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Photography Gifts For The Whole Family

Photography can be a serious business but it can also be a lot of fun for all of the family to enjoy. With this in mind we have collected some of the best selling photography gifts for the whole family which are fun to use with the kids, for parents and grandparents. We look at the best gifts under £50, under £200 including instant print cameras, waterproof cameras as well as waterproof binoculars and much more. We’ve also included downloadable print activities to print out and enjoy at home.

Table of contents

Gifts under £50

Gifts Under £200:

• Compact cameras
• Instant print cameras
• Waterproof binoculars

Gifts over £200

Free download and print activities (printables)

Photography gifts for all the family under £50

Any of these would be perfect as a Christmas stocking filler or as a present for all of the family to participate in together all year round. Making family photos as keepsakes is a wonderful way to document our busy and hectic lives and make a great starting point for everyone to come together by choosing pictures and framing them.

• Swains 6 X 4" (15 X 10cm) Heavy Level Glass Photo Frame - Horizontal
• Swains 6 X 4" (15 X 10cm) Heavy Level Glass Photo Frame - Vertical

With so many photographs on social media it’s a wonderful diversion to print our own pictures and put them into a frame. Park cameras stock numerous photo frames with these two being amongst the most popular with our customers.

• Kenro White Satin Large Traditional Album Our customers can order photo prints online from just 9p each and have fun making a photo album together. Prints are made with superb Fujifilm colours after which the family can enjoy making a coffee table album which always brings a smile.
• Joby Griptight Gorillapod Stand Pro For Smartphones Simply add your smartphone to this clever mini tripod and make movies of the family enjoying time together, like playing charades together at Christmas!
• A gift voucher could be just the right democratic choice for the whole family, as then everyone gets a say in what to buy! Vouchers are available in £10 - £200 denominations and can be used against any of the 1000’s of products on our website and in-stores.

Gifts Under £200

Compact easy to use cameras (most models are waterproof)

Love it or hate it, the whole family wants to use your expensive, state of the art digital camera. So why not invest in an alternative camera which the whole family can enjoy together without worrying about any damage! We’ve picked from a range of the most popular compact cameras which are all waterproof aside from one.

• Praktica Luxmedia WP240 Waterproof camera in blue

This compact and easy to use camera is a huge success with brilliant reviews across the web and rightly so. With a protected zoom lens perfect for outdoor and underwater use, the Praktica WP240 has 20 Megapixels and 4x Optical Zoom. It can handle the pool or just a downpour with waterproofing to 10m (IPX8) and is also shockproof and films videos too.

• Nikon Coolpix B500 bridge camera in plum purple

Just a hair over budget this excellent camera is a step up from a compact point and shoot. Anyone can capture brilliant images as well as Full HD 1080p videos and the lens has a whopping 40x optical zoom. The joy of a bridge camera is that it can capture images easily in auto settings or can be controlled manually the more confident the photographer becomes. This makes it perfect for younger kids learning photography as well as more advanced users and it produces excellent image quality.

• Nikon Coolpix W150 with flowers in pink

These fun packed compact models from Nikon can withstand some abuse as they are waterproof (10m) Shockproof (1.8m) and Freezeproof down to -10 °C as well as Dustproof. I’d say that covers travels just about anywhere in the UK and anywhere worldwide after travels open post-pandemic. the whole family can enjoy making fun images and videos without worrying about breaking the camera (or the bank).

• RICOH WG-70 waterproof camera orange

This is a true action camera which is perfect in any weather or underwater. It can stay shooting images and HD videos down to a dive depth of 14 metres for up to 2 hours. We sneaked this into the list although it is slightly over £200.

Instant print cameras

Taking a picture then seeing a print within a few seconds (or minutes) can be a lot of fun. As well as capturing long lasting printed memories, the prints can be given as gifts for grandparents or kept as mementos around the house. We compare features across our most popular instant print cameras which are often given as a gift and are easy enough to operate for anyone from toddler age upwards. A wider lens allows for more in the frame and a longer lens captures more distant subjects and excellent close-ups.

Watch our handy video guide to instant cameras

• Fujifilm Instax Mini LiPlay in Stone White

LiPlay is a clever mini camera to say the least. It may be the smallest instax ever but this 2-in-1 hybrid instant camera can do it all! Add filters, selfies, frames and even print straight away (in 12 seconds no less) to see your family photos come to life instantly.

