Some of the most common questions I get revolve around what gear and tools I use for my YouTube channel and my business. “What camera do you use?

1. My Wife Check Out Camera Bag For Machine

What microphone are you wearing? What lights are those in your shot?” So, I compiled pretty much all the tools I regularly use both on the Video Creators channel as well as on my family’s vlogging channel, as well as some other tools I use for my YouTube business overall so you can see it all in one spot.

DISCLAIMER: Some of the links below are affiliate links, some or not, but all of them are tools I personally use fairly regularly in my YouTube business. This is the gear I use for the standard Video Creators videos. Interviews and different shooting environments may call for gear other than what’s listed here, but these are my go-to staples for the majority of my videos. Camera: – This is my main production camera because it has professional 4K video, allows for a great deal of color grading, and is very small and portable. It gives you much more control over the image and the quality of the video than a DSLR does. Lens: – This is the main lens I use because it’s wide enough that I can shoot with the camera relatively close to the subject and capture good audio with a shotgun mic on top. It’s also great in low light and gives a natural depth-of-field.

Lens: – This is the lens I use when I need some extra image stabilization or need to zoom in on a subject that’s further away. The camera has a cropped sensor, so this lens is effectively a 24-70mm lens. Camera: – While this camera is a bit old now, I still love it because it is reliable, has a flip-out LCD screen so you can see yourself when vlogging, and is one of the best DSLRs for using Magic Lantern. Plus, it uses the same sensor as the more expensive cameras, so you still get the same image quality.

Camera Lens: – When people ask me, “What camera do you use? Your videos look so good!” what they really should be asking is what lens and lighting I’m using because that’s really what contributes the most to a clear and professional image. I love this lens because it’s cheaper than Canon’s high end line and it does an outstanding job for both photography and videography.

It’s my go-to lens for pretty much everything. Memory Card: – Whenever you’re shooting in 4K resolution you want to make sure you’re using a card that can write the video files to the disk as fast as the camera is shooting it. Otherwise, if the card can’t keep up with the camera your camera will constantly stop recording at the most inopportune times.

My Wife Check Out Camera Bag For Machine

This card keeps up with my Panasonic GH5s with no issues at all. Wireless Mic: – Sound quality is more important than video quality because people will be forgiving of a shaky camera and poor lighting, but if the audio quality sounds bad, people will quickly abandon your video and deem it as unprofessional. So having a decent microphone for your videos is definitely important and this is one of the best. I’ve wasted my money on cheaper wireless mics before that introduce static and pops into the audio. You get what you pay for and this mic is great.

Wired Lapel Mic: – As much as I love my wireless Sennheiser mics, sometimes I’m in a spot where I can’t monitor the audio recording for interference or need to mic more speakers than I can record on the camera or Zoom H4N (I have 3 of these mics). That’s when I use this mic because it records the audio directly into the box the speaker clips onto their belt. Later I take audio off the recorder and sync each speaker’s audio to the video. Wired Remote: – Because I stand pretty far back from my camera when I shoot my videos, it’s impossible for me to reach it and set the focus on myself. So, I use this wired remote to set the focus on myself instead.

Studio Lighting: – While these are not the actual lights I use, these are the ones I recommend for most in-home use and would buy if I could do it over again. They’ll give you a lot of flexibility and will really help you get vibrant colors from your shot. Live Streaming Lighting: – I hang a Chinese Lantern on each side of my desk for lighting my face when I live stream from my computer. Over time I discovered they do a great job at lighting my office in general, and now I use them to light the shots of any video I shoot in my office in general. They’re inexpensive and do a great job at casting a soft light evenly around the room in every direction. You’ll also need a along with. Grey Card: – If you have a camera that lets you set custom white balance so it accurately records all the colors it’s capturing (instead of using the default modes of sunny, florescent, cloudy, shade, etc.), you’ll need a grey card to properly tell your camera what colors look like in your lighting environment.

I use this one because it’s small, compact, and is easy for me to pack when I travel. Tripod: – For years I used a cheap plastic tripod, which worked fine when I was using lightweight equipment, but it became increasingly wobbly and difficult to adjust. Plus, I didn’t feel safe trusting a tiny insecure plastic clamp to keep my camera from falling, so I switched to this tripod and love it! It’s very sturdy, safe, and allows for some pretty creative shooting angles. Tripod Head: – Since the Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod does not come with a head, this is the one I purchased.

