If you don’t have one these can do more for the quality of your indoor, and outdoor, shots than any other upgrade/accessory.  Both Nikon and Canon offer fairly inexpensive but excellent flashes that allow you to bounce the light of the ceiling.  The result is bright, evenly lit photos without your subjects looking washed out or getting red-eye.

Canon
Canon Speedlite 270EX Flash for Canon Digital SLR Cameras $130

Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash for Canon Digital SLR Cameras $250

Nikon

Nikon SB-400 AF Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras $115

Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras $218

In both cases the more advanced/expensive flash gets you faster recycling times, greater range/power and more detailed control.  If you are not likely to be using the flahs in professional settings the cheaper of the two will be fine.

Tripod-

I already have a post about a wonderful, feature laden tripod for only $45

Accessories-
Transcend 8 GB SDHC Class 6 $23 Easy stocking stuffer,stop worrying about running out of room, especially if you have a newer camera that shoots HD video.

Eye-Fi Share Video 4 GB Wi-Fi SDHC $64 This is one of those accessories that makes me feel like I am living in the future. Not only do you get 4GB of space on a standard sized SD card you also get Wi-Fi that lets you wirelessly upload pics as you take them to your computer and/or a handful of photo sharing sites online. One of the best uses of these cards is to hook your computer to your TV, run a slide show of the upload folder and as you are taking pictures of the party/fun they will appear on the TV slideshow – blowing your guests minds!

Waterproof your P&S DicaPac WP110 145X95mm Small Alfa Waterproof Digital Camera Case with Optical Lens (Clear)

Filters-

Another cross post – Filter information and links

Books-

For years I have been recommending Bryan Peterson’s Excellent “Understanding Exposure” He now has a second book Bryan Peterson’s “Understanding Photography Field Guide: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera” that looks to be very helpful

Another book getting rave reviews The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis (Voices That Matter)

More Ideas-

Waterproof housing, Pro-membership on Flickr, Smugmug, a photobook of their best images, Gift Cards, something fun from Photojojo.com

I will add more ideas in the coming days!

Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Lens Hoods: protect the front element of your lens, eliminates flare and stray light and can upon dropping absorb a good bit of the impact(hopefully). Lens Hoods.

Circular Polarizer: The only filter I feel one truly needs is a circular polarizer.  In my Circular polarizer post I make that statement that it is the only filter whose effects cannot be recreated in Photoshop / post-processing.  This isn’t entirely true.  The next two filters will keep help keep sections from “blow-out” when the area is so bright that there is no recoverable data.  No amount of post-process will recover data from areas completely blown-out.

Graduated Neutral Density Filters: Imagine a piece of glass, heavily tinted at the top and gradually getting clearer towards the bottom.  If you are going to be doing lots of sunsets/sunrises you may want to look at a Graduated Neutral Density Filters.  Wikipedia has a great write-up but basically they allow you to even out the difference between a bright sky and a dark landscape.

Neutral Density Filters: If you love flowing water photos, like I do, you may want to invest in a Neutral Density filter or two which evenly and cleanly cuts down the amount of light reaching your sensor. It is a little ironic that we spend so much money on cameras with increasingly higher ISO sensitivity and software to remove noise from high ISO images and there are times where you can actually have to much light.  When you want 8-15 second exposures at times other than dawn and dusk or you want a wider aperture under full sun a ND filter can be handy.  You may read this and be thinking that your lens offers f/32 or some other ridiculously small aperture.  At very small apertures your images are going to suffer from diffraction which decreases the image quality.

Left - Polarizer On | Right - Polarizer Off

Left - Polarizer On | Right - Polarizer Off

What a polarizing filter does:

• Reduces haze
• Removes reflections
• Increases color saturation.  The effect is particularly evident in skies and in foliage.
• Neutral density. The natural loss of 1-2 stops of light, without shifting color, makes a polarizing filter a good ND filter as well.

Notes:

• The effect of polarization (outdoors) is most prominent at a 90-degree angle to the sun.  Make an “L” with your thumb and pointer finger.  Point your thumb at the sun, your pointer is now showing you the direction that the polarization will be most noticeable.
• If you use a  lens <about 28mm (in 35mm film terms) the sky could be unevenly polarized, much darker in one area than another.

What size do you need?

