Christmas is one week away and your list of gifts is not yet complete? Here are some ideas you may want to explore. This list, together with the Black Friday lists we published recently – some of the deals extend until New Year – will give you more options when it comes to creating your last-minute Christmas shopping list.
Get a FlatHat for your drone
Suitable for DJI Phantom 3, DJI Inspire, 3DR Solo, Parrot Bebop and similarly-sized drones, the 32” (80cm) FlatHat is a collapsible drone pad which provides easy-to-see landing target and “return-home” location. Ideal to protect your drone sensors and camera from rotor wash debris, it can also be used to perfect your landing skills and makes small drones on the ground easier to see.
Made with durable, heavy-duty fabric, the 32” FlatHat colapses to only 12″ diameter for storage and comes with integrated loops to attach FlatHat Lighting Kit, which comes as an offer in this special Christmas 2017 package from FlatHatLabs. The lighting kit incorporates a flexible, plastic coated electroluminescent wire that attaches to the perimeter of the 32” FlatHat Collapsible Drone Pad, allowing for better visibility in low-light flying conditions.
The whole kit has a special price of $29.95 instead of $47.90. Find more information about the product following the link.
Aurora and Luminar for Christmas
The HDR editor Aurora is Mac App of the Year by Apple, and to celebrate the fact, Macphun has a special offer on the Aurora HDR 2018 for Mac and Windows. The software is priced at $79 (against the regular $99) and comes with bonuses ($130 value). The bundle also includes Trey Ratcliff Deep Dive video, one ebokx explaining how to create realistic HDR images and 2 Preset Packs with 40 presets: “Winter Vibes” & “Dreamy Wonderland”.
The photo editor Luminar for Mac and Windows is also on offer, priced at $69 with bonuses totaling a $150 value. The uprade price for Luminar for Windows public beta users is also special: $59 and bonuses ($150 value), while Luminar users can upgrade for $49 plus bonuses ($150 value). The bundle includes 500+ Sky overlays for Sky replacement, a Preset pack: 20 Festive Texture Presets, the Shootkit ebook, a Sky Replacement video tutorial and “CAPTURE: Adventures in Photography” tips & inspirational ebook by motorcycle adventurers Simon & Lisa Thomas.
Power Director 16 costs 70% less
Cyberlink celebrates Christmas with 12 days of special prices that can go as low as 70% off or more, on different products from its catalog. One for video editors is Power Director 16, the most recent version of Cyberlink’s NLE, which is available for $74.99, instead of $399.99, in a bundle which includes AudioDirector 7, the Holiday Pack 9 and access to webinar for online classes, online presentation, and webinar.
If you want the whole package, then the Director Suite 6, including PowerDirector 16, PhotoDirector 9, ColorDirector 6, and AudioDirector 8, with the Holiday Pack 9 and Sound Effects as bonus, along with a gift card for an additional 10% off when buying PowerDVD 17 is your product. Save $100, paying only $189.99. These offers end December 26.
Affinity software with 20% off
Two of the hottest creative apps of 2017 – Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer – are now available with at least 20% off to celebrate the New Year. Available for a one-off payment, with no subscription, Affinity apps take all the leading professional file types, such as psd, svg, pdf or eps, comfortably in their stride. Or you can work in the proprietary Affinity file format, which offers complete compatibility across apps, including saved edit history, so you can switch between apps or pass work on to others in your team.
The 20 per cent discount runs from 18 December until 5 January and means the desktop apps are discounted by around 20 per cent to $39.99 / £38.99 / 43,99€ (subject to regional variations) for Mac from the Mac App Store, or for Windows direct from https://affinity.serif.com or Microsoft Store. Affinity Photo for iPad is discounted by around 25 per cent, and costs $14.99 / £14.99 / 16,99€ (subject to regional variations) from the App Store during the sale.
A eGPU for your PC or Mac
We’ve mentioned recently the Akitio Thunder3 Node Pro, but this Christmas list could not be complete without it, so here it is: the external boost to your PC or Mac. It’s the newest product from Akitio, a new external PCIe eGPU box able to take the full-size graphics card you can not fit inside your laptop of desktop computer. Suddenly you’ve the means to deal with intense graphic applications, without changing computer.
