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The Best Accessories for YouTube

To grow your YouTube channel, the most obvious thing you’ll need is quality content. Today, there are so many options for accessories to help boost your videos’ production value to the point where treating your viewers is easier than ever. However, those starting their content-creation journey will quickly learn how complex the technical side of the process is. Despite this learning curve, it can be incredibly rewarding to dive head-first into researching, choosing and buying all of the gear you need to produce great content, as it will quickly get you invested in the ‘magic’ behind content creation.

But where do you start? To help, we’ve put together this guide that details everything you’ll need to build your YouTube setup from the ground up. We’ll discuss everything from essentials like microphones, gimbals and tripods, to other accessories that we guarantee will give your YouTube content the edge.

Best microphones for YouTube

Audio is one of the biggest factors in ensuring that your viewers stay satisfied with your videos, arguably more than video quality. It’s really easy to get irritated by hissing, background noise, or muffled audio that’s hard to understand and is a common reason for viewers to click off of your videos quickly. Most importantly, however, poor audio means your video lacks impact. Unfortunately, the on-board microphones on most cameras are often low quality, so having a good microphone is paramount to your videos’ success.

Lavalier mics are a great way to record consistently good audio regardless of your environment. We’ve previously sung the praises of the DJI MIC, with a brilliant balance between cost and performance. RODE has good options across the board with their microphones – the RODE VideoMic GO II is a useful light-weight shotgun mic, with deluxe foam and a built-in shock mount that makes it ideal for content creators working both indoors and outdoors. The Wireless PRO is a more advanced lavalier mic from RODE that offers an array of professional features like flexible gain control, which helps to balance your audio level. For those looking for a more expert-level shotgun mic, Sennheiser’s range provides the gold standard of audio quality. The Sennheiser MKE 440 suppresses background noise and keeps a compact, unique V-shaped design for authentic stereo output.

Which tripod is best for making YouTube videos?

Good video stability can often set one video apart from another – not only does it give your video higher quality, it can make the filming process so much easier for you as a solo content creator. The JOBY GorillaPod is an excellently adaptable tripod, with flexible legs that can be wrapped around anything you choose, providing one of the most adaptable options to date. For YouTubers on a budget looking for something simple, then the Manfrotto PIXI EVO 2 is ideal – it’s sturdy, but lightweight and portable at the same time. It’s best used with a lighter camera, like a mirrorless vlogging camera, or even a smartphone (which can be attached using the MCLAMP smartphone clamp).

The Manfrotto Element MII is perfect for in the studio, and even when out and about. This tripod reaches a max height of 1.60m, and handles a payload of 8kg, which is useful for using large lenses. It’s super easy to carry – the tripod weighs only 1.55kg, making it a brilliant option for creating travel vlogs and other outdoor content. If you’re looking to upgrade your experience, Manfrotto’s other tripods such as the 209 Xtra have interchangeable heads, which can be replaced with video heads like the 504X, with a handle for smooth pan shots. Dedicated video tripods such as the Benro BV4PRO often come with video heads, and are designed with the versatility required for good video in mind.

Do I need a gimbal?

Gimbals have been revolutionary in video production for many. For those unfamiliar, gimbals help keep your camera perfectly stable by balancing it on its axes. These come in super handy when filming, as they make run-and-gun content so much easier and produce incredibly smooth footage. Pretty much any camera can fit on a gimbal – higher-end options like the DJI RS 3 work great for heavy professional setups; this gimbal in particular boasts a 12-hour operating time, and a new algorithm that shows 20% improved stability from its successors. For using lighter mirrorless cameras, like vlogging cameras, options like the Zhiyun Crane M3S are lightweight and intuitive. This Zhiyun option comes with a built-in light, which is tiny yet powerful. Both these manufacturers have produced gimbals that are compatible with smartphones, such as the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 and the Zhiyun Smooth 5, allowing for a brilliant portable filming experience when producing YouTube videos.

What lighting should I use for YouTube?

Lighting is incredibly important when producing a quality video, as it makes for footage that looks smooth, natural and aesthetically pleasing. It can go a long way in drawing your viewers in. Fortunately, there are plenty of lighting options at your disposal that you can harness to craft your studio for a perfect look, or ensure consistent natural lighting wherever you are.

On-camera lighting is essential – by directing a source of light at the subject of your video, the light hitting it should appear natural and even, which makes your footage a lot more visually appealing. These lights offer a diffused, soft profile and reduce the appearance of shadows. An industry favourite among vloggers is the ubiquitous ring light, known for making the subject of videos pop. A good choice would be the Kenro Smart Lite RGB ring light, a wide range of brightness, temperature and saturation, and an intuitive smartphone app for control. The Nanlite Mixpad LED Panel does very well to provide an even light profile across your subject too. Studio lighting is equally important - Godox’s RGB LED Video Light has a zoom functionality, allowing the range of lighting to vary, and is powerful enough to light a whole studio. Pairing this with another source of RGB light can really help to create a dynamic backdrop for your YouTube videos.

What else do I need for my productions?

There are plenty of unique accessories in the world of content creation that can make your production much easier. For instance, a wireless remote shutter can come in incredibly handy when filming yourself – those already familiar with filming YouTube videos alone will know how annoying it gets to keep having to get up to control your recording, so having a remote shutter by your side can make a big impact. A hand strap can also be useful to put on your camera when making run-and-gun-style footage. Often, it can be helpful in a situation where a gimbal for example wouldn’t fit, and makes for greater peace of mind when filming.

External monitors are brilliant for filming, and are often used by professionals to get a better sense of their video output than they would from their camera’s LCD screen. Choices like the Atomos Shinobi 7 bring a new level of sophistication to your video production, with unbelievable brightness and speed. The monitor comes with a 4K screen and helpful visualisers like histograms. The Atomos Zato Connect also facilitates live-stream content, which is known to be great for boosting YouTube engagement, so is worth trying out in order to grow your channel.

What is the best camera for YouTube?

Before accessories even enter the frame, you need a high-quality camera to capture your best content. As video content has become more popular (especially with the rise of YouTube) the camera market has been forced to evolve to fit a diverse demographic of content creators. This has led to a range of video-specific cameras that meet all users’ needs, from smaller vlogging cameras to professional full-frames.

Vlogging cameras are designed specifically for vloggers – this means that, by nature, they’re usually compact and come with features implemented to enhance video quality and user experience when filming. Below are a couple of the best vlogging cameras on the market right now:

• Sony ZV-E10: this camera is Sony’s first APS-C vlogging camera with interchangeable lenses. It builds on the success of the ZV-1, but allows you to use Sony’s giant range of E-mount lenses for maximum creative freedom. Alongside this, it comes with 4K video, a flip-out fully-articulating touch screen, and features that make filming more efficient like Eye AF and SteadyShot stabilisation.
• Nikon Z30: this is Nikon’s introduction to the content-creation market – it provides an excellent starting point for creators, being compact whilst producing 4K results and advanced subject recognition.

Those looking to produce high-adrenaline action content would be expected to look into creating first-person view footage. Fortunately, there are plenty of action cameras on the market that get this done with remarkable quality, such as:

• GoPro HERO 12 Creator Edition: a professional action cam that features industry-leading video encoding, all in a portable package.
• DJI Action 2: a tiny action cam with 4K/120fps video, built-in image stabilisation and an easy-to-use magnetic design.

At Park Cameras, we understand the importance of the burgeoning online content creation industry, so we stock an abundance of video equipment, accessories and more to help new and experienced YouTubers.

Explore our dedicated range of production equipment here, with gear from the world’s biggest brands to assist you on your YouTube journey.

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By Thom Pyle on 13/10/2023