What is Vlogging?

Over the last few years, vlogging has become extremely popular, but a lot of people still don't know what it is. When you think of a vlog, you should think about a shortened version of a video blog. It's like the video version of a blog post.

When a person says they're vlogging, it means they're filming a short video of their daily life. In the last few years, the popularity of vlogging has grown exponentially, and currently, the growth trend shows no signs of slowing.

One of the major reasons why vlogging has become incredibly popular is because the cost of the required equipment has dropped significantly. In the past, the equipment was too expensive, and most people couldn't afford it.

A major difference between vlogging and television is the intent. Unlike traditional media outlets, vloggers don't always create videos for money.

Vlogging is a word used to describe video blogging, and the term owes a large part of its popularity to YouTube, which is an online publishing platform for video creators.

Since the explosion of Internet bandwidth and smartphones, vlogging is something that almost anyone can do, and there is a good chance that you already have the equipment needed to make your own vlogs.

How Do Vloggers Make Money?

A lot of people think you must be a well-known star to make money vlogging, but the truth is that anyone can do it. When you're getting started, you might not make much money, but over time, you can build up an audience and start to make significantly more money.

There are countless ways for vloggers to make money, and some strategies are more common than others. Advertising serves as one of the easiest ways for vloggers to make money. Who doesn't want to earn money from just shooting videos? Beats working!

Google AdSense is a well-known program, and if you're vlogging on the YouTube platform, it's easy to get started with AdSense. Each video that you create is a piece of content that can be used to attract advertisers.

Google AdSense is a great program because it matches advertisers with vloggers. The concept is very simple to understand. When an advertiser uses a vlogger's video to display their products, the vlogger gets paid a percentage of the advertising revenue. Google AdSense makes it easy to quickly monetize your vlogs and gives you the opportunity to make money from your efforts.

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Another popular way for vloggers to make money involves selling branded merchandise. As your brand grows, your audience will grow with it, and eventually, you can start selling branded merchandise. Today, it's easier than ever before to find companies that will do the heavy lifting for you.

Many companies will create custom merchandise that has your brand logo on it, and you'll be able to sell it to your fans for a profit. Several top vloggers sell branded t-shirts, socks and hats, but you're not limited to these types of products. Sponsorships can also bring in a lot of money.

Advertising tends to bring in the smallest amount of revenue, and many vloggers view it as the icing on the profit cake. Once your audience grows large enough, you'll have far more reach, and you'll be able to find sponsorship deals.

Depending on your audience, you might not have to do any searching for sponsorships, and the companies will come to you. When a company sponsors you, they might give you money and products, and in exchange, you'll need to mention them in your vlogs.

What Makes A Good Vlogging Camera?

When shopping for a vlogging camera, there are many important features to consider, and you should also be aware of the features that you don't need. Since most vlogs are up close and personal, you don't need to worry about a zoom feature when shopping for a vlogging video camera.

You also don't need a flash because it's likely that your videos won't require it. You can even ignore megapixels because they're only important for photos. Most of the best waterproof vlogging cameras on the market are designed to perform a variety of different tasks, which is great for the average consumer.

Since you need a camera that is best for vlogging, this is bad news for you. For the typical vlogger, zoom and flash features are almost useless. However, if you plan to record travel vlogs, then it's not a terrible idea to consider a camera that has a decent zoom feature.

When it comes to professional photography, most people view the built-in camera flash as a sin, and they never use it, which is why you don't need it. If you choose to eliminate these features, you can focus on getting a camera that is better for vlogging, but it's not the end of the world if you can't find a video camera without them.

When shopping for a great vlogging camera, you need to pay attention to the low-light performance. Most vloggers would argue that low-light performance holds the greatest importance. As you film and create vlogs, there is a good chance that you won't be able to control the lighting.

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To give your audience level of quality that they deserve, you need a camera that can perform well in low-light conditions. If you think that low-light performance is only important when filming outdoors, somebody must've told you a lie.

The ability to perform well in low-light conditions is also important for indoor environments. A camera that doesn't work well in low-light environments will reduce the frames per second and create image noise. There are several qualities that ensure a camera will perform well when there isn't much light around you.

Lens

The lens aperture is important, and a quality lens should have a wide aperture, which allows the lens to capture more light. A wide aperture is also great for improving the aesthetics of every vlog that you create, and it allows you to achieve a blurred background effect for your vlogs.

Some of the best 50mm lenses have an f/1.8 aperture. The amount of noise produced by your camera at a higher ISO setting also affects its ability to perform in low-light conditions. Unfortunately, this is something that you can only test while using the camera.

Autofocus

Because most Vloggers are working alone when they are vlogging, they can't be behind the camera to monitor the focus of the lends. This is why I always look for a camera with an effective autofocus system. This enables the camera to keep track of you and to make sure that you always stay in focus while you're recording yourself.

Sensor

When shopping for a top vlogging camera, you need to consider the sensor size. A larger sensor can capture more light, which is important for vlogging. The type of camera that you purchase has a major impact on the sensor size. Camcorders tend to have the smallest sensor size, so they don't perform very well when there isn't much light around you.

The next biggest sensor size comes with compact cameras, but most compact cameras shoot terrible video. DSLR cameras tend to have the second biggest sensors, and you'll find the largest sensors on high-end DSLRs and full-frame cameras.

Stabilization

Before you find a vlogging camera to purchase, you need to find out if it has optical image stabilization. Although this feature isn't necessary for vlogging, it's recommended because it allows you to record better video while moving around. Some people have difficulty watching shaky videos.

Battery Life

As a vlogger / Youtuber, you'll need to film quite a bit and for hours at a time. Not everything can be done in one take. This is why it's important to have good battery life as a major consideration when purchasing a camera to vlogg on. Ideally you'd want a camera with the ability to change batteries. Have two or three spare batteries that you can change over with. Or alternatively buy a camera with the ability to keep on filming while plugged into power to charge.

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is another useful feature to check for. As a vlogger, you'll need to film and upload lots of vlogs. A camera that comes with built-in Wi-Fi can automatically upload your videos and make vlogging much easier. The Wi-Fi feature will be especially useful if you plan to upload your vlogs to YouTube, which can automatically sync with many modern cameras.

Microphone Input

A lot of people will put up with low-quality video, but the one thing that they won't tolerate is poor sound quality. If you want to be a vlogger, you need to make sure that you're filming with the best sound that you can afford. For me, audio quality is the most important aspect of Vlogging, with video quality coming a close second.

To get the best sound, you should try to choose a vlogging camera that has a microphone input. Almost all compact cameras do not come with a microphone input because it's considered a premium feature.

If your camera can accept input from an external microphone, it can dramatically enhance your vlogs because it will be able to produce far better sound.

If you can't find a camera that has an input for an external microphone, you should at least know the position of the camera's built-in microphone. The best option for vloggers is a front-facing camera mic.

When you turn the camera around to film, it will capture your face and absorb as much of your voice as possible. A microphone located on the side of the camera can be troublesome because you'll forget about it.

You might accidentally cover a side microphone with your fingers and prevent it from recording correctly. These are some of the basic camera features that you need to check for, but before you can find the best vlogging camera for your needs, you'll need to ask yourself some important questions.