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Camera suggestions for YouTube video creation

mygoggie

mygoggie

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Port Elizabeth
I know there are a number of sites out there with good reviews. The issue remains, most of these cameras are not available in SA or simply too expensive for us.

Any suggestions for a good stationary camera to record workshop type videos?
 
Budget always ne.... Some people use phones, problem there is focus and depth of field. You ideally want 1080 resolution at least. 4K cameras is nice but you need a beefy computer to handle that, and those get expensive quick. There are a number of Canon cameras, some as cheap as R4k Randelas that work. I have Nikon 810, Canon 7D MarkII, Panasonic Lumix GH5 and Canon EOS M cheapie but amazing camera. Mostly I use the GH5 as main camera and the Canon EOS M as secondary all recoding to 1080. The GH5 can do 4K tho.

The GH5 and GH4 are available 2nd hand and vary from R8k to R20K used, Google is your friend here. The GH4/5 is ideal for Video as they have it all build in, the configs and monitoring that is. The little EOS M runs aftermarket software and that unlocks a huge amount of features and control and at R2.5k -4k is amazing value.

Lenses are cheapie zooms on the wider side mostly, the larger the aperture the better. 20-70mm will cover most if not all. Then you need external mic preferred to be cavalier or lapel style for dialog.

VideoGroetnis
 
Budget is the primary issue. I have been using Micro Four Thirds cameras professionaly for 10 years now and they are excellent. Can't find a bad one amongst them. However, video is a different animal and depending on what you want to achieve with your workshop videos will likely influence which camera you go with. My Panasonic G9 camera bodies are great but the auto focus on video is really k@k. They use a DFD auto focus technology that is not conducive to tracking or holding focus. The new G9ii has finally seen Panasonic bring phase detect auto focus to the system and it seems to be a winner, but... $$$$$. Olympus phase detect auto focus has been there since the original E-M1 body that was announced in 2013 and I am now using one of those bodies for my lifestyle videos in real estate. Works great.

If I had to do it over again today and pick a camera system to do everything for me I would go with Fujifilm. The main reason being after sales service in South Africa. Fujifilm are leading the way in that department with Canon, but for me Canon is not a great brand. I recently used the little M50ii camera for some video work. Didn't warm to it at all.

Fujifilm has great products and outstanding support. Micro Four Thirds has great products but awful support in SA.
 
Cowboy said:
Budget is the primary issue. I have been using Micro Four Thirds cameras professionaly for 10 years now and they are excellent. Can't find a bad one amongst them. However, video is a different animal and depending on what you want to achieve with your workshop videos will likely influence which camera you go with. My Panasonic G9 camera bodies are great but the auto focus on video is really k@k. They use a DFD auto focus technology that is not conducive to tracking or holding focus. The new G9ii has finally seen Panasonic bring phase detect auto focus to the system and it seems to be a winner, but... $$$$$. Olympus phase detect auto focus has been there since the original E-M1 body that was announced in 2013 and I am now using one of those bodies for my lifestyle videos in real estate. Works great.

If I had to do it over again today and pick a camera system to do everything for me I would go with Fujifilm. The main reason being after sales service in South Africa. Fujifilm are leading the way in that department with Canon, but for me Canon is not a great brand. I recently used the little M50ii camera for some video work. Didn't warm to it at all.

Fujifilm has great products and outstanding support. Micro Four Thirds has great products but awful support in SA.
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Really interesting thanks @Cowboy .
 
Cowboy said:
If I had to do it over again today and pick a camera system to do everything for me I would go with Fujifilm.

Fujifilm has great products and outstanding support. Micro Four Thirds has great products but awful support in SA.
Click to expand...
Exactly why I switched from Canon to Fuji. Compare Rand prices vs overseas prices and you will see Fuji is excellent value for money in SA.
 
The Fujifilm guys in SA are doing amazing work in not only bringing the products to us at reasonable prices, but they are highly active in the photography community. They organise free workshops, let you borrow new gear to try hands on and they are just a great bunch of guys all round. They loaned me the new X-T5 a few months ago and I loved it. I would buy it but I have too much invested in Olympus and Panasonic to be able to just chuck it all away. It's a business decision more than anything.

I used to be a Nikon guy, but dealing with that company locally is best left undiscussed.

Canon are OK, but I just don't like their products. I was one of the first DSLR owners in South Africa with the Canon D30, circa 2001 and I shot with the brand for a few years before moving back to Nikon in 2005. It took a safari to Namibia in 2013 to convince me that I had no need for massive lenses and bodies when I could do everything with Micro Four Thirds and save myself the hassle of lugging around rolling cases full of enormous lenses. Try convincing airport security that your camera bag is under 8kgs on the tarmac.
 
Also bought from Cameraworld, good place. One thing in mind, there are a lot of preferences, people like a camera body or menu system and other may hate that same. It is a thing of how your mind works, and your logic. Also the is leapfrogging between brands. Like now that Sony released the global Shutter system, exceptional but $.

I love my GH5 for video work, and good audio. Also lenses and their pricing is a factor not to leave out in the process of deciding what to buy. 2nd Hand lenses can be had for a bargain. So look there first before deciding on what brand to go for. I use Nikon, Canon, Panasonic so can only speak to those, and they do all that is required. For workshop use, personally I'd go for a GH4 or 5 used, with a zoom lens as described earlier. Small, light and easy to use in a cramped workshop, but then that's just me. Value for money wise, hard to beat used.

