can fill them up with data pretty quickly. That is exactly what makes Seagate's newest announcement of the 8TB Archive drive so exciting. Using a new technology SeaGate has coined Shingled Magnetic Recording, the 8TB Archive drive is able to hold more data than ever before. If you're shooting Medium Format, or with the Nikon D800/D810, this drive is an obvious choice.

GoPro Hero4

Continuing it's tradition of making amazing sports cameras smaller than a pack of cigarettes, GoPro recently released their GoPro Hero4, which boasts some pretty amazing specs. For one, you're able to pull 4K video at 30fps off of the new GoPro Hero4 Black Edition. Along side that, is a touch screen, making it easier than ever to set up your new camera. Pairing that with the new standard wifi enabled settings and waterproof casing, the GoPro is a perfect solution for the videographer in all of us.

ANY Tutorial from Fstoppers

Aside from written content for the website, Fstoppers is also the premier source for the absolute best photography and Photoshop tutorials in the world. Ranging from anything from headshot photography, to architecture photography, to a 16 hour wedding tutorial, Fstoppers has dedicated the last few years to providing exceptional content at an affordable price. So dig through our store, and see if their is a tutorial right for you.

Manfrotto 1004BAC Light Stands (3 Pack)

There are two types of photographers in the world. One, who will decide that any light stand will do, and goes on living their life with stands falling apart, breaking and pinching their hands in the process. Then there is the photographer who is willing to invest in some nice light stands, and will be able to use them for years to come without any problems. Trust me, you'll want to be the latter. These Manfrotto lightstands are, in my opinion, the absolute best. The stack together, fold flat, and can hold plenty of weight. This three pack is the must have for photographers who need stands.

Canon/Nikon 50mm f/1.4 Lens

Hopefully you have a 50mm lens. If you don't, get one.

Have more suggestions for great gifts under $500? Feel free to contribute in the comments below. And be sure to check the other Holiday Gift Guide posts that we've cycled through all this week here on Fstoppers.

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