These holiday gift ideas for cinematographers are perfect for any budget! It can be tricky trying to find the right gift for that special filmmaker in your life (even if that special filmmaker is you), and that’s why this week in Zeferino Professional Lighting we want to show you this holiday gift guide to give you plenty of ideas regardless of your budget. Below you’ll find gifts for all sorts of filmmakers, whether they be directors, cinematographers, or just your regular cinephile!
Below 100€
Streaming Subscriptions
Netflix and Hulu aren’t the only movie streaming services, you know, and many times they don’t offer the range films that cinephiles look for. Sites like Fandor, MUBI, and FilmStruck offer members a wonderfully curated selection of some of the most important and iconic films from every time period and corner of the globe. Some cater to specific tastes, like Shudder for the horror enthusiasts in your life.
DVDs/Blu-Rays
It’s true, some of us still buy DVDs and Blu-rays to add to our massive (and oh-so-beautiful) movie collections. If you or the person you’re buying for is one of these weirdos, you can’t go wrong with purchasing a few of their favorite films from the Criterion Collection. Every film distributed by the company is considered historically and cinematically important, so even if you’re not sure which one will float their boat, it doesn’t really matter.
Tools & Accessories
Areaware’s Golden Section Finder is a wallet sized tool that lets you find the golden ratio. Historically, artists, designers and architects have used it as a means of defining beauty in a theoretical rather than intuitive way. Use the Golden Section Finder, a pocket sized gazing device, to locate the proportional perfection in your surroundings.
GorillaPods are super versatile and allow you to put your camera just about anywhere you like.
Yongnuo YN360 Light Wand is super handy LED panel that you can easily control with your smartphone.
Moment lenses are probably the best smartphone lenses on the market with a metal housing and tele and wide-angle options. They are the prefer accessory to turn you cell phone into an almost professional camera.
100€ – 500€
Manfrotto Befree Live Video Tripod is an affordable tripod from a high-quality manufacturer. Is the most compact video kit, dedicated to videographer on the go. The Manfrotto Befree Live is easy to carry everywhere thanks to its small size and minimal design.
The Snoppa 3-axis gimbal is the world’s most advanced three-axis gimbal, which allows anyone to shoot stunning professional-looking films from their smartphone. With its intelligent three-axis system, sleek compact design and multi-mode shooting functionality, anyone can be a videographer.
The Westcott Flex bi-color is a moldable LED mat with adjustable color temperature. A complete kit to transform the unique LED mat into an effective LED panel.
To the generous, beyond 500€
DJI Mavic was one of the most highly anticipated drones to come out this year. The DJI Mavic Pro is a small yet powerful drone. That turns the sky into your creative canvas easily and without worry. Its compact size hides a high degree of complexity that makes it one of DJI’s most sophisticated flying cameras ever.
Canon M5 is an entry-level mirrorless camera that wants to combine the quality of reflex. With the commodity of a compact camera that can travel around.
The new MacBook Pro is pretty sleek and is the last model from Apple on sale from 1500€.