WHAT'S THE BEST CAMERA FOR A BLOGGER, CONTENT CREATOR OR INFLUENCER?
Without fail one of the most frequently asked questions to me about being a content creator is 'what camera do you use?' or more specifically 'what camera should I get?' so here's the tell all about the first camera I got as a blogger and then what I upgraded to and why. FYI - I bought all of this stuff, no freebies.
IF YOU'RE A COMPLETE NEWBIE
It goes without saying that if you're a complete newbie to blogging or content creation then you don't wanna invest all your money into equipment that you're not even sure how often you'll use or how to use properly yet. The cameras on new smartphones like the iPhone, google pixel, Huawei etc seem to be incredible quality and you really can get some great images from there with a little editing and tweaking in 'post' (that's what photography people call after you've taken the shot). Some of the images on my insta feed are still iPhone snaps. I just use Snapseed to deal with any imperfections and edit slightly. Snapseed is great for basic editing tools such as brightening, adding contrast, sharpness etc. You can also fix the 'temperature' of the images (if it's too yellow for instance). Then I use a stronger filtering app like colorstory to give it a filter or 'look'. Sometimes just a quick correction on Snapseed is enough - the overly filtered look is pretty circa 2015 and the modern look is clean, crisp and almost unfiltered.
Here are some shots that I took on my iPhone 8+
IF YOU'VE DONE THE WHOLE SMARTPHONE THING FOR A WHILE AND WANT A PROPER CAMERA NOW
I would suggest the Olympus Pen EPL-8.
It was made with bloggers in mind so looks great for starters but also packs punch inside a little camera that portable enough to take anywhere and not look completely obnoxious (no one wants to photograph their food with a giant whopper lens unless you really are giving no fucks, but in which case I think you're pretty cool tbh).
It's what they call a 'micro four thirds' camera which means it has a smaller cropped sensor. this may sound like gobbldeygook but all that means is it takes lower resolution photos. But that's fine for web and instagram. If you want much higher quality you may want to upgrade, more on that later...
Anyway back to the EPL-8. Here's why it's great for your first camera.
It's affordable (around the £400 mark for basic kit lens and camera body)
You can buy additional lenses to swap around (gets you that lovely soft blurred 'bokeh' background that everyone is so into though personally I'm kinda over it), these lenses are also affordable, starting from around £120 (secret - lenses are what start to make your pictures look way more pro!)
It's dinky!
It's easy to use - even off automatic
It has wifi enabled so you can send pics straight to your phone
You can film on it too
The screen flips down for selfies and up / around for overhead shots (the screen flipping down can be V annoying if you want to Vlog though as it gets in the way of a tripod, just a heads up)
I thoroughly suggest at this point investing in a two day course to learn the basics of photography. It'll help you get off automatic mode and have so much more control over your images. You know like when you're in low light and it is blurring all the pics? There is a way to stop that. But you need to know how the shutter speed, ISO and aperture all work together. Once you get your head round it, it's actually very easy! I did a two day beginners course at the London Institute of Photography and it completely changed my photography for the better. The course is £195 and worth every penny!
Here are some images I shot on the EPL-8 with various lenses on my travels last year
and here is a video shot on the Olympus...
This was my exact olympus setup...
IF YOU'VE BEEN SHOOTING A WHILE AND WANT TO UPGRADE TO SOMETHING MORE PRO
This was the situation I found myself in recently. I'd been shooting with the Olympus for a while and started to reach the limits of what I could do creatively with it. I wanted to do a lot more flash photography and I had learnt about editing with Lightroom (thanks to LIoP's course that I've been doing) and so I wanted higher resolution images. I also wanted higher resolution video as I'm doing more filming and crisper, more pro images. After extensive research I went for the Fujifilm XT20. Its a lot more expensive (£849 with basic zoom kit lens) but sooo worth it.
Here's why!
It's still quite small (though the lenses can add bulk)
It has higher resolution images than the Olympus
It shoots 4k video
It has a mic input line (something that really bugged me about shooting video on the Olympus as you had to rely on the ambient sound from the camera mic)
I liked how it looked and 'felt'
It has an viewfinder! The Olympus doesn't, it just uses the digital screen which is fine for a while but I wanted to really get inside the photographs and to me a viewfinder helps with this
The lenses were a lot more pro and gave much crisper images
It has a traditional hotshoe (this is where you connect a flash. The Olympus you could only use certain flashes and hotshoe connections)
The white balance is better (I found the Olympus struggled slightly with any yellow lighting situations)
I lost a the flippy screen from the Olympus (Fuji has one but it's not quite as good) but overall the pros far outweigh the cons (well, the one con).
