So hello again everyone,
I am being a lot more efficient with my blog writing now. This time it is a
blog post about the equipment I use in my videos, I thought it would be nice to
show everyone what I use just if you happen to read this and want to know what
is rather good if you want to start a YouTube channel. So I will tell you what each item does, the
good features of it, where I got it and how much I paid for it.
First on the list of
items is my vlogging camera, I have had this for around 3 years now and is a
Panasonic Lumix DMC – FH7. I used to film my Sunday videos on my channel with
it and I was happy with it at the time. I think this camera is much more suited
for being a vlogging camera more than anything. The good features with this
camera are that it shoots in HD and you get rather clear quality videos with
it. You can change the type of filter you want to use on the video; it can give
you choices such as cool or sepia. So I would play around a lot with the
settings until you are happy. I do think this camera is perfect for vlogging, I
think it shoots a lot better than an iPhone and has slightly better audio as
well. I bought this camera in Japan and got it for around £100 and I did a bit
of research online and they do not sell this exact camera anymore, but the
Panasonic Lumix range is still available. I do recommend getting this camera if you want
to start out on YouTube with something not so expensive and something, which is
rather straight forward.
The camera that I use
for all my Sunday videos on my channel is my Canon iVIS HF R42. It shoots HD
quality videos and is specifically designed as a video camera. The audio
quality on this is fantastic as well and really crisp. As I film my videos I
love being able to flip the video finder around so you can check if you are in
frame and in focus. It follows your face around which is rather nifty. Also has
a 32x zoom and it zooms into perfect quality so you never loose the clarity.
This video has got Wi-Fi built in, so you can control the camera from a distance
with your smart phone, which is rather a genius feature. I love this camera to
bits it is so light and I have used it for other uses and even then it was
fantastic. It is great for shooting nearly anything to be honest with you. I
bought this model in Japan and is only available in Japan so but I found the
identical model which is called Legria HF R56 this one is available in the UK. I paid around £300 for this camera, yes it
comes at a price but it is perfect for high quality videos. I recommend getting
this camera, if maybe you wish to make more frequent YouTube videos or even
just a video camera for your family events in your life.
The microphone I use in
my Sunday videos is the Blue Microphone Snowball iCE. The Blue Microphone
Snowball iCE is so simple to use, all you do is connect it to your laptop via
the USB cable. You do not need to download any specific programme; I use a Mac
and use GarageBand to record the audio. Whenever you record with this
microphone you get a top quality audio recording. You can use the microphone
for recording a voice over or even if you want to sing a cover or a record your
own music. Blue Microphone is a very popular and I see a lot of YouTubers one
YouTuber in particular that uses it is PewDiePie he has the Blue Spark
microphone. The Snowball iCE is only £49.99 so basically £50.00 on Amazon, this
is where I bought mine when I did my research. This site was the cheapest place
to buy it, the one that PewDiePie has is £159.00 on Amazon. The one I bought is
a much better price and you still get the perfect clarity with this microphone.
I think if you are starting out on YouTube and just want to find a reasonable
priced microphone then this is for you. The brand also has lots of different
types of microphones so take a look at their range and see which one is best
for you.
The tripod that I use for my Sunday videos is the Calumet 7100 Tripod with
Three-way Quick Release Head. This tripod is fantastic; I use this for all my
videos and is so sturdy and reliable. I have used this on a shoot before and
you can change the position of the tripod into lots of different ways. It has a
three-position leg-angle adjustment, which means you can extend the legs out
quite far and if you want a shot on the floor it is possible, and if you want
to a shot human height then it is possible. The tripod is so light it is
perfect if you need to take this tripod on location with you. My family have
used this for shooting outdoors and was able to balance a zoom lenses and a
regular Canon 60D so it is perfect for light or heavy cameras. I got given this
as a gift but it is from a professional photography shop called Calumet and was
£49.00, which for a tripod is rather reasonably priced. If you want to start
out with a basic tripod then this is for you, I thoroughly recommend getting
this tripod.
I talked about this programme in my last blog post but I use Final Cut Pro X to edit all my videos. It is probably the best editing software I have come across; when I first got my Mac I used iMovie a lot to edit. When I found out about Final Cut Pro X it was basically identical to iMovie appearance wise. I easily found myself liking it a lot more and I got it because it is a lot higher spec then iMovie. You can do a lot more with Final Cut Pro, editing is a lot more better and you can add more effects, and edit your video a lot better. It does so many things so I am only talking about the points that I use a lot. The editing section on Final Cut Pro X is a lot better, you can add photos or video clips from anywhere on your Mac, iMovie does not easily give you this facility. If you edited a picture on Photoshop it will come up as it was edited, you will not get a horrible black box behind it. You can get it free on most torrent sites but I paid £199.99 and bought it from the App Store on my Mac. I reckon if you are looking for an editing software when you are more serious about making and editing videos then this programme is perfect for that. A lot of people use this software to edit their videos.
So this is all the equipment that I use and I recommend doing
your research on prices as you may now get it a lot cheaper elsewhere. I am
currently on the look out for some professional lighting and looking into
getting a soft box light, for my videos. I know a lot of YouTubers use them and
it is the next thing I should invest in. I am aware that you can get them from
Calumet, but if any of you could recommend some soft box lights then that would
make me very happy. If you have any questions about the products in this blog
post then do let me know via my Twitter. I am happy to answer any questions
about the products mentioned. So I hope you enjoyed reading about the equipment
that I use, I accompanied detailed photos to go with my post so you can see the
product in proper use. I will be posting another blog post next week so get
ready for the month of a lot more efficient blog posts.
xxxxx
