What do I need to make videos on YouTube?

Nowadays with the proliferation of YouTube and other video sharing websites, there's been a huge increase in the number of people that are making their own home movies and posting them online. The question is though, what equipment is that you need?

Well, the first thing that you need is a computer. Since you're already reading this on a computer (unless you're using a tablet) that's the most expensive part out of the way. Many computers that have been made within the last couple of years should have no problem in making HD movies within a short period of time, although of course this is dependent on how long your movie is.

Linked to the computer is the need for software. I'll be honest and admit that there are a lot of different movie making programs out there. Thankfully, many of them also allow you to do a free trial to see how well the software meets your needs. Alternatively, you can use Windows Live Movie Maker. It's actually a great piece of software, and I've written a guide on how to output your movie to 720p video, as well as why you should use this option, here.

The next thing you'll need is a digital camera, or video camera. It's a bit of a compromise between cost and quality with this one. Personally, I don't have a video camera, but rather I use my digital camera instead. It records footage in the 720p .mov format (meaning it can be read by both Windows and Mac based operating systems natively), and for the price I paid for it, I couldn't be happier. You can see a preview of the HD capabilities of the camera, here be sure to click on 720p! The camera in question is a Panasonic FS33 (in the UK) and FH22 (in the USA).

You're also going to want to get an SDHC card that can save data quickly enough to the card, especially if you're recording in HD. Slower Class cards won't be suitable for the job, and you'll need a faster card. I recommend that you use the San DIsk Extreme Video SDHC care, which has a minimum write speed of 30Mb/s. That way, you won't experience any interruptions in your video.

The next component is optional, and it's a tripod/mini-tripod. Depending on how steady your hand is, and if you have image stabilisation on your camera, you may not require this. However, if you're going to be doing video unboxings, or other demonstrations, I would recommend you get a tripod so that both of your hands are free.Even if you're filming other people, holding on to two of the legs on the tripod makes for a much steadier camera than you holding the camera at both sides.

Again, this final suggestion is optional. If you're using a room to record your videos that has a lot of natural light flooding it, then you won't need an secondary light. However, if you have a darker room and you're doing videos such as unboxings, I would suggest that you buy a light to shine on the video area. The reason behind this is that whilst the room may appear bright to you with the overhead light on, more often than not, the camera has difficulty dealing with the indirect light, and thus the room appears to be darker than it is, making the film less enjoyable to view.

From the time that this Hub was made until today, there has been a lot of improvements in compact cameras that can also record video. Whilst the Lumix FS33 can still be bought for a really low price these days, the newer version is a superior product.

It excels in every way above the FS33 and the Lumix DMC-ZS25 also supports Full HD video capture as well as state of the art Optical Image Stabilisation so you can be sure that you'll get great content time and again.