- It's been raining for literally like a week and a half.
Anyone else get really bummed when it's weather like this?
Anyways.
(upbeat music)
Still so bummed I broke this.
(upbeat music)
I heard you want to be a YouTuber
or maybe you are YouTuber,
well you're going to need some gear,
because we all know that gear is king.
But the question is,
what is the best YouTube vlogging camera setup in 2021?
Two things before we start:
YouTube and vlogging gear is very different
from traditional filmmaking gear.
It's still filmmaking,
but it requires a specific kind of gear
to make it easier for you.
For example, I would not recommend buying a C500 for YouTube
and vlogging is a definite no no.
Smaller cameras are great.
Autofocus is a must,
and flip LCD screens are your best friend.
Number two, Canon traditionally has been
the king of vlogging gear.
Since the glory days of Casey Neistat
vlogging on a Canon ADD and all the other Canons
Canon has really been the best for vlogging.
That's mostly because of one thing.
And that's because they had flip LCD screens,
until last year.
And that's when I think Sony took over
being the best YouTube vlogging camera gear there is.
And that's why I made the switch from Canon to Sony.
And I'm not getting paid by either company.
This is completely my opinion.
If Canon this year or next year
makes a better camera for me,
I will completely 100% switch to that.
Now that we've established that Sony is the King of YouTube,
you heard it here first,
let's talk about the best options
for a YouTube vlogging set up in 2021.
And let's start off with the best,
the more money than you can imagine,
unlimited budget.
Drum roll.
(drum roll)
It's the Sony A7S3.
That's what I'm filming on right now, or the Sony FX3,
which is basically the same camera,
just a little bit of a different body.
This one as an internal fan, and it comes with this handle.
These are the top of the line, best you can get,
YouTube vlogging cameras right now in 2021.
It's by far the best logging camera right now.
Now it's full frame, a small body,
great autofocus, really nice image dynamic range,
if you don't know what that is, that's okay.
It's just, it's good.
And of course the most important, the flip LCD screen.
This is really what made Sony
the best vlogging cameras in 2020.
And on top of that,
you still get really nice cinematic capabilities:
4k up to 120 frames per second, 1080, 240 frames per second.
It's really incredible.
And also don't misjudge the photo capabilities.
It can still take really nice photos.
So it's the all-in-one camera I would say.
And that's really what you want for YouTube.
And nother really important thing
is that it's full frame.
And full frame is really important, in my opinion.
Whenever I recommend a camera to somebody,
I try to reach for a full frame camera.
Not because it's fancy,
not because it's the top of the line sensor,
but because it's wide.
And that's something
that I think a lot of camera companies miss
with this YouTube world,
is we want really wide focal length,
and that's for a few different reasons:
A, so it's not just a floating head
with a random blurry background.
This just isn't very good.
And B, because it makes it feel like you're here with me.
You're face-to-face with me having a conversation.
It's just, it's not just me talking to this thing.
We are having this connection when it's this tighter lens,
it kind of feels like you're just
like staring at me from a box, you know, versus, hey,
how are you doing?
Our eyes naturally see really wide.
Just take a second,
and try to see how wide.
It's crazy how wide our eyes are.
And YouTube is all about personality,
and being genuine, and connecting with the audience.
And so having this kind of personal feel,
where we're connecting,
where we're having a conversation,
it helps a lot for YouTube.
And full frame cameras make it much easier
to get that wide field of view.
But it's also going to cost you.
The Sony A7S3 that I'm using right now
costs 3,500 U.S dollars.
That's a lot of money, especially if you're starting out,
and that's just the camera body.
This one's also a tiny bit more than this one.
Let's talk about lenses.
Dream camera set up the best YouTube vlogging lens,
is the lens that I'm using right now,
the 16 to 35, whether on you're on Canon or Sony,
the 16 to 35 goes really wide.
So right now we're at 16.
