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Welcome to the FutureFilmmaking 2015 Gift Guide. Here, you’ll find our best picks for great Holiday gifts for everyone on your video and photography list…
A DSLR’s Best Friend
The recipient of a FutureFilmmaking Power Award, with a 90% Rating, the Peak Design Capture Pro is one of the best gifts you can give for the DSLR owner. This innovative solution for attaching your camera to the belt of your pants, a bag strap, or the strap of a backpack, is one of the most useful solutions for eliminating neck strap strain.
Coupling the Capture Pro to your backpack can serve many purposes. Use it with your regular camera strap to take the weight off of your neck, or use it alone with Peak’s own hand strap to go fully untethered. Whichever way you decide to go, the Peak Design Capture Pro, is the gift that keeps on giving. Highly Recommended.
Action Cam Light
Lighting is everything. This familiar axiom is known throughout the world of film, except for action sports where, for the most part, the concept of lighting has taken a back seat to capturing the big moments. Action sport aficionados have attached GoPro, and other brands of high-resolution micro video cameras to their surf boards, to their helmets and almost anywhere else to capture a dynamic angle. Unfortunately, the lighting is often less than desirable and great moments are sometimes lost when bright backgrounds or blinding sun puts the subject in silhouette or deep shadows. Enter Knog and their [qudos] LED light.
Winner of a 2014 Gear Of The Year Award, we’ve been using the [qudos] all year and haven’t found anything that comes close to the versatility of this portable light. New entries have entered the market, but the [qudos] is a proven product with hours of FutureFilmmaking testing behind it. Highly Recommended.
DSLR Audio Recorder
TASCAM recently upgraded their flagship DSLR recorder to add a time code generator, and the four XLR mic inputs, plus the two built-in omnidirectional mics can be individually recorded and mixed to a stereo track, for a total of six-track recording. For additional tracks, multiple units can be daisy-chained together. The chassis is forged from a lightweight magnesium alloy with two red-handles flanking either side. Tripod mounts on the top and bottom of the unit allow the unit to mount under a camera, attach to a follow-focus cage, or used stand-alone.
For only $300, this accessory is a no-brainer to bring the audio quality up to the same level as the visual quality in today’s video-capable, DSLR cameras.
Mac Peripherals
Got a Mac or iPhone fan on your holiday list? Then you can’t go wrong with products from Twelve South. This innovative company has so many great Mac/iPhone/iPad products, you may end up scoring a few gems for yourself!
We’ve tested the HiRise Deluxe, the Apple Watch stand and the racing red Compass 2, iPad stand. All performed better than expected and included savvy touches like the silicon padding on the Apple Watch stand. The elegant and sophisticated HiRise Deluxe is absolutely perfect for clutter-free desk charging.
Highly Recommended.
The next generation of Olympus’ Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera, the OM-D E-M5 mkII offers everything we liked about the predecessor, including the Magnesium-alloy weather-resistant body and excellent 5-axis image stabilization, and ups the ante with a revamped 16-megapixel sensor, an additional stop of image stabilization, built-in WiFi (Yes!) and a microphone jack (Double Yes!!).
It’s got one of the best articulated, touch-screen displays on the market with a dust and splash proof OLED. The enhanced TruePic VI Image Processor delivers increased ISO sensitivity up to 25,600 ISO. HD video is no slouch at 1080p and with the new microphone input, your audio can sound as good as your visuals. The arsenal of quality lenses available keeps growing in leaps and bounds. And with Olympus’ philosophy of free firmware updates (4K video), you’re sure to continue to get the best that the company’s engineers can implement!
Protective Cases
Nanuck cases are made to protect your valuable gear no matter what weather or terrain situations you encounter. Nanuck makes their cases in a variety of colors and a dizzying amount of size choices. Need to carry your DJI Phantom 3 Drone to the beach? Check! Need to take your GoPro rig on a mountain climbing expedition? Check. Need a custom solution to protect all your photo/video/audio gear when traveling over rough roads, or even battling disgruntled travelers for space in the over-head bin? Check!
The best part of Nanuck, besides their waterproof, dustproof, and crush/impact resistant construction is their killer latches. Simple to use, and super secure, they are some of the best in the business. Hint: Got a cigar lover on your Holiday List this year? The smaller Nanuck sizes make great traveling humidors!
Portable Storage
Portable SSD storage solutions with fast Read/Writes speeds are all the rage right now and Sandisk has come to the party ready to take names. Recommended by our peers at FutureMusic, our sister publication, the Sandisk Extreme500 SSD is about the size of a pack of 5 gum and comes in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB solutions.
The Editors at FutureMusic love the quick read speeds on the USB 3.0 protocol for the demands of digital DJing, so we’re sure you’ll appreciate them too when transferring videos and/or large quantities of still photos.
DSLR Camera Bag
Mindshift, a rogue division of ThinkTank Photo, recently debuted the rotation180 Horizon DSLR camera bag. We haven’t put the bag through our rigorous testing process, but the very innovative sling/fanny bag definitely got our attention.
As fans of SlingBags, with their quick-draw camera access, the idea of combining the functionality of a sling with the storage of a backpack is a provocative proposition, and for anyone who shoots video/stills on the go it can be the difference between getting the shot, or merely just getting your pack off.
The only caveat is the padded insert, which is mandatory to house additional camera accessories, is sold separately, adding to the already substantial price. We’ll strike that up as the cost of progress…
Mindshift