- If you're a beginner looking for the best camera for
YouTube videos in 2023, in this video, I'm gonna cover the top things
that you need to consider when looking for the best
cameras for beginners, along with our top recommended
cameras across a range of budgets so that you
can find the right one for you and for your
YouTube filming needs. Now, if you're already
creating YouTube videos, let me know down in the comments what camera are you currently using and what do you love about it? Now, with so many different
camera brands and options and prices out there, I want
to stress this point first, that you don't need to
go and get the latest and greatest camera to have
a successful YouTube channel or to create great videos. Some of the biggest channels
don't even use a camera at all, creating faceless videos. So a pretty common belief
with people thinking that they need to go and have
this special fancy camera and that their videos won't
be great until they do, in a lot of cases, that's just holding people
back and wasting their money. You probably have more than
enough right now to start with what you've already got, but because you're watching this video and because you are
considering buying a new video, the first thing, the most important thing that
you need to get clear on, first up is your budget. And then you need to work
out exactly what it is that you need or want from your camera. And for that, we need to be clear on what types of videos
are you gonna be making. Is it going to be a static
locked off shot like this? Or are you going to need
something that's more portable if you're gonna be moving around, in which case do you need a
flip up or a flip out screen so that you can actually
see what's happening? Or is the size or the weight of the camera something
you need to consider? And also things like how long could you
typically be recording for? So what type of battery life or what type of storage
capabilities do you need? Are they then cheap enough to go and get extra ones if
you need a lot of them? But also, what's the look and feel that you're
after from your videos? Do you want something that
looks really cinematic? Do you want something that
has that shallow depth of field or that blurry background look? Do you need to shoot in
4K resolution or higher? Or is 1080p enough? Do you need slow motion capabilities? And to what degree? Do you wanna be able to
swap out your camera lens for different shooting situations? Will the built-in microphone in the camera do everything you need? Or do you need the capability to plug in a more professional microphone? And then even things like
the usability experience. Are you someone that's just
gonna be using the camera in automatic modes? So do they need to be really good? Or are you someone that wants to be able to lock everything down and
manually control everything? Now, these different
options and shooting styles for flexibility and for usability, these can really make a huge difference, and they can differ a lot
between different cameras. I mean, even things like
auto focus is amazing on some cameras, yet
absolute trash on others. So it's really important to
consider this stuff first because there really is no
perfect camera out there for everyone, for every shooting scenario and for every budget. So now knowing that there
is no perfect camera, your goal is now to try and find the one in your price range, in your budget with the
least amount of downsides, something that's easy enough for you to do what you've gotta do
without being too difficult for you to use. So once you've run through
that exercise of working out what you actually need or want,
then we've gotta narrow down that massive amount of options
down to a handful for you to then go and research more closely and see which one is gonna
be the best one for you. And a quick little pro tip
here is to still consider some of the older models, last
year's model, the year before because more than likely, you won't need the absolute
latest and greatest camera here. You might be able to
pick up a previous model of a camera that will do
everything that you want and it's gonna save you some money. So to try and narrow some of the camera options down for you, now that you've worked out your budget, if you have no budget, then again, I'd look at what do you already have? Because in a lot of cases,
it could be more than enough. So this is where we'd be looking
at your webcam that's built into your computer or your
phone, assuming you have one. Obviously, if you've
gotta run out and buy one, a phone's not a cheap camera if that's what you're buying it for but assuming you already have one, that could be the best
thing for you right now to start making videos with. And we've got a bunch of videos on our channel to help you with that, which are linked down in the description. And we've even got videos
to help you get the most out of your webcams too. So now moving from no budget
to I guess, low budget, let's say under $500, then
what are your options? Again, it's gonna come down to the types of videos you're making. So for some people, again, it could be that you're using a webcam. So you could look at something cheaper, like a Logitech C922 for around $80, a Logitech Brio for around $170. My personal favorite webcam right now that we use to create a lot of course content inside
of our accelerator program and for any online interviews and things is the Insta360 Link, which in terms of webcams
isn't cheap, it's $299 but as a web camera,
it's absolutely amazing. Now, if you're someone who's
after a small portable camera for any sort of vlogging or moving around, then that's where a point
