Best Camera for VideoMaking

[RainingBrainzHDSchoolAcont]

Hello! I was wondering what are some of my options for creating Marques Brownlee and Austin Evan style videos on Youtube. I am okay with pre-owned camera and audio hardware. My budget is under 300$, preferably for both pieces of equipment combined, but more money can be allocated for a decent microphone. I live in Houston Texas, so US prices are acceptable.

[cc143]

$300 is way too low for it to be worthwhile to invest in camera equipment. (Especially if you are looking for the best camera for videomaking)

 

I'd recommend spending the money on a decent microphone, maybe even an external recorder, a semi decent tripod and some lighting and using your phone to record. With decent lighting, it will give you better results than most cameras you'll be able to find. 

 

To give you an idea of what a semi decent kit would involve with a camera, that is probably a

Panasonic G7 with a kit lens, (about $450)

Cheap and Cheerful tripod ($50-70)

Microphone ($60-100)

Lighting Kit ($50-70 for something cheap off amazon)

Maybe some form of cheap backdrop if you have nothing that resembles a set since with that kit you won't have the best background separation ($depends on what you wanna do)

Odds and ends (sd cards, batteries, ac adapter packs etc $100-200)

 

[KuJoe]

What kind of phone do you have? In my experience it's better to use what you have to try things out and get the feel for it before you start spending money on a project so you know what you need. My kid's been wanting to get into video production and I've been looking for a sub-$300 camera for filming with for a while without any luck (mainly because I don't know anything about cameras)... so I grabbed an old iPhone SE I had collecting dust, ordered a cheap mic that was on sale, a tripod, and a phone holder that attaches to the tripod and the mic (I needed a small fitting for the mic, but it was cheap). I got the mic because it can also be used on a camera when I upgrade away from the iPhone.

[RainingBrainzHDSchoolAcont]

11 hours ago, cc143 said:

$300 is way too low for it to be worthwhile to invest in camera equipment. (Especially if you are looking for the best camera for videomaking)

 

I'd recommend spending the money on a decent microphone, maybe even an external recorder, a semi decent tripod and some lighting and using your phone to record. With decent lighting, it will give you better results than most cameras you'll be able to find. 

 

To give you an idea of what a semi decent kit would involve with a camera, that is probably a

Panasonic G7 with a kit lens, (about $450)

Cheap and Cheerful tripod ($50-70)

Microphone ($60-100)

Lighting Kit ($50-70 for something cheap off amazon)

Maybe some form of cheap backdrop if you have nothing that resembles a set since with that kit you won't have the best background separation ($depends on what you wanna do)

Odds and ends (sd cards, batteries, ac adapter packs etc $100-200)

 

 

11 hours ago, KuJoe said:

What kind of phone do you have? In my experience it's better to use what you have to try things out and get the feel for it before you start spending money on a project so you know what you need. My kid's been wanting to get into video production and I've been looking for a sub-$300 camera for filming with for a while without any luck (mainly because I don't know anything about cameras)... so I grabbed an old iPhone SE I had collecting dust, ordered a cheap mic that was on sale, a tripod, and a phone holder that attaches to the tripod and the mic (I needed a small fitting for the mic, but it was cheap). I got the mic because it can also be used on a camera when I upgrade away from the iPhone.

I have a Galaxy S7 edge. I was thinking I could maybe find something better than my phone at least with my budget. Where do you think I should invest my 300 in if I shouldn't invest in a camera?

[cc143]

2 hours ago, RainingBrainzHDSchoolAcont said:

 

I have a Galaxy S7 edge. I was thinking I could maybe find something better than my phone at least with my budget. Where do you think I should invest my 300 in if I shouldn't invest in a camera?

As I said earlier, get a tripod, some lighting (which makes a huge qualitative difference when using a phone camera) and some sound recording equipment. It depends a lot on what you are filming. 

 

If you are doing mkbhd/ltt style videos, then maybe spend some money in making your "set" a bit more camera worthy. Spend some money on software and developing your editing skills. Those are much more productive ways to spend you $300. 

 

Even if you were to by some miracle find a camera and lens worth buying for $300, that would be it. No sound, no stability no lighting. What you end up with is footage that is as echoey, as skhaken and as poorly lit as before, only it takes more space on you hard drive.