It makes very small adjustments very easy and smooth, and it is a great substitute for a slider to get those slow, cinematic motion shots. Black Background: – If you’ve seen any of my recent videos you know that I have a black background behind me. This is what it is. Just a big simple role of black paper. There’s other black materials you could use, like a black wall or cloth, but I like paper the best because it reflects the least amount of light giving it the best look. Background Support System: – Of course, having a big role of black paper for your background is worthless if you can’t hang it behind you. I use this support system for the role of black paper because it allows me to role up the paper role when I’m not using it.

That way I can protect the paper from my kids who often kick balls around in the room. Camera Firmware: – This a free third-party firmware for many Canon DSLRs that adds a lot of video features to the camera, like audio meters, pull focus, zebras, and more. I love it and don’t shoot video without it anymore. However, it’s not really for beginners. It’s important that you feel comfortable shooting on your Canon with it’s stock firmware before upgrading to Magic Lantern.

Behind-The-Scenes: – Here’s a little video I did for creators who are supporting Video Creators. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at my setup and how I use all of this equipment together.

I’ve used several different camera and gear setups for, but this is what I’m currently using. It works very well for us. You can check out the quality on our channel and see what you think. Camera: – This is easily my favorite vlogging camera.

I use it for b-roll on Video Creators, as well. It has a fast f/1.8 lens, which makes it great for getting some shallow depth of field as well as shooting in low light settings indoors. It also has built-in image stabilization, which is a must if you’re shooting hand-held vlog shots. Plus, there’s a flip-up screen so you can see a preview of yourself and frame up your shot. It’s also small enough to fit in your pocket and it turns on quickly so you can get that spur-of-the-moment shot. Great little camera!

Camera: – The GoPro is my back-up vlogging camera. I use this to get additional footage for the vlog for a time lapse or to mount in the corner of the room and get a good, wide shot of all the action. This used to be my main vlogging camera, but the audio it captures is kind of weak, there’s no image stabilization, and low light video clips indoors is pretty grainy.

Memory Card: – While a 64GB card may be overkill for some cameras, the GoPro shoots in 4K, which means it creates file sizes that are much larger than standard 1080p definition. I also use this card because it writes the video files to the card fast enough to keep up with what I’m shooting so errors don’t occur. Protective Stuff: – Since I don’t shoot the GoPro inside the waterproof case in order to capture better audio, I want to be able to quick toss the camera into my pocket, a backpack, or the diaper bag without worrying about scratching the exposed lens. So I just slip the lens protector on and wrap the camera in the frame mount. I even looped a wrist strap through the holes in the bottom of the frame mount to help eliminate accidental camera drops. Camera Mount: – I bought this because it’s the most versatile way to mount the GoPro to pretty much anything you want. I use this when mounting the GoPro to the car dashboard for car vlogs, I attach it to a desk to capture a time lapse video, or to clamp the camera in a discrete part of the room as a hidden camera.

Batteries: – The GoPro comes with a single battery, which lasts for about one full day of vlogging (about 30-40 minutes of recording time), but when you’re out having fun vlogging with your family, you don’t want to accidentally find that the camera was turned on inside the backpack and drained the battery. That’s why I always carry and extra battery or two with me. Tripod Mount: – Sometimes I want to lock the GoPro down on a traditional tripod instead of the Jaws Flex Clamp. This is what I use to do that. Portable Tripod: – I love this tripod so much!

It’s small and super portable, making it great for our family outings and trips. I can wrap the legs around almost anything and get a good solid mount for not only the GoPro, but for my big, heavy DSLR, too! This tripod travels almost everywhere with us. Here’s the hardware and software I use to edit all my videos, both for Video Creators and our family’s vlogging channel. Computer: – As a guy who creates 6+ videos every week, I’ve found that it’s definitely worth buying a computer with some upgraded specs to make that process go a bit more smoother. Since it’s all in full 1080p HD or even 4K resolution, having 16 GB of memory, and SSD hard drive, a good graphics card, and a fast processor all contribute to a system that let’s me work efficiently with video. Editing Software: – I edit pretty much everything Premiere Pro, with the exception of occasionally hopping over to Adobe After Effects for some special tasks.

It has a bit of a learning curve to it if you’re coming from something like iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, but learning it is definitely worth it. Your videos will be more professional and you’ll edit your videos much faster than before. When I first started with Premiere Pro I went through the, which takes about 8 hours to complete, but will save you much more time in trying to figure it all out yourself. If you want to edit with something that’s more basic and cheaper, I recommend using. Audio Normalizing: – I use this almost all the time to normalize the audio from my GoPro. Audio sources close to the microphone are loud and strong while audio sources further away are quiet. I run the audio from my video clips through this free (and discontinued) software to make the volume even throughout the entire clip.

