I am often asked what equipment I use to produce my Better Preparedness YouTube channel videos. I also find it fascinating to see what others use so this is me providing you what I use. Keep in mind that I am always testing new pieces of equipment and striving to use my equipment better.
Always test and know your set-up works before you will need to depend on it.
Hey, you are on BetterPreparedness.com and so not surprising, I want you to factor preparedness and redundancy into your gear. Ensure you have spares of critically important items so you have a Plan B, or even a Plan C, D,…!
You will see below that I have two set-ups and I am happy to have that since I have a back-up set-up. My “Very Portable Set-up” could be used in the event that my so-called “Studio Set-up” failed on me for whatever reason.
Consider a Gear Packing List
I worry about not having each piece of gear needed for a particular outing and so it’s a good idea for you and I to have packing lists for the different types of filming anticipated. Which microphone(s) will you need? How many tripods and which types of tripods and mounts do you need? How many batteries and battery packs will you need?
Electricity
The world runs on electricity these days and so ensure you have allllllllllllll the batteries, sufficient spare batteries, plugs, cables, cable types, and means to recharge everything you use.
There’s nothing more frustrating than getting to your filming location, being all ready for the shoot, and discovering that your display is blinking the almost dead battery symbol and you don’t have any spares for that piece of equipment!
For foreign locations, ensure you have multiple plug adapters for that location. For example, here in South Africa, I need to have both the two round pronged European style plug adapter and most importantly the (rather unique) three thick rounded prong adapter. You never know what of the two plugs you’ll have to use.
Voltage: Ensure you know the voltage used in those foreign locations and ensure your equipment can handle that voltage. I try to avoid buying anything these days that is only 110V or 220V. It can also be hard to see on a package or website if an item is only 110V or 220V, or if it is the ideal 110V-240V capable. You do not want to be lugging a heavy electricity transformer to charge a 110V item in a 220V location, or vice versa.
Powerbars: A power bar can be critical if you only have access to one plug but need to charge multiple chargers.
(These are Amazon affiliate links. If you use these links to purchase an item from Amazon, I get a small percentage at no cost to you which helps support my work, thank you, thank you!)
My very portable filming set-up:
I’ve filmed many of episodes with my cellphone: https://amzn.to/2W3XyKu
Awesome Battery Pack with display when filming with a cellphone: https://amzn.to/2YpyH5P
Lavalier Microphone: https://amzn.to/2WEasij
Smartphone Rode Directional Microphone: https://amzn.to/2T4OiUd
Bendy Compact Tripod: https://amzn.to/2FFxMH3
Full Size Tripod: https://amzn.to/2FCZFiS
Tripod Mount for Smartphones: https://amzn.to/2O4RSNk
Sony Digital Audio Recorder: https://amzn.to/2UCaqXT
Waterproof bags! Protect your gear!
My Studio set-up (and still portable):
Canon DSLR of choice: https://amzn.to/2YpAc3M
Canon go-to lens: https://amzn.to/2Wo3PRa
Shotgun Microphone: https://amzn.to/2Uf21N4
Lavalier Microphone: https://amzn.to/2Os2pSZ
Full Size Tripod: https://amzn.to/2FCZFiS
Ensure you have the various spare batteries such as for the Canon and the two microphones.
Memory Capacity:
Go-to Portable USB Hard Drives: https://amzn.to/2HT4M0H
Rugged Portable USB Hard Drives: https://amzn.to/2WCh1C1
Memory Cards: SD size (for my Canon): https://amzn.to/2HQe2Tj
Memory Cards: Micro SD size (for my Samsung S7): https://amzn.to/2Ueu143
Waterproof Memory Card Case: https://amzn.to/2CQiXPR