Necessary Video Equipment for Beginners
When many people think of being a videographer or filmmaker, they think big expensive cinema cameras and tons of equipment. But in reality, you don’t need much equipment for paid client work. And you also don’t need terribly expensive equipment.
Here are the 5 pieces of equipment I think are must-haves to begin client work, along with some budget-friendly options for each category.
1. Camera
Obviously, you need a camera. Unless you’re doing vertical video for social media where you might get away with a smartphone, you will likely need a mirrorless camera.
Without spending countless hours debating which brand or specific model you should get, there are 2 key considerations when buying your first camera:
Get something that can shoot in 4K resolution. More expensive cameras can shoot at 4K at higher frame rates, which is nice, but not a requirement to get started.
Get a camera with interchangeable lenses. This gives you the ability to grow and upgrade over time.
One caveat is that it’s actually helpful to have at least 2 cameras for many client projects. For things like sit-down interviews or weddings, you usually need multiple camera angles at the same time.
So keep this in mind when starting out. It may actually serve you better to buy two lower-end cameras than one high-end camera.
I personally use and love Sony cameras. Great options under $2,000 are the FX30, A7iii, and A7C, which all produce great image quality.
2. Lenses
Now that you have a camera, you need a lens to get a great image.
There are two main types of lenses: zoom lenses and prime lenses.
Zoom lenses are just that, they have the ability to zoom in or out from one focal length to another. Prime lenses have one fixed focal length. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and there are number of awesome tutorials explaining when to use one over the other.
But to get started with client work, for most people I recommend a zoom lens that goes from about 24mm to 70mm with an F2.8 aperture. Even if you had 20 lenses, this is likely to be your “workhorse” that stays on your camera most of the time. It’s very versatile and provides a lot of bang for the buck. You can use it for things like interviews, weddings, and even sporting events.
A great option here is the Tamron 28-75, which comes in at $800
3. Microphone
The old cliche is that 50% of video is audio. While people might watch a video with lower image quality, nobody will watch a video with bad audio.
To do any client work, you most likely need a shotgun microphone and/or a wireless lavalier microphone. Both of these categories can vary wildly in price, but both do have reasonably priced options.
The shotgun mic is either mounted to the camera or boomed out of the frame, while a lavalier mic is affixed to the speaker, either in view or specifically hidden from view.
These microphones serve different purposes, and unless you only do one specific type of client work, I recommend having both.
Budget friendly options are the Rode VideoMic Go II shotgun microphone for $100, and the Rode Wireless Go II for a wireless lavalier, which comes in at $300.
4. Tripod
A tripod is a must so you can get stable footage. Keep in mind that you should have as many tripods as you do cameras.
Many people are surprised to learn that tripods can actually cost thousands of dollars. To get started you don’t need to go anywhere near that high, but it is a good idea to invest in a video tripod that has a fluid head. This is much different than the cheap tripods you can get at local stores.
A video tripod can give you peace of mind that your expensive camera is safe and supported. It’s also crucial to have a fluid head to get smooth pans and tilts, which is literally impossible to do a cheap tripod.
I really like the fluid head tripod from SmallRig, which costs $150. For a second tripod, you can get something cheaper yet fairly sturdy from Amazon for around $75.
5. Editing Software
Once you shoot the footage, you have to be able to edit it into the finished product. Although you can get started with something basic like iMovie, for client work you most likely need one of the “big 3” editing programs, which are premier pro, Final Cut Pro, and Divinci Resolve. These programs let you do professional level editing that a client is likely to expect. Divinci Resolve actually has a free version, Final Cut Pro is a one-time cost of $300, and Premier Pro is a $21 monthly subscription.
This gives a total starting budget of about $3500. While that’s definitely an appreciable amount of money, keep in mind it can be recouped reasonably quickly. At that point you can assess what other pieces of equipment might be necessary for your specific needs and to level up the kinds of videos you enjoy creating.