The Best and Affordable Video Gear Guide isn’t that difficult to find. Below are the helpful list to help you get started to market your business.

Record with Your iPhone – Bare Bones Starter Gear:

iPhone 7 Plus

You don’t need to wait until you’re ready to buy expensive cameras or hire a professional videographer to start recording videos to market your business.

Just start recording straight from your iPhone. If you’re worried your videos might look poor in quality check out this 1-minute video I recorded from my iPhone 7 Plus.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH AN EXAMPLE VIDEO

Condenser Microphone for Smart Phones Smart Headset

No one wants to watch a great video if the sound is poor quality!

This is the condenser microphone I bought which hooks directly to my iPhone (with an adapter).

For under $20 it’s a no-brainer decision to ensure that people watching can hear your message clearly.

Apple Headphone Jack Adapter

This is the adapter you’ll need to connect your condenser lapel microphone to your iPhone to record great sound for your videos.

TAluminum Tri Pod

Don’t cut corners and try to hold your iPhone to shoot your videos at arm’s length. For under $35 it’s well worth the stability and versatility to mount your smartphone onto a tripod.

I started out with a different $19 tripod, but the flimsy legs not only made it too top-heavy when I mounted my iPhone but the cheap tripod was also a struggle to get the three legs to adjust to the same length, which made for very lopsided looking videos.

So, I shelled out the extra 15 bucks and ended up buying this one instead. Having a sturdier tripod now makes me want to shoot more videos since I no longer have to fight with the old one.

Smartphone Adapter

This smartphone adapter is what mounts onto your tripod. Then you clip your iPhone right into this piece.

When I first started out with the cheapest adapter I found it became too time-consuming to switch from vertical to portrait mode.

So, then I researched and bought this one which I love because it has a 360 ball joint, so I can easily rotate my iPhone from vertical to horizontal — handy for recording video and taking pictures.

This one uses a universal mounting, so it works on pretty much any tripods, clamps, and handles.

Record from Your Computer – Double Duty Video Gear:

HP Pavilion All in One Computer

Instead (or in addition to) recording videos from your iPhone you can also just record videos from your computer.

If you’re still using an old computer you might not have a good quality built-in camera.

This is the computer I purchased which I use to record all of the marketing training content I create for my Power Biz Academy members.

AUDIO TECHNICA MICROPHONE for COMPUTER

Even though your computer has built in speakers the sound quality when recording video is not so great.

I researched and tested out using different headsets, ear buds and other ‘cheap’ microphones. After recording with 7 other computer compatible microphones, the Audio Technica microphone is by far the best choice.

The Audio Technica is super easy to set up. You just plug the USB to your computer and using the tripod stand for secure table top use.  I like that it consistently delivers high quality sound, it doesn’t block my face as close up mics do, and I don’t have to wear a clunky looking headset.

Ring Light

As I reviewed the videos I shot from different indoor locations I started noticing that my lighting didn’t always look so great.

In the scheme of things, getting high-quality sound is more important than lighting. But, once you get the hang of recording videos and you’re ready to step up your lighting, this ring light is a great one to get started with.

It provides soft and flat light, halo shadow for perfect outline, and evens the lightening of the subject.

Add Professional Looking Back Drops Video Gear:

Green Screen Kit with Stand  

If you’re like most business owners, you probably have limited go-to locations to shoot your videos.  You might have a messy office, kitchen, family room, attic, closet, or car.

A green screen offers you far more variety, creativity, and credibility to give the right tone and look to each video.  You can choose the background that best matches your message. Use any image you want from beautiful beaches, city high rises, elegant conference rooms, or you just want to use your brand colors as your backdrop.

This kit that I bought comes with 2 photo lights. That way you can shoot a bunch of photos to use in your YouTube thumbnails and for your social media posts.

If you want to get softbox lights for shooting video click here: https://amzn.to/312i2pp

Box Lights

Another great video gear is when you’re watching other people’s videos you probably don’t appreciate good lighting, but you certainly will get distracted watching videos with poor lighting and dark shadows.

