1920x1080 Full HD (comparable to 2K)

Dell UltraSharp U2711 27-inch.

For the penny saver: you could use a Full-HD LCD Television (LED) with HDMI to monitor your edits. You can get them starting at $600 via Amazon US (starting at around 500€ in Europe). Since you might produce for TV or youtube anyway, this might be the best way to go, since it is also a cheap solution.

If you need to have a higher resolution (~2.5K 2560 x 1440) the Dell UltraSharp U2711 27-inch might be the Monitor you are searching for.

3K Footage (e.g. from the RED Scarlet-X)

IBM T221 22-inch QUXGA-W LCD Monitor

There is a 22.2" LCD Monitor with the resolution of 3480 x 2400 pixels - the Viewsonic VP2290B-2 22.2" and it's twin: the IBM T221. That's 9.2 Megapixels (!). The Viewsonic VP2290B-2 is available as Refurbished for $3.500 on Amazon, the IBM T221 is available used for $1.675.

You might still be lucky and get a bargain via eBay, though:

a) $1500 (€1.140) IBM T221 IPS, including a LFH-60 to DL-DVI Adapter

b) $600 for a Viewsonic VP2290b (!) with free shipping. Plus there are some more of that IBM monitors available from that seller.

4K Footage (e.g. from RED Scarlet, RED Epic, Arri Alexa, etc.)

Sony VW1000ES 4K Projector for $28.000. You might get second hand 4K Projectors starting at $2.000 already.

The EIZO DuraVision FDH3601 with a 4096 x 2160 resolution (2160p) sells for around 36.000$. You might be cheaper off with a 4K Beamer (Projector).

While the Sony VW1000ES 4K Beamer sells for around 28.000USD, the Christie Mirage S+4K 3D DLP Projector with 5000 Lumen sells used for $5,980.00 on Amazon. Still, the question is if you care about a second hand beamer: if you own 4K production equipment, you most likely have the moolah to get yourself a brand spanking new 4K projector as well.

5K Footage and above, up to 8K (e.g. from 5K RED Epic or 2x RED Epic)
If you want to go all way up to next-level 8K, you can get the recently announced 85 inch 8K Monitor. Make sure to already start saving some bucks, though.

Strangely, the trend of the past years seems to be in decreasing the pixel resolution on the displays (since there are mostly mobile screens deployed). We can expect a pixel bump in 2012 though, since the upcoming iPad 3 (and it is said also MacBook Air and MacBook Pro) will most possibly have Retina Screens with 2880x1800 pixel resolution (source: ArsTechnica).

Recommended Reading: make sure to read "The Truth About 2K, 4K and The Future of Pixels" for some background information on pixels and sensors.

Here is a roundup of the best deals:

Amazon Germany
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2EG-K 577,58€
HP LaserJet P4014N 456,61€
Kindle Keyboard, eReader, Wi-Fi, 15 cm (6") 109,90€

Amazon UK
Nikon D7000 Body Only for £783.08
Apple iPod touch 32GB for £130.58

Amazon US
Canon EOS Rebel T3 12.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm IS II Lens for $417,05
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 with 14-42mm Hybrid Lens $832.35
Apple MacBook Air MC969LL/A 11.6-Inch Laptop (NEWEST VERSION) for $990,92
Apple MacBook Air MC506LL/A 11.6-Inch Laptop (OLD VERSION) for $753.69

I am still going through all the offers and I will make myself some late christmas presents ;) happy shopping to you all!

The early 2011 MacBook Pro is Apple's masterpiece, no doubt: besides the overheating problems that many of us reported (but which seem to be solved as of now). Core i7 MPBs are super-fast with a Geekbench score of over 10.000 points for the i7 quad-core version - this was and still is an awesome performance for a notebook.

If you are planning on buying a new MacBook Pro 15", keep in mind that newer does not necessarily mean better: the early 2011 MacBook Pro is currently the best deal you can get ($1,549.99 for a new, $1,499.99 for refurbished MC721LL/A 15.4-Inch quad Core on Amazon) especially since they fixed all the flaws people reported about. I was complaining about issues a lot, but after Apple replaced the two notebooks we had, the run smootly ever since.