and shoot style camera like the Sony ZV-1F could be great. These types of cameras
typically have great auto focus. The picture quality is really
good, and you can even start to get some more cinematic
looking shots out of these with a little bit of that blurry background look
if that's what you're after. Also, with these types
of cameras, you can start to lock down some of your
settings as well to get some of that more creative control but they also work
pretty well under order. Now, while this type of camera
is good for moving around, this could also be a great camera for you if it's gonna be a locked off
shot like this one here too because you'll be able
to set it up on a tripod, you'll be able to either
run it off batteries or a lot of these cameras, you can actually get dummy
batteries that you can plug into the wall as well. So you can use these as
studio style cameras too. Now again, if you're
after something small, something portable, something
light, something used for more outdoors, more
action-oriented stuff, then that's where something like a GoPro could be the best fit for you. With this type of camera, they really lean into the simplicity. And they're really easy to
quickly turn on, press record and capture the shot. They've also typically got
really good stabilization. So if you are gonna mount
this somewhere or have a lot of movement, you can get
some great stuff out of 'em. But typically, they're not very cinematic or they don't really allow you to get that blurry background look, again, if that's something you're after. So now let's say your
budget is more than $500. This is a huge category
because you could spend $500, you could spend $50,000. You could literally spend
$50,000 on just a lens if you wanted to. So with this, again, I
wanna stress the point that there is no perfect camera
here, that there definitely is a point of diminishing
returns that your YouTube viewers may not notice the difference between you spending $2,000 on a camera and the footage that
you're gonna get from that or $10,000 depending on the content that you are
creating, and obviously, how well you're gonna be
using that tool as well. But in this category of $500 plus, this is what you'd typically be looking at things more like a DSLR
or a mirrorless camera if that's what you're after, or even a pro-level video camera if you are someone much more advanced. But keeping this video to beginners again, this is where you'll
wanna be looking at what do you actually need from the camera? Interchangeable lenses, battery life, the look and feel of the footage
that you're able to create. So a few good popular cameras out there that you could consider are things, like the Canon M50 Mark II,
which sells for around $700. It's a really great lower
end kind of all rounder. It does a lot of things really well. Up from that, you can look at something like the
Sony A-Series of cameras. And once again, there's a lot of options in that series to choose from. The more professional end of things, if you are someone who needs
those advanced features and controls, then that's
where you'd be looking at the A7-Series of cameras. But I'm also a big fan of
Panasonic's GH5/GH6 series of cameras as well. And even for this video, most
of the videos that are filmed on our YouTube channel, I'm
using a Panasonic GH5 for those. I haven't upgraded in years. This is literally a camera
that was released back in March 2017. What I personally love about this camera is it's
got amazing stabilization. It's got amazing Wi-Fi control
that I can control it all from sitting in front of the camera. It's got two memory card slots so that there's redundancy
when I'm filming. It's got great audio
input options as well. I literally have the
microphone directly connected to the camera. But really beyond that, I
don't need anything more fancy or more complicated for my use case. So again, you might find that by looking at some of the older models of cameras, you're able to pick up a real bargain and something that's gonna
tick most of the boxes for you. Now, the GH5 doesn't tick
all of the boxes for me. It doesn't have great auto focus but then I don't really use auto focus. So again, you need to work
out what you need first, what are your non-negotiables in a camera and start from that place. Now, if you ask someone who
is looking on the more pro end and looking at cameras that
do have interchangeable lenses so you can get more creative
with the videos you're making, I would suggest that you look long-term with that and really invest in the lenses themselves
more so than the camera because you could upgrade
the camera at any point but you'll likely find that
the lenses that you invest in, you can then use those in
other cameras as you progress. So if you're gonna prioritize
one over the other, make your lenses the priority
because you can use them then on other cameras as you upgrade. Now, I'm gonna sound like a broken record but I want you to remember to go and follow through that exercise at the start of the video,
back at this timestamp. Get clear on what it is
that you actually need or what you want from your camera first. And obviously, you wanna
stick to your budget too, and also, remember that there
really is no perfect camera. So your goal is to try
and find the best one for you that ticks as
many boxes as possible but knowing that there isn't
going to be a perfect one, and that you don't need to have the latest and greatest camera either. There's also two videos linked on screen. One of them is diving into
the different camera brands so that you can see some of
the differences between them. And the second one is all around
why I use a $15 microphone. I'll see you in there.
