This video is not sponsored.
So you decided to bite the bullet and start a new channel in 2022! Or maybe you already
started but you want to level up your game a little bit. Either way, that is awesome!!
In this video series I will share with you all the gear to get you started, with different
options depending on your budget… and what type of content you are looking to create.
Whether it’s like THIS in a home studio, or you could be live streaming, recording
podcasts…
**OUTDOORS: Or like this, a bit more like a vlogging style.**
I will be doing a video about the software that you need too, from writing the video
scripts, managing sponsors, editing your videos, adding background music, sound effects and
much more, so consider subscribing to the channel so you don’t miss out when I upload
those videos too.
Ok, because of wide range of content I won’t go super in depth into each piece of equipment
but…I have good news.
I have separate, DEDICATED videos for most of this gear so I will share those links throughout
the video.
OPTIONAL:
I have split the video into 3 main segments to make it easy for you, so you can watch
the entire video… or go to the segments that you are interested in.
# Camera Gear
Starting with the camera gear, and we will be going from budget, to intermediate to more
advanced setup options.
## Camera Gear - Budget options
I am sure you heard this before and people will say “gear doesn’t matter”.
I disagree with that. gear does matter. But you shouldn’t wait to get the right gear
in order to start a channel.
You CAN start with just your phone! But there are a few things that you should consider
when filming with your phone. The first one is app that you are using.
Whether you are using the iPhone or an Android device, I strongly recommend you download
Filmic Pro.
Whether you are filming yourself, getting product shots or food, this app will let you
control the exposure and focus much better than the built-in iPhone app and it’s only
about $10 bucks so definitely worth it.
The other thing you’re gonna need is a tripod. And even though you’re filming with a smartphone,
it’s good to think ahead and get a tripod that will work with a camera down the line.
For that I would recommend the Manfrotto Pixi Evo tripod and smartphone clamp.
This combo will serve you well now, but also later because when you upgrade to a DSLR camera
setup, this can become your second camera, for an additional angle. See what I did there?
I will cover lighting and audio next so don’t skip those sections because there will be
some cool budget options in lighting that you could pair your smartphone setup with.
## Camera - Intermediate
When you are ready to Upgrade from your smartphone to a DSLR camera, there are many options…
And I remember trying to find something to suit my videos and it was really difficult
because there ARE SO MANY great options out there.
For this video, I will share the two options that I’ve used extensively and will mention
a couple of options that you should consider too.
The first recommendation is the Canon 90D. This camera took my channel from 0 to 16,000
subscribers. It is a cropped sensor so not a full frame camera but it comes packed with
features.
You can record 4K slow motion up to 120 FPS. The footage is cropped when you do that but
the quality you can get out of this is really impressive.
I paired this with very low budget lens, I had the 10-18mmm for wide shots, but the main
lenses I used was the 24mm for A-roll and that is the lens you can see in this camera
angle right here.
And for B-roll shots, I used the nifty fifty, but this is the budget one, you can get this
lens for about $100 to $150 bucks. Ridiculous for what you can get.
At f/1.8 it means you can get that beautiful buttery smooth background in your shots. Awesome
for product photography or portraits. It really is amazing at how much you can get out of
this fairly inexpensive lens.
**OUTDOORS: The other mention in this intermediate level, is the Sony ZV-E10. This little guy
is an absolute powerhouse and if this was available at the time, I probably would have
gone with this rather than the Canon 90D.**
It is also a cropped sensor camera, but you can use any Sony lens with it.
Sony has packed it with features, a decent built-in microphone and some accessories that
would make this a vlogging powerhouse.
As well as that outdoor shot, this is the angle from that camera and as you can see,
the quality is pretty on par with the footage from my main camera which costs 5 times more.
So, if you ever need an example of hte law of diminishing returns… This is it.
## Camera - Advanced
Which brings me to the camera I am using right now, the Sony A7Siii. I have barely scratched
the surface of what this camera can do, it is a professional level camera, with features
that you will only find in cinema cameras.
You can record insane quality footage with this, including 4K footage up to 120 frames
per second, with audio! Which means you can do some crazy stuff like..
**FIND A SLOW MO SHOT WITH SOUND**
This camera has been in my shopping bag for over a year before I pulled the trigger so
don’t feel intimidated by it and if you are at the very beginning of the content creation
journey…
Honestly, the baby brother A6400, the Canon M50 or even the ZV-E10 I showed here would
be amazing purchases!
You don’t have to go for such an expensive camera straight away, it would be best to
invest in lighting and audio instead and go for a cheaper camera setup.
And that is the most important take away from this video really, navigate this as a progression
really, It took me nearly 3 years to get to this point and trust me, there are loads of
things I’d still like to invest in.
Let’s talk about lighting…
# Lighting Gear
One of the most important aspects of video is actually lighting. Lighting yourself or
the products or the things that you are talking about is extremely important.
