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 Hahnemuhle FineArt Inkjet Photo Cards
These 4x6 cards are made for photographers who want to create high-quality greeting cards or small prints on an inkjet printer. They're available in Hahnemuhle's 100 percent cotton rag Photo Rag 308gsm and 100 percent lignin-free alpha cellulose fiber-based FineArt Pearl 285gsm. The cards are packaged in metal boxes containing 30 photo cards each.
About $16
www.hahnemuehle.com/
 Vertus Bling! It
Professional masking software doesn't come cheap, but this program for general consumers offers some of the same technology as Vertus's high-end Fluid Mask software at an affordable price. It's designed specifically for making product shots for use in online sales look good by masking out their crummy-looking backgrounds and replacing them with professional-looking ones. The interface is ultra-simple and provides a good range of basic tools for creating drop shadows and other lighting effects. Bling! It should work equally well for eBay addicts and photographers who want some simple but effective masking tools.
About $50
www.blingit.us/
 Sunpak FP-38 Flat Panel Flash Kit
Flash panels are usually a pricey item, but this one is an exception. It mounts on a hotshoe and casts a soft, even light that lends itself to portraiture and closeup photography. This unit won't provide the power of a more expensive flash panel, but it should do the job for shooting nearby subjects and macro photography. If you get two, you can mount them side by side.
About $75
www.tocad.com/sunpak.html
 Hoodman Professional Right Angle Viewfinder
If you wish your SLR had the flexibility offered by a flip-out LCD viewfinder and you're not able or willing to shell out for a Zigview finder, you can add some shooting flexibility to it the old fashioned way -- with an angle finder. It attaches to the camera's optical viewfinder to let you shoot at a right angle to your subject. This finder can also be rotated 360 degrees to increase your flexibility, and it can magnify your view to 2x to aid in critical focusing. It also has a built-in diopter for photographers who wear glasses.
About $100
www.hoodmanusa.com
 LowePro Cirrus TLZ
Designed to carry digital cameras ranging from EVF models to compact SLRs, LowePro's Cirrus TLZ camera bags are simple, well-made, and affordable. They can be picked up by their padded handles, and their top-loading design makes it easy to get a camera out quickly. The bags have adjustable shoulder straps and belt loops, and their exterior is made of a water- and abrasion-resistant material with dust-resistant zippers. Inside, the bags are lined with a soft brushed-tricot fabric and have pockets for memory cards and small accessories. Three TLZ models are available, to accommodate different camera sizes. All of them come in black and ultramarine blue.
About $25 to $35, depending on size
www.lowepro.com
 Joby Gorillapod
This tripod has flexible legs that can wrap around and grip the nearest solid object to turn it into a camera support. Their flexibility also makes the Gorillapod easy to squeeze into small spaces for carrying. Gorillapods come in several sizes, from a little one for pocket cameras to a heftier model that can support an SLR with a large lens. They also come in six colors and are compatible with quick-release plates and a clip for mounting external flash units.
About $22 to $50, depending on size
www.joby.com
 Helicon Focus Lite
One day cameras will offer optical technology that allows them to capture images with extreme depth of field, but until that time, there's Helicon Focus. It takes a series of shots of the same subject with different areas in sharp focus and creates a composite that's sharp everywhere -- an especially useful tool for macro and landscape photography. Helicon Focus Lite can process an unlimited number of images in a stack, automatically aligns and resized images, and supports numerous RAW formats.
About $30
Splurge: Spend $40 more for the Pro version and get a cloning brush and batch processing.
www.heliconsoft.com
 Bogen/Manfrotto Super Clamp
This is one of the handiest gadgets you can have around a studio or on a location shoot. It can be used to clamp lights, reflectors, and other equipment to poles, stands, or anything else that provides a grippable protrusion. You can even mount a camera on it with a tripod-stud accessory. The Super Clamp is compatible with a range of accessories such as hooks, studs, and wedges for adapting the clamp to different uses.
About $30
www.manfrotto.com
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