Here are some photos that I've taken on the Fujifilm XT20 with an 18-135 zoom lens
and here's a video I've shot on it (the sound isn't great as I didn't have a plug in mic at this point)
This is the exact equipment I use now...
Hopefully I'll get some more lenses for this camera soon too.
So there you have it, that's my camera setup, hope it helps you out! Feel free to comment with any questions or hit me up on insta and I'll share anything I know!
S x
*this post contains affiliate links so if you shop these link I make some cash. Not like, baller cash, maybe like, a sandwich at Pret A Manger cash*
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New York: Day 7
MEULIN: -She can't quite sleep; her dreams have been sort of weird. It's not too unlike usual, but having been bashed through a wall and dealing with serious pain in her ribs isn't the best for rest either. Her sylladex is back, so she's got her overhead light on and her notebook in hand, scribbling new lines. She's writing about Dave and Karkat currently, because they won't answer in the bulletin feed. She's anxious.-
JOEY: =Ugh, plane rides always threw off her sleep schedule, now more than ever since it had been near a decade since the last time she was on one.=
JOEY: =Seeing Meulin's light on, she weaved through the aisles until coming up to her row, sleepily rubbing an eye.=
JOEY: having a hard time zonking out too?
MEULIN: !
MEULIN: -She had kept the glasses on idly, but words scrolling across the screen startle her a little with how "quiet" it had been for some time.- OH... -clears throat, trying to be quiet.- MMHM...
MEULIN: -glances over at looks at Joey more fully- HEY, SO... WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?
MEULIN: I MEAN... NOT SUPER LITTERALLY. BUT WHERE HAVE YOU B33N? BEFORE NOW.
JOEY: tons of places, really...
JOEY: i lived on alternia for quite a while before bouncing between earths and alternias
JOEY: and now im finally back where i started :)
MEULIN: HAVE YOU NEVER B33N TO BEFURUS? -chirps with interest, wiggling in her chair to face Joey more fully-
MEULIN: -she doesn't seem to quite be grasping the plurality. She thinks it might just be a glasses typo-
JOEY: oh....no I dont think so
JOEY: my travels were stuck between the two switching back and forth
JOEY: thats actually a correlation I never really thought about... it's something to tell jude when he's awake haha
MEULIN: OH??
MEULIN: WHY BACK AND FURTH THERE?
JOEY: =is the seat open next to Meu? if so she's taking it. Funny enough, she found trolls easy to trust, having lived around them for so long. But Meulin was a stranger.... WELL, not for long!!=
JOEY: well see, it all starts with a long story, but the abridged version is that ive been trying to find my way back
JOEY: from different universes
MEULIN: -IT SURE IS, until Joey takes it.-
MEULIN: DIFFERENT MEWNIVERSES? -knits brows- I GUESS I'VE B33N TOLD A LITTLE ABOUT THAT... BUT IT S33MS SO SILLY...
MEULIN: NOT THAT I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! IT'S JUST... I GUESS IT'S HARD FUR ME TO MAKE SENSE OF.
JOHN: -he's been listening for a little bit, he didn't want to interrupt- it's the real deal, meulin. jake showed me a picture and everything.
MEULIN: ?! -LOOKS AROUND FOR JOHN.-
JOHN: -he's right here. he waves-
MEULIN: -OH HI-
JOHN: haha, sorry i didn't mean to startle you. i was listening to joey.(edited)
MEULIN: SO PEOPLE ARE JUST... HOPPING AROUND ALL WILLY-VANILLY?
JOEY: oh...im guessing different universes are common knowledge here? hehe i thought i was revealing a whopper of information that would totally blow your mind out of the mind ballpark
JOHN: hey i don't know about all that. all i know is jake is from a different universe too. and he showed me a picture of dirk from a different universe.
JOHN: but as far as i know he only went once. he didn't just...ping pong around like you're saying.
JOHN: -eyes her curiously-
MEULIN: OKAY, SO THIS ISN'T JUST MIND BLOWING FUR ME. GOOD TO KNOW. ~(=^. .^)
JOHN: my mind equals blown.
JOHN: -mimes the "mind blown gif thing"-
JOEY: oh
JOEY: well ping ponging might only work under very specific circumstances JOEY: at least in my case
JOEY: did jake come through a doorway?
