(Part 2) Best products from r/youtubers

Less than $500 for even a decent camera will be difficult. I'd suggest looking into a used Canon T3i or a new/used T2i. They may be slightly more expensive but they're the best thing you'll find around that price range (in my experience). Also because they both have interchangeable lenses you can upgrade/adapt them as you get more cash to invest.

I know less about mics although I think it may be difficult to find what your describing, especially at that price. Something like this may be what your after but I really can't say that the quality will be great and the cable will probably get in the way if you're moving around.

What I'd really suggest is to abandon the idea of on-body unless it's absolutely necessary for some reason. If you're up for doing that I'd suggest a shotgun mic (something like this would probably do just fine). The absolute best option in terms of quality and lasting value would be to buy an H4n. The disadvantage is that you'll end up having to sync your audio to the video but the advantages are that the audio quality is great, you can add better (XLR) mics in the future and you can move it around depending on where your audio source is.

I know that this isn't exactly what you're looking for but I hope it's some help anyway. If you have questions please feel free to ask :)

I would hold off on making a channel trailer until you either get a better mic or can get your current set-up sounding better using a program like audacity (Effects > Noise Reduction for starters) since it won't be a good first impression to have a trailer with bad audio. I clicked on the Mars video - totally something I would be interested in but I just couldn't watch it because of the audio, I think I closed it 15-20 seconds in so I can't really speak on the content quality of your videos. Adding the CC might help to negate the bad audio quality a bit, that was the first thing I checked...but it looks like its the auto-generated ones and only made sense half the time. I personally would watch a video reading the CC with the sound on mute/almost mute if I was interested enough. If you want to get a cheap/halfway decent mic to start I recommend the Samson Go Mic I got it to use when skyping on my macbook pro (I don't naturally talk very loud so the internal mic just didn't cut it) and that's all I've ever used it for but it really is decent and has a lot of good review. If you're looking to spend more the Rode Procaster Dynamic Mic is my most used XLR mic that I own and doesn't require a whole lot of noise reduction in post since it's dynamic (vs the NT1-A which has beautiful sound but will pick up every noise) just keep in mind that you have to get a pre-amp (what I have and like) as well if you want the quality of an XLR mic. As for the banner and channel icon/avatar, I like them in general but I think that the channel icon would like more interesting with a less 'vanilla' font. Overall I think you have a good start!

I just picked up a [Rode NT-USB] (https://www.amazon.com/Rode-NT-USB-USB-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B00KQPGRRE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1526506838&sr=8-2&keywords=nt+rode+usb&linkCode=ll1&tag=thesysadminch-20&linkId=36cb209ceaf0e58a89cad9db949bf23f) and I love the quality. It has a great tone and has a good depth to it. It is a little pricey at $169 on Amazon but if you're going to be doing videos for the long haul I definitely think its worth the money.

While I was doing my research i also noticed a lot of people mention that they had a Blue Yeti from Blue Microphones and they liked it as well. This is also a USB mic and the sound quality is really similar (and the mic is about 50-60 bucks cheaper) but I just really liked how the Rode Mic sounded.. That's just personal preference. You can find this mic at around $100 so its still a little pricey but again, if you're going to be doing videos its still worth it.

If you're looking for something to use with a DSLR camera, I like the way the [Rode VMGO Shotgun Mic] (https://www.amazon.com/Rode-VMGO-Lightweight-Microphone-Super-Cardioid/dp/B00GQDORA4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1526507932&sr=1-1&keywords=rode+shotgun+mic&linkCode=ll1&tag=thesysadminch-20&linkId=35f8c1b5488c41dba8cf0a011e6d6db4) sounds. It has that full sound and this one comes in around a little under $80.

Finally if you're looking for something under $20 I would probably go with the [Boya By M1] (https://www.amazon.com/BOYA-Electret-Condenser-Microphone-Smartphones/dp/B00MP566OM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1526507786&sr=1-1&keywords=boys+by-m1&linkCode=ll1&tag=thesysadminch-20&linkId=c8648c47cac36d32bf6e84c547b8fdfa) mic. This is a lapel mic so its easily portable and for like $16 its a great starter mic.

I did my research for about 2 months because I was so indecisive on which type i wanted i get for my use case. Since I do Voice-overs I wanted to get something that's easily compatible with my laptop so thats why i chose the USB route. Keep in mind that audio quality is just as if not more important than the video quality.. If you're audio sucks, you won't keep long retention rates which means your videos won't rank as high which means less views and ultimately less subscribers.

Hope that helps!!

I'd recommend an LED over a fluorescent ring light, if you can find one for a similar price.

I just bought this Neewer LED a couple weeks ago (this is the same, I think, the pink one was just cheaper at the time).

I also own (and have previously used) this fluorescent one from Interfit.

