Top 5 Best Digital Cameras Under $300
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In this 21st century, it is safe to say that everything is getting revolutionised and transformed into something more interesting and captivating. This is the same case for blogging as well.
Blogging over the last few years has been revolutionised and transformed into vlogging, which means video blogging. So, it is needless to say that vlogging requires a good quality camera.
Now with the advent of all sorts of high quality smartphones with high quality cameras you may think that you do not require anything else but, if you want to create certain top quality vlogs you will be requiring the service of one of the best digital cameras in the market.
However when it is said that you will require one of the best digital cameras it does not necessarily means that you will have to pay a large amount of money for it. There are a lot of digital cameras that are available under quite affordable prices with all the modern features.
What is vlogging?
If you go back a few years and look into the past years carefully you will find that the presence of vlogging has increased over the years and people are becoming more and more interested into vlogging and creating vlogs. Vlogging means video blogging where a piece of someone’s life is shown on the various global platforms such as YouTube and such other platforms.
But, it must be said that there is a stark difference between a vlog and a television show and that is that vloggers create vlogs to showcase their talents in the art of creating a film or rather a short film, while the television shows are created with the sole idea of earning lots and lots of money. Over the past few years the trend in vlogging has increased steeply and you will find an exponential curve if you plot vlogging versus the years.
This is because of the fact that with time the equipments used or required for vlogging have become more and more cheaper and now even a common man can afford to buy a good quality digital camera so that he can create some vlogs.
How to make some money through vlogging?
If you are thinking about earning some money with the help of you beautiful vlogs then you will be happy to hear that there are several ways in which you can earn a huge amount of money through your vlogs. However you must keep in mind that when you have started your career as a vlogger you need to be patient because at first you will not be able to earn any amount of money.
It is after a certain amount of time that you will be able to get the undivided attention of people all around the world and only then through your vlogs’ popularity you will be able to earn some amount of money.
One of the most notable ways to earn some money through your vlogs is to get started with the Google AdSense program, which is quite popular among all the vloggers all around the world. With the help of this program you can get into certain advertisement vlogs which pays a good amount of money based on their success rates.
If you are able to create certain top quality videos, then Google AdSense will find your match regarding an advertiser who is interested in using your vlogging video to advertise their product and thus he or she is going to pay you a part of his or her profit.
The Google AdSense tries t match your vlog with the idea of a particular advertiser and thus in turn you get the money that you were looking for.
Another way of making money with the help of vlogs is to sell branded merchandises. With time your spectators will only grow in number provided that you are able to hold onto your level of work or even better if you are able to elevate your level of work. So, with no time you will be getting the offer of advertising branded merchandises and that means that you will be earning not only certain amount of money but you will be earning a huge amount of money.
There are numerous companies all over the world with a merchandise logo and they will be selling their products through your wonderful vlogs to your vast range of followers all over the world. Thus they are able to pay such a huge amount of money to you. However it must be said that advertisement will bring you a small amount of revenue.
But you can consider as a bonus because with time and your increasing popularity you will start getting sponsorships which brings a lot of money along with it. If you have a very healthy number of spectators then you may not have to do any searching when it comes to the job of finding sponsorships because famous companies will approach you themselves with huge offers and opportunities to make a name for yourself in the vlogging world.
Requirements that a vlogging camera should have
When you are looking forward to buy a digital camera for vlogging then you need to make sure that your camera has got certain features in it and you also need to make sure that your camera is devoid of certain features in it because you are going to need them for creating high quality vlogs.
So, the first and foremost feature which you may discard from your list of requirements is the zooming feature since you will be never requiring it. However if you are planning to create certain vlogs on travel and tourism then you might require a camera where you will be needing a zooming lens.
Along with the zooming feature you will not need the flash. Most professional photographers all around the globe absolutely hate having flash in their cameras and so they never even use it. But if you are unable to find a camera where there’s no flash within your budget they you don’t have to worry about it because even then you can create certain wonderful videos.
There are a lot of features that you are going to find in a camera which is required for an ordinary consumer. But you are no ordinary consumer and you require the best kind of digital camera where you will have the features which are required for vlogging and vlogging only. The low light performance is one of the features which must be present in the camera which you are going to buy for vlogging.
Having low light performance is very important for someone who is keen on making vlogs of high quality because as a vlogger you never have any sort of control over the light in which you are going to create your vlog. In order to present to your spectators a good quality of video you need to be able to shoot even in low light and for that you require the low light performance feature.
If this feature is absent then it will reduce frames per second and it will also generate image noise.
Lens aperture size is another feature which must be taken into consideration. If you are buying a camera which you are going to use for vlogging then you must make sure that your camera has got a wide lens as it allows more light and it also blurs the background. A 50mm lens should have an f/1.8 aperture.