But it also goes tighter to 35 for, let's say a photo,
or a B roll shot, or if you're trying to, you know,
film somebody else and you need to zoom in,
it's nice having this focal range.
But 16, this is where I'm at most of the time,
nice and wide, especially when I'm vlogging.
99% of my channel is filmed on this one lens.
But it's also going to cost you.
It is just under $2,000 U.S.
B&H does have a package right now
for the Sony A7S3, and the 16 to 35 for just under $5,300.
You're saving some money, but it's still,
if it's an ungodly amount of money for you, don't worry.
It's okay.
You do not need this.
This is the top of the line,
the best of the best you can get right now.
If I had to choose another lens,
I think it might actually be
the brand new Sony 14 mill F 1.8.
It's even wider than this, which is really nice.
But it also doesn't distort that much.
It keeps the lines really nice and straight.
It's a really impressive lens.
And it's a little bit cheaper than the 16 to 35.
And it's F 1.8, so better for low light.
But you can't put ND filters on it,
or not at least not in an easy way.
So that's a bit of a downside.
But we'll talk about that in a little bit.
If you don't want to spend $3,500
on a camera body right now,
the next camera that I would recommend is the Sony A7C,
which is an $1,800 camera.
It's still full frame 4k
A lot of really great features, like a flip LCD screen.
It's smaller, 120 frames per second, all of that good stuff.
And it's half the price of the Sony, A7S3.
Compare that with that 14 mil that I was talking about,
and you have a really small vlogging camera package
that's still really high quality, like really nice.
Nobody's going to be saying like
you should step up your quality with that camera.
That is still not quite top of the line,
but still really, really good.
There's also some cheaper lenses that you could opt for,
for example, the Sony 20 mill.
It's not quite as wide as this 16 mill or the 14 mill,
but it's $800, so a lot more affordable
and you could still get away with a 20 mill,
I think for vlogging
Tamron also makes a 17 to 28 millimeter,
which is close to the 16 to 35, for only $800.
But I haven't tried this lens.
What I have found with not native, like Sony lenses,
the autofocus isn't going to be quite as good.
It might still be fine, it might be usable,
but it won't be quite as good.
So just be warned.
And if you want to go really budget,
Rokinon makes an 18 millimeter for $300.
Again, autofocus probably won't be as good,
but it'll do the job.
And if all this is still way too expensive for you,
then the next notch down, I think right now,
I would either say, get the Canon RP,
which then begs the question
of what lens do you put on there?
And that might get really expensive.
But for a thousand dollars, you can get a full frame camera.
You don't get all the extra fancy bells and whistles
of 4k 120 and all of that stuff,
but it is going to do YouTube and vlogging pretty well.
And if you don't want that,
then I would maybe recommend something like the Sony a6400,
which isn't a camera that I really have any experience with.
It is crop sensored.
So for example, B&H right now has a Sony Alpha a6400
mirrorless digital camera,
with 16 to 50 mill lens, and accessories kit,
basically everything you need, memory card,
all that stuff for $1,000, which is pretty affordable.
But it is crop sensored.
So that 16 millimeter,
what you think is really wide
is actually the equivalent to 24,
which is this focal length.
So instead of that, you're getting that.
It's quite a big difference.
You can still get away with it.
24, I think, is like the bare minimum,
but I like to go much wider than that.
Still do expensive?
I don't have that much money to put into camera right now.
That's okay.
We've all been there.
I remember saving up for my first cameras.
What do I recommend then?
Your phone, your smartphone,
especially anything with an ultra wide angle.
I love this little iPhone mini.
It's still my daily driver smartphone.
This is incredible.
Just figure out a better audio solution
because the mics aren't the best.
It'll be better to have a nicer mic
like I'm using right now.
But this is an incredible tool right here.
So often I'm mixing in just a few shots on my iPhone.
And I don't think most people even realize
that I'm just blogging on my iPhone,
and not my $6,000 or whatever this thing costs setup,
which is just so much money.