JOLENE: ... -shifts a uncomfortably where she's sitting nOW THAT I'M PAYING ATTENTION-
JOHN: man...i don't know. i never asked him.
JOHN: sorry!
JOHN: don't worry though. you'll get to talk to him soon when we go get him.
JOEY: i hope so :)
JOEY: it would be an interesting conversation
JOHN: so uh, what was it like being a human on alternia?
JOHN: i mean tbh it sounds pretty terrifying.
JOEY: the trick is not to be a human on alternia ;)
JOHN: 👀
JOHN: -???-
JOHN: okay now you've got me all intriguied.
JOEY: well as long as you look the part, walk the walk, and talk the talk, trolls can be easy to fool =glances over at meulin= no offense
MEULIN: NONE TAKEN, WE'RE FURKING WEIRD.
JOHN: haha wow. really? so you slapped on some horns and face paint and that fooled the alternian authorities.
JOHN: wow. great job guys.
JOEY: well learning the language, registering as a maroon, and getting a sustainable job was a touch harder, but =shrugs=
JOHN: -raises his eyebrows, impressed.-
---
[SPEAKING OF TRAVEL PLANS, it's been getting a little bit harder to keep going the direct path they've been going in this plane-- between the border patrols protecting against the CANADIAN RESISTANCE LEAGUE and the ships that keep passing them by-- often requesting identification or confirmation of some kind-- it's been getting downright dangerous. The fact that they wound up in the middle of Ontario just to avoid some of the heat is beginning to make this a harder affair than it should be-- especially since they can see several other blips on the plane's radar rapidly approaching them.]
JOHN: -observes this bullshit- aw man...........
MEULIN: -after all her restlessness, she actually ended up falling asleep at last, leaned over with her head in Joey's lap, snoozing soundly. Prr prr.-
JOEY: =She's also sprawled in the chair, one hand on Meu's shoulders and a bit of drool running down her chin. A beautiful sight. Are the passengers able to hear the blips? Or see "blip" scroll across glasses in a lovely marquee?=
[The restfulness is interrupted by a few shrill chimes... it would seem the blips are getting MUCH closer. And much more interested in getting a straight answer out of this vessel.]
ROSE: -She sits up abruptly, waking from some kinda dream where her eyes are open, glancing around the cabin.-
JAMISON: =WHAT THE HOODLY-DOODLY? Is Jamison or Jolene driving either way he's ALERT and peeps at the radar= We seem to be the hot new thing in the clouds!
[ PLEASE IDENTIFY YOUR VESSEL AND ITINERARY]
[also it's jamison if u want it to be]
MEULIN: -She is deaf to the chimes... at least unless something else wakes her up.-
JOEY: =She jumped in her seat at the sudden shrillness of it. The movement may be enough to rouse her.=
JAMISON: =What should he do... should he LIE? He'll lie. Takes on a weird high-pitcher voice= Oh.... hullo!
JAMISON: We're simply a jerky craft delivering jerky from questionable products as anticipated bipbip right right! =Casually flies... how many are there? AIRFIGHTING is much more of a delicate dance than fighting on land and sea... it requires...... surprise=
JOEY: =she's rubbing her face, trying to wake herself faster=
[ There's a good four of them... and it IS a cargo vessel. So it's not exactly handling like a dream...]
JAMISON: =AUGH=
[ There is some mumbling and rustling on the other end.]
MEULIN: -snorks and CHIRPS out of her sleep, ears perked despite nothing to listen to.- WHAT...?
MEULIN: WHAT'S WRONG? -adjusts sunglasses on her face-
[ 'warning shot?' 'yeah dude warning shot' ] [ ' should i do it or--'] [ 'YOU ARE BOTH COWARDS'] [that one was less of a mumbled rustle as it was a scream, as a missile flies directly towards their tail.]
[ ' OH HEY GUESS WHAT ASSHOLES, GUESS WHAT, KOLETA DOESN'T KNOW WHAT A FUCKING WARNING SHOT IS, BIG SURPRISE']
[ the one who evidently named the shot and is ALSO evidently named Koleta shouts something back.]
ROSE: I-- I think you can cut the com channel.
JAMISON: Frigs Koleta! =SWERVES plane=
JOEY: =she puts a finger to her lips, signing "Contact" and pointing to the cockp--= JOEY: =SCREAMS!=
JAMISON: =HE KICKS IT=
[ There is a muffled BOOM as the plane shakes. But the blips are getting closer-- at least there's no obvious major damage.]