• Fujifilm Instax Square SQ6 Pearl White Instant Camera

The Square SQ6 is an analogue camera which prints out cute square prints straight away and is possibly the most popular instant camera we stock. Excellent fun for the Christmas table, parties and family gatherings even simply in your own bubble.

• Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 Instant Camera

Just as the other two Fujifilm options the wide 300 is an instant print camera which prints a wider picture size of 62mm x 99mm. You can make beautiful, lasting family memories which are on their way to being panoramic proportions.

• Polaroid OneStep 2 VF Graphite camera and film Kit

Has everything you need to take instant photos straight away and it’s from the original instant film camera company. With a design heralding back to the 1970’s this is a timeless classic, updated for modern families to enjoy.

Waterproof binoculars under £200

All of the binoculars listed here are waterproof and provide excellent viewing for just about everyone in the family. Being outdoors has been particularly important in 2020 and we hope this continues. A pair of binoculars can be a lot of fun to spot birds, wild animals and even watch sports or events from a safe distance.

• Nikon Action EX 10X50 waterproof binoculars

One of the most popular Nikon Action models comes in the form of the 10x50. he magnification means users get excellent long range with a wide image so anyone can get the most out of them. This pair is heavier than the other models we’ve selected so not suited to very young children.

• Steiner Safari Ultrasharp 10X26 Compact Binoculars

These come with a 10 year guarantee so they are built to withstand anyone in the family enjoying them! Steiner build their binoculars in Monterey, California and know a thing or two about making them durable and fun to use outdoors.

• Nikon Sportstar EX 10x25 binoculars

We love these binoculars as they are lightweight, waterproof for up to 2 minutes and provide a wide field of view with excellent clear images. With Nikon’s optical experience and costing under £100 we think they are a steal.

• Steiner BluHorizons 10X26 sunlight-adaptive binoculars

Steiner’s binos were the first to market with proprietary optics that offset dazzling light automatically, for the best view under sunlit and bright conditions. With NBR Long Life Rubber Armouring they can withstand some knocks too and make an excellent investment for outdoor viewing.

Gifts over £200 for all the family

We have included some of our best selling camera gear which costs over £200 and would make perfect pressies for the whole family at any special time of year.

DJI Mini Drone 2. Following on from the enormously successful first model, the Mini 2 capitalises on weight at just under 250g. This currently allows any user to fly this drone without a pilot license, although DJI include various safety checks prior to each flight. A camera drone makes for a brilliant hobby for older kids and parents and can be hours of fun spent outside enjoying wide open spaces. Also available in a ‘Fly More Mini 2’ combo which means more batteries and longer flight times. We think this makes an excellent present which everyone can enjoy together.

Wacom Cintiq 16 Creative Pen Display For any budding illustrators, editors and graphic designers a Wacom graphics tablet is a superb gift. This model is simple to use and the kids won’t wander off to Youtube as they will be busy enjoying drawing, from anywhere in the house! A super sensitive pen allows artists to create realistic pictures and edits and the screen is bright with full HD display.

PIXMA iP8750 A3+ Wireless Photo Printer We’ve talked about printers in our previous posts best equipment buys for working from home and Best A3 Photo Printers here, but this model currently costs just over £200 and does it all including wireless printing. Anyone in the house can print remotely and enjoy great quality photos, graphics, printable colouring sheets, puzzles and anything else to keep the family busy and off the internet!

Free download and print activities

• The Wildlife trust activity page has numerous downloads with making, spotting and colouring projects.
• The Natural History Museum also has a brilliant download and print page with educational fun for all the family. 
• If designing and making is up your street this Design Museum page is chock full of downloads to print out for any age of makers and doers.

We hope our readers have found this gift guide useful to think of ideas for the entire family as Christmas presents or for any other times of the year. Our complete series of buying guides also includes Gift ideas for portrait photographers and gifts for wildlife and bird photographers. It is worth mentioning our special offers which are particularly popular during Black Friday and our Ultimate Best Buys For Street Photography has also been added for anyone who loves street shooting.

By Nick Dautlich on 19/11/2020