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Let's cut to the chase. No hemming. No hawing. Just candid recommendations of the best products in each category.

Buying from links on this page compensates us for our candor. And we welcome subscribers (we know who you are) to discuss it further.

Printers   Scanners | Bags | Accessories | Software

Best 13x19 Dye-Based Printer
	Canon Pro-100 $400		YOU WANT to print gorgeous sunsets on glossy or luster sheets? This is it. Not as versatile as a pigment printer but nothing can touch it.

Best 13x19 Pigment Printer
	Epson SureColor P600 $800		HANDLES EVERYTHING (canvas rolls, too) with superior black matte printing on porous sheets (which is a big deal). See the news story.
	Epson R3000 $620		WE'RE STILL USING this model because it handles everything (canvas rolls, too) with excellent black matte printing on porous sheets.

Best All-in-One Device

IF YOU NEED fax capability, look at office multifunction devices. Otherwise look at photo multifunction devices where a need for transparency scanning will restrict you to the more expensive models. Simple as that. Recommended companies have traditionally been Canon and, to a lesser extent, Epson. HP's Instand Ink program has saved us money. Kodak, we note, had a compelling product but it's discontinued. But with ink costs a major consideration, it's worth evaluating Epson's EcoTank technology and HP's Instant Inkcatridge subscription program.

Scanners   Printers | Bags | Accessories | Software

Best All-Around Desktop Scanner
	Epson V850 $850		AN UPDATE TO the venerable V750/V700, you can't beat it for scanning transparencies as large as 8x10. See the news story.

Best Used All-Around Desktop Scanner
	Epson V750 $850		IF YOU'RE LOOKING for a used scanner, you can't beat this baby.

Best Budget Desktop Scanner
	CanoScan 9000F Mark II $170		WE'RE STILL HAPPY with the original 9000F but this is its current incarnation.

Best Dedicated 35mm Slide Scanner
	Plustek OpticFilm 135 $400		A PROMISING, IF COMPROMISED, PRODUCT (like the OpticFilm 120 we reviewed). See our review for the details. You'll need VueScan to run it, though. QuickScan Plus just doesn't cut it.

Best Dedicated 35mm Slide Scanner
	Plustek OpticFilm 8200i Ai $420		IT'S JUST FOR 35mm originals (negatives or slides), though, and you have to push each set of four through the scanner, one at a time.

Camera Bags   Printers | Scanners | Accessories | Software

Best Camera and Lens Bags
	Think Tank Photo		BEST DESIGNED, best built bags of any genre.

Accessories   Printers | Scanners | Bags | Software

Best Sliding Strap
	Carry Speed FS-Pro $40 to $80		JUST PREFERRED it over the Bosstrap, Blackrapid, Custom SLR and Cotton Carrier options.

Best White Balance Tool
	Whibal G7 $20		WE USE one of these credit-card sized gray cards calibrated for digital exposure when we're stuck in weird lighting situations like museums where the color matters and can't be "corrected" later without some reliable reference. The Whibal is a reliable reference, to put it mildly. Don't leave home without it.

Best Remote Release
	Triggertrap $30		YOU GET an iOS or Android app with a cable that connects the device (like your phone or tablet) to your camera. And then the doors blows off the place. You can emulate a cable release, fire on sound, shoot timelapse, warp the interval between shots, fire based on distance traveled (with GPS in your device), shoot when the device moves, fire when a face is recognized and more. Too good to be true, so make sure your camera is compatible with it first.

Best WiFi Memory Card
	Eye-Fi Pro X2 16GB WiFi Class 10 SDHC Card $90		YES, THERE are smaller and slower (Class 6) Eye-Fi cards but we buy cards to outlive our cameras. And why not add WiFi to your camera while you're at it?

Software   Printers | Scanners | Bags | Accessories

Best Comprehensive Package
	Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Program $9.99/month		THE PACKAGE includes Lightroom desktop and mobile to catalog, edit non-destructively and share your image collection plus Photoshop to perform even more magic tricks, like pixel-level retouching. It's a one-two punch without an equivalent at a price that's unfathomable. And you'll always be able to access your work, even if you decide not to subscribe any longer.

Best Single Purpose Image Editor
	DxO Optics Pro $299 Elite Edition $169 Standard Edition		WHAT SETS Optics Pro apart is what it knows about your camera and lens. Everything. So the corrections it can automatically apply to your images are informed corrections. And it's noise control is second to none. DxO regularly discounts both versions when updated, too.

Best Film Emulation Plug-In
	Alien Skin Exposure $149		FILM EMULATION is just one thing Exposure does well. It can also print that image on antique paper for you. And distress both the film and the paper. The options may not be endless but they are inspiring. There's even a lens simulator built into the application that can blur your background by the f-stop. Well made stuff.

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