Groetnis
 
You know what I would buy if I was just doing YouTube videos now? The new DJI Osmo Pocket 3. That subject tracking feature is worth the price, not to mention the ability to quickly move to vertical video mode. The device is small, so you can position it just about anywhere in a small workshop using small tripods. And there is the creator option with the wireless mic too.

 
I strongly recommend Fuji.
I bought an X-T3 in October 2019 so that I could photograph my work.
In September 2022 I bought an X-T4 as my filming camera.
All of the videos on my YouTube channel, with the exception of a few were filmed on the X-T4. I am in discussions with my videographer to purchase additional newer Fuji cameras (X-H2S) for some more advanced filming work that we have planned for next year. But that being said, the X-T4 is an excellent camera and serving us very well. For me, there is nothing to fault.

If you are looking to start out, I would recommend doing some research on Fuji X-T4 for filming (or even the X-S20) as these are both excellent cameras for filming. There is also a healthy pre-owned market here in South Africa as there is an upgrade path (as I have described even for myself) as people like to stick in the ecosystem once they have built up a lens collection.
If you would like to see some real world videos shot on a Fuji X-T4, check out my channel: https://www.youtube.com/@mirroredgenetworks
 
Let me be my controversial normal self here, so allow me some please…. You would be hard pressed to see the differences between brands footage on youtoob, let alone be able to say what footage was shot with what camera. I would ponder on that a while. Apple, yes that iPhone lot just filmed a whole Apple event on an iPhone, its on youtoob as well.

Two things, being a pragmatic optomist/pessimist stand out. You and your budget and making money or not, and secondly you and the camera interface, yes the body, lenses accesories etc and the menu systems and what features are available Specifically to video. The rest is merely a result of these. Mountains out of molehills comes to mind. How you like the camera and it’s utility will sour or not, your enjoyment…. This is what you touch and feel during the process.

Content is king, crappy content, no matter the camera, even with an Arrie, is still just that. Good content, even with a bad camera will remain that, but with a better camera and more importantly better production, will be better than most. It’s not the camera dummy, its the DoP or you in this case.

Coming from a TV broadcast background, as amateurs we need all the technical help we can get. For Video, focus peaking, zebras parade and vector scopes etc. are invaluable. Having a mic input, but way way way more importantly, a headphone output if the camera is your sound recorder, is an absolute must. Sound is at least 50% of the show! You need a monitor if you in front of the camera to see focus and composition, so either an external mon or a flippy screen.

PragmatieseGroetnis
PS: to be crystal clear, between amateur friendly priced cameras that is, we not talking Red or Ursa or Arri or Sony and other pro cameras here.
 
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What @Sarel.wagner has said is very true. I have been very happy with the footage out of my older iPhones (7, 10, 12) as well as even Sony RX100 point & shoot (actually a brilliant little camera) and even my little basic GoPro cameras.
I think for me, why I have enjoyed the Fuji cameras has simply been down to ease of use.
It has been easy for me to get the type of footage that I want out of my cameras.

But once again, what Sarel has said is very true.
 
Absolutely, Sarel.

My honest opinion is that there has barely been a bad camera made in the past 10 years. Right now I am also pondering the whole video thing for my RE visuals and trying to figure out what the best ROI will be. I have good cameras already, great lenses, so I am considering either an upgrade to the gimbal I am using, or going with the Osmo Pocket 3, or perhaps even an iPhone upgrade with the Osmo Mobile 6 gimbal. I am leaning towards the last option as being the one that will give me the best bang for the bucks.
 
I once used a Nikon D3500 and recorded the audio on an Olympus voice recorder which I placed on a table close to the speaker

Marrying the audio with the video was quite easy using Cyberlink Power Director

I have a mobile phone holder that is attached to the top of a tripod. The iPhone 14 can do 4K video
 
Nother item oft overlooked, editing and the pc, especially for 4k video. I have used a bunch including Adobe, iMovie and others but settled on Davinci resolve, and it’s free. Beware steep learning curves. I did o lots of commercial and broadcast editing back in the day when linear editing was a thing, from analog tape machines. Non linear editing started back then. Did enough camera work, editing directing etcetera over a decade or more to know the fundamentals well. Many a commercial, music vidos, trainig videos, doccies etc. for TV, TV news, Carteblanch, children's programs etc.

Have a script, follow that, it need not be elaborate. Think about how this will be put together and use that to plan the shots, editing becomes a bit easier then. The editing program will be a very large part of the frustrations in the beginning.

EditGrotnis
 
Da Vinci Resolve is amazing. But yes, very steep learning curve! Fortunately there are a lot of free tutorials online.

I am using a 2018 Mac Mini, which was the last one before they brought out the M1. It can't edit 4K, so if anybody is going to shoot 4K, or in frame rates exceeding 50fps then an M-series Mac will be needed. Apparently those things munch video like Pac Mac munches dots.
 
Fortunately I have the Final Cut Pro suit installed on my Mac so that box is ticked.

For sound input I have two good microphones and a Zoom H4N Pro. For voice over I have a Zoom USB3.0 Audio Converter.
 
I am late to the subject here but if you are using the Chase Jarvis phrase "The best camera is the one with you" remember that light will be more of an issue the smaller the sensor size. I tried a couple of videos on the Insta360 X2 and it does not do well in low light.
 
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