The Best Tech Holiday Gifts of the Year ​in 2022

These are the original active noise-cancelling headphones. Lightweight and comfortable with superior sound quality, the QuietComfort 45s tune out the world at the flip of a switch. They also come with a brand new Aware mode for when you want to be able to hear your environment. These are perfect for the music-lover in your life.

A fantastic controller for beginners or veteran DJs alike, Numark’s Party Mix connects directly to a laptop. Whoever is on the ones and twos can play and mix their favorite tracks all inside the included DJ software. Plus, a built-in lights show sets just the right amount of party ambiance.

For online streams, meetings, conferences, or other events, the V-1HD is a compact, easy-to-use switcher for multiple HDMI video sources. Connect cameras, smart phones, computers, tablets, and more via 4 HDMI inputs and seamlessly switch between them with intuitive backlit pads. The V-1HD fits in a backpack and is great for on-the-go video production experts.

The all-in-one portable projector from BenQ features a bass-rich Bluetooth speaker and an HD 720p, 300 lumens lens. This portable party is the perfect companion for entertainment nights with friends and family. No matter the source, GV30 opens up all connectivity options for Bluetooth devices as well as accessories connected via HDMI or USB-C.

This rugged projector brings beautifully clear 1080p images to any outdoor gathering. Watch feature films or sporting events on 2.5 hours of battery life, and enjoy balanced viewing from day into dusk with the handy brightness auto-adjust feature. The GS50’s internal Bluetooth speaker is splash-proof, and the overall housing is drop-proof from table height for extra durability.

Know someone with a collection of old film archives? The Wolverine standalone converter turns eight types of slides and negatives into JPEG files in just three seconds. Digitize 35mm stills, or even reassemble 8mm and Super 8 movies by snapping enough JPEGs. All data is saved to internal memory or to an externally connected hard drive, and it will quickly connect to any PC or Mac for smooth file transfer.

Vizta’s 27” frameless PC monitor offers ample viewing space for everyday office work or entertainment. It comes in an ultra slim and sleek frame for style points on top. In-plane switching (IPS) technology creates a more vivid image than LED from a wider range of viewing angles, and internal speakers mean headphones aren’t required. This is an ideal choice for the remote worker, gamer, or PC enthusiast.

Laptops sacrifice screen real estate for portability, but that doesn’t have to be the compromise any longer. The Mobile Pixels DUEX Plus is a 13” external monitor for the multitasking laptop user. Just plug it into an open USB-A or USB-C port on the host machine and instantly double the amount of viewing space. It also works as a screen for Nintendo Switch!

Acer knows a thing or two about monitors. This portable 15.6” display is no exception. At just 2.1 lbs and less than an inch thick, it’s hard to find a more travel-friendly screen in such a viewing-friendly size. The PM1 series portable monitor is a fantastic laptop expansion, for work or play.

On-the-go content creators will love the simplicity and quality of Sennheiser’s mobile super cardioid microphone kit. The tight polar pattern on the MKE 200 captures only the sound directly in front of the mic for cleaner, more professional audio. It also comes with a smartphone mount and convertible tripod/handheld grip for an all-inclusive mobile creator’s kit.

Macro photography captures incredibly detailed closeups of plants, animals, food, jewelry, and anything else a photographer wishes. With this flash kit, macro photographers can mount up to six (two included) flash heads in a ring around their lens so they’re never short on light. Complete with color and temperature adjustment filters, it’s never been easier to get creative.

The Godox VK1 kit transforms any smart phone into a fully mobile video/audio recording studio. The creator’s mobile device mounts in the center of an oversized grip for flexible handheld shots. Meanwhile, an attached tripod stabilizes the camera for static angles. Included are a directional microphone as well as a powerful LED light with up to 36,000 selectable hues for a complete mobile video production solution.

Photographers and videographers will love the versatility of this LED panel. Not only is it compact enough to be a super bright handheld fill light, but the internal 6000mAh battery also doubles as an emergency power bank for a single USB device while not in use. The Explorer outputs 915 lumens of brightness at max settings, and temperature is adjustable between 3000K-5500K.

The Atomos Ninja V is a pocket-sized external recording and monitoring tool for videographers. Shoot 4K video straight off the camera’s sensor, but record it directly to the Ninja to bypass the camera’s internal compression and time limits — all while monitoring the 5” touchscreen. The Ninja also works as a recorder when placed between a game console and TV to capture hours of gaming footage.