– Here’s a pretty complete look at my editing process with Adobe Premiere Pro, as well as my YouTube uploading process if you want to see how I use a lot of this equipment and software in action. I have equipment that’s a bit more specialized in its usage. I don’t use this gear too often, but when I do there’s usually no substitute for it. Boompole: – As soon as I have multiple people in a shot my wireless lavaliere microphone will no longer suffice to record audio from everyone. That’s when I mount my Rode NTG-2 shotgun microphone (linked below) to this pole and either mount the pole just out of frame of the shot or have someone hold it for us.

Shotgun Microphone: – I love this mic! It picks up great audio, better than the wireless lavaliere. It has a much fuller and more natural tone than it’s cheaper counterparts. Since sound makes or breaks an otherwise mediocre video, it’s important that I capture audio that feels like a natural conversation rather than something that sounds forced, hollow, tinty, or whatnot.

Don’t skimp out on audio! Microphone Wind Muff: – Having this is a must if you ever shoot outdoors. It breaks down the wind and stills the air around the microphone so you get clean and clear audio even on windy days. Shoutmount: – You need a way of attaching the shotgun microphone to the boompole. This is what I use because it isolates the mic from any external vibrations, like hand rubs on the pole or accidentally bumping the pole against something. Audio Recorder: – Of course, you need a way to record the audio from the shotgun microphone.

Since it doesn’t connect directly to the DSLR camera I record audio directly into the Zoom H4N and then sync the audio with the video clip in Adobe Premiere Pro (and easy process that takes about 5 seconds). This recorder has a lot of other great features, too, including two solid on-board microphones if you want to use it as a handheld recorder. DSLR Compatible Shotgun Microphone: – Since the Rode NTG-2 doesn’t connect directly into my camera, if I’m out filming on my own I’ll use this microphone. It mounts directly on top of my DSLR and connects directly into the audio-in jack in the camera. It does great as long as the audio sources are close to the camera.

That’s usually when I set my camera lens to 17mm to get a good wide angle so I can get my camera as close to the audio source as possible. Interview Microphone: – This handheld mic is amazing for interviews, even in extremely loud environments, like convention floors. It picks up only audio sources that are directly in front of it and blocks out everything else, giving me very clean sound even if explosions are going off all around us (not that I’ve tested it in that environment, but you get the point). Camera Handheld Mount: – Sometimes I want to get a running shot that’s close to the ground or just need to get a firm grip on the camera in a way that doesn’t cause it to shake. This helps me get those moving shots while providing more stability for the camera. Camera Stabilization: – This is a great tool for those silky smooth, cinematic shots.

It takes a bit of practice to really use effectively, but the shots you get from this are just beautiful. Camera Bag: – I’ve used a lot of camera bags and, while they all have pros and cons, I do love this bag. The front pocket is a bit snug for anything more than a few extra batteries and an iPad, but the main compartment fits pretty much everything else. I especially love that I can strap a tripod and light stand onto this thing with no problem. Portable Light: – Lighting tends to be big and bulky, but not this light.

It’s very slim, fits perfectly into the back flap of the backpack, is bright, adjustable, and runs for a long time on one battery charge. Portable Light Stand: – There’s not many portable light stands out there that you can pack onto a travel backpack, are study, and still extend to be pretty much standing height. This is one of the few. While much of my business relies on video equipment, a lot of it is also based on my website here at videocreators.com. These are the tools that keep this place running smoothly and securely. Web Hosting: – My website is built on WordPress and no one hosts WordPress better than Pagely. Their service is optimized to keep WordPress running as fast and smoothly as possibly.

I used to pay a lot of money to patch together a system of multiple services to keep my site quick and responsive until I switched to these guys. Now they do it all for me for about half the cost. Alternate Web Hosting: – Since Pagely only supports WordPress, I have other sites and scripts hosted with Stablehost, which supports pretty much everything. So far my experience with them has been great. Super affordable, fast sites, and quick customer support. Domains and SSLs: – There’s a lot of places to register domains online, but I prefer these guys because they’re one of the cheapest and fastest places online to buy them. Plus, I already get my SSL certificates from them to secure my sites.

Email Campaigns: – I use ConvertKit for all my email campaigns. It manages my email newsletter lists well and integrates with my ecommerce system here. Plus, it gives me a lot of stats about my list and subscribers helping me know what kind of emails people find valuable and what they don’t.

ECommerce and Course Delivery: – Since a lot of people have requested that I share the details of what I use on this site to deliver my ebooks, downloads, and video courses, my secret sauce is the Thinkific platform.