- Hey guys, how's it going, it's Justine.
And today we're going to be doing an updated look
at what I've been recently using to vlog with.
Anytime I post vlogs I see you guys in the comments
asking the same questions over and over again.
What am I filming with?
What kind of lenses am I using?
What microphone?
What tripod?
All of those questions I will answer today in this video.
A huge thank you to Skillshare for sponsoring today's video.
If you guys haven't heard about Skillshare,
definitely check it out.
If you're like me, I have pretty much
learned everything I know when it comes to
video production and editing and taking photos,
any time I have a question or anything,
I'm always going to the internet to look up stuff.
So Skillshare has over 17,000 classes and courses
that you guys can take, ranging from a variety of subjects.
Creative, business, technology, I was so excited
because one of the things that I've always
wanted to learn is how to take better photos at night.
This was one of the first courses that I came across.
They have so many things, so whatever it is
that you're looking to learn, I guarantee
that they will have something there for you.
If you guys wanna check it out,
the first 500 people to click my link
and sign up in the description below
will get premium membership for $0.99 for two months.
And then after that, it's $10 a month
if you choose to continue.
All of the courses are taught by people
who are experts in their field,
and this is also pretty awesome too.
I travel a lot and sometimes I don't always
have an internet connection.
You can download them on your iPhone or your Android phone.
So if you are offline, you can still view the courses.
So I don't want to overwhelm you guys,
but let me go through all of the stuff that I have here.
First, starting with the camera.
I have two cameras that are my go-to for vlogging.
This one is a little point and shoot,
and this is the Sony RX100 Mark V.
I've talked about this camera many, many times.
I love this little thing.
But the only downfall is it doesn't have an audio input.
So that's where this one comes in.
This is the Sony a6500.
So what I'm filming this video with
is the Sony a7S II, you, and you.
The biggest difference is the Sony a6500
is not a full-frame sensor, so with this,
I can use smaller lenses, it's much lighter.
Whereas the a7S II, which I used to vlog with,
is a full-frame, the lenses are so much heavier.
And it's also much more expensive,
so when I'm traveling and I'm carrying around this camera,
a lot of bad things happen.
I've dropped it so many times.
It's always hitting off of things.
So I definitely feel a little bit better
about carrying this around, because it is
way less expensive than the a7S II
and all of the lenses that go with it.
So I just recently got this lens, and it's a kit lens.
It's also a power zoom lens,
so it has this little zoom button right here.
So it'll allow you to get some very steady, smooth zooms.
Where all of the lenses that I was
using before to vlog with were the manual kind,
so you have to actually turn it to zoom.
So what I love about this current setup
is this camera is now super light.
The 16mm, it gives you enough wide angle
of a lens so that if you are vlogging
and filming yourself you can entirely be in frame,
but it also has the 50 mm zoom,
so if there's something happening in the distance
you'll be able to actually see it and zoom in on it.
The two lenses that I was using previously was this one,
I still really like this lens but I do like
the look of this one a lot more
because it is a lot clearer and I can zoom
a little bit more, because this is the 10-18.
It gives you a much wider field of view
when you're filming yourself, so if you do want
that kind of wide angle lens view,
then this is the lens for you.
I've been using this lens for the past couple of years,
so any of the vlogs that I've shot with the a6500,
there's a really good chance that
this is the one that I was using.
And the zoom lens that I was using before is a 16-70.
I recently went to Austria, so I'm gonna show you
a little bit of footage that I shot
using this lens and this lens.
I had the absolute best time in Austria.
Everyone was so nice and it was so lovely
to meet so many of you guys.
So here's an example of using the wide angle lens.
As you can see, you can get a little bit of zoom
but not very much.
But the wide angle is so perfect for vlogging.
And here we have an example of what the 16-70 looks like.
I'm able to really zoom in on the animals,
and it looks pretty good.
So you may be questioning right now,
Justine, why don't you just stick with these two lenses?
And that's a very, very valid question.
I love these lenses, there is absolutely
nothing wrong with these, but I was trying
to find something that was smaller
and lighter and a little bit more versatile.
Which leads me to the next lens that I got.
I watched so many reviews on these lenses before I got them.
This is an 18-105, which means the 18
is a little bit zoomed in, but if you hold it out
far enough you can still get your full self in the frame.
To go from an 18 to a 105 in a single lens is incredible.
So I feel like the next time I go to the zoo,
this is gonna be the winner.
It's just so hard to be able to be
prepared for any situation.
A lot of times you're gonna be filming yourself
but a lot of times something is
gonna be happening off in the distance
and you're gonna wanna capture that.
So let's pop this lens back on.
So this lens is also a power zoom
and I'm getting really into the power zoom,
especially for vlogging.
Maybe if you're a filmmaker or I don't know,
I've read a lot of reviews where people
are not power zoom fans.
But I am now a huge fan of it.
So you're able to zoom in and out like this.
So as you can see, all of the zoom
is happening internally, inside of this lens.
Vlogging is its own sort of strange art form,
because you have to be ready for anything.