This is a great starter softbox lighting kit to give your videos bright, professional-looking lighting.

Triple Shoe Bracket

I wanted to get better lighting on my face while still using my iPhone, so I found this triple shoe bracket that mounts on my tripod and lets me attach my smartphone adapter and the key light I  recommend below.

KEY LIGHT

When I just used 2 box lights I found often times the lighting on my face with either too dark or too bright. That’s when I found using a key light helped to focus on adjusting the light just on my face.

Add the perfect lighting setup to video recording sessions with this key light. The dimmable design lets you choose the right setting for interviews or scenes, and the glare-free diffusion offers a more balanced effect. With a flat profile and metal desk mount, this key light takes up minimal space.

Video Editing — Adobe Premiere Pro

I outsource my video editing, but if you enjoy doing your own editing (or you want your teenage kids to just do it for you) choose Adobe Premiere Pro — this is the most widely used video editing software.

(HINT: if you have high school/college-age kids they can take this course at community college and knock out their credits while learning how to edit your videos for you 🙂

Another helpful video gear guide indeed!

Keep Audience Attention with 2 Camera Shots

Canon Camcorder

If you’re recording in-person interviews or you want to cut in different angles for your solo videos you’ll need to record from two cameras.

The Canon camcorder is a great choice giving you 57x advanced zoom while the super range O.I.S. (optical image stabilization) keeps the image steady at a longer focal length.

HD videos are recorded to separately available SD cards in the MP4 format for easy playback on most devices. the MMP4 formats are highly compatible with video hosting services and social media websites without format conversion.

Reti Cam Table Top Trip Pod

If you’re only planning on recording videos from your desk you can pick up this simple, small tabletop tripod.

It has the standard mount that will work for all the other accessories and adapters mentioned above.

San Disk

When you’re recording from a video camcorder you will likely max out your storage space on the camera, so you’ll need to transfer your videos onto a scan disk.

So definitely, this is another cool video gear guide for keep!

Nice to Have Extras Video Gear

Gimbal Stabilizer 3-Axis – Handheld iPhone Stabilizer

If you want to record action shots, whether you’re walking, running, biking, and even skiing, you’ll want to grab the Gimbal handheld stabilizer.

This works with iPhone Xs Max Xr X 8 Plus 7 6 SE or Gimbal for Samsung S9/Note, for Sony, LG, Google Pixel 3 XL, Huawei P20, ZTE, Mi, and more Android Smartphones.

You can also download their 2019 Newest ‘Hohem Gimbal’ App on your Android or iOS Phones for your gimbal connectivity with Bluetooth. The parameter setting and calibration will help you master the gimbal much better.

Sennheiser Smart Headset

If you prefer using earbuds over the tabletop computer microphone I’d recommend getting the Sennheiser Smart Headset.

When I tried using cheap $20-$40 earbuds I found they were inconsistent. Sometimes I’d get on a video interview and the other person couldn’t hear me. It just wasn’t worth the headache and stress of tech issues cheap earbuds can create.

The Sennheiser is designed for Apple iOS devices. It delivers Sennheiser’s signature sound and crystal-clear call quality. A situational awareness function allows switching between Transparent Hearing and Active Noise Cancellation, to amplify or silence sound around you. Microphones capture sound like your ears do when recording video

Fovitec – 1x Photography & Video 20″x28″ Softbox Continuous Lighting Kit w/ 2500W Equivalent Total Output – [Includes Boom, Stands, Softboxes, Bag, 11x 45W Bulbs]

When you’re watching other people’s videos you probably don’t appreciate good lighting, but you certainly will get distracted watching videos with poor lighting and dark shadows.

This is a great starter softbox lighting kit to give your videos bright, professional-looking lighting.

I like the 3 light set because you can use the 3rd light to backlight you. I love watching videos where the person speaking looks like they have a halo around them.