MEULIN: ~(=ΦェΦ) !!!
MEULIN: FURK!!!! WHAT WAS THAT???
MEULIN: ARE WE BEING SHOT AT???
JAMISON: We may very well have to make an emergency landing, all!
ROSE: Slightly.
JAMISON: Perhaps if they clip us with another missile we can use debris as a cover while they chase the bum plane on auto-pilot!
ROSE: We're... not too far from a town. I think. -She squints at her phone.-
ROSE: That's actually a good plan.
ROSE: We can lay low and secure another transport.
ROSE: And they may possibly believe we're dead.
JAMISON: Right-o!
JAMISON: In which case everyone brace yourselves for a good bailing! =He'll have to pay attention and time this right=
[BOOM. BOOM. And then, BOOM. it sounds like the other three pilots were all showing of that thEY know what a god damned warning shot is.]
ROSE: I--
ROSE: Do we have... parachutes?
ROSE: I haven't been able to do much, since the falls.
JOEY: yes! =flinches at the booms=
MEULIN: -reading as fast as she can- BAILING??
MEULIN: -scrambles out of her seat-
JAMISON: Of course, no good explore leaves without one!
JOEY: they seem a heck of a lot bigger than bullets though!
JUDE: -absolutely has a parachute? you never know when you're going to need one.-
JAMISON: =He's so proud of his kids....=
JOHN: well uh, i can carry a few peeps but a big group might be a target.(edited)
ROSE: Right. Right. Visual cover or something.
JOEY: =She ducked out into the aisle and began throwing open compartments to see if there's anything useful in there? like additional parachutes.=
JOEY: =calls over to jude= we should skydive until we reach a safe distance from the ground to avoid being sitting targets in the air!
JAMISON: I do have a raft which could cover a few souls!
JAMISON: =Hide them behind a raft falling out of a plane.=
[There's some supplies! There's actually a flaregun in there, some walkie-talkies... not that they've needed them, since they have communicators.]
JOHN: oh hey good idea!
JAMISON: =SOMEONE GRAB THOSE WALKIES HE'LL TAKE EM APART AND MAKE EM GUNS AND BOMBS AND GUNBOMBS=
JOEY: =He likely knows this of course, but everyone knowing their game plan is nice= JOEY: =She scooped them into her sylladex anyway.=
JOEY: =brilliant minds=
JAMISON: =Good on ya Joey!! :D =
[BUT NOT THE FLARES JAMISON??]
JOHN: - flips the raft on its side and holds on to it firmly- well anybody without a chute grab on tight!
JAMISON: =YES OF COURSE, they do well for lighting people on fire=(edited)
JOHN: the egbert airline express is ready for take off! :D - salutes-(edited)
ROSE: -Takes a deep breath and grabs onto it.-
ROSE: It cannot possibly be worse than going over niagra falls.
JOHN: smooth rides guaranteed. sorry no peanuts. (disclaimer: smooth ride not actually guaranteed.)
JAMISON: Those with be sure to cover yourselves with the chunks blown clean from our very own flyer!
[ SOME MORE MUFFLED BOOMS. Hitting the aircraft, in fact. And less muffled. And more shaky.]
ROSE: ...Yes. Good timing. -SLAMS THE BUTTON TO OPEN THE CARGO DOOR-
JOHN: nyoom! - SCREAMS THE WORD NYOOM, double checks that everyone is grabbing on and then JUMPS-
JAMISON: =He waits for all to vacate in the smoke and wreckage= GO GO GO!
JOHN: - It's not as difficult to hold on as if they were simply falling. it's more like going down a VERY VERY long and steep slide with the Breeze carrying them- pchoooooo!
JAMISON: =Once they've gone he sets the plane on auto-pilot and dives for the door as well, covering his body with some debris and free falls. Doing spins to appear like normal wreckage.... gotta committ=
[The planes don't seem to pick them up-- all going directly after their cargo plane. They probably see them whooshing overhead, following the trail of smoke and fire.]
JAMISON: =Excellent, he ditches the debris and dives a little closer to the ground before deploying his parachute=
[ Prepare for a ROUGH LANDING. They're near a road-- one that hasn't been upkept all that well, but still a road no less! And a sign of nearby civilization.]
