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Filmmaking Gear Reviews (Page 4)

We’ve got your back for video camera reviews and microphone reviews, plus lots of other stuff you need to make a great indie film or documentary like film lighting kit reviews. Choosing which camera to use for making an indie film or documentary film is challenging, particularly if you’re a beginning filmmaker. You want to make sure you’re not wasting your money and you’re also not getting the cheapest camera that will break either. We’ve got articles to help you choose the best video camera for making a film as well as information about the best LED lighting kits on a budget and even information about cheap teleprompters.

Although choosing film gear can be hard, the good news is that there has never been a better time to be an independent or documentary filmmaker. There is more affordable video gear than ever before and plenty of new innovations that make filmmaking easier and less error-prone.

connect shotgun mic to dslr

How to Connect an XLR Shotgun Microphone to a DSLR

2016-03-27
In: Audio Gear & Microphone Reviews, Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Filmmaking Knowledgebase, Filmmaking Tutorials & How-Tos, Video Production

Let’s say you don’t want to use a DSLR shotgun microphone that sits on top of your camera but instead you want to use a boom pole and a shotgun mic mounted on top of that to capture sound much closer to your subject than an on-camera mic will allowRead More →

how to connect a dslr to a shotgun mic

5 Best DSLR Microphones & Shotgun Mics for DSLRs

2016-03-27
In: Audio Gear & Microphone Reviews, Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Production

DSLRs produce amazing visuals with blurry backgrounds and shallow depth of field. But when it comes to audio, out of the box most DSLRs for filmmaking are kind of… terrible. One solution is to get a DSLR audio adapter which allows you to plug in professional shotgun microphones with XLRRead More →

best shotgun microphones and boom microphones for filmmakers

Best Shotgun Microphones and Boom Mics for Filmmakers

2016-03-27
In: Audio Gear & Microphone Reviews, Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Production

If you’re not already a seasoned location sound professional, it’s hard to know which shotgun microphones have a good reputation and which don’t. And since the best shotgun mics can be expensive, making the wrong mistake can be costly. Here are some of the best shotgun microphones for film inRead More →

best headphones for editing video

Best Headphones for Filmmakers & Editors

2016-03-27
In: Audio Gear & Microphone Reviews, Film Post Production, Filmmaking Gear Reviews

Good headphones are crucial not only while shooting on location or on set but also editing if you wear headphones while editing (instead of listening to the sound on speakers as some editors prefer to). In our opinion, the best headphones for filmmakers and editors are comfortable, durable, and produceRead More →

soft tripod carrying case

Best Tripod Carrying Cases (Hard & Soft Tripod Cases)

2016-03-26
In: Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Production

Film and video tripods are notoriously some of the most difficult objects to fit into cases but they’re extremely important to protect nonetheless. A variety of case manufacturers have made special purpose-built tripod carrying cases to protect tripods when you travel. Soft tripod carrying cases may work better for someRead More →

Best Soft Equipment Cases for Camera & Film/Video Gear

2016-03-26
In: Filmmaking Gear Reviews

Soft equipment cases for camera gear are extremely useful when you’re packing light and need to carry gear on your back or hand carry it, such as in situations where big bulky film and video equipment hard cases can attract the wrong type of attention, such as third world countries.Read More →

hard case for equipment

5 Best Hard Equipment Cases for Camera & Film/Video Gear

2016-03-26
In: Filmmaking Gear Reviews

A kit full of expensive cameras and film gear is no good if it ends up broken. Cases are important, and they come in two basic categories: soft equipment cases and hard equipment cases. Soft equipment cases are often better for one man band type setups or situations where youRead More →

Cheap 4K Video Cameras for Documentary Filmmaking

2016-03-25
In: Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Camera Reviews, Video Production

Up until recently the words “4K video camera” and “cheap” weren’t likely to be found in the same sentence, much less the same article. Unless of course, that article contained the phrase “Now, 4K video doesn’t exactly come cheap…” Or to crack a joke about 4K cameras not being anywhereRead More →

best cheap camera for documentary filmmaking

The Best Low Budget Documentary Cameras

2016-03-25
In: Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Camera Reviews, Video Production

Documentary filmmakers, especially documentary filmmakers at the beginning of their careers, are no stranger to low budgets. With more documentary films than ever before being produced each year, there’s less funding to go around. With so much new competition for funding, money can be hard to come by. Luckily, theRead More →

Best Documentary Filmmaking Cameras in 2024

2016-03-15
In: Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Camera Reviews, Video Production

Update: The Panasonic DVX 200 kind of blew us away, so be sure to check that camera out as well. What are the best cameras for documentary filmmakers? The last several years have brought us several years of technology advances bringing high-quality cameras to even lower price points than ever.Read More →

dslr that shoots 4k video

List of DSLRs That Shoot 4K Video

2015-12-04
In: Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Camera Reviews, Video Production

These days more and more small and light DSLRs are capable of shooting high resolution 4K video (3,840 x 2,160 UHD or Ultra High Definition video). And luckily, the prices for these cameras have been dropping rapidly as well. Here is a list of DSLRs that shoot 4K video: SonyRead More →

Why Use Panasonic GH4/GH3 Cameras for Documentary Filmmaking?

2015-03-01
In: Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Camera Reviews, Video Production

The Panasonic GH3 and GH4 DSLR cameras are becoming more and more popular amongst documentary filmmakers, and for good reason. Like other DSLR cameras, the Panasonic GH4 (and GH3 before it) feature interchangeable lenses and large sensors, both of which allow you to get razor thin shallow depth of field.Read More →

scrim jim

10 Must Have Accessories for Your Film Lighting Kit

2015-01-29
In: Film Lighting Kit Reviews, Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Production

Pictured above: A Scrim Jim (listed below) for diffusing light, either outdoors or indoors. When you’re first putting together your lighting kit, you’ll obviously get the basics: light and stands. But the difference between a professional kit and a beginner’s kit lies not only in the quality of the lightsRead More →

dslr xlr audio adapter breakout box

What are the Best DSLR XLR Audio Adapters?

2014-12-31
In: Audio Gear & Microphone Reviews, Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Production

Today many documentary filmmakers (and other filmmakers) are shooting on DSLRs because of their ability use large sensors with interchangeable lenses which offer shallow depths of field, resulting in a beautiful picture. But the audio side of DSLR filmmaking is a topic that doesn’t get enough attention. (Note: you canRead More →

xlr adapter

10 Different Types of XLR Audio Adapter Cables

2014-12-03
In: Audio Gear & Microphone Reviews, Filmmaking Gear Reviews, Video Production

If you’ve ever been tasked with shooting an event with a live sound feed from a single mic on a podium, you may have run into a startling realization: no soundboard has XLR outputs. We’ve definitely been in situations where we wished we had an XLR audio adapter of oneRead More →

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  • Documentary Film Equipment List
  • Documentary Interview Lighting Kits
  • The Best Lav Mics for Filmmaking
  • Download a Documentary Release Form
  • Best DSLR Shotgun Microphones
  • Documentary Film Equipment List
  • Cheapest 4K Video Cameras

About this website

We're here to help you find the best documentary camera for your documentary film. We've looked at all the available documentary video cameras on the market today from DSLRs to traditional video cameras and made our recommendations.

Many of our filmmaking gear reviews and how-to articles on video cameras and microphones are also suited toward making fictional indie films as well, so this is not purely a documentary filmmaking website.

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We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. You will not be charged extra by purchasing through these links. We may participate in other affiliate programs as well.

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