So a clear winner for buying a new MacBook Pro in 2011/2012 is the Apple MacBook Pro MC721LL/A 15.4-Inch early 2011 model that performs better in most of the situations compared to the late 2011 version (review and benchmarks by anandtech).

Among the lenses, a reworked Rodenstock 50mm f/0.75 for Micro Four Thirds, that fits on your camera without the need of an adapter. The lens focuses from 3ft to infinity. Wide open, images are very soft but unlike C-mount lenses the circle covers the full m43 size. Here are some flickr examples.

We recently had bad experiences with non-Apple battery packs, so we can definitely not recommend getting them from another vendor. Good news: if your Battery is less than 300 cycles and lower than 80% of the battery health, they will replace it for you (if you have Apple Care or are within your 1 Year warranty). If not, stay tuned, we will post a guide on this very soon.

Apple replica/ rebuilt Hardware that actually makes sense to buy

1. Apple Magsafe Power Adapters (and G4/G3 Adapters as well)

The cheapest versions are EUR 27,98 for a AC Power Adapter für Apple MacBook Pro MagSafe 85W ( even cheaper in the USA: $25.56!) and EUR 21,99 for a 60W Power adapter for Apple MacBook ( only $19.27 in the US!)

2. Apple USB Power Adapters for iPhone and iPod

The Apple original USB Adapter sells for $29 on the Apple Store, while a Multicharger Set (Car, Wall and USB) sells for €4.50 in Europe and $5.47 in the USA. Be careful! I selected items that we already ordered and tested before, there are "bad" replicas as well out there (see this example and read the comments on Amazon).

Apple Replica Keyboard. WTF is that a windows key?

I will post my experiences with Apple replicas here if I have any news. Currenty, we can NOT recommend the following list of items as replicas:

• Apple Replica Batteries. They mostly died on us too fast. (we will post a specific Apple Batteries Guide in some days)
• Apple Replica Keyboard (not tested) - is this really available somewhere? WTF is this windows key? Although the Macally USB Slim Keyboard - ICEKEY has some good reviews, i like my keyboard to be an original. [UPDATE] the Macally Keyboard has severe driver issues. Not Recommended!
• Apple Mouse Replicas: we ended up going hi-tech with the Apple Magic Mouse which is $67.99 - or just using the Logitech Value Optical Mouse which is $4.99, but can not be really considered a "replica", since the Apple Magic Mouse has soo much more features (wireless, swipe, better optical resolution).

The Offers in Detail:

• Kore 2 + Komplete 6 for 699€
• Komplete 6 Update from any previous version: 74,50€
• Kontakt 4 Update 64,50€
• Traktor Scratch Pro Update , FM8 or Absynth 4 Update from 34,50€
• Guitar Rig Update for 34,50€
• Free Traktor Pro with Audio DJ 8 Soundcard (Free Traktor Duo with Audio DJ 2 or Audio DJ 4)
• Kore 2 Update or Battery 3 Update from 49,50€
• Reaktor 5 Update from 59,50€

I got myself a Kore2+Komplete, an Audio 8 DJ Soundcard and a Traktor Scratch Pro Update. Since I already own Komplete 6, i am selling it (as well as Traktor Pro and tons of other gear) on the Audio Sellout list.

Here are the two graphics of the Native Instruments offers:

via tc electronics: "For just two more days, today and tomorrow (June 15), you can save 50% on all TC Electronic plug-ins for PowerCore and Pro Tools - plus a few additional ones! For example, you can get the amazing M30 reverb plug-in that runs natively on your computer for only $35!"

This offer might be especially interestin for people owning the tc powercore units. As I own the tc powercore compact (only available via ebay these days) i was wondering if the Access Virus PowerCore Plugin sounds as good as the original Virus synthesizer. The PowerCore PCI is currently priced 399€ at thomann, the TC electronic PowerCore Firewire 19" variant is 998€ (also thomann). UPDATE: you can get my powercore compact from the audio sellout list.