When A/V professionals need quality, power, and affordability, they trust Teradek. The ACE 500 can wirelessly send source video at 1080p60 to any HDMI-compatible destination — at ranges up to 500 feet with less than 1ms of delay. Additionally, each unit is small and light enough to be part of a portable rig.

The FJ400 is the first 400 watt-second AC/DC strobe for professional photography. It offers up to 480 full-power flashes per charge on the battery, with recycle times under one second at the slowest rate. The color LCD displays an intuitive menu, and paired with an FJ-Xm wireless trigger, the FJ400 strobe is universally compatible with most major camera brands.

Aputure’s latest flagship light is one of the brightest point source LEDs currently available. Designed for professionally simulating daylight, it’s able to rival the brightness of 1200W HMI lights using only a fraction of the power. This is an absolute beast of an LED!

Phillips Hue is one of the leading smart light systems. It’s never been easier to add a splash of color to home lighting than with Hue. The Play light bars can be used as standalone lights, or mounted to the back of a TV or monitor for ambiance — plus, they can sync with movies, TV, or games for dynamic surround lighting. This kit is an excellent introduction to smart lighting.

The Qardio wireless blood pressure cuff collects medically accurate readings at the touch of a button. It syncs effortlessly with the Qardio app to display detailed results of each reading, and even includes an irregular heartbeat detector — a useful and unique gift for the health-conscious.

Oculus Quest is the fastest way to jump into the world of virtual reality without a console or PC. Just download the Oculus smartphone app and an entire library of games and entertainment awaits. Fully immersive content like this has never been more accessible.

Adrenaline junkies will love it! HERO10 is GoPro’s most advanced camera yet with an astonishing new chip capable of shooting up to 5.3K video. Add on the best low-light performance of any previous GoPro, HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization technology, and automatic cloud connectivity for the best action camera the company has developed yet.

This is an incredible smartwatch for fitness enthusiasts. Follow along with a preloaded workout, go for a run with Garmin Coach, create custom workouts, and track the intensity of your exercise — all on your wrist. Dedicated storage for music allows users to sync playlists from their Spotify, Amazon Music, or Deezer account for that extra push of motivation.

Feiyu dubs it the “Godzilla gimbal,” and for good reason. It’s a beast, but not in the same way as the aforementioned sea monster. The AK4500 is one of the lightest DSLR gimbals imaginable. It’s also the first in the industry to have an LCD touch screen for controlling gimbal and camera parameters. Even further, the intelligent chipset inside automatically adjusts the motor, which saves the operator time and energy.

Syrp’s Genie II Epic kit provides unparalleled camera movement for time-lapse, video, panorama, and more. The Magic Carpet slider is a portable, stable mount for the Genie II Linear and Genie II Pan Tilt independent motion controllers. Full three-axis motion control lends itself to some of the sleekest, most professional videography imaginable — and it’s all managed wirelessly within the Genie app.

Ideal for long static shots like time-lapse, the Genie Micro remote provides complete control over mirrorless or DSLR cameras through an intuitive smartphone app. Simply attach the remote to the hot shoe, connect to the camera through USB, and sync everything up through the app. Control ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and more — all without disturbing the shot.

The Syrp Genie Mini panning controller is a nifty tool for adding a cinematic touch to videos or time-lapses. It’s designed to fit neatly between the base of the camera and the tripod to provide hands-free, 360° panoramic rotation. All of it can be controlled wirelessly through the Syrp Genie app for iOS and Android.

Nothing is worse than forgetting to charge a spare battery and running out of juice in the middle of a shoot. The Manfrotto Cube for Nikon contains two generous spaces for both the primary and backup batteries, and the LCD screen displays charge information as well as battery health. It can also quickly top off a drained battery in about 15 minutes. The photographer in your life will never be caught with a dead battery again!

Tough, dependable, and barely bigger than a credit card: the SanDisk Extreme PRO SSD. Photographers worldwide have trusted SanDisk with their data for years, and this rugged disk is certainly no exception. Read/write speeds may be nearly twice as fast as the previous generation, but this SSD doesn’t need to be babied. Hook it to a bag through the carabiner loop and hit the road!

When many terabytes of storage are required for the most taxing professional workloads, the SanDisk G-RAID is an absolute workhorse. This unit contains two 7200RPM Ultrastar hard drives for up to 12TB of storage. Shoot that extra 4K footage, because the G-RAID can back it up!