YouTube Gear 2021-01

Assuming I stick with making videos, I am sure I will add new gear to my setup eventually. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to list what I am currently using as of January 2021.

• Canon EOS R6 - I picked up the R6 last year, finally upgrading from my T2i after 10 years. I wanted to get back into photography (and potentially video) and so I splurged a little.
• Canon RF 24-70mm - This is the only lens I have for the R6 right now.
• Deity Shotgun Microphone - Everyone says that an external mic is better than the one built into the camera, so I figured I would give this one a shot. So far I have enjoyed it.
• Canon G7X - We picked up this camera a couple years ago for a more portable camera. It also works well as vlogging camera.
• Lume Cube Webcam Light Kit - This little light actually packs a bit of a punch and I have enjoyed it providing a bit of extra light in my dark room.
• Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod - I picked up this tripod on Craigslist five or six years ago. It is heavy but gets the job done.
• Manfrotto 498RC2 ball head - this came with the tripod above.
• JOBY GorillaPod - Picked up around the time of the G7X for easy mounting.
• Extra ball head - I created a jerry rigged stand on my desk and am using this ball head to hold the camera. This cheap ball head does very well.
• 2014 13" MacBook Pro - I do all of my writing and editing on the MacBook Pro. I am really looking forward to upgrading to a new computer this year. It does pretty well with HD video, but struggles with 4K (I have to use proxy files which take forever to render). Stats: 2.8 GHz i5, 16GB of Ram, and 250GB of storage.
• Zoom H1 - I picked this wanting to record as many family stories on a trip as I could. I still haven't organized those files.
• Aputure lavalier - We picked up this $35 lavalier a couple years ago for some videos we were making.
• Aputure AL-M9 Amaran LED Mini Light - I got this in 2018 thinking I would use it for food photography. I didn't.
• LimoStudio Lighting Umbrella Kit - I don't use this in my normal setup, but I will break it out occasionally. I feel like it is more effort to set up than it is worth. It doesn't really put out that much light and our place is too small to leave it up all the time.
• SD cards - I have many SD cards laying around.
• Drobo - I have been using this 4 bay drobo for personal backups since 2011. I have to do all of my editing off of it since my internal drive doesn't have enough space left.
• Peak Design straps and clip - Not really helping with the video quality, but figured I should mention it.
• iPhone - I don't really use it for video, but I do have it available.

You don't have to have expensive equipment to get good video, but I do have to say more expensive equipment (like the R6) can provide better sound/image quality than the cheap stuff.