You know Christmas is coming, and your special recipient can already rattle off their aperture settings and talk about the perfect ISO for the Orchard Road light-up. They sound almost professional – almost. But what they’re lacking in is some equipment upgrade to further their skills.

The intermediate photographer is a tricky person to buy for. Too basic and they can’t showcase their skills. Too advanced and they might get overwhelmed by the settings. But that’s why we’re here; to give you a lowdown and the perfect list to reference when buying your gift for your experienced enthusiast. You’re welcome!

Canon EOS 7D Mark II Kit (EF-S18-135mm IS USM & W-E1)

You can’t go wrong with the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. This all-rounder model is popular for its speed, so this makes it especially ideal for action and sports fans, allowing them to charge into any scene with shutters blazing. All this requires powerful processing power – hello dual DIGIC 6 – and the superb 20.2 megapixel CMOS sensor preserves every detail.

When dealing with moving objects, the 65-point cross-type Dual Pixel CMOS AF function and 10 fps continuous shooting is paired with an astounding ISO 16,000 to make sure no flying reindeers escape your lens. But with the kitted lens and a solid build, this prosumer camera can perform well in any scenario you can throw a snowball at.

Retail: $3,039

Canon EOS 6D Mark II Kit (EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM)

We’re feeling the love here if you’re considering getting the Canon EOS 6D Mark II for your lucky recipient. Watch their knees go weak when you whisper this in their ears: full-frame. What this means in layman, is professional-level image quality that visibly helps those who love their landscapes or low-light situations. Wide-angle photography turns exceptionally stunning with the large sensor, and achieve easy boken with a smaller depth of field.

Full frame cameras tend to be bulky and heavy, but the Canon EOS 6D Mark II is the lightest in our range. It also comes with 26.2 megapixels, a touch-screen AF control, 5-axis image stabilisation for your HD videos, and in-built GPS, Wi-Fi and NFC. The ribbon on top is really the Vari-angle LCD monitor which allows you easy perspective shots every time.

Retail: $3,949

Canon PIXMA TR9170

This champagne-coloured Canon PIXMA TR9170 may look all classy and unassuming, but it’s a real worker! The premium wireless model comes with 6 inks, including the new Photo Blue ink for unparalleled vibrancy during printing. We think those captivating shots on the screen should be well-represented in print too right? With this new entry, you can print, scan and copy all you like, and your photos will be whipped up magically, sans borders, in just 17 seconds. It’s a holiday miracle!

Retail: $329

Canon PIXMA PRO-10

If nothing but the best is your motto, then you might want to consider the Canon PIXMA PRO-10. The high-end inkjet produces each photo lovingly, with smooth tonal gradation and subdued colours. It’s streamlined but can print up to A3, and whipping up that perfect 4 x 6” borderless photo take a minute and 45 seconds. Though this is not necessarily the fastest, after seeing the printout, you’ll understand what we mean when we say “slow and steady wins the race”. This is uncompromised quality photo printing.

Retail: $699

Canon Rayo S1

This is holiday magic right here. This portable square measuring only 105mm and weighing only 235 grams is actually a projector! You know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words? Well, you can now tell stories on the go and give presentations using pictures or videos stored on the stylish device, or those from plug-ins such as a USB stick. For that extra flexibility, there’s even Wi-Fi capability which means your enabled devices (like a Canon camera) can directly stream their content immediately. Enjoy those memorable shots from a 14 to 84-inch projection depending on how far you position this device. Best of all, it doubles as a power bank!

Retail: $599

Lightroom Course

All the serious photographers know Lightroom. It’s become the de facto software from Adobe to organise and edit batch photos. All those fancy trendy Instagram posts so popular with young photographers these days no doubt had a nice helping hand from the software. This course from Canon Imaging Academy will teach enthusiasts how to use Lightroom CC (as well as Lightroom 5). One will learn how to use Lightroom to sort out and archive their photos, while providing technical knowledge into the many settings and tools most useful to the aspiring photographer. Post processing becomes a joy with this course and your recipient will definitely come out with a useful skill after completion.

Fee: $180

When giving your gifts, feel free to drop the terms we have mentioned to seem like you have really done your research. Don’t worry, we won’t tell Santa. If you’re curious about other models, have a look at our online catalogue. For the serious stuff, read our next list for the professionals!

First published: Canon EOS World