Video Podcast Equipment Recommended By Top Video Podcasters

With all things going on for content creators a big shift has been towards doing podcasts and live streaming. Podcasts give an opportunity to connect with your target audience and show what you do thus attracting followers to your topic. And kit can instantly gain you credibility and visibility in a crowded online world.

Fortunately, getting started with podcasting can be really easy. The equipment required can start out very basic, very simple, while still providing great audio/video quality. And then you can upgrade as your needs change and your skills improve.

Audio

Having the right microphone is key as it makes sure your listeners can hear your content clearly. The mic that is used widely by video podcasters is the Shure SM7B. This is one of the top of the line mics that you can buy for podcasting and live streaming. This is a, what is called, a dynamic mic, which gives you that radio podcast vibe.

It’s very rich and sounds professional, costing around $400. The big thing is that this is a dynamic microphone delivering warm and smooth audio reproduction.There are alternatives as well like Shure MV7 designed to be more affordable.

It’s very rich and sounds professional, costing around $400. The big thing is that this is a dynamic microphone delivering warm and smooth audio reproduction.

There are alternatives as well like Shure MV7 designed to be more affordable.

You’ll also need a desk to have your mic on which can be a Samson desk (around $15). It’s perfect for sitting height.

You should also have some kind of recording interface to record into your computer and a pre-amplifier to boost the signal, for which Cloudlifter is recommended (around $150). Cloudlifter eliminates some noise in the process as well.

Now let’s talk about the recorder to use to capture the audio. Zoom H6 Recorder (around $350) can be a huge upgrade in the control you will have over your recording and editing sessions, especially if you are working with roundtable episodes or multiple guests. This recorder is easy to use and the great thing is that it provides phantom power for all main inputs. So it’s actually powering up the mics and you can run continuous power to the Zoom H6 without wasting batteries and just plug into an AC adapter or something like that. It captures top-quality audio recordings, either directly onto the device itself, or into your computer's audio recording and editing software.

Lighting

The most important part of any video content creation process is the lighting. It’s great to have a place that is reliable for filming all kinds of shots and lighting is essential here.
The GVM 100 watt light kit with the lantern softbox provides a great source of light and is very balanced too. Having two of these really fills in the shadows and faces and is flattering. One thing podcasters learned about lighting is that you want to get it as big as possible but as soft as possible and these kinds of lights do that. These are what you would call COB lights, they are not panel lights or anything like that.

You can also have a LED panel light by GVM, which is providing hair light to the subject, essentially making it look like the accent lights are projecting a light behind them. It creates some sort of separation from your background. So think about adding a hair light in addition to accent lighting in your setup. which can level it up altogether.

Video

Many podcasters capture their podcasts with three different cameras, especially if working with multiple guests. The reason is having two people on the podcast this way they are able to capture them with a nice medium wide shot, essentially the lens they are going to actually look into. And then the other two cameras are just going to be close-up shots of each person individually. Which is great for a two-person podcast.

Sony A7 III is a great solution. It gives video podcasters noise reduction, digital zoom, and one of the best autofocus options on the market. You are encouraged to use three of the same camera so as to have consistent colors and a consistent look all around.

What’s really important is to get continuous power adapters, in order for each of these cameras to be powered straight into plug-in power, so to never run out of battery, stop shooting to start charging batteries.

Many video podcasters also use the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro ISO, a live stream switcher, with advanced broadcast features, which makes it easy to create professional multi-camera productions for live streaming. Moreover, you can stream straight into any software from it.

There are several options available regarding video podcasting and you can get away with just a smartphone or webcam. But as you’re likely to upload your video on YouTube and other popular video streaming platforms, you’ll want to make it look as quality as most of the videos in the industry.