{"id":26046,"date":"2019-12-08T17:52:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-08T22:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26046"},"modified":"2019-12-14T09:22:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-14T14:22:00","slug":"buyers-guide-recommendations-for-the-best-photography-equipment-software-books-magazines-dvds-online-photo-labs-and-more-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26046","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 buyer&#8217;s 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; series recommends the best photo gear, accessories, software, books, DVDs, online photo labs, and a whole lot more. Thanks to the information in these articles I get emails from photographers thanking me for saving them time, frustration, and a lot of money.<\/p>\n<p><em>This article is published annually in November with regular updates. Most recent update: December 14, 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><strong>PHOTO LABS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25636\">How To Get The Best Results From The Best Online Photo Labs<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25639\">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=26115\">Buy What You Can Afford!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25648\">Great Deal? Don&#8217;t Get Burned!<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25643\">Should You Buy &#8220;Gray Market&#8221; Photo Equipment?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25651\">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=25660\">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=25663\">The Best Digital Cameras for 2019 (Including 2010 &#8211; 2018)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25679\">Get a Quality DSLR and Two Lenses for Less than $400<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25673\">Choosing an Inexpensive Canon DSLR and Lenses for Video and Still Work<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25688\">GoPro: Amazing, Small, Inexpensive, HD Video Cameras<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25684\">The Best Rugged Digital Cameras for Underwater and the Beach<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25694\">How to Choose the Best iPhone Lenses<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25700\">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=25705\">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=25712\">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=25716\">Tripod Recommendations: The Best of the Best<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25721\">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=25727\">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=25732\">A High Quality, Compact R\u00c3\u02dcDE VideoMic for Your DSLR and Smartphone <\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25736\" 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=25742\">&#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=25745\">Some of the Best Off-Camera Flash Equipment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25752\">Radio Controlled Speedlites: Yongnuo YN600EX-RT vs Canon 600EX-RT<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25756\">AlienBees: High Quality, Economical Studio Lights<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25763\">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=25766\">Light Modifiers (Softeners) for Speedlites<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Light Meters<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25771\">The Best Incident Light Meters<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Night Photography<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25817\">Buying a Headlamp for Night Photography: The Essential Feature<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25820\">Astrophotography with the iOptron SkyTracker<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Telescopes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25824\">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=25830\">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=25836\">The Best Memory Cards for Digital Cameras<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25840\">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=25845\">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=25852\">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=25856\">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=25860\">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=25866\">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=25870\">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=25875\">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=25878\">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=25883\">Jennifer Blakeley Recommends <em>Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25886\"><em>Digital Photography Exposure for Dummies<\/em> Receives <em>Apogee Photo Magazine&#8217;s <\/em>Highest Rating<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25891\">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=25895\">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=25899\">Photographic Composition: The Essential Book<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25903\">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=25907\">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=25911\">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=25915\">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=25928\">The Best &#8220;How To&#8221; Nature Photography Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25933\">Two Excellent Nature Photography Books by Tony Sweet<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25937\">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=25945\">Jim Brandenburg: Chased by the Light<\/a>. Looking for inspiration. A book and video to inspire your nature photography from a National Geographic photographer who had lost his own passion for 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=25950\">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=25954\">How To Find Wildlife, The Best Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25958\">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=25963\">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=25969\">Ansel Adams: Books by (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=25975\">The Best Digital Photography Books<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25979\">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=25983\">The Best Basic Introductions to Elements, Photoshop, and Lightroom<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25987\">Lightroom and 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=25993\">The &#8220;Mastering Photoshop&#8221; Series<\/a> &#8211; Series Overview<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25997\">Mastering Photoshop &amp; Lightroom: Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26001\">Mastering Photoshop: Advanced Color Correction, Part One<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26004\">Mastering Photoshop: Advanced Color Correction, Part Two<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26008\">Mastering Photoshop: Retouching, Part One<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26013\">Mastering Photoshop: Retouching, Part Two<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Photography Magazines<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26025\">The Best Photography Magazines<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Photography DVDs<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26029\">My Favorite Photography DVDs<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26033\">Great Set of DVDs: Joel Sartore&#8217;s Fundamentals of Photography<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=25945\">Jim Brandenburg: Chased by the Light<\/a> &#8211; the story, the book, and the DVD<\/p>\n<p><strong>Photo Workshops and Photo Safaris<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/?p=26055\">The Best Photography Seminars, Workshops, and Photo Safaris<\/a><\/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 buyer&#8217;s 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=26046\">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":[3,6,4,19,30,7,13,10,32,9,5,14,11,8,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-cameras","category-computing-and-software","category-flash","category-iphone-photography","category-lenses","category-lighting","category-metering","category-night-photography","category-photo-accessories","category-photo-gear","category-photo-labs","category-photo-storage-and-backup","category-tripods","category-videos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26046","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=26046"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26246,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26046\/revisions\/26246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blog.jimdoty.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}