The phone in your pocket is amazing in a pinch, but eventually, you’re going to want to upgrade your kit. The kit below can be purchased through most camera shops including Teds and JB Hi-Fi, or of course through the Amazon links. The inspiration for this kit is the first kit we used over 5 years ago, though there are a few upgrades thrown in as not only have the prices come down, but the quality of the products have also increased.

Using video as part of your content marketing strategy, or even to just capture high-quality testimonials for social media or your website is a great approach and one that we would certainly recommend.

Camera

I started with a Canon 600D, it takes amazing photos for the price and didn’t have autofocus for video but the 750D below does. To be honest, the cheapest Canon DSLR with autofocus for video is enough for photos and content marketing. Canon cameras tend to have really good colours and produce pleasing results right out of the camera, so you won’t have to edit the videos or photos if you don’t want to.

Buy the Canon 750D

Camera Lens

Also known as the nifty fifty, this lens lets in an amazing amount of light which results in a smooth bokeh effect in the background. Since you’re using it with a cropped sensor also known as APS-C, the 50mm will result in more of an 80mm image in practice but you can compensate for that by moving further away from the camera.

Buy the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8

Tripod

This is identical to the tripod I purchased, it lasted a decent amount of time for the price. The plastic did eventually break but unless you’re looking for panning or fancy features from your tripod, you just need something that will hold the camera stable and in one spot. If you’re based in Australia you might be tempted to buy a simple JB HiFi camera tripod, but be aware that you can get a lot more value from our recommendation.

Buy the Weifeng 160cm Dual Bubble Level Camera Tripod

Microphone

Most places would recommend you go with one of Rode’s products, but for half the price you can get really good sound and you won’t even notice a difference in quality.

Buy the TAKSTAR SGC-598 from https://amzn.to/2U8wRYp

Bonus: Lighting

If you can stretch your budget, getting an additional lighting source like the LED lights below would serve you extremely well. The kit below includes the battery as well which can cost $30 when purchased separately.

Buy the Neewer T120