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Welcome to TechCrunch’s 2019 Holiday Gift Guide! Need help with gift ideas? We’re here to help! We’ll be rolling out gift guides from now through the end of December. You can find our other guides right here.

If you’re interested in cameras and taking pictures, you should definitely check out our 2019 Photography Gift Guide, but if you’re specifically looking to encourage a developing creator who wants to work with video on their preferred platform of choice, be it YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or any other, you’ve come to the right place. From smartphone accessories to get the most out of their built-in cameras, to stuff for people with more expensive dedicated camera setups, we’ve got it all.

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Hex Bags camera backpacks

A good camera bag is a necessary accessory for anyone who is shooting with something other than their phone, and the Hex Back Loader DSLR Backpack and Hex Cinema Backpack are great options that are actually less expensive than some of the bigger brand options out there, but with modern styling that means they look less like something designed for function alone, and more like a backpack that would actually draw compliments. The Back Loader is perfect for a mirrorless kit, and should easily slide under the seat in front of you on an airplane, while the Cinema has plenty of room for larger DSLRs and lenses.

Price: Hex Backloader, $190 on Amazon | Hex Cinema, $240 on Amazon

Zhiyun Weebil-S gimbal

A good gimbal is a creator’s best friend, since stabilized video footage beats shaky-cam nonsense. The Zhiyun Weebill-S is a new offering from the company that basically provides the perfect blend of size, power, connectivity and control features and more. Its unique design has real advantages in the field vs. other similar gimbals, and it’s not going to break the bank, either.

Price: $439 on Amazon

Mavic Mini

Mavic’s latest drone is all about distilling the consumer drone down to the basics – and it’s great. The $350 Mavic Mini is way, way cheaper than any of their fancier consumer drones, and it offers really excellent 2.7K video that looks cinematic right out of the camera. For anyone publishing on social channels who aren’t concerned about producing 4K content (no one really should be prioritizing that, really), this is the one to get, since it’s small enough it doesn’t need to be registered with the FAA to fly.

Price: $399 on Amazon

Samsung T5

Samsung’s tiny, portable SSDs have a long history of delivering great reliability and performance in a form factor that’s so portable it’s easily pocketable. The drives come in sizes ranging from 500GB to 2TB, and you should be able to find them on sale in at least one of these configurations going into the holiday season, which means that you can probably find them for even less than that cost range posted above. A good SSD is a must for offloading video captured in camera on SD cards, and some of the newer cameras will let you record directly to these drives via USB-C.

Price: $100 – $400 on Amazon

Backup batteries and SD cards

These are easy gifts to get video creatives, which never go out of style and which will always be appreciated. You can never have enough spare memory cards, or enough backup batteries. Just make sure you get the right ones for whatever camera system your giftee is using: And for memory, focus on cards like the SanDisk Extreme Pro with 170MB/S  transfer speeds to ensure good performance with 4K video capture.

Price: Starting at around $40

GoPro Hero8

A GoPro is an extremely versatile piece of kit for a video creator. The ruggedness, portability, built-in stabilization and range of modes mean you can capture some amazing additional footage to compliment stuff you’re recording on your primary camera – or give you everything you need to capture a great travel vlog in the moment. The newest GoPro Hero8 has features including more advanced stabilization, compatibility with additional video accessories, digital lenses and more tat make it the best camera the company has ever made for creators.

Price: $409 on Amazon

Microphones

A good microphone is a necessity for making good videos, and there are a wide range of options available. To give you just a few options at very different price points, look at the Saramonic SR-XM1. It’s a generally not sold for more than $35, and is dead simple with a 3.5mm connector to plug directly into the camera port on a wide range of devices. Saramonic also makes iPhone mics with lightning connectors for similar prices. Then, at around $200, the Rode Wireless Go is more expensive – but still a bargain for a totally wireless microphone system that can provide audio directly to your camera. Pair it with an optional lavalier mic and you’re going to get great results.

Price: Saramonic SR-XM1, $25 on Amazon | Rode Wireless Go, $190 on Amazon

Our site sponsor B&H currently has a very interesting offer with the compact gimbal WEEBILL LAB from Zhiyun-Tech. Even despite its low weight, it can support payloads of up to 6.6 lbs (2.99 kg). The gimbal sells now for $369.99 and there are also discounted kits with various accessories available.

The WEEBILL LAB is a smaller brother of the Zhiyun CRANE 3 LAB. Zhiyun-Tech first presented both gimbals last year at IBC and Photokina exhibitions. In case you want to refresh the memory and take a look at its specs, you can take a look at our article about the WEEBILL LAB from last year’s Photokina.

The WEEBILL LAB seems to be suitable for frequent travelers as the gimbal only weighs 2.13 lb (970 g) and its dimensions are quite compact too – 2.76 x 7.48 x 11.81″ (7 x 19 x 30 cm). Given its compactness it actually offers an impressive payload – it can support cameras up to 6.6 lbs (2.99 kg). Please keep in mind, that balancing setups with a heavy lens might not be possible due to the limited arm’s length.

A great feature of the WEEBILL LAB is that the arms can be locked for easier transport and balancing. Its design also makes it easier for use in the “underslung” mode.

