Quick Tip 002: All About YouTube Equipment

When creating a YouTube channel one of the first things that you need to think about is your equipment. There are over 100 Hours of video uploaded to YouTube every MINUTE, and in order for you to stand out you will need some equipment that will help you do that.

There are 3 different things that are CRUCIAL to have before uploading your first video.

1. Microphone
2. Video Camera
3. Video Editing Software

Special Mention One of the key things to a YouTube channel is community. There is nothing better to have when starting a YouTube channel than a website. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have some way of creating email lists and giving your audience another place outside of YouTube to find you. I have a tutorial here showing you how to easily setup a WordPress Website in a few simple steps.

These 3 things can be purchased on a budget and will have you sounding and looking better than over 85% of the videos out there!

Microphone:

Now let's talk audio, in order for viewers to even understand what you are saying you will need a decent microphone. I am going to list some options below from least expensive to most expensive.

Logitech Clearchat Headset – $29.99 — This is a great beginners mic if you are on a very tight budget. This is a USB Mic

Blue Snowflake Microphone – 39.95 — This is the microphone that I started with and it lasted me over a year and had great quality. This is a USB mic.

Samson CO1U – $79.95 — This is a great starter mic that has great sound and will have you sounding terrific at a very affordable price. This is a USB mic.

Audio-Technica ATR2100USB – $59.95 — This is both a USB and XLR microphone.

Heil PR-40 – $327.00 — This is the microphone that I currently use. For under $350.00 it gives you professional studio quality audio and really makes your videos stand out.

* Take note that if you purchase an XLR microphone that you also will need an Audio Interface. An audio interface is what you plug the microphone into, and then plug the Audio Interface into your computer via USB. I recommend the Scarlett 2i2 BUT any of them will work fine when you are just getting started.

Video:

Depending on what type of videos you are going to be doing your video needs may vary some. If you are going to do Vlog style videos you are going to need a nice video camera. If you are going to be doing tutorials/screencasts like I do on my channel, you're going to need software that does that. Here is a list of cameras that I like below.

Smart Phones – With technology continuing to improve on our phones, if you have to you can use your smartphone if it records in 1080P

Sony HDR- CX220 – This is a handy camera from Sony that you can get for right at $150.00 and has 1080P recording for a small budget.

Canon Ti3 – This is the DSLR camera that I use currently and for under $500.00 it provides a great quality professional looking video with great sound and video.

Canon EOS 5D – If you are looking for a top of the line professional camera this is my choice. It shoots crisp amazing looking footage and constantly comes up on all of the top lists for video equipment.

Screenflow – If you are recording your screen on a Mac this is the software that I would invest in. It has all of the bells and whistles and will have your screencasts looking professional and easy to understand.

Software:

For starting out video editing you can use iMovie for mac and Windows Movie Maker for Windows, BUT eventually, you are going to want to invest in some more professional grade software.

My Recommendations:

Adobe Creative Cloud – You can get Adobe's suite of software for $29.99 a month through their Creative Cloud subscription service.

Other great software resources:

Pixelmator – Great Inexpensive Photo Editing Application

Other Great Resources That I Use:

AudioBlocks – This is a great site that I use for $99 a year you can have access to over 250,000 royalty-free songs and sound effects to use on your videos. I HIGHLY recommend this as it has saved me so much time and money.

TubeBuddy – This is a great tool that gives you access to TONS of expanded YouTube features that make the whole process much easier.