It's official: Sony the brand of choice for the biggest camera and photography YouTubers – and the Sony A7S III is overwhelmingly their preferred camera.
That's the takeaway from YouTube sensation Gerald Undone, who completed his annual 'What Camera Gear Do YouTubers Use?' video (which you can see below) to see what professional vloggers feel is the best YouTube cameras (opens in new tab).
• Read more: Best cameras for streaming (opens in new tab)
The survey featured 40 of the biggest names in the YouTube photography space, including the likes of Marques Brownlee, Jared "Fro Knows Photo" Polin, Gordon Laing, Chris Hau, PiXimperfect and others.
Sony was far and away the most popular brand, used by 72.5% of the group. Canon was next with 10%, followed by Panasonic with 7.5%, then Nikon, Fujifilm and Red with 2.5% each (which amounted to just a single camera per brand).
Watch video: What Camera Gear Do YouTubers Use (2021 Edition)
The most popular camera, by far, is the Sony A7S III (opens in new tab) chosen by 47.5% of YouTubers – a total of 19. The only other cameras used by more than one person were the Sony A1 (opens in new tab), Sony FX3 (opens in new tab) and Sony FX6 (opens in new tab), which were chosen by two people each.
Everything else? The Canon EOS R5 (opens in new tab), Panasonic S1H (opens in new tab), Canon EOS C70 (opens in new tab), Fujifilm X-T4 (opens in new tab), Nikon Z6 (opens in new tab)… only a single person chose each camera.
So, if the people who film content for a living chose it more than any other camera, is the A7S III the best body for YouTube? Not necessarily.
Bear in mind that these folks are all tech heads, and they're seriously concerned with bitrates, codecs, log profiles… things that the vast majority of content creators probably don't need to worry about. Your phone can do a brilliant job of filming, as can a video-focused compact camera. So don't be too swayed by the pros!
Here's the full breakdown of who uses what…
| YouTuber / Channel | Camera |
|---|---|
| DSLR Video Shooter | Panasonic S1 |
| Tom Buck | Sony A7S III |
| Manny Ortiz | Sony FX3 |
| iPhonedo | Sony A1 |
| Gerald Undone | Sony A1 |
| Philip Bloom | Sony A7S III |
| DPReview TV | Panasonic S1H |
| Potato Jet | Canon EOS C70 |
| Marques Brownlee | Red Monster 8K |
| Make. Art. Now. | Sony A7S III |
| Tom Green | Sony A7S III |
| Peter Lindgren | Sony A7S III |
| Cody Wanner | Sony A7S III |
| Levi Allen | Sony A7S III |
| Jersey Driftwood | Canon EOS C70 |
| Patrick Tomasso | Fujifilm X-T4 |
| Hardware Canucks | Sony A7S III |
| Becki and Chris | Sony A7S III |
| Carlos Quintero | Sony A7S III |
| Jacques Slade | Sony FX6 |
| Rene Richie | Canon EOS C500 Mark II |
| iJustine | Sony A7S III |
| Dunna Did It | Sony A7S III |
| The Everyday Dad | Panasonic S5 |
| PiXimperfect | Sony A7 III |
| Sara Dietschy | Sony A7S III |
| Fro Knows Photo | Canon EOS R5 |
| Lee Zavitz | Sony A6100 |
| Valentina Vee | Sony A7S III |
| EposVox | Sony A7C |
| Tommy Callaway | Sony A7S III |
| Fellow Filmmaker | Canon EOS 6D Mark II |
| Chris Hau | Sony A7S III |
| James Matthews | Sony FX6 |
| Gordon Laing | Sony A6400 |
| Lizzie Pierce | Sony A7S III |
| New Layer | Sony A7S III |
| Chris Brockhurst | Sony FX3 |
| Terry Warfield | Sony A7S III |
| Atola Visuals | Nikon Z6 |
Read more:
Sony A7S III review (opens in new tab)
Sony A1 review (opens in new tab)
Sony FX3 review (opens in new tab)
Sony FX6 review (opens in new tab)
Canon EOS R5 review (opens in new tab)
Panasonic S1H review (opens in new tab)
Canon EOS C70 review (opens in new tab)
Fujifilm X-T4 review (opens in new tab)
Nikon Z6 review (opens in new tab)
