Wondering what cameras YouTubers use? Some of the answers from some of the biggest names might surprise you!
You can embark on a very successful YouTube career with nothing but the best camera phone and some half-decent lighting. Heck, if you want to be TikTok famous, you don’t even need that. But if you’re an established content creator, you’re probably going to be shooting on something tasty.
And that’s exactly what a recent episode of the WVFRM Podcast, titled 'Your Favorite Creators' Favorite Cameras!' uncovers: what cameras do YouTubers use.
What cameras do YouTubers use?
It begins with everyone’s fav tech content creator and host, Marques 'MKBHD' Brownlee, talking about his preference for Red cameras, prompting a chuckle or two from within the studio.
After all, notoriously expensive Red cinema cameras are designed for big-budget productions, not bedrooms. But Marques, seeing the funny side, explains that he adopted Red for two reasons: “One, resolution. Two, color science.” The latter of which will become a bit of a recurring theme.
And hey, if I were one of YouTube’s most successful tech content creators, you can bet your bottom dollar I’d be using the best camera for video I could get my hands on, too. But what about other YouTubers within the tech industry?
Well, the WVFRM Podcast asks a variety of creators and gets a variety of answers. I’m not going to list everyone here, because I’d implore you to watch the full episode. But here are a few of my favorites…
Perhaps the most surprising revelation was Becca Farsace’s preference for Nikon cameras. I wrote an op-ed, a while ago, proclaiming that Nikon was cool again.
And while the Big N has infused its latest cameras, like the Nikon Z5 II, Z6 III and Z8, with strong video credentials, it’s still one of the systems you see YouTubers using the least. But Becca praises Nikon for the quality of its footage:
“There’s something about it [Nikon color science] that feels, like, homier and cosier… Nikon just naturally right out of camera, I can have something that I’m really pleased with.”
On the other hand, YouTube legend Casey Neistat is a proponent of Canon and Sony – which won’t be a surprise to anyone who’s followed him for a while, but one of the cameras he mentions might do: namely, the Canon PowerShot TX1, released in 2007, of which he says he still has a couple in his office.
The Sony camera he talks about is the Sony A7S III. And while listing its many important features, he highlights the touchscreen, calling it “a gigantic leap for me. There’s a lot of shots where I’m talking to camera and without my arm entering the frame, I tap behind me and it rack focuses to whatever I’m talking about.”
Of course, Fujifilm cameras have exploded on social media in the past few years. The podcast lists cinematographer and YouTuber, Brandon Y Lee, and YouTube guitarist, Joshua De La Victoria, as Fujifilm users. But it’s co-host David Imel’s explanation of why Fujifilm is so hot among content creators that really speaks to me.
He essentially says that Fujifilm’s popularity is due to its Film Simulations making great-looking footage achievable for anyone, regardless of their editing and color-grading expertise. And I couldn't agree more.
When it comes to Panasonic, photo and video YouTuber, Tyler Stalman, mentions how a Micro Four Thirds sensor is “as close to square as you get. So if you need to shoot for both formats [horizontal and vertical] at the same time, there’s really no better sensor.”
This is something I've never considered, and it's genius!
So, what can be learned from some of the biggest content creators in the biz and their camera choices? Well, I couldn’t help but notice that in a world where we very often wax lyrical about framerates, codecs and bitrates, much of what was being mentioned wasn't ground-breaking tech.
Color was a recurring theme, Casey Neistat highlighted his Sony A7S III’s touchscreen, and Tyler Stalman mentioned the versatility of a 4:3 sensor.
In a world with ever-advancing tech, it’s easy to get bogged down in technical details that – let's be real here – many of us might not even use. So this was a refreshing, practical look into the features that matter by people who aren't all necessarily videography pros, but do shoot video, day in, day out.
There's a great bit at the end of the video, too, where Rich asks Casey if "gear still matters" and his answer is so good, I might just write a separate article on it. Hint, it's this bit during the video.
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