With Black Friday and Cyber Monday here, what are the actual best deals that you should be looking out for? It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the advertised low prices out there, but if you’re not careful, you can end up actually paying more money for products that you don’t actually want or even need. So, I’m going to share with you some of my own personal top picks and advice that you should be looking for! You can click the picture to open an Amazon link if you want to purchase any of these items.
Large Screen TV’s
This is “Where they get ya!” Although you may see some great deals on TV’s, you need to be very diligent about reading the actual specifications. The claims of 4K with a large size of 65″ or more for a cheap price may seem like a bargain, but you could end up regretting your purchase. Think about it this way, if someone offered you a million-dollar sports car for just $200,000 you would think you were getting one heck of a deal. But if someone said that million-dollar sports car had the engine of a Ford Pinto in it… you would likely think it wasn’t a great deal at all. That’s the same thing with cheap 4K tv’s. Such cheap TV’s usually only have a native 60Hz refresh rate. This can lead to visual tearing or blurring during action scenes or sports scenes. Most of these cheap TV’s combat this by having “Tru motion” or other such features that claim they can offer up to 240HZ refresh rate. However, this is usually a software feature that can give your picture the cheap “soap opera” looking picture and cause artifacts in the picture to appear. So, you need to pay attention to the “Native” refresh rate in the specs. If the “Native” refresh rate is 60HZ, I would avoid purchasing, especially on anything larger than 32″. You want at least 120HZ or faster as the “native” refresh rate to avoid issues.
Home Projectors
Home projectors are a great alternative to owning a large screen TV. They don’t take up much room, they can offer a significantly larger picture for under 1/3 of the cost of a large screen TV. They are also portable and can be used indoor or outdoor. However, just like large screen TV’s, there are certain projectors that should be avoided. A lot of projectors on sale will use terms like “1080P support” or even “4K support”. Does that mean you’re getting an actual 1080P or 4K projector for an ultra-low price? Well no, in fact the “Actual” or “native” resolution can be a lot lower, often 640×480 or even lower! On a tiny screen (think about the size of a wristwatch) such low resolution probably won’t affect you. However, when you’re stretching that image to 60″ or even 120″ … the picture you see will look like it’s made out of Lego bricks. So, you will want to check the “Native” resolution to ensure (at the very least) the projector in question is actually a 1080P projector. If you’re spending more money and want a much higher definition picture, then you’ll want a “Native” 4K projector. Also, the larger the picture you want from your projector, you’ll want to check that refresh rate and make sure it’s at least a “Native” 120Hz.
Action Cameras
There is a reason that GoPro Action camera’s cost a lot of money. They simply offer the highest resolution combined with the highest frame rates and best picture quality available. There are other cameras out there that you can buy, but it really is a case of “You get what you pay for”. Don’t bother asking “What cheap camera’s offer GoPro video quality”, the simple fact is, they don’t. However before buying an action camera as a present for someone (or yourself for that matter). Ask yourself what it is you’ll be filming the most. Are you interested in filming vlogs while you travel capturing night and day footage? or are you interested in capturing high speed action sports? You may actually be better off purchasing a different camera based upon what you actually need the camera for.
There’s no doubt that the GoPro Hero 12 is a great action camera. With superior (Emmy award winning) stabilization, 240FPS slow motion at 2.7K, this is the epic action camera that the pro’s use. The creator edition gives you a whole vlogging production studio in one convenient bundle. These are the camera’s that I personally use and depend on.
While the Osmo Action 4 may not offer the same high resolution and high frame rates as other models, where it does beat them is in low light performance. With a larger sensor, your low light shots are going to look significantly better than most of the competition.
The DJI Pocket 3 may not be well suited to action (it’s not waterproof) but if you want the ultimate in low light shooting and vlogging, this may very well be the camera for you. Not only does it offer the best low light shooting around, it’s built in gimbal, auto tracking features and superior software beats any camera out there for travelling vlogger creators.
Final Thoughts
Although you may be tempted by all the supposed deals you find this Black Friday or Cyber Monday, remember, it’s critical to do your research first. The last thing you want to do is accidently purchase some old, outdated product or model, just because you saw it had a huge discount. Check the specs, read carefully what it is you are buying and remember to keep that receipt! The bargain you pay for may end up not being such a bargain if you don’t research your purchase first!
Good luck!
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