• If you have the Canon Kit Lens (18-55) -HOYA 58CIR 58mm Circular Polarized Filter
• Nikon Kit Lens (18-55) -Hoya 52mm Circular Polarizer and Filter Wallet
• Nikon Kit Lens (18-105) -Tiffen 67mm Circular Polarizer
• All other lenses – Circular Polarizers If you search your lens on Amazon it will show in the Frequently Bought Together section a UV filter that matches your lens diameter, use that to find the correct polarizing filter

Super Budget Zoom
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG APO Macro Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Decent lens with solid reviews very hard to beat the price. If shopping around make sure you don’t purchase the non-APO version which is crummy.
Price: $189.00

Budget Zoom -
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
Very good lens with IS (image stabilization) which allows you to get sharper images with less light- nicely compliments the kit lens.
Price: $250

Mid-Level Zoom
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
Some call this a hidden “L” lens. L lenses are Canon’s professional level lenses that offer superb optics at a serious price. The lens is excellent and includes IS and USM (ultra sonic motor for focusing).
Price: $540

High End Zoom
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
A beautiful “L” lens at an affordable price. You don’t get IS but what you do get is a lens that is bright and sharp at all apertures.
Price: $650

Serious Wildlife/Sports
Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM APO RF Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Getting 500mm of reach for ~$1000 is amazing, especially when it is at this quality level, downsides: big/heavy, no IS and you will need lots of light at the longer focal lengths.
Price: $650

OR

Canon – Telephoto zoom lens – 100 mm – 400 mm – f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM – Canon EF
Better quality, IS and a little less reach for a chunk more change.
Price: $1300

Walk-around

This is a difficult category to recommend – Some lean toward having the convenience of large focal range (i.e. the 18-200ish lenses) some want fast and light and some want something in between. You really need to take a look at the type of shooting you do and decide which of the following lenses is the best fit for you.

Budget
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS SLR Lens
Don’t be quick to replace this lens. The earlier kit lenses were crummy but the current IS version is quite capable and covers a useful range.
Price: Free with your camera

More range and USM (faster, more reliable focus)
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLR’s
Similar to the kit lens with more range and the quick USM focus.
Price: $430

or

FAST & Affordable
Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8 SP XR ZL Di LD Aspherical (IF) for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
A constant f/2.8 lets in lots of light, a nice range at an excellent price. Not very wide starting at 28mm.
Price: $380

Pricey but excellent
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Ultra Wide Angle Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Fairly limited range but excellent quality and perfect for landscapes.
Price: $760

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras
Very expensive but gives you IS, USM and a constant f/2.8 – is it worth it?
Price: $1000

Ultra-Convenient!
Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras
One lens that covers a very large range (11x) You do sacrifice quality and will experience distortion at the wide end.
Price: $580

OR

Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras
Suffers from similar problems but not any more so than the Canon and has the additional reach.
Price: $590

Wide-angles

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
Solid lens, widest in its class at a decent price.
Price: $499

or Tokina AT-X116PRDXC AT-X PRO DX 11-16mm Ultra-wide Angle Lens for Canon
Less range but sharper and fast with a constant aperture of f/2.8
Price: $799

Primes

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
Everyone should own the “nift-fifty” it is cheap and a great lens to learn/practice with shutter speed, aperture and ISO.
Price: Just a shade under $100

If you hope to do more portraiture check out the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
Longer focal length, slightly sharper lens, faster focus and 8-blade aperture make this an excellent portrait lens.
Price: $440

Macro

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras
Excellent Macro lens. On a crop sensor the focal length can be a little long.
Price: $540

or

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Digital SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLR Cameras
Macro and portraiture suitable lens.
Price: $399

Features:

• Adjustable height 18.5″ – 62″ (5 feet!!)
• Feet switch from rubber to spikes with a few twists
• weight 2.9 lbs
• Bubble level and compass
• Multi-angle leg adjustments
• Gear hook for increased stabilization
• Quick release w/ safety catch
• Padded carrying bag w/ shoulder strap
• Uppermost legs gently padded, helps when carrying and temps drop
• Removable Ball Head – lets you upgrade the head if you ever feel the need

Dolica 62" ProLine

Buy From Amazon Dolica 62-Inch Proline Tripod and Ball Head

Dolica in Action

Fantastic charger that provides a wealth of information about every battery you charge. Also I have heard reports of the charger bringing dead or nearly dead batteries back to life through it's very smart charging and draining algorithms.

Best rechargeable batteries on the market. Save money and the environment if you have, or are buying, a camera that uses AA. They perform great in Flashes, GOS devices and anything else that takes AA.