Best Cameras for YouTube Videos – vlogging, filmmaking and mobile journalism
If you’re thinking of starting a YouTube channel, you’re probably wondering what camera you need to shoot great videos.
My immediate answer is – if you have a decent smartphone made in the last 4-5 years, it’s good enough.
Look – a feature film shot on iPhone 5s was selected for a major film festival as recently as 2015. So I’m sure they are good enough for your start-up YouTube channel. And you might find a refurb out there for under $150.
Here’s a tip – YouTube is not about top of the range image quality. It’s about keeping people’s watching for 5 or more minutes without clicking away.
Did you know YouTube bases it’s recommends on how long people watch your video? And recommends are the lifeblood of a successful channel. It’s “free” publicity.
Do you want to know how the biggest YouTube channels got so big? They made videos which keep people watching longer than their competition.
This tells YouTube that a video is compelling. They used to be based on likes or views, but likes and views were too open to abuse. You can pay for likes. You can use a fake thumbnail to get people to click and view.
But how do you retain a viewer’s attention once you got them there. It’s pretty tricky unless you have compelling content.
The Best Camera for YouTube…
I know you’re here to find out about cameras, but it’s actually not the camera. How compelling your video is and how long people watch it is down to the editing (I’m assuming you have great content and you’re not boring to listen to).
This is one of my go to videos as an example:
Whether you like this video or not, you can understand why it has over 2 million views, can’t you? Hint: it’s nothing to do with the camera he’s using.
For a start, Jack is so full of positive energy. Secondly, he carefully constructs his video with clever editing and sound design. He tells a compelling story, with a beginning a middle and an end.
(oh, while you’re here, you can support us on Patreon. C’mon, I know you were looking to buy everybody’s favourite Panasonic Lumix G7. So I just saved you like $332.)
The iPhone 5 shoots HD. You can add a gimbal for smooth motion for another $100 or so. Then maybe a budget mic for better voice audio quality. Oh, and FiLMiC Pro and you’re good to go.
You can get a great video camera for under $200.
But lenses and bokeh and that…
It’s your choice – you need to decide what you want.
There are literally 1000s of dead YouTube channels with beautiful bokeh backgrounds and top quality, colour graded, 4K video. Why are they dead?
They’re boring.
If you’re going to spend money, first spend it on a decent editing set-up. Look at Casey Neistat’s videos. They’re messy. That’s actually a major part of the appeal.
But they’re edited messy.
Ok, ok – rumours are Casey uses a Canon EOS 70D. But he uses a variety of kit and cameras, depending on the situation.
And the Best camera for shooting YouTube videos is…
…the one you feel most comfortable using. If you feel familiar with your camera, you are going to shoot better videos. You don’t need to spend time fumbling with controls and pawing through user manuals, which just makes your creative energy go stale.
You have to keep your imagination buzzing – that’s where the video gold is. So choose a camera and get used to it. Then stick to it, until you really really really need to change it.
Your vlogging camera should be like the Millennium Falcon. That thing was a bit of a rust bucket, but Solo knew it and could fly it like nobody else.
I shot a feature film with a Canon HV30. A pro-sumer camcorder. It only had partly manual controls. But after a year of filming with it, I knew how to crank the most out of it.
I know those lists at the top of Google ranks recommend a bunch of expensive cameras, but that’s because they get commission on each click through sale. Of course, they’re going to recommend the expensive ones, so they get more $.
It’s your call. But remember – great content is about great creativity. Nobody is going to tune into your channel because you shot everything with a sexy shallow depth of field.
They’re going to keep coming back because you entertained them, informed them, inspired them or moved them in some way. Which camera would you choose for that?
Personally, I would choose the one that I have already.
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