Every year I build a spreadsheet before Black Friday hits. Prices, historical lows, which “deals” are just regular prices with a red sticker slapped on them. I’ve been burned enough times to know that most photography sales are theater. So when a creator I trust puts out a deals roundup, I actually stop and pay attention, because the signal-to-noise ratio is usually much better than what the retailers are pushing on their own pages.
In this Tony & Chelsea Northrup tutorial, they cut through the noise fast. No padding, no affiliate-bait fluff. Just a tight walkthrough of deals on cameras, lenses, software, used gear, and their own training materials, with real context about why each item is worth considering. Watch the full tutorial on YouTube if you want the full picture, but I’ve broken down every actionable item below with my own take layered in.
I got into deals content because I realized I was spending more time researching prices than actually shooting. This video is the kind of thing that would have saved me three hours of tab-switching on a Friday morning.
Step 1: Start with Training, Not Gear
Tony and Chelsea introducing their 66% off training sale
Before a single camera body gets mentioned, Tony and Chelsea lead with their own training library at 66% off. That’s not just a sales pitch worth skipping. It’s actually the right priority order. If you’re a newer shooter or someone who’s plateaued, a flash training course or a portrait business guide will move the needle more than a lens upgrade. Their catalog covers flash technique, the artistic and technical sides of photography, and a full professional portrait series that includes business templates, contracts, and guidance on selling prints. The portrait series is co-taught by someone who came from a sales background before becoming a photographer, which means it’s practical on the business side in a way most photo education isn’t.
If you’re buying gear for someone as a gift, pair it with one of these courses. A $100 course at 66% off is a better stocking stuffer than a filter kit from a brand nobody has heard of.
Step 2: Evaluate the Sony Body Deal Honestly
Sony A7 III listed on screen with sale price
The Sony A7 III showing up at around $1,798 during this sale period is a legitimate deal. Tony flags it as a camera he still recommends even though it’s a few generations old, and I agree with that read. The A7 III is a full-frame workhorse. If you’ve been shooting crop sensor and want to move up without paying flagship prices, this is the kind of discount that actually justifies pulling the trigger. The key thing to check before you buy any body deal: make sure it includes the body only price you expected, not a kit bundle you’ll never use.
Sony doesn’t discount deeply very often, so when they do, it’s worth taking seriously rather than waiting for something better to come along.
Step 3: Use KEH for Used Gear With Real Warranty Coverage
KEH camera website shown with used gear listings
This is the tip I probably forward to more people than any other. KEH Camera sells used gear, which means items are actually in stock, not backordered into some phantom inventory queue. During this sale, they had an additional 10% off using the coupon code referenced in the video, and they extended their standard 180-day warranty to a full 365 days for the promotion. That’s a year of coverage on used gear. For someone buying a second body or picking up a legacy lens, that’s genuinely reassuring.
Used gear from a reputable reseller is almost always the smarter move than a “discounted” new item. A used lens in excellent condition from KEH will outlast most Black Friday hype cycles.
Step 4: Canon and Nikon Bodies for Specific Use Cases
Canon RP shown with kit lens bundle pricing
Tony calls out the Canon RP with a kit lens at around $1,200 as a solid vlogging and stills combo. That’s a fair assessment. The RP is not a powerhouse camera, but it’s light, capable, and the kit lens covers a versatile range. If you’re building a first mirrorless setup and don’t want to spend Nikon Z6 money, this is worth looking at seriously.
The Nikon Z6 deal, landing around $1,600 for a full-frame 24-megapixel body with 4K video, is the stronger camera but a bigger investment. It suits someone who already has a system or knows they want to shoot video consistently. Both deals depend on your actual use case, which is why I always say: buy for the shots you take now, not the shots you imagine taking someday.
Step 5: Adobe Creative Cloud Discount
Adobe deal URL displayed on screen
Adobe’s Black Friday discount of up to 40% off Creative Cloud is mentioned briefly but matters a lot if you’re not already subscribed. Lightroom and Photoshop are still the industry standard editing tools, and the subscription cost is the main reason some photographers avoid them. A 40% discount, especially if you’re signing up for the first time, makes the annual plan much easier to justify. If you’re already subscribed, check whether you can negotiate a better rate by contacting support during the promotional window. It sometimes works.
Step 6: Books and Physical Training Materials at 30% Off
Northrup books shown including Lightroom and photography guides
Their physical books, covering Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, a camera buying guide, and a general photography guide, are all 30% off and come signed during the holiday window. What makes these worth mentioning beyond the discount is that most of them include video training content bundled in. You’re not just getting a book. You’re getting a book and hours of video for the price of the book alone. For someone who learns better from a structured guide than from YouTube searching, this is a high-value format.
Step 7: The SD Card and Fujifilm XT4 Pickups
SD card deal mentioned with Fujifilm XT4 price on screen
Two quick wins worth flagging. First, 256GB SD cards for around $60 each. If you’ve ever missed a shot because you were swapping cards, this is the preventative buy you keep putting off. Buy three. Keep one in the bag, one in a drawer, one in your camera bag pocket. Second, the Fujifilm XT4 showing up at $200 off is a legitimately exciting deal. The XT4 has film simulation modes, great ergonomics, and in-body stabilization. It’s the camera that makes shooting feel fun again rather than technical. If you’ve been Fuji-curious, that’s the entry point.
My Take: The Real Deal Hierarchy
I’ve looked at a lot of Black Friday photography sales. The hierarchy I follow is pretty simple. Used gear from a reliable source with a real warranty beats new gear at a small discount every time. Software subscriptions with genuine discounts matter more than most people realize because the compounding cost adds up fast. And training, whether books or video, has the best return on investment in this entire category because it makes every piece of gear you already own perform better.
The DJI FPV drone that opens this video, at $999 down from $1,300, is a flashy item that some people will buy and love. But if you’re working within a real budget, the KEH strategy and the SD card buy are the moves that hold value long after the sale ends.
The single most important thing I take from this video: use Black Friday to buy what you actually need, not what’s on sale. The best deals are the ones you were already planning to make. Everything else is just a discount on something you didn’t need at full price.
Watch the full tutorial on YouTube for every link and the full breakdown from Tony and Chelsea directly.
Comments
Leave a Comment