JOHN: - now that the danger seems to be gone he enjoys the rest of the ride, holding onto the raft tightly and at the last second, laughing and flipping the raft over so they land on it-(edited)
MEULIN: -WELL SHIT THEY SURE ARE FALLING. She can almost sort of hear a little bit of this with what tiny hearing she has left, with all the wind whipping in her ears.-
JAMISON: =DOOF! But he doesn't blow out his shins! He's hastily folding the parachute up and shoving it back in his dex, it can be used later!=
[There are MULTIPLE DOOFS.]
ROSE: -kind of wheezes as she looks around...-
ROSE: ...About half a mile south.
ROSE: Is. The town I mentioned.
JOHN: -remains spilled over on his back, looking up at the sky upside down.-
JOHN: great day to be in canada, eh? weather looks fine, eh?
ROSE: John, please.
ROSE: You were practically Canadian already.
ROSE: I've met your father.
JAMISON: Mighty fine weather to be not where we were! =Dusts himself off and looks ahead=
ROSE: I'll agree to that.
ROSE: -She rubs her back, sitting up and looking around. A moose is staring at them, knowing no fear.-
JOEY: =floats to the ground shortly after, Meulin in her arms=
MEULIN: 333333!!! (ノᄌ<。)
MEULIN: -no less than CLINGING to Joey. she glances at the sky to see if their plane is going to spiral down and explode somewhere, since it's likely she won't hear it. She is sort of distracted by that moose, though.- (´⊙ω⊙)
JAMISON: =A MOOSE? WHERE!!=
JAMISON: =Instantly distracted=
http://i.imgur.com/DqDLwfq.gif
JOEY: look at that majestic creature JOEY: :D
JAMISON: =Slides out his knide slowly=
JOLENE: -NO!!-
JAMISON: =WE NEED TO EAT=
JAMISON: (Sssshhhhh.)
MEULIN: -shakes her head, freeing the fur hair.- B33 ARE B33. -crawls off of Joey to prowl...-
JAMISON: =MEULIN gets it!=
JOEY: D: =but it's a moose!=
JOEY: =earth wildlife!!=
JAMISON: =Imagine the honor it'll have to be our meal then..... also if it's running... he's in pursuit=
[THIS HERE EARTH WILDLIFE STARES AT THE APPROACHING MORTALS PEOPLE]
JOEY: =WE MEAN NO HARM OH MOOSE GOD! i mean, meulin and dad proabably do but wow please dont eat us=(edited)
JAMISON: =Hello dinner!=
JAMISON: =He's approaching with fists raised. Giving it a chance to FIGHT for it's life=
JOEY: =s otp=
JAMISON: =HE'S GIVING IT A FAIR SHOT=
MOOSE: -oh it will. IT CHARGES HEAD ON-
JAMISON: Have at thee future meal deal! =He watches this charge and is gonna try to duck under the horn charge to CHOKEHOLD a moose=
MOOSE: -NOT FOND OF THIS ARRANGEMENT!!! IT TRASH-
MEULIN: -SHE'S FLANKING THE MOOSE!!!! and then pounces from behind. EN GUARDE.-
JAMISON: Whoa there! =Is thrashed and HAWs at Meulins pounce=
JOEY: D':
MOOSE: -IS TACKLED TO THE GROUND BY A CATPOUNCE-
MEULIN: -CLINGS TO ITS HAIRY MOOSE BUTTOCKS WITH CLAWS-(edited)
MEULIN: -also, BITES ITS BUTT.-
MOOSE: -WOW????-
MEULIN: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5GnMR2EB54 –
JAMISON: =They'll try to make this quick mighty beast. Once Jamison gets a good foothold in the snow he's going to try and end it swiftly with his old man muscles=
MOOSE: -DEAD-
JAMISON: =DROPS IT= Well then! Dinner well caught!
JAMISON: :D
ROSE: There was a town nearby.
ROSE: So we could have—
ROSE: Actually, nevermind.
ROSE: Good work.
ROSE: -GOTTA KEEP MORALE UP SOMEHOW-
MEULIN: -HUFF PANT. Her glasses went flying in the midst of this so she misses that too. Retracts claws and offers Jamison a HIGH FIVE.-
JAMISON: =HIGH FIVE!!= :D
MEULIN: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMPAH67f4o -
JOEY: =if a baby moose walks out of that forest she's gonna cry=
MEULIN: .... -veal-
JOEY: =NOOOOOOO!=
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