The Akitio Thunder3 Node Pro is available this December, just in time for Christmas, for $359.99. Follow the link if you want to find more about this solution for all your video editing problems.
Go Rogue with your flash
Rogue Photographic Design has a special package for photographers using flash: their Rogue FlashBender 2 XL Pro Lighting System, winner of Professional Photographer’s 2015 Hot One Award for Best SpeedLight Modifier, and a 20″ x 40″ Super Soft Silver Reflector, for $119.95.
Designed for portability, the FlashBender 2 XL Pro Lighting System is sized to fit a 15″ laptop compartment or lay flat to allow more room for lenses and other essential equipment in the gear bag. The Rogue 2-in-1 Super Soft Silver collapsible reflector is presented as a solution to avoid hot spots common with shiny silver reflectors. The other side of the reflector offers Natural White, said to provide a more subtle reflected light. The reflector collapses to 12″ diameter to easily stow in gear bag. Follow the link to read more about the special kit from Rogue Photographic Design.
ExpoDisc 2.0 and Color Correction Kit
The ExpoDisc 2.0 Professional White Balance Filter, allows users to set white balance, meter for exposure and dust map your camera sensor with the only calibrated and certified 18% transmission incident light metering filter. Easy to use, as a larger ExpoDisc can be used with smaller filter size lenses by simply holding the ExpoDisc over the lens during the white balance procedure, the accessory allows to quickly set white balance for photo and video.
The special package available now includes a Color Correction Kit using Rogue Flash Gels, ideal for speedlite photography. The kit includes 3 Rogue Gel tabbed attachment bands and 3x each of the following color correction gels: 1/4 CTO, 1/2 CTO, Full CTO, 1/2 CTB, Plus Green, Full White Diffusion Diffusion (1 Stop), making it ideal for portrait photographers working in mixed lighting environments. The kit, available with protective pouches, costs $ 74.95.
RapidMounts for Speedlights
For those regularly needing to places flashes in impossible places, TetherTools created the RapidMount Series, including grips and other solutions. Designed for location shoots, events, weddings, architectural shoots, and street photography, RapidMounts attach to walls and other vertical surfaces quickly and discreetly with the use of RapidStrips.
For quickly placing flashes, there is the RapidMount SLX with RapidStrips, priced at $ 24.95, is a multi-surface speedlight holder that allows mounting off-camera flashes to a wall and other surfaces using the included ten (10) specially-formulated, pressure-activated RapidStrips.The RapidStrips are a one-time use industrial-formula double-sided adhesive that uses a synthetic rubber, which provides superior performance while leaving no sticky residue upon removal – similar to gaffer tape.
Save with Vegas Pro family
Christmas is the time for family, and MAGIX is promoting the entire VEGAS Pro family of products at a special price… but only for a limited time… until December 20. Shop now and save. Free when you upgrade to any version of VEGAS, are Boris Continuum 3D Objects Unit, a US$299 value, NewBlueFX ColorFast2, a US$99 value, and NewBlueFX Stylizers 5 Imagine, a US$99 value. That’s a total of $497 in savings in plug-ins!
Upgrading costs $149 for the VEGAS Pro 15 Edit version, $199 for the VEGAS Pro 15 and $299 for the VEGAS Pro 15 Suite. For new buyers there are also special conditions, available until December 20, with prices starting at $149.00 (regularly $498.00) for the VEGAS Pro 15 Edit version, with the offer of NewBlueFX Stylizers 5 Imagine ($99 value).
A new 4K monitor for 2018
We recently published a selection of video and photo monitors for 2018, but decided to pick one for the Christmas shopping list, and we choose the Acer ProDesigner PE320QK launched this month in North America. The 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) monitor comes with visuals, precise color reproduction and an adjustable shading hood to meet the needs of photographers, video editors and graphic designers.
Engineered for professionals who require the most exacting quality standards, according to Acer,, the monitor is presented as the ideal choice for animators, film producers and other creative experts, who will be delighted with the performance the Acer ProDesigner PE320QK offers. The suggested price is $1199.