You don't have time to sometimes set up specific settings.
So when you're shooting a movie or a film
or a documentary or whatever it is that you're filming,
if you're a professional cinematographer,
sometimes vlogging, the way that we do,
it completely throws people off,
because they're like, what are you doing,
this isn't how you do it.
And I say, oh, no no no, this is how we do it.
Maybe not how you do it.
I also get a lot of questions about this little microphone,
I'll put a link in the description
to everything that I talk about,
all of the cameras and the lenses.
But this microphone I really like as well.
It's very small and it sounds really great.
It uses the Sony hotshoes so you don't
need to power it with anything,
the camera itself powers the microphone.
That's one of the problems that I always ran into,
is I would use the RODE microphones
and the batteries would always be dead,
because I would leave it on and
always forget to turn it off.
And then sometimes I would forget to turn it on
and then I'd have no audio in my video.
So having this hotshoe microphone has been such a lifesaver.
Honestly, if there is one lens that you're gonna get,
I do recommend this one so much.
It's so small, it looks like a tiny little pancake.
It's also a very inexpensive lens
and some of the reviews that I read
said it's not the best quality lens,
but for what it is, it's pretty great
for exactly what I need it for.
Now I'm gonna take you guys out on a hike,
where I tested out these two new lenses.
I would love to hear what you guys think of them.
So, let's go outside.
We're now out on a hike, testing out these lenses.
Nick is over there, he's got another camera,
so he's basically gonna be filming me filming myself
and then filming other things.
So the first lens that I'm testing out is the 16-50.
I'm really excited about this lens,
'cause it's really light, so if you're kind of
on the go, in a hurry, this lens is perfect.
But there is one downfall that I've seen.
Because this lens is one of the power zoom lenses,
if you try to manually zoom in and out,
you can hear the grinding of the motors.
So you guys can hear how loud this lens is.
(lens grinds)
So instead, you can use this little power zoom button,
and it alleviates a lot of that sound.
This is really riveting content.
How far have we gone?
- 0.2 miles.
- 0.2 miles?
Oh, I guess it's time for a slow-mo montage with this lens.
(upbeat music)
Okay.
So should we do a lens change?
- [Nick] Yeah.
- Alright, let's put on the 18-105.
So this is what the lens looks like if I'm vlogging with it.
It is much heavier than the little 16-50 lens,
but this is definitely lighter than
when I used to vlog with my a7S II,
because that camera in comparison to the 6500
is a little bit heavier, and the lenses
are much heavier because it is a full-frame sensor.
So with this one, I can use smaller lenses
and really make it as light as possible,
which is key for vlogging.
I would love to vlog with the a7S II or the a7 III,
but man, these lenses get so heavy.
- I can't do it.
- Mm-mm. - Can't do it.
- [Justine] Even this is heavy.
- It looks heavy.
- You look good.
So here's what it looks like zoomed all the way out.
Now let's zoom all the way into that tower.
I feel like we're playing Far Cry right now.
♪ I don't really care if you are mine ♪
♪ I don't need another sign ♪
♪ I'm wearing you down to the ground ♪
♪ We're done for the night ♪
♪ I really don't care if you are mine ♪
♪ But I'm keeping you in the line ♪
♪ You really don't know which way to turn ♪
♪ You're always one step behind ♪
♪ Going down this road again ♪
♪ I don't want to explain myself ♪
♪ Myself ♪
♪ You grasp for every crumb of hope ♪
♪ Although you've reached the end of my rope ♪
♪ The glimpse that you think you see ♪
♪ Ain't nothing that I'll ever be ♪
♪ That's the last I'll ever be ♪
So now I'm at the beach.
I wanted to test these lenses out
in a little bit of a brighter condition,
because the hike that I did was a little overcast.
So I wanted to show you guys what it looks like
on a beautiful sunny day at the beach.
And it is sunny, but don't be deceived.
It's actually freezing.
("Awkward" by Janet Jones)
♪ Freezing outside ♪
♪ A little bit high on the feeling ♪
♪ Can't seem to focus ♪
♪ In the corner of my best friend's sofa ♪
♪ You walk in and bust a rum and cola ♪
♪ Wasn't brave and I've yet just to talk to you ♪
Popped back on the 18-105 so let's see
how much I can get with this zoom lens.
♪ Something 'bout you feels so special ♪
♪ Prettier from the minute that I met you ♪
And one last thing, this is the tripod that I use.
It is a tiny little tripod, I also love
that this little mount here is moveable,
although I think I might have got some sand in it.
(tripod grinds)
It's not moving as well as it used to.
You can just attach it on, just like so.
There we go, ready to vlog.
Thank you guys so much for watching,
I hope you guys enjoyed this video
and I hope that you found something helpful here.
Even if you don't make videos, this is how I make videos.
I'm so excited though, because I just got the a7 III
so I will be testing that out very shortly,
so stay tuned for a full video review.
And with that, I will see you guys in my next video.
Bye!
♪ Prettier from the minute that I met you. ♪