I love to hear from my department’s alumni. About once a month, I get a question regarding video equipment.  Usually it’s along the lines of “my boss told me to order video equipment, but didn’t give me much money.”  Sometimes it’s “You taught me that we need to have an external microphone. Which one should I order?”  And rarely (but it does happen) “my supervisor told me to order what I need. What should I get!?!”

I love to help with these requests. In this post, I’ll focus on purchasing equipment on a low budget. I’ll write about microphones and larger budgets in a later post.

Keep in mind. These are my opinions only. Don’t treat this list as your shopping list. Take my advice and then do your own shopping and purchase what works for you and your budget.  Using a smart phone or tablet can yield great video as well. That’s another post for another time.

Camera.  You can’t really have video equipment without a camera. At the moment I use a DSLR camera, the Canon 80D. I love this camera, and for the most part it has served me well. A year ago, I would have urged you to order one. It retails around $1,000, you can find refurbished models for less than that. And the big selling point is that it shoots beautiful video AND photos.  I still love this camera, but there may be better options.  Camera manufacturers are now making mirrorless cameras. What that means is they don’t have a mirror.  For a better comparison, look at this blog post from Photography Life.

From what I have read, the mirrorless cameras are better, and Canon hasn’t been the industry leader in this field. Sony has. The drawback on mirrorless cams is the prices. It’s new technology, meaning it costs more.  You WILL get great footage and photos with a DSLR,  but if having the most cutting-edge technology is important to you, invest in mirrorless.

Cameras almost always come with a battery and charger.

Tripod.  I hope my former students have my voice ringing in their heads that says “USE THE TRIPOD.” If you’re not going to invest in a good tripod, don’t bother with video production.  I don’t have a recommendation here. The brand isn’t so important. Just make sure you have a solid tripod (don’t get a dinky one) that will stabilize your camera. Decent tripods are reasonably priced. So don’t get the cheapest, don’t get the most expensive either.

Occasionally online retailers will bundle cameras and tripods. Better than that, find a local camera shop and physically go look at their selection.  I like to shop at and support Armadillo Camera here in Lubbock.

Microphone. If you shoot even one interview, you must have a microphone to plug into the camera.  I’ll go into more detail in a later post. Just know that great mics cost money. But even an inexpensive microphone will sound better than that on board piece of junk microphone that comes on the camera.

Reflector.  I won’t recommend lighting kits in this post. If you’re on a budget, just purchase a reflector. It makes a huge difference. I got mine for about $40 at Armadillo Camera.

There are other little things: SD cards, batteries for the microphone, extra camera battery, lens cleaning cloth, headphones, and others. But these can be low cost, and you may even have these items anyway.

Happy shopping!