{"id":21696,"date":"2018-11-13T12:11:22","date_gmt":"2018-11-13T17:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21696"},"modified":"2018-12-30T20:21:46","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T01:21:46","slug":"buyers-guide-recommendations-for-the-best-photography-equipment-software-books-magazines-dvds-online-photo-labs-and-more-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21696","title":{"rendered":"Buyer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Guide: Recommendations For The Best Photography Equipment, Software, Books, Magazines, DVDs, Online Photo Labs and More"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/161202-best-of-best-collage-001-j8.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-13386\" title=\"Best of the Best Collage\" src=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/161202-best-of-best-collage-001-j8.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" \/><\/a>Welcome to my online buying guide for photographers. With over 70 articles it is one of the most comprehensive buying guides on the web.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I get lots of photo questions, and many of them begin with &#8220;What is the best . . . .&#8221; They usually come from photographers or someone who is shopping for a photographer.<\/p>\n<p>My &#8220;best of the best&#8221; of articles recommends the best photo gear, accessories, software, books, DVDs, online photo labs, and a whole lot more.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is published annually in November with regular updates in November and December. Most recent update: December 30, 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>PHOTO LABS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21724\">How To Get The Best Results From The Best Online Photo Labs<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21728\">How Long Will Your Photo Lab Prints Last Without Fading?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>BUYING ADVICE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21731\">Great Deal? Don&#8217;t Get Burned!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jimdoty.com\/learn\/Tips\/Equipment\/gray_market\/gray_market.html\">Should You Buy &#8220;Gray Market&#8221; Photo Equipment?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21733\">Camera Choices: Using Full Size Test Images from DPReview.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Gifts for Photographers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21858\">Inexpensive Gifts (Starting at $8) for Photographers<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Cameras, Lenses, and Lens Calibration<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21739\">The Best Digital Cameras &#8211; 2018 (Including 2010 &#8211; 2017)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21634\">Get a Quality DSLR and Two Lenses for Less than $400<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21743\">Choosing an Inexpensive Canon DSLR and Lenses<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21792\">GoPro: Amazing, Small, Inexpensive, HD Video Cameras<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21748\">The Best Digital Cameras for Underwater and the Beach<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21751\">How to Choose the Best iPhone Lenses<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21763\">The Chinese Lens Rip Off Series \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Overpriced Camera Phone Lenses<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21753\">Get Sharper Images By Using The Best Lens Calibration Tools<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Closeup Gear<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21805\">The Best Closeup Photography Equipment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tripods, Tripods Heads, and Related Tripod Gear<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21807\">Tripod Recommendations: The Best of the Best<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21809\">Tripod Head Recommendations: Some of the Best of the Best<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jimdoty.com\/learn\/acc\/qr_system\/qr_system.html\">The Very Best Camera Quick Release System<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21811\">My Favorite Smart Phone Tripod Mounts<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jimdoty.com\/learn\/acc\/pano1\/pano1.html\">Best Panorama Gear: Living In Panorama Heaven<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jimdoty.com\/learn\/acc\/double_bubble\/double_bubble.html\">Keeping Your World Straight With A Double Bubble Level<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Microphones for DSLRs and Smart Phones<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21815\">A High Quality, Compact R\u00c3\u02dcDE VideoMic for Your DSLR (and Smart Phone) <\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21818\" rel=\"bookmark\">How Do You Know If You Have a Fake R\u00c3\u02dcDE VideoMic?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Speedlites, Studio Lights, and Lighting Accessories<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21827\">&#8220;How To&#8221; Series: Off-Camera Flash<\/a> &#8211; Twelve articles that introduce you to off-camera flash equipment and how to use it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21830\">Some of the Best Off-Camera Flash Equipment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21864\">Radio Controlled Speedlites: Yongnuo YN600EX-RT vs Canon 600EX-RT<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21835\">AlienBees: High Quality, Economical Studio Lights<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22052\">Putting Together a &#8220;Studio in a Backpack&#8221;<\/a>. Everything you need to take a small, portable portrait studio on the road. And you may have some of the items already.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22055\">Light Modifiers (Softeners) for Speedlites<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Light Meters<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22058\">The Best Incident Light Meters<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Night Photography<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22062\">Buying a Headlamp for Night Photography: The Essential Feature<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22067\">Astrophotography with the iOptron SkyTracker<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Telescopes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22011\">How To Choose A High Quality Telescope<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Wireless Camera Control<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22074\">Wireless Camera Control and Wireless Photo Transfer with CamRanger<\/a> &#8211; one of the best, most economical ways to get wireless camera control and wireless image transfer in one small package.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SHORT AND LONG TERM PHOTO STORAGE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22076\">The Best Memory Cards for Digital Cameras<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22085\">The Best Digital Photo Storage<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>FILM AND FLATBED SCANNERS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22089\">The Best Film and Flatbed Scanners<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>PHOTOGRAPHY INSURANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22094\">The Best Insurance for Your Photo Gear (and Photography Business)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>THE BEST DATA-RECOVERY SERVICES<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22097\">My Hard Drive Crashed! Where Do I Send It To Get My Data Back?