I'm still working out my video setup with the LED light (no examples posted yet) but so far I'm much happier with it. I always set a custom white balance on my camera with a grey card but with the fluorescent light the WB always seems to fluctuate in videos and in photos I'd still have to do color correction if I used a shutter speed shorter than 1/60 (annoying because I don't like to use a tripod for photos). The LED is much more true to color & doesn't seem to fluctuate in video.

Both of the lights have about the same size outer ring, but the Neewer (which is just one ring with the center empty) seems to give more flattering lighting angles. I also like it because I can actually use the flip-up screen on my camera.

How bright a light to get depends on a lot of things - what lens aperture you're using, distance from the light to you, distance from you to your background, etc. I actually dim my light to about halfway for videos because I sit about 2 feet away from it, and if I turn it all the way up with my camera settings set to the correct exposure for me, my background (another couple feet behind me) is super dark. tl;dr - get something bright but make sure it's dimmable so you can play around to get the best lighting.

Hi.

Your channel does need improving, as you say the microphone quality needs improving, as well as the banner. I could highly recommend the Blue Snowball Ice, or the Turtlebeach PX21 headset for microphone quality (I use both)

The actual video quality is great, very clear to see, and the added bonus of 60fps. The only issue I have is the length of the videos. I know that a lot of people prefer watching a video that is less than 10 minutes long, sometimes up to 15 minutes. 45 minutes for a single video, personally, is way too long for a small channel. You could combat this by including key parts of the games only, and cutting any slow, or unentertaining sections out. This will also help create a more interesting video, and should help you get some more subscribers.

I would also recommend having an intro, around 5-10 seconds long at max, as this will show viewers that you are putting effort and time into your video, and show a little more professionalism in the beginning of your videos.

When speaking, make sure you are not saying "ur, erm" so on. This will show that you haven't really thought through what you want to say in the video. I personally have some notes on paper next to myself when recording a video which is not live, as this allows you to keep to the point, while also not forgetting what you are wanting to say. If you do this once in a while, you could look at cutting the section out. Also, try to edit the audio so that there is not a lot of silent parts. I usually record a point at a time, then edit the audio to allow it all to feed together, allowing it to sound like a single sentence. If you know what I mean.

You do have some work to do on the channel, but the majority of this will be easier over time to do as habit, and will improve the quality greatly. You have a good clear voice, you just need a good microphone to be able to show this fully.

Good luck with your channel.

Great video, love how you own the camera, and it seems you have a supportive partner who films you!! Your editing is great, your camera work is great, you have a gorilla pod, sometimes your shots of walking to the escalator or even of yourself while walking is shake maybe a gimbal would be a good upgrade? I use https://amzn.to/2q4k878 or Maybe it's because you're drunk LOL

But other than that love your intro with your title, great great job!!!!!

Ok. My tips not gonna work as you are far away from the camera. I assumed the gender because of clothing. If you were closer I would suggest you this, and it's what I do. Connect the earphone to the camera, take the earphone under the shirt (this is where clothing matters), make sure you have the Mic like thing in near your coller and put the rest behind your back. Sounds very complicated I know!

Here's some other suggestions.

1. Use an external audio recorder with a boom mic. Just search on Amazon, they have all price ranges. You can get the boom mic from $35 to $1000. And the cheapest recorder is probably what I know, $70 or something.
   
   
2. If that's a little expensive for you then you can buy only external boom mic that works with phone. Check this out https://www.amazon.com/Movo-VXR10-Microphone-Windscreen-Smartphones/dp/B0723D3FVL/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1537305382&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=rode+videomicro&dpPl=1&dpID=51uEkpAjj8L&ref=plSrch
   These are great, cheap and can record great audio.
   
   
3. Lav mic. Well to use that thing, you've got to have an audio recorder. If you're gonna buy an audio recorder then I personally recommend you to go for a boom mic because lavs are pretty complicated to use sometimes and as you move around it can record all the unnecessary sounds.
   
   
4. Honestly it depends on your environment. If you're in a very noisy kitchen the audio quality is gonna be bad no matter how expensive equipment you use. And if it's quite then a even headphone would work.
   
   
5. Learn audio editing a little no matter what equipment you're gonna use. I know sound designing, audio editing so I recommend you to learn this because you can fix many issues in post. This is what you need to learn (bare minimum): compression, noise reduction, reverb, EQ. Some software recommendations- Audacity (free), Wavepad (paid but affordable), Logic Pro X (expensive and only for Mac users), Adobe Audition (paid bit completely worth the money).
   
   Hope it helps. At the end, it's your choice. See how noisy your kitchen is, how7ch money you can spend and other stuffs. My personal suggestion would be to use an external mic that works with the phone (if not too much noisy). Check the link given above. And yes, always buy Rode Videomics because they are the best.
   
   PS: Congrats that you've a kid. You're lucky!

