What is the best semi-professional camcorder? Trying to shoot our own Whiteboard Friday!

[Fiyyazp]

I am trying to recreate Moz's Whiteboard Friday but their article on how to do it is from 2012 so the camera they used at the time of the article is no longer sold.

Here is the link to the article I am referencing: https://moz.com/blog/tips-for-filming-whiteboard-presentations

Any other tips on the best lighting equipment, microphones, etc. for shooting videos is also appreciated!

[Igor.Go]

Tech improved a bit since 2012, so I wouldn't use that article as a guide on what to buy.
Just grab a camera that records in 4k and has a good lens.

Sony makes great 4k cameras two options I'd recommend are Sony Alpha a7R II (expensive) and Sony Alpha a6300 (not expensive) both record in 4k with great quality.

Same advice for microphones, I'm 100% sure there's new stuff out there which costs less and provides the same quality if sound. For one there are now bluetooth microphones: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1029165-REG/sony_ecmaw4_wireless_micro_for_mic.html/ and the radio ones have probably improved a lot in 5 years.

[Fiyyazp]

Thanks Igor! I appreciate your help I will check those out!

[MichaelBird]

Hey Flyyazp! I'm Michael, the video guy here at Moz and I'm happy to chime in and offer some assistance.

The camera we use is a Canon 5D Mark III with a 24-105mm lens. Igor is right, camera technology has jumped forward quite a bit since 2012, so you can pass on looking for a camcorder and go straight for a nice DSLR, even a used one if it's right for the budget. If you're just shooting a person standing in front of a whiteboard you don't need to spend the extra cash on a brand new camera with 4K technology, unless you need that feature for other videos you plan to make. An important feature you're going to want on any camera you buy will be a headphone jack which will allow you to monitor the sound input to the camera.

Here is a video of me talking about how I light Whiteboard Friday and lighting features I recommend regardless of the brand you buy. In addition, our friends at Wistia made a nice little video here that will walk you through some tips for shooting video with a DSLR camera. Our mic is a Sennheiser lavalier our presenter is a Rand Fishkin (super rare).

I hope this helps!