Then only it will produce a very high quality of video. Along with lens aperture, size of the sensor is also another important feature which must be kept in mind while buying a vlogging camera. The size of the sensor must be big for taking in more amount of light.
Cam recorders have got the smallest sensors, and then come the compact cameras. But the digital recorders have got a big sensor size and hence they are a good choice when it comes to choosing a camera for creating vlogs.
Along with all these features it is also necessary to mention that your chosen camera should be having optical image stabilisation. It may not be a mandatory feature in your chosen camera but it is required if you are going to shot your vlogs outside while moving. Sometimes the hands tend to shake and for that the optical image stabilisation is required.
Lastly the wifi feature is an important feature that your camera should have since you will be requiring to upload various videos during all throughout the day. So having an in built wifi feature will be convenient for you.
High sound quality
Providing your audience with the best quality of sound is perhaps the most important task for a blogger because it is evident that a person is going to sit through a video with poor picture quality but he or she will certainly not tolerate any vlog with poor sound quality. Not being able to hear or understand what is being shown in the vlog is pretty frustrating as well as for a person. So as a vlogger you have to make sure that your vlog gives the best sound quality to your audiences as possible.
For that you have to make sure while purchasing your digital camera that the camera has got the feature of accepting an input from any sort of external microphone so that you get the best possible natural sound effects. An external microphone definitely enhances the quality of sound in any sort of video whether it is being shot outdoors or indoors.
However it is not always possible to get a hang of a camera which has got the ability to accept input from any external microphone and in that case you must make sure that you know the position of you’re built in microphone so that you can get the highest possible sound quality.
Make sure that while shooting the video you have your in built microphone near the person who is speaking so that you can record a video with the most clear sound and voice. If your video has got good picture quality and along with it if it pleases your audience with high sound quality then you are bound to achieve some success in the world of vlogging.
Platforms used by vloggers
In the 21st century a vlogger has got a variety of options when it comes to choosing a platform for vlogging but, there are certain platforms which can provide more popularity and exposure to you than any other platform. The first platform that must be named for this purpose has to be the YouTube because people all over the world consider this platform to be responsible for the steep rise in the popularity of vlogging all around the globe.
The YouTube has got the highest amount of users and thus your wonderfully created vlogs get the undivided attention of the general public which they so rightfully deserve. But along with YouTube there are an also a number of platforms which can be used for the purpose of vlogging such as Viddler, Facebook, Daily Motion and Vimeo.
But you must select your vlogging platform depending upon the type of vlogging that you have created. But, using the YouTube platform is a must because no other platform in this world right now can offer you that kind of exposure as the YouTube.
Questions that you should be asking yourself while purchasing a camera for vlogging
In order to buy a camera for the purpose of vlogging the first and foremost question that you need to be asking yourself is what kind of vlog you are going to create. Will it be a vlog on cooking tutorials or on tourism or will it be a vlog on action? This is very important because the features of your camera will vary according to the type of vlog that you are planning to create.
However there are certain features that must be present in any sort of a vlog and those are sharpness and good quality colours. These two features are very vital and these two features are best provided by the digital cameras. This is the sole reason as to why digital cameras are used to create high quality vlogs.
Another thing which you have to keep in mind while purchasing your vlogging camera is the duration of your vlog. Some vlogs are of ten minutes and some can be of even sixty minutes. So if you are going to shoot a long vlog then you must purchase certain extra batteries so that you do not have to stop your shooting process and go in search for extra batteries when the original batteries become dead.
Initially you may record with a low budget camera but it must be noted that if you are willing to make a mark in the blogging world then with time you need to transform and also upgrade yourself and your camera.
For starter using a cheap camera is perfectly alright because only as time passes and you gain more and more experience that you will be able to understand as to what type of camera is best suited for your style of vlogs.
So, below are some of the best digital cameras which are very popular when it comes to vlogging because not only are they good but they are also quite cheap as they are all available in the market within 300$.
1. Canon Powershot ELPH 360 HS
The Canon Powershot ELPH has been the top choice of the starter vloggers for a number of years and it still continues to be so till date. Not only the starters but in fact the veteran vloggers as well like to use the Canon Powershot ELPH even today. One of the most important features of the Canon Powershot ELPH is that it provides the best quality of video recording features but within a low cost.
If you are getting a digital camera which can provide the top quality of picture and sound within the budget of $300 then you need to seriously consider it. The Canon Powershot ELPH was released in the year 2011 and even today it is quite popular among the vloggers because it is a very handy digital camera when it comes to shooting outdoors or shooting while moving around since it is pretty easy to carry around.