In video making, there’s a very tried and tested formula which is to setup a key light,
a fill light and a hair light.
The key light Is your main light and as you can see here, and it’s usually set at an
angle to give your subject (or your good self) a pleasing, very flattering soft light.
This key light might be good enough to start with.
The fill light helps ”FILL” the shadows some of the shadows on the other side.
And the hair light, or in my case bald head light - helps with separating the subject
from the background.
Right, with that bit of theory out of the way, let’s go though the options, from budget
to intermediate to more advanced options.
## Lighting - Budget
##
**The most cost effective way of lighting is actually free - and that’s our very own
beautiful star, the sun. Unless you’re in the UK, then you screwed. Just kidding, it’s
not that bad!**
**So if you have nothing else right now, don’t wait till you get some lights to get started.
Please don’t make the same mistake I made…**
**At the very least you can record your videos near a window or whether permitting, outdoors.**
If you are using a smartphone and doing VLOG style videos, then I would also recommend
these Aputure LED lights. Aputure are not the only people who do these sort of lights
so I will leave some options in the description too.
But they are extremely versatile, in the same way with the mini tripod I recommended earlier,
these are not disposable lights, you know…
These are proper video lights which means they won’t flicker in your videos even if
you slow down the footage.
As you upgrade your setup larger down the line, you will find that these can be awesome
accent lights, whether in the background of your set or in product shots to spice up your
instagram feed or even make those YouTube thumbnails a bit more interesting.
They have loads of different effects, so you can get really creative with them. You can
stick them inside a lamp and use it as an accent light for example.
Talking about accent lights, also from Aputure these are the B7C lights and they are battery
operated and the best thing about them Is that they can be used with your main light
fittings to charge them up.
Both the MC and B7C lights get really bright which means you can use them as key, fill
or hair light as long as you place them close to you.
Sure, you can get those cheaper ring lights and I’ve seen channels with 100s of thousands
subscribers using them.
But I think you will get a much better result with these in terms of colour accuracy. Definitely
wort every penny.
## Lighting - intermediate
A great intermediate option is to use bigger LED panels. I’ve used these newer panels
for over a year on the channel as my key light and my fill light.
And to be honest with you, depending on your space, when you add a soft box to that setup,
that is pretty much the best budget option to get you going and build your channel.
These lights from Neewer come with a proper light stand too and lots of options so you
can add colour to them, you can adjust the temperature to your liking to suit your space
and the look you’re going for.
## Lighting - Advanced
When you are ready to move into a more professional type of lighting that will give you THE best
in terms of colour accuracy and brightness I can recommend two brands.
The first one is Godox. After the light panels, I upgraded to the Godox COB light. This is
a fantastic light and I’ve used this in all my videos as my main key light in the
last year or so.
This is their VL-150 version is fantastic for video because one thing you gotta consider
- and we will talk about audio very shortly - is the noise level of your room.
All of these lights when they get warmed up, have fans to cool it down and I found that
these have one of the quietest fans around.
My microphone does pick it up but it is very easy to remove that sound in post because
it’s so faint.
And if you subscribe, I will also be teaching how to remove those sort of sounds from your
videos when I talk about the software I use.
Do you need to go with the VL150 straight away? No, depending on your space, another
great option is their 60W version that could actually be considered as a budget option.
I actually just upgraded my main light to the Aputure 300D Mark II but I’ve only had
it for a couple of weeks so not ready to make a recommendation yet.
They are supposed to be daddies when it comes to YouTube studio lighting so I expect them
to be awesome.
I will be doing a comparison very soon, but first impressions… they are worth every
penny!
You probably noticed these tube lights I have in the background and in some of my b-roll
shots. these are the Godox TL60 lights.
I bought them as a set of four, but you can actually buy them a a single light or just
a pair.
I absolutely capital letters, LOVE these lights. They are not as long as the ones you can get
from Nanlite but man, they pack a punch.
They can be operated through an app but to be honest, I just use the controls within
the lights themselves, it’s very easy to dial in the colour and brightness you want
or the different modes. Remember what I said about a fill light?
That is what I am using in front of me right now!
And if you look into my eyes, you can see that it gives an interesting catch light too
- Not what my doctor sees, he sees signs of high cholesterol which I am working on!
One final recommendation for lighting is actually to think about your space. It can get quite
overwhelming to have cables and c-stands on the floor so I would strongly recommend you
look into one of these Varipole things.
They can be mounted form floor to ceiling or from wall to wall. That means you can mount
your light, camera and sound equipment off the floor and out
of the way.
I have over 130 videos on the channel covering a lot of this in more detail, and it would
be awesome if you subscribed to the channel.
I plan to be doing a lot more of these videos for you, so if you liked it please give it
a thumbs up…
And I will see you and your smiling faces on the next one!