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>SATELLITE COMMUNICATORS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22101\">Satellite Communicators: The GPS Messaging Devices That Can Save Your Life<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>PHOTO SOFTWARE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22113\">The Best Image Editing Software<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS AND DVDs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>All Purpose Photography Books<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21889\">Some of the Best All Purpose Photography Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lighting Book<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21895\">The Best Book On Photographic Lighting<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Exposure Books<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21872\">Tim Grey Recommends <em>Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies<\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=17595\">.<\/a> This is my own photography book. It is one of the highest rated photography books at Amazon.com. It is one of the most detailed and comprehensive &#8220;exposure&#8221; books on the market, and a great introduction to all things photographic with chapters on people, landscape, wildlife, flower, and sports photography.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22117\">Jennifer Blakeley Recommends <em>Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22231\"><em>Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies<\/em> Receives <em>Apogee Photo Magazine&#8217;s <\/em><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22231\">Highest Rating<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22122\">Best Book on Professional Exposure Techniques<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>History of Photography<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21875\">The Best Illustrated History of Photography<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Composition Books<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21878\">Photographic Composition: The Essential Book<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21881\">Advanced Photographic Composition: The Best Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>People<\/strong> <strong>Photography Books<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21886\">Excellent &#8220;How To Photograph People&#8221; Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Nature Photography Books<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21899\">Nature Photography Books: The Three Essentials<\/a>. If you only read three nature photography books, put these on your &#8220;must read&#8221; list.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21903\">My Two Favorite Introductions to Landscape Photography<\/a>. If you only get two books on landscape photography, these are the books to get.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21906\">The Best &#8220;How To&#8221; Nature Photography Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21911\">Two Excellent Nature Photography Books by Tony Sweet<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21914\">A Great \u00e2\u20ac\u0153How To\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Flower Photography Book by Tony Sweet<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22126\">Jim Brandenburg: Chased by the Light<\/a>. A book and video to inspire your nature photography.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Scenic Photo Location Guides and Guides to the National Scenic Byways<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22141\">The Best Scenic Photo Location Guides<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Wildlife Photography<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22130\">How To Find Wildlife, The Best Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22137\">How To Photograph Wildlife, The Best Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Night and Astrophotography Books<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22156\">The Best Night, Astronomy, and Astrophotography Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ansel Adams<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22163\">Ansel Adams: Books and Calendars from (and About) the Master<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Digital Photography and\/or Photoshop Books<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22172\">The Best Digital Photography Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22653\">A Full Year of Photo Projects, Arranged by Season<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Photoshop, Lightroom, and Elements Books<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22178\">The Best Basic Introductions to Elements, Photoshop, and Lightroom<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22181\">Lightroom &amp; Photoshop: The Essential Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Mastering Photoshop Series<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22187\">The &#8220;Mastering Photoshop&#8221; Series<\/a> &#8211; Series Overview<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22191\">Mastering Photoshop &amp; Lightroom: Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22195\">Mastering Photoshop: Advanced Color Correction, Part One<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22198\">Mastering Photoshop: Advanced Color Correction, Part Two<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22202\">Mastering Photoshop: Retouching, Part One<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22206\">Mastering Photoshop: Retouching, Part Two<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Photography Magazines<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22217\">The Best Photography Magazines<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Photography DVDs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22222\">My Favorite Photography DVDs<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22226\">Great Set of DVDs: Joel Sartore&#8217;s Fundamentals of Photography<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=22126\">Jim Brandenburg: Chased by the Light<\/a> &#8211; the story, the book, and the DVD<\/p>\n<p><strong>PURCHASE LINKS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/store.jimdoty.com\/\">Store.JimDoty.com<\/a> &#8211; My Amazon linked photography store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to my online buying guide for photographers. With over 70 articles it is one of the most comprehensive buying guides on the web. I get lots of photo questions, and many of them begin with &#8220;What is the best &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=21696\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,4,19,7,13,9,5,8,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-cameras","category-computing-and-software","category-flash","category-lenses","category-lighting","category-photo-accessories","category-photo-gear","category-tripods","category-videos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21696"}],"version-history":[{"count":73,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22667,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21696\/revisions\/22667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}