This site contains affiliate links; view the disclosure for more information.
Since launching my YouTube Channel in October 2023, I have received SO MANY messages from other aspiring YouTubers, particularly about my YouTube Gear. So, I decided to put all of my equipment and recommendations in one place!
Launching my YouTube channel was a business decision. Therefore, I invested in decent YouTube gear from the beginning. However, the priority for me was getting YouTube gear that was beginner-friendly and easy to set up.
When deciding what to invest in, I did a LOT of research. Now, with a few months under my belt of using all my YouTube gear, I am really glad I did. I'm a dietitian, not a tech genius, so all of the equipment is user-friendly but still gives me that professional look.
This page is all about my YouTube gear 🎥
YouTube Gear - The Essentials
Many people will jump straight to camera gear, but you can't think about making YouTube videos without considering where you are putting the videos and where you are going to edit them.
I invested in a MacBook Air Apple M1 chip. I knew I wanted a MacBook over a laptop as I love how easy Mac makes it to integrate all your Apple gadgets together. For example, if I take a photo on my iPhone, it automatically appears in my photo library on my MacBook without me needing to do any uploading.
I had also been looking into the different types of editing software available, and Final Cut Pro stood out to me as the best option. Final Cut Pro is Mac-exclusive, which solidified my decision to invest in a MacBook.
YouTube Gear - Courses
So, I basically learned everything about how to start a YouTube channel from very cheap or relatively cheap courses online. Plus, there are millions of free YouTube videos about how to start a YouTube channel. It's a very popular niche, I have learned!
I had actually planned on forking out 5000 USD for Ali Albdaal's YouTube accelerator course, but by the time I was ready to take the plunge, I felt like I had already figured out most of the stuff in the course content! But who knows, maybe I will join yet simply for the community support and mentorship.
The platforms I found the most beneficial for online learning were Skillshare and Udemy. This is where I learned videography skills, editing and a lot of YouTube strategies.
Blogging Course - Perfecting Blogging by Sophia Lee
Randomly, I did invest in a blogging course one month after I had started YouTube. Looking back, I wish I had done this at the beginning of my online journey because I learned so much about SEO and keywords in a simple and easy-to-understand format. I had been watching Sophia Lee on her own YouTube channel and found her very relatable, so I decided to buy her course on Black Friday. Blogging wasn't something I had ever put too much thought into, but after watching some of her videos, I realised that there was a lot of potential in this blogging business. Plus, I figured I was already writing lengthy scripts for my YouTube videos, so I already had a lot of the hard work done. Now, I just needed to convert them into blog posts.
In her course, Sophia provides many follow-along tutorials, and for someone like me, I found it hugely beneficial to see her exact processes.
Check out my
YouTube Channel
YouTube Gear - The Camera & Lens
I knew very little about cameras at the start of my YouTube journey. To be completely honest, I still don't feel like I fully understand all the features and different specs of all the cameras out there. So, my decision was largely based on looking at what many other YouTubers were using and recommending and what I could reasonably justify spending on a camera.
For me, deciding to buy a proper camera was a big commitment, and it meant that by doing this, I had to commit to this whole "YouTube" thing fully. I knew if I decided to start by just using my phone, I could easily quit without any loss. But, if I had spent money on a camera, I would have had to hold myself accountable and follow through on making videos!
The camera that I ended up purchasing was the very popular Sony ZV-E10. I love this camera because it's somewhat compact, and it has a flip-out screen, which is great when you are a beginner. However, I did invest in a more professional lens to attach to the camera rather than just using the standard lens that comes with it. I bought the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 lens, which I love! It gives my videos more "depth of field", a term I learned in one of the online video courses I did. Basically it makes the background slightly more blurry and captures more of the space where you are filming.
YouTube Gear - Audio
Audio is SO important when it comes to YouTube videos. Honestly, I can't emphasize this enough. I had to refilm way too many videos in the beginning because I kept making audio mistakes. If I could go back in time, I would invest from the very beginning in a very good microphone.
I now have two. I started off with a shotgun microphone that was very good. It did the job perfectly for all my talking head videos, where I was filming in one spot. However, I recently invested in an even higher-quality Lavalier microphone. My reason for upgrading to the Lavalier was that I plan to do more active videos/vlogs where I am making recipes or walking around the kitchen, etc. The rode lavalier that I ended up getting can also be used on your smartphone, so I can also use it for recording voiceovers for reels or shorts!
I also bought a wearable lead to go with the lavalier to make it a little more discrete!
YouTube Gear -Lighting
Lighting is important, but honestly, it's not something you need at the very beginning. However, it does make you look much better if you have good lighting! And as I wanted to come across as very professional in my videos, lighting was worth getting right for me. I bought two large softbox lights, and they are incredible. I also use them when making any recipe Instagram reels or shorts.
YouTube Gear: The Important Stuff Everyone Forgets About
Memory cards and hard drives were one of the hardest things for me to figure out. I didn't realise there were so many different kinds and that not all are compatible with Macs or my camera. Unfortunately, I lost a lot of money on memory cards at the start because I bought ones that were not high-spec enough to take video in 4k. Below is what I now have, which works perfectly for what I need.
Finally, you can't forget about a tripod. And please, BUY A STRONG RELIABLE TRIPOD at the start. There are so many tripods out there, and I would highly recommend forking out just a small bit extra to buy a very good one because it will last you years. Honestly, I don't know how many flimsy iPhone tripods I have had over the years. Plus, if you are putting a HEAVY, expensive camera on the tripod, you want to be confident it's going to be able to hold the weight.
I love the tripod I have now because you can use it for both a camera and an iPhone. Also, you can adjust the height to be almost as tall as me so I can get a huge variety of camera positions from it.
Closing Thoughts
As you can see, I invested in good YouTube equipment here. I've had lots of feedback that my video quality is very professional, which I am very proud of. I'm grateful that I had the means to buy all of this equipment, but it was a calculated move. As I mentioned, YouTube is one arm of a larger business model and I'm hopeful to very soon have generated enough revenue from my channel to cover all of these initial start-up purchases.
I hope you find this article useful. Please comment below if you have any questions, and I'll make sure to update this page with any other useful information or purchases I make going forward.
More about the author:
Hi there! My name is Maria, and I am a Registered Dietitian practising in Ireland and Bermuda. I have extensive experience in helping clients lower their cholesterol levels through dietary interventions. I hope you found the article informative and beneficial. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Additionally, if there are any other topics related to nutrition that you would like me to cover in my upcoming articles, please let me know. I would be more than happy to help.
Stay happy and healthy 💚
Your Registered Dietitian
Maria xox