Remember, gear is king.
And what about the other gear you need?
Let's first talk about ND filters.
I know I've probably talked to you guys a million times.
You need an ND filter, shutter speed, you know,
50 for 24 frames per second, blah, blah, blah.
I don't think it's necessary.
If you're just starting out, especially,
and even in general, there is this aspect
of YouTube being raw and feeling kind of, you know,
like it's just a person making these videos by themselves,
homemade videos.
Sometimes it's okay to just ramp up the shutter speed.
I've been doing that quite a bit.
We actually haven't even been using ND filters
that much recently.
Again, gear is king.
Just kidding.
Gear is not king.
Gear matters for sure, like I've said many times before.
but the story also matters.
And so how do you tell the story, maybe having, you know,
the shutter speed higher makes it feel a little bit more
less production value, which can be a benefit on YouTube.
I've actually heard Mr. B
say that they use 1080 for their cameras still,
just to make it feel a little bit more like raw,
which is really interesting.
I don't think a lot of people
think about that kind of stuff.
But those are also storytelling decisions.
So it's great if you have one,
but you don't necessarily need one either.
In terms of audio, I love this tiny Sony microphone.
Now this thing is also very expensive,
and the sound isn't as high quality, very convenient.
You don't even need any sort of cord microphone cable
going to the camera.
It's really nice, but the audio quality just
isn't quite as good as something like this.
The Rode Video Mic Pro, which is I think,
the top-of-the-line microphone.
But pretty much any of these little shotgun microphones,
you're going to be fine.
And unfortunately the Gorillapod is still the best option
for YouTube filmmaking.
There's some other options out there, like the Switchpod,
which are good, but for me.
they just don't do everything I want.
This is a lot more versatile.
You can use it in so many different ways.
You can hang it off stuff, which I rarely do.
But it's just so versatile
and how high you can put the camera.
Now you can't go very high,
but you have almost zero adjustability
on the Switchpod right now.
Now I'm sure they'll figure out better ways of making it.
But right now I think the Gorillapod
is still your best bet.
We're not done yet.
You're still going to have to edit your videos.
Right now, we are actually using Final Cut,
which is a lot more affordable than Adobe Premier.
But there's also DaVinci Resolve, which is free.
So if you're just starting to learn,
DaVinci is probably a great option.
Final Cut isn't too expensive.
Both are great options.
And I think in terms of like an editing machine,
if you have nothing right now, go with whatever you have.
If you do have something, if you have nothing
I'd probably get a 13 inch M1.
I've heard so many good things.
I haven't used it myself
but I've heard so many good things.
The battery life, how fast it is.
Yeah.
I don't think he can go wrong with that.
Oh, okay.
That was a lot.
Those are my recommendations for 2021
in terms of YouTube gear, vlogging gear,
which is basically kind of the same thing.
There's a lot of gear you need, but again, remember,
you do not need the top of the line gear right away.
I started off with, I think, a Canon 60 D was it, 60 D?
something like that.
I didn't even have the ADD when I first started filmmaking.
and you just use what actually, no, wait
I used a literal daddy handycam
as the first camera ever for me, a daddy handycam.
My cell phone could barely do video.
I don't even know if it could do video.
It could take like very crappy photos.
I use the little, like one of these cameras
for my first videos.
Doesn't matter.
Just start doing something.
I think if the gear is limiting you, that's just an excuse.
Start with your smartphone.
I tell all my friends, my family,
whoever wants to start a YouTube channel,
don't let the gear scare.
You just start making something,
and then you'll kind of figure things out slowly.
And then you can start saving up
for the more expensive gear.
I hope this appeases all the questions
that everybody asks me
about what camera do you think I should get?
This is what I'm going to send them.
I hope it helps you.
I'll see you guys in the next one.
Bye.
Forgot my club soda.
Bye.
Gear is king.
(upbeat music)