The Canon Powershot ELPH has got a very low breadth and thus it is pretty slim. It can easily record 1080p videos with the top quality of sound and picture. However one of the disadvantages of using the Canon Powershot ELPH is that its performance in low light could improve.
But at such a low price it is quite good and if you have some amount of light then you can record certain top quality videos. The Canon Powershot ELPH does not have microphone input. This is because the Canon Powershot ELPH comes with the front facing microphone.
So when you are recording the video for your vlog make sure that your camera’s front facing microphone close to the person’s voice which is being recorded.
One of the most important features of the Canon Powershot ELPH is that it has got a built in wifi and thus you will be able to send the necessary videos or even upload them whenever you are free. The 36- HS is the upgraded version compared to the 350HS since the Canon Powershot ELPH 360 HS has got the manual focus in the latest version.
So with the help of this feature if you are going to set the focus correctly then the focus remains the same and you do not have to set it again unless and until the distance does not changes. For some it may be of no importance but for some it may be of some importance.
2. Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50
If you are worried that within your budget you will not be able to buy a camera which will be able to accept input from an external microphone then you should believe that it is not the end of the world. Instead of that particular feature you can get the hold of several other features in your camera.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 is one such camera which is cheap in price but contains some of best features that a vlogging camera can have. Some of its most notable features are manual mode, RAW support and low light performance with the help of more ISO.
However its only disadvantage is that the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 is a lot heavier than the Canon Powershot ELPH and so it is generally not used while travelling or shooting outdoors.
However just like the Canon Powershot ELPH the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 has also got the manual focus and so if you are able to set the focus once correctly and with precision then you will be able to make sure that the camera keeps focusing on all the important moments of your video shoot.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 helps you to record 1080p60 videos and you can record all these in slow motion and it includes the time lapse mode as well. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 is more of a photographer vlogger’s camera.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 has got an average battery life and so, if you are going to shoot a long video, makes sure that you have got extra batteries along with you. One of the features that are missing from the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS50 is the touch screen and the articulating screen.
3. GoPro Hero5 Session
The GoPro Hero5 Session is one of the popular cameras when it comes to the art of vlogging and the vloggers use it extensively whenever they have to shoot a video which they are going to upload on the YouTube.
The GoPro Hero5 Session has got the ability to work in certain severe environmental conditions and that is the reason why the vloggers all around the world find it pretty difficult to resist such a camera at such a small price.
The GoPro Hero5 Session is used for recording 4k videos and has also got the ability to resist 33ft of water. It such a camera in which you do not have to worry about setting the focus but still you can record high quality video with high quality sound even in the extreme environmental conditions.
This camera records the videos in 1080p120 mode. It is very easy to carry around and it can record in slow motion in 120fps.
But one must remember that the GoPro Hero5 Session is used for a very specific purpose. The GoPro Hero5 Session is used to record videos only during the day and this is because the camera uses the fish eye lens all the time. You simply can’t turn it off. This camera is used to record all sorts of action vlogs. If the GoPro Hero5 Session is used indoors or during the night the colours will have a cold effect on your video which is not good to the eye.
Thus if you are going to buy the GoPro Hero5 Session just be sure about what kinds of vlogs you are going to create with the help of it.
4. Nikon Coolpix B500
If you are going to create vlogs indoors or sitting in your home then this camera which is ideal for you. This is because the Nikon Coolpix B500 is a bit heavy and hence is quite difficult to carry around. But it offers high quality image and sound quality. It records the videos in 1080p.
However you must keep in mind that this camera is devoid of manual focus. It has got the auto focus upon which you have to rely on. But you don’t have to worry about it if you are going to shoot indoors since there are no movable objects for which you have to set the focus yourself. It has got low light performance with ISO up to 3200 and also it has got an excellent battery life.
If you decide to carefully go through its features then you will see that it is actually a first class vlogging camera for shooting indoors with such a low price.
5. Olympus PEN E-PL6
The Olympus PEN E-PL6 is such a versatile camera that it is hard to imagine that it comes with such a low price. The Olympus PEN E-PL6 has got a wide sensor and lens and hence it gets more light. Hence it has the low light performance feature in it and thus is quite useful in the outdoors.
Also, it is quite compact and light weighed and hence can be easily carried around. The sharpness and the contrasts in colours that this camera offers is simply jaw dropping.
Though the Olympus PEN E-PL6 offers high resolution which is not required by vloggers but still it is never a bad choice. Besides high resolution may be required if you are recording videos regarding travels and tourism. Over all the Olympus PEN E-PL6 is certainly a good choice when it comes to a vlogging camera.
Thus it can be said that if you are a budding vlogger then you have to make sure as to what type of vlogs you want to make and then accordingly you need to get the required camera with all the necessary features for recording the videos.
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