I Need A Good Video Camera To Make Videos For My Blog | Yakezie Reader Insights | Yakezie Forums

Hey All,

Can anyone suggest a digital video recorder (are they still called camcorders?) that I can use for making videos for my blog and YouTube channels?

At first, I will probably just use it for Fat Guy, Skinny Wallet – recording workouts, tips, demonstrating/reviewing equipment and exercises, stuff in the kitchen, etc. After that, I will probably do more formal videos for KNS Financial, talking about various financial issues, and also recording financial seminars/lectures/workshops/bible studies that I hold.

Can you suggest a camera that can do all of that well? I have never owned one before, and I no nothing about photography or videography, so it needs to be something that a rookie can use. If it has Wi-Fi access so I can upload things immediately to my YouTube account and/or comes with decent software for making minor edits, that would be a great bonus!

The price is not really an issue since I am treating this as a major investment. I have already lost 40 lbs and I regret not doing any videos (except a couple for my push ups challenge) over the past 6 months.

Lastly, my wife and I are both purchasing the Samsung Galaxy SIII…do you think that this phone would be able to meet all of our needs?

Thanks for all of your help!!!

Ask Dom, he'll give you the list and the model numbers of everything you need to get going with video.

Personally, I'm in the love with the Canon T3i right now and it's our primary video camera.  Great for taking pics of the kiddos, too!    Second pic is the Kodak Zi8 but I think it's discontinued now. 

I currently use a $9 mic I got off Amazon, but would love to get a wireless setup at some point.  Pat Flynn demonstrates his wireless setup with his Canon T3i and it's really sweet!  But it's like $1500 (I think).  :(    I just dropped a lot of money on lighting so, for now, I'm getting maximum value out of the $9 mic.  :)

As a reference, here's a post we did on our Dollars and Roses blog that shares all the different cameras we've experimented with. 

Post edited 10:04 am – June 6, 2012 by moneysmarts

I use a Canon T1i for doing some videos, but it isn't optimal because it doesn't have a jack for an external mic like Jeff's T3i.  

Most of my videos I shoot with my cheap Kodak Zi8 (same one that Jeff mentioned) because it's hi-def, has a jack for an external mic, and because it was only around $100 when I bought it. You can buy similar cameras with external jacks for around $100-150 i think.   I highly recommend getting one with a mic jack, and buying a nice lavalier mic. It improves the sound about 100%. Oh, and the Kodak cameras have a remote that makes shooting videos much easier as well, highly recommended.

I think this is the current Kodak video cam with mic jack – costs about $85 on amazon right now.  Here's the mic i use.  And the remote.  To see how the videos using these cameras look check out my youtube account. 

For editing I use a software called Vegas Video, which you can buy for less than $100, and has a lot of features like green screen among other things. 

Good luck with doing video!

jaicatalano said:

You can go with many 1080 HD cameras unless you are doing a huge production. I have a canon 7d which is expensive but I used to film on a Sony HD cam that did me wonders. It was only about 700. 

I never even thought of a simple digital camera producing great video. I'm not sure if I should go that route, since I have no interest in photography – buying a good camera instead of a dedicated video recorder might be a waste for me. But I will keep that in mind in case I don't go with the dedicated device.

Thanks, Jai!

Khaleef @ KNS Financial said:

So we have a couple of photographers (and Pat Flynn) all using Canon's for video…that's pretty impressive.

Since I am not interested at all in taking photos with more than just my phone, do you think I would be overpaying for all of the fancy camera options by purchasing a T3i or any other digital camera?

I looked at the Kodak video cam that Peter linked to, and it has terrible reviews. I tried to find the older model, and it is almost 5 times as expensive as that one. Are there any similar models that you would recommend?

What do you think about one of those digital camcorders? I was hoping for something smaller, like the Kodak model, but the camcorders have much better reviews.

There are so many options with this that it is easy to feel overwhelmed!

 

Thanks again for all of the help and suggestions!!

I think the key, no matter what you choose, is an external mic jack.  Doesn't matter how good the picture is, if we can't hear you or if it's badly echoed, you'll lose people.  It seems most of these cameras are all shooting in HD so the quality is relatively equal.

To contradict that last comment, I personally love the look of the T3i, or the 7D that Jai mentioned.  I think it's quality is bar none.  There was another video camera that I liked, but was $6k.  I'm not at that level yet.  :)