Webinar Equipment
Best Equipment for Webinars, Podcasts & Youtube Videos
I regularly get asked what type of equipment I’m using for my webinars and podcasts and its a pain in the backside initially when you are starting out when you know little to nothing about this type of equipment, it was a steep learning curve for me and I’ll tell you more about the story below and why I’ve decided that these tools and equipment are a must when it comes to finding the best equipment for your webinars and videos.
Best Web Camera for Webinars
I’ve tried and tested a number of cameras, being a Macbook user, we all know the camera quality is poor so over the years I’ve had to carry around an external webcam when doing my videos, I’ve tried a number of cheaper options initially but you really dont want to be scrimping on price when it comes to the quality of your video after all this is the main focus so it is essential that you get something cost-effective, lightweight and reliable.
The Logitech c920 camera
This is the current camera I use and have used this model for a number of years, it is a great little camera and it allows me to take it with me on my travels, I’ve made a big effort on my Youtube this year and need something I can take around when I’m travelling and this camera does the trick. Personally I dont think its that expensive and it gives off 1080p recording at 30 FPS which is decent. So I have stuck with this camera for years, but below you will see a much more expensive option for a camera if you really want to have a professional set up.
Professional Camera for Youtube Videos & Webinars
So you will always see these guys using DLSR and Mirrorless cameras for webinars if you are watching any professionals and this is what we always want to aspire to get too. I’ve bought a whole bunch of canon DLSRs in the past which work well but in recent times I’ve interviewed a number of people on my podcast and a few of the guests really have had a movie like cameras. So after asking around and doing a ton of research and asking the people in question what they were using I decided to get myself a similar setup.
The Sony a7III for Live Streaming & Videos
The Sony a7 III is a camera I bought recently and it was after podcasts with both Chase Reiner and Gael Breton, my video editor asked me what camera set up they were using, so I asked the question and both of them were using this camera at the time of making this post. So I got myself one of these aswell and works very well and you can live stream and use this as a webcam for hours on end and of course, the quality is far superior to any web camera that you can buy on the market.
Just bear in mind when buying this camera which you can get here you might always want to get Elgato Cam link so that you can use this to live stream.
You can get Elgato Cam Link Here as well.
What is Elgato Cam Link?
The Elgato cam link allows you to record live using your DLSR camera, it’s like a USB stick that you connect to your computer and then plug your camera into it and the computer will then use your DLSR as your main camera. I’m sure there are other ways to have this set up but this is simple and easy to do and works well. So I would highly recommend you use the Elgato Cam Link as part of your set up. This can work on most DLSR cameras, not just the camera I’ve mentioned above.
Best Microphone for Youtube Video Recordings?
So right after having the right camera set up, the quality of sound is vital for your Youtube videos, webinars or whatever you are producing, if you do a search there are Microphones that range from $10 right up to hundreds of pounds. When I started I bought a standard USB mic for around $50 bucks, I thought that was me spending the big money and the quality was ok, but if you really do want the best on the market and to have that crisp recording then I would recommend the following Microphones, I’ve tried a number of brands and this is the ones that I personally found to be the best.
Rode Desktop USB Microphone
I love this mic, small and simple and easy to use and the quality is top-notch, the reason I prefer this mic is that it sits just to the left of my laptop and picks up everything and really just is the best quality microphone I’ve had. As I mentioned earlier I used cheaper versions of the USB desktop microphones but none really can match the quality of this microphone. This is the mic that I use for all of my recordings, its comfortable and easy to use and simply is a plug and play microphone.
The cost of this microphone is on the expensive side when it comes to mics but it’s worth the extra money as the quality is far superior, you can get this mic on Amazon and I’m sure many other stores can also help you out with this mic as its one of the leaders on the market.
Webinar and Video Lighting
My friend Anton Shulke from SEMRush is big on lighting for videos, and yes it’s important that if you want a professional set up then the lights are high up on the priority list, how many times have you saw someone sitting with a window to the back of them and they look like a silhouette. Or someone who is sitting in the dark and you can’t see them that well. Anton has organised and been involved in thousands of webinars in his time at SEMRush and even before then he was doing webinars with his previous company.
At the start of my webinars with SEMRush Anton continually said my lights were poor, my mic was poor, the background was poor it was all poor, but I was a novice and had no clue what I was doing, but after listening to Anton and trying to accommodate his high standards I went through all sorts of setups before he stopped telling me my stuff was poor. I eventually went on and hosted and was involved in over 100+ webinars with SEMRush which helped my brand, so these high standards and trying different stuff worked well and lights was an important part.
Neewer Dimable Video Lights
So these lights I got and have bought them multiple times over the years, sturdy and do a great job but what i really like is you can dim them to suit your set up, I did at first buy a cheap light that didn’t have a dimmer but i quickly changed over when finding these and have used them ever since.
They come with their own little stands and can be put away in a corner when not being used.
These are the lights I used for all my videos and webinars and have never gone wrong with them.
When you get these you won’t use any other lights, two is normally enough to light a small room properly.
Craig Campbell
I am a Glasgow based SEO expert who has been doing SEO for 22 years.
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