Video equipment can add up fast if you’re setting up a new in-house team. But trying to navigate the essential buys versus the nice-to-haves can be a challenge, especially when you’re trying to maximize your budget.
In this post, we’ll walk you through how to choose what video equipment to invest in, the pros and cons of renting equipment, and the best software options for video editing.
For more in-depth information, including a full recommended video production equipment list based on budget and examples of templates your team can use to organize video projects, download The complete guide to building an in-house video production team for free.
How to determine what video production equipment to get
Whether you’re setting up a brand new video team or wanting to expand your existing team’s gear, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The sheer amount of options when it comes to video equipment can be staggering, especially with such a wide range of price points to choose from.
So where do you even start? Do you invest in the highest-end gear your company can afford that will give you the most mileage in the long run? Or do you start with the basics and continue investing as you grow video within the organization?
Choose video equipment that supports what you’re going to be creating
To help determine what you actually need for your team, you need to look at the type of content that you’re creating. If you’re filming events, focusing on getting a good camera that you can easily bring with you will be far more important than a lighting set up. But if you’re primarily using stock footage to create videos and not filming a ton in-house, then investing in the right editing platform and asset libraries is the smarter move long-term.
Ask your teammates for their opinion
Be sure to also let your teammates weigh in on what equipment they’d find most useful. It goes without saying, but since they’ll be the ones using it, they’ll have an opinion on what will help them do their best work for the kind of content your organization wants to create.
Types of video production equipment
Generally speaking, the video equipment you’ll need for a production team will fall under one of these 4 categories:
- Cameras
- Lighting
- Audio
- Software
But even within just the camera category, there’s loads of different options to choose from. In The complete guide to building an in-house video production team, we’ve built out video production equipment lists for $5K, $25K, and $50K budgets that include links to specific products online to make it easier on teams who don’t have the time to do in-depth research. Download your free copy and go to page 35 for that video production equipment list.
With a baseline budget of $5K for a team that plans on creating video content in-house, we recommend getting a good mirrorless camera, a versatile zoom lens, a wireless lavalier system, a 2 light COB kit, extra batteries, extra memory cards, a tripod, and a teleprompter. This gives you the main essentials for setting up a basic video production operation. It covers a wide range of different uses, from creating social media content to filming high quality videos for your website.
Choosing whether to rent or buy your equipment
For new teams that are building their equipment from the ground up or working with a small budget, renting equipment can be a great option. By renting, you can trial or test out equipment before committing to the full purchase price. As Nolan Nichols, Manager of Video Production at the U.S. Travel Association, put it, “Renting can give you a better idea of what you want to buy.”
Since video production equipment can have such a large price tag, renting can give you far more bang for your buck. “If you don’t have the budget to do a capital investment of the video equipment, but you’re working a conference, you can just budget $1,000 or $500 to have set aside for video equipment. That way, you can use that smaller budget to rent that equipment that you need, but you don’t have to put down $15,000 to own it,” Nichols explains.
If renting sounds like a good solution for your team, ProductionHub has a great database of places that do video equipment rentals across the United States and Canada. Opting for rental video equipment is a great way to take care of the majority of the gear for your team, with the exception of editing software. As Nichols puts it, “If you need more time, rent, and maybe renting is the strategy going forward, but make sure you have what you need to edit.”
Video editing software options
The software you invest in will be an essential part of your team’s post-production process, so it should be one that your team is comfortable with and knows well. The learning curve with picking up a new software can be tough, so I wouldn’t recommend going that route unless you absolutely have to.
For the most part, Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve are the industry standards when it comes to video editing. There are some exceptions for certain industries, such as Avid Media Composer for TV and film. To learn more about the top video editing software options, along with the pros and cons of each, check out our series of comparison posts: DaVinci Resolve vs Premiere Pro, Premiere Pro vs Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve vs Final Cut Pro, and After Effects vs Premiere Pro.
Advice from video production professionals
As I’ve emphasized so far, the equipment you buy and what you spend your budget on will be unique to your organization’s needs. But to give you an idea of how other video production leaders approached equipment for their own teams, I wanted to share some of their experiences and advice on gear.
Here at Storyblocks, we have a small in-house video team that was started by Kaitlyn Rossi, our Creative Director. “Our very first investment was the Adobe Creative Suite. Getting some sort of editing program for your video production team is number one. I think our second investment was a DSLR camera, along with a very small lighting and audio package. It had a boom mic, an audio recorder, and a few LED panels.” As we mentioned before, video editing software is an essential – so it’s no surprise that that was the first investment.
For Nichols, video editing software was one of his team’s first purchases as well. “Make sure you have the right editing platform, which can cost some money. Make sure you’re invested in platforms like Storyblocks that really extend your reach as well. Think about audio – do you need an audio subscription service? If you’re planning on doing a lot of filming, you really need to research what camera fits in your budget with the quality you want.” Don’t just focus on production equipment – save some budget for tools to support your team in post-production too.
Finally, Casey Clark, Senior Manager of Video at Luma Health, warns not to fall into the trap of thinking you need to have the latest and greatest equipment that’s on the market to make good video. “I’ve felt like this my entire career, people rely too much on the newest and best equipment, and they get too caught up in the gear. They’re missing the point of doing this. I’m more than a video maker, I want to keep it more basic and just be a storyteller,” Clark explains. “So with gear, even though I have way too much of it according to my life, anyone who uses it as an excuse, saying their videos don’t look good because they don’t have the right camera – that’s the wrong mentality.”
And Clark is right – people go viral on social media with low-quality videos filmed on their basic smartphones all the time. Having the newest, most expensive camera available won’t magically make your videos get more views. But the one piece of equipment he doesn’t think you should skimp out? A good microphone. “You can have the most basic tools and still make good stuff. But it has to sound good. If a video doesn’t sound good to me? It’s a lost cause quite honestly.”
Download your free guide
If you’re setting up a video production team in-house, our free guide has all the information you need to help you navigate every step of the process. From how to choose your first hire to recommendations for equipment to buy based on your budget, it’s a comprehensive resource that provides you with a clear roadmap to follow for success. On top of that, you’ll also get more expert advice from Clark, Nichols, and Rossi, who are experienced professionals leading their own in-house teams. Download your copy today!