Having good audio is crucial (Especially for a mostly voiceover channel). Now normally I would say, "stay away from mics less than 200" just because it is really an investment and you get what you pay for, but the snowball is a fantastic mic, especially for its price.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-Microphone-Aluminum/dp/B002OO333Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1466624278&sr=8-3&keywords=blue+microphones+snowball

If thats still a bit pricey, I would say save up until you can afford it because anything less than that will either break the day you open it or sound similar to what you are using right now. (Keep in mind, i dont mean to sound like a jerk, i'm a nice guy i swear) And the great thing about this one, over the snowball ice is that it has a switch that will cancel out any background noise automatically.

If you want the cheaper variant, i thought i would link it, its fine but it doesnt cancel out background noise for you so it will sound pretty cruddy. But if 70 bucks is too much, this is the absolute cheapest i would suggest.

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B006DIA77E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466624278&sr=8-2&keywords=blue+microphones+snowball

Happy hunting!

Oh okay. I thought you meant you wete going to buy one, but it seems you already have one. I'd use this free program called OBS (Open Broadcast Software) this program let's you layer the gameplay and facecam at once, in real-time, and record it. You can stream with it as well, also you can do both at thr same time!

The mic I use is cheap, but sounds very nice. It is the Floreon BM-800 and is on sale for 71% off or $28USD. You can find audio tests of it on YouTube, it is quite a steal. You may want to buy a Mic Boom as well, this is the one I have. It gets the job done, for cheap.

For editing, I use Sony Vegas Pro 14. This program is quite powerful, but may take sume time to learn, although it is quite intuitive. Now, it is quite expensive, but I got mine through, ways...

If you'd like some channel art, I can do that for free. Here is some of my past work.

Additionally, if you'd like I can edit a video or two for you. I know that it'd be like "send a video of my son to some stranger on the internet?" so I don't really mind what happens either way, I just feel like helping out, is all. You can find my part work here

Two cheap options I’ve used-

This works great on my 5S iPhone but has started crackling with my 6S+ (it improved when I cleaned the headphone jack but wasn’t fully resolved). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018KIJGU8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_QpxOBb4NPFK0A

This is a pretty solid lapel mic that plugs straight into a phone; I like it and haven’t had any problems with it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019HQHXN4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_trxOBbVNM9ATZ

Audacity is a free audio editing program where you can “teach” it the sound of the white noise and then remove that sound from the whole file. It’s more steps but if you want a free option it should at least improve the quality.

Blue Snowball $48

ATR2500 USB $57

CAD U37 $47

Personally I use the Blue snowball (DON'T get the ICE version). It's a favorite among newer YouTubers. Same with the ATR2500. Haven't used the CAD U37, but heard good things. If you have more money look into the Blue Yeti or the AT2020 mic. Also the Rode Podcaster.

Don't forget to get a Pop filter which will help a lot. Also I suggest using Audacity to record, (and it is free). If you need help with Audacity, here's a good video to get you started

Honestly I spent like 5 minutes looking for free stock tracks and ended up with that, and I went with it because I was deathly afraid that the video would drag on without something upbeat lol

EDIT: The dolly! I actually bought a slider to start out and immediately was bummed that it wasn't quite as smooth as I wanted and I couldn't do curved shots. So I got this one and honestly I think it's going to be amazing! It felt nearly impossible to get a smooth shot while sliding the camera slowly enough on the slider, but with the dolly all the shots are buttery and it takes zero effort on my part. Plus it was nearly the same price as the slider. Slider's heading back, dolly is staying forever!

I use a Nikon D5100. I'm totally a noob and this was an old camera, but it seems to be able to do some "okay" videos...I'm sure the pros out there know way better ones, but this one you can get used in the $250 range.

https://www.amazon.com/Nikon-Camera-18-55mm-3-5-5-6-Focus-S/dp/B004V4IWKG

I’ve had good luck wirh Rode’s model:
Rode smartLav+ Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone for iPhone and Smartphones https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EO4A7L0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1AmACbKFKYVRH

Apologies these are the English Amazon pages, but I think you can search the Amazon product number on the listing to find it in your area.

Cable:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B004SP0WAQ?cache=ddd3f2d6e23583d64a92699c8d841dde&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1411460485&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

Smartlav:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00EO4A7L0?cache=ddd3f2d6e23583d64a92699c8d841dde&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1411460567&sr=8-2#ref=mp_s_a_1_2

I use the CAD u37 USB microphone. Amazon has it here

Get one of these mics:
http://amzn.to/2EymapC

These

It all really depends on your budget. I would say spend more on audio equipments

It's right here: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-Omnidirectional-Condenser-Lavalier-Microphone/dp/B002HJ9PTO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479763024&sr=8-2&keywords=audio+technica+lav+mic

Try searching for lavalier mics, most companies aren't going to call them clip-on mics.