Vlogging
Buyers’ guide
Get on camera
You have probably noticed that vlogging is huge – to get involved, you only need a few accessories to get up and running. Here’s our guide
£169
rode.com
Investing in a good mic is vital or your vlogging will fall at the first hurdle. Rode makes a stunning range of microphones, including wired and wireless kits, headsets and more. One of our favourites for vlogging is the Wireless Go, a lavalier mic with a range of up to 70m, giving you freedom to move further from the camera. What makes the Wireless Go stand out is the ease of operation and the brilliant audio quality. The set includes transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) units, with the mic integrated into the former, keeping kit streamlined. The units are pre- Rode Wireless Go
VLOGGING – OR VIDEO blogging – can potentially reach a worldwide audience and make you famous. YouTube alone gets 30 million visitors a day, 3.25 billion hours of video are watched each month and 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute. The numbers are mind-blowing, but obviously much of that content will have no interest to you (or anyone apart from its creator!), but the opportunity is there to promote your talent to a global audience and you might, for example, have a specialist interest, skill set or technique you
want to share with the world – and perhaps earn you a huge following and even some cash. The first thing to sort out is the technical side of producing a video so that it is watchable – and more importantly, have your audience coming back for more. Shaky, blurry, poorly lit, badly edited videos with muffled audio will get you nowhere, and you only have to spend a fewminutes on YouTube to appreciate that. Our guide should help you get on the right track – then all you need is a great idea!
synchronised so they’re ready to use straight out of the box, and the set includes a 3.5mm to 3.5mm lead for connecting to your camera, two USB-C cables for charging, two furry windshields and a neoprene case. Small and light, easy to use and affordable, what more do you need?
Software solutions
£949 body only
fujifilm.eu/uk
When you’ve shot some great content, you need to put it together. There are many editing software options out there, but only a few powerful, professional tools. These advanced platforms are far less restrictive, and in many ways easier to use that the most basic, especially after a little guidance.
Fujifilm X-S10
for smooth handheld shooting, even on the move. Fujifilm’s array of Film Simulation modes can be applied, meaning unique looks are captured in-camera and less time is spent grading in editing. There’s also 4K and Full HD 240p slow motion to enjoy. It’s certainly a lot of camera for just £949 body only.
You could use your smartphone for vlogging, but for real control and the best-quality results, a modern mirrorless like Fujifilm’s new X-S10 is the perfect choice. The X-S10 is lightweight and portable at less than 500g with battery and card, it features a vari- angle LCD for selfie filming and its five-axis image stabilisation makes
Adobe’s Premiere Pro, Apple’s Final Cut Pro and Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve are the cream of the crop. Each offers a world of creative potential, enough for enthusiasts and pros alike, through slightly varied workflows. You can go far beyond simply cutting clips together with basic transitions.
l adobe.com/uk/products/premiere.html l apple.com/uk/final-cut-pro l blackmagicdesign.com/uk/products/davinciresolve
You may get away with a slow SD card when taking stills, but that won’t cut it when it comes to video. You’ll need a card that can keep up, and one with enough capacity to store a day’s worth of clips. Lexar’s Professional range is a popular choice, with speeds from 95MB/s to 300MB/s and capacities up to 1TB. Importantly, it’s also the trusted choice of many due to the cards’ reliability. Lexar also supports the CFExpress format for those photographers with one of On the cards
£44
transcontinenta.co.uk
£14 and £40
transcontinenta.co.uk
Peak Design Capture Camera Clip
Godox LED36 and LED170 lights
In a world of unusual camera accessories, not all are genuinely as handy as they seem, but Peak Design’s Capture Camera Clip is a stroke of simplistic genius. It offers instant access to your camera and secure carrying without a bag. The Capture clamps to any strap up to 6.4cm wide, such as a backpack or belt, then, using an Arca plate, allows you to slot your camera straight in. Your camera can be carried on your chest or at your hip, ready to be used in seconds.
the very latest high-resolution cameras. Sandisk shares an equally strong reputation in the market. Again, a comparable range of speeds and capacities are available, also at reasonable prices. Just ensure any card you’re considering has a write speed that’s adequate enough for your camera’s video recording bit rate.
Designed for much larger
DSLR set-ups, a compact vlogging camera will be
extremely safe and it makes capturing passing moments all the easier. The Peak Design Capture is priced at £64 with plate, or £44 for the clip only.
You need light to make your videos look the business and Godox has a full range of LED continuous light units available to suit all needs. The LED36 and LED170 are portable battery-powered lights that suit on-camera use. The LED36 is powered by two AA batteries and you get 1.5 hours running time from a set. The neat design of the LED36 mean you can interlock a number of units together when more power is needed. The larger, more powerful 2700 lux LED170 can be run with eight AA batteries, from the mains or with a lithium Sony NP-F970 type battery. Both lights have stepless power control and a controllable colour temperature output range of 5500- 6500K, so you can match output to the existing light.
l lexar.com/products l shop.westerndigital.com/en-ie/sandisk
£69.90
ukdigital.co.uk
head shown in use here). The T3’s two section legs can be splayed for a very low position or extended to give a height where the camera is at your eye-level. On location, it’ll let you get a super-low vantage point – and there’s no reason why you can’t use it as a selfie stick, too.
As mini tripods go, the carbon- fibre Novo Mantis T3 is one of the best money can buy, great for indoor and outdoor use. This price is for legs only, so add your own head via its 3/8in screw thread or budget £49.90 for the Novo MBH- 20 Micro Ball head (which is the
If you’re making videos at home, perhaps with you working on the computer and talking through what you’re doing, you need to position a camera in the right spot – in this case, on your desk. Novo Mantis T3
Issue 84 | Photography News 29
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