B&H currently offers the WEEBILL LAB gimbal for $369.99. The discount is $229 and there is also a free Zhiyun-Tech phone holder included in the package. Additionally, there are two interesting kits available:

Zhiyun-Tech WEEBILL LAB Creator package includes the WEEBILL LAB gimbal with the phone holder, TransMount monopod, follow focus motor, 2 quick-release mounts for the monopod / mini tripod, and multifunctional camera belt

Zhiyun-Tech WEEBILL LAB Master package includes the whole Creator package and a Zhiyun-Tech TransMount multifunctional gimbal bag

To purchase any of the versions, please follow these links:

Zhiyun-Tech WEEBILL LAB gimbal with phone holder – Was: $ 599.00  Now: $369.99 (Savings: $229.01)

Zhiyun-Tech WEEBILL LAB Creator package – Was: $ 798.00  Now: $499.00 (Savings: $299.00)

Zhiyun-Tech WEEBILL LAB Master package – Was: $ 898.00  Now: $569.00 (Savings: $329.00)

The recently released compact one-handed gimbal Ronin-SC from DJI is a direct competitor to the WEEBILL LAB. This release seems to be the reason why Zhiyun decided to drop the price of WEEBILL LAB. Anyway, it is us filmmakers who profit from such occasions.

Do you currently need a compact gimbal for traveling? Do you have experience with Zhiyun-Tech gimbals? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

ZHIYUN has been well known for reasonably priced camera gimbals, and it has launched the WEEBILL S in Bangkok, it is the successor to the WEEBILL LAB and has several impressive upgrades that will make a solo videographer’s life simpler.

For starters, the WEEBILL S weighs a mere 1.1kg and measures approximately a foot in height, its gimbal motor has a 300% improvement in torque and 50% in response speed all thanks to the upgraded 8th Instune algorithm, ZHIYUN says that the motor is less robotic as compared to its predecessor and can handle heavy payloads, quoting a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 24-70mm f/2.8 lens combo as an example.

The WEEBILL S has a built in Zhiyun axis handheld monitor that gives videographers instant access to the gimbal’s features and modes without using the app, one feature that really impressed me is the auto tune feature,Zhiyun camera electronic stabilizer helps adjust the gimbal motor strength and tells you if you have properly balanced the camera’s weight on the gimbal.

I had a brief moment with the WEEBILL S with a Canon 5D Mark IV at the experiential area and was very satisfied that the weight distribution of the gimbal is so good that it doesn’t strain when holding single handedly, the controls are also surprisingly easy to use and I absolutely love the fact that it uses a wheel to navigate around the gimbal’s settings.

The WEEBILL S has six operating modes that allows videographers to perform cinematic angles, the interesting one being the Vortex mode, which lets you do 360 degree barrel shots, battery life has significantly improved from 7.5 hours to 14 hours compared to the WEEBILL LAB.

With the optional TransMount Image Transmission Image Module, videographers can now conveniently monitor their footage, remotely control the gimbal and do live streams on up to 3 devices over an ultra low latency 1080p30 signal.

Also, the WEEBILL S is the only gimbal that lets you control its movements with a smartphone’s gyroscope while being able to see the transmitted footage from the module, this allows film directors to be able to administer the footage angle they want as the videographer handles the gimbal.

The ZY Play app has also been updated to work with the module, bringing a SmartFollow 2.0 object tracking feature and ViaTouch 2.0 that allows you to control your camera’s settings including ISO, aperture, shutter speed and more.

The ZHIYUN WEEBILL S is now available in Malaysia at a very reasonable Zhiyun easy gimbal price of RM1599 and is officially distributed by Pixels Distribution with a 12+3 Months warranty. In order to ensure that it is an official unit, do watch out for the Pixels Distribution sticker (as pictured below) on the box.

Both Digital & Mechanical Follow Focus

Integrated with an unprecedented follow focus wheel and attached Servo Follow Focus, Crane 2 allows ±0.02° real time follow focus for brands like Canon, Sony, Panasonic and Nikon etc. You can always keep your subject in focus while moving, setting free your camera for more dedicated tasks and achieving dolly zoom for lots of cameras.

*Crane 2 Package Upgrade, Servo Follow Focus Included, From May 10, 2018

3.2KG Max. Payload

Instune Algorithm System which realizes 50% increase in motor torque and 20% improvement in noise reduction, the Crane 2 sets up a new benchmark for the industry supporting a max. payload of 3.2kg, mountable by all models of DSLR and mirrorless cameras on the market.

Full-range POV

Now with the newest firmware, Crane 2 brings a whole new perspective to POV mode. The full-range 360°synchronous movement on all three axes gives you an immersive experience like using an “intelligent” Steadicam.

Vortex Mode

Vortex Mode is now available on Crane 2 and evolves even further. You can add various dynamic movement to your barrel shot and open limitless possibilities to your creation.

Instant Precise Attitude Compensation

Integrated with the pioneering 32-bit x 3 high-speed MCU parallel control technology which realizes 100% improvement in respond speed, Crane 2 gets high above the industry standard with its cutting-edge attitude compensation system and unparalleled anti-shaking stabilizing performance.

Intuitive OLED Display

The intuitive interface design help you easily identify the connection status, battery level, control mode and multiple camera params, giving you full control over every detail.

18 Hour Ultra Long Battery Life for High-intensity shootings and Phone-charging under emergency, helping you to capture every precious moment.

Innovative Quick Control Dial Design

The quick control dial on the control panel is like an integrated extension of your camera. You can either press or rotate the dial to make various camera parameter settings such as TV, AV, ISO and EV, giving you seamless camera control independently from any software applications.

Complete Kits with Elaborate Details

Tripod zhiyun crane comes standard with a comprehensive accessories kit, including camera control cables to connect with various brand cameras, an Aluminum alloy tripod, an EVA carrying bag, as well as a MANFROTTO standard quick release plate that allows quick camera installation to the dslr stabilizer or tripod within seconds, ideal for videographers stepping up their game.

Compatibility Upgrade

With the newest firmware, zhiyun crane 2 with handle is now compatible to Nikon Z6 & Z7. You can control various camera parameters and take photo & video right through the control panel.

Zhiyun is a professional manufacturer of handheld gimbal. If you want to know more details or quotation, just feel free to contact us!