We all love the holiday season. You get time to spend with your loved ones, there are lights and decorations everywhere along with a warm and cozy feeling all around. And then there are the presents! Unfortunately, growing up Santa will not take care of your letter anymore, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get yourself, or a loved one, some nice filmmaking related gifts, right?
Well, here we have a list of suggestions by Phillip Skraba, that will be of great inspiration for a present if you have a husband, wife, son, daughter or even acquaintance in the filmmaking industry. But, let’s dive right in.
Overall, there are plenty of possibilities beyond the five items you’ll find here, but the great thing about these, in particular, is that they are independent of the camera system used. So don’t worry, you don’t need to know the model and maker of your partner camera, all of the items on the list will be good.
#1 – Camera Strap
If you are not in the industry, chances are you’ve never heard of Peak Design. When browsing the company’s website, you may think that those are some beautiful, yet overpriced, design bags, but not much more. Well, you’d be wrong. Peak Design is well renowned for manufacturing some of the best camera bags and accessories on the market.
Everything is top-notch quality, durable and resistant. Here we have the peak Design Camera Leash. It’s a quick-release latch system for any camera. On the cheap side of gifts, it costs only $35, and it’s basically a camera’s strap, but improved. It’s composed of two anchors that you can tie to your camera, while the leash can easily get on and off, unlike all the manufacturer straps.
# 2 – Flip Screen Mirror
The second item on the list is quite strange at first look, but trust us, there’s genius in there. Many consumer and lower-end cameras do not have flip-screens, they have fixed monitors, or, like many Sony cameras, they flip out only to a certain degree.
Even though they could be perfect cameras for vlogging, most people can’t use them for that, or, even worse, they have to rig up a monitor of some sort to check their framing while shooting.
Well, fear no more, the Camiror is coming to the rescue. The concept is so simple that it’s almost unbelievable that no one has marketed it before: a mirror with a cold-shoe mount that allows you to watch the screen of the camera from the front. Genius.
#3 – Portable Light
Aputure is a company that needs no introduction to those that are in the field. It’s a staple in the industry making some excellent lights while having the reputation of being always on top of the market synonymous with leading innovation and great quality products at affordable prices.
One of the smallest items in their lineup is the Aputure MC. This is a wonderful little fellow: it is a small portable light, full HSI (Hue, Saturation, Intensity) that can mimic any color, it’s super-lightweight, portable and resistant with many lighting modes, and USB-C charging. Top choice for any filmmaker bag.
#4 – Wireless Mics
Rode is a name well known also outside of the filmmaking circle, so we’ll gliss on the introduction. The Wireless Go System is a compact and extremely easy to use wireless audio kit.
There are plenty of reviews out there if you’re interested, but let’s just say this: the system is easy to use and works like a charm. You just plug the jack in your camera, turn on both modules with the receiver sitting on your cold shoe and your good to go.
Over 230 feet range, great quality, and universal interfaces – what could you ask more? If you know of someone that does interviews and similar work, be sure they’ll appreciate it.
#5 – The Pocket Drone
Drone imagery is now a staple in almost any production. DJI has concocted an incredible mixture of quality and portability in the Mavic Mini. This drone is smaller than many smartphones, comes in a compact case while being super easy to use and capable of producing high-quality video out of the box.
In fact, it looks much like the Mavic 2 Pro, but it’s much smaller. The footage is amazing, it has a small learning curve, but you’ll never find such a small package (that requires no registration, being so small) that makes for such cinematic shots.
So there you go, if you are rushing for a last-minute present this list may save your day, we hope it was useful. And don’t worry, any item you pick up will surely be highly appreciated.
[source: Phillip Skraba]
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