Getting Started as a YouTuber....Ugh...

I decided a long time ago to start posting videos to YouTube and posted a couple of concert videos I took at a Joe Satriani concert a couple of years ago. I enjoyed the process of creating the videos in an uploadable format, and so I later posted some more from a second Satriani concert, and then created a few slideshow videos as well.

That brings me to a few months ago. I decided that I liked some content that some YouTubers were putting out, but I found myself looking for 'someone like me'. There are lots of people who play guitar and post guitar videos. There are others who like video games and post gaming videos. The problem is that the ones I find seemed to be way to focused, and thus extremely advanced for the topics I was interested in. So, I decided that I would start putting out things that interest me, a regular guy. I'm not a virtuoso on guitar, nor am I a hardcore gamer. I wanted to find casual videos for these topics, but these are few and far between. I've also been writing product reviews for Amazon since I became a member, back in 2000, so I have hundreds of written reviews, so I figured that I would modernize and make video reviews of products as honestly as I did my written reviews. So, I decided to take the plunge.

I looked at my camera, and found that while it will work for creating vlogs, etc., it's not the best. The current standard camera, a refurbished Canon 70D costs $750 from Canon! That doesn't include a lens, either. People who vlog and create YouTube content use a Sigma lens that alone costs $400. Did I mention microphones? No? A Rode shotgun mic that everyone likes, again, $150-$250. And lighting? Extra!

So, for a camera, lens, and microphone that's become the de-facto standard for YouTube (so much so that at this year's YouTube convention, they gave away gift cards to B&H photo, and many YouTubers bought this exact setup) costs roughly $1400. Ouch.

I'm going to bite the bullet and try to make a few videos using the equipment that I have, and slowly start adding as funds become available.