While I am almost certainly the least-prolific videographer on the planet, I am finally starting a long-planned series of interviews on my fledgling YouTube channel. The first of these went live this week, and I’m aiming for roughly one a month from now on.
I use a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K rig as my primary video camera, but my iPhones have long been my camera of choice for B-roll footage …
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
For most of my life, I’ve been a Nikon guy when it comes to still cameras, through both film and digital eras. When the time came to switch from a rather unwieldy, pro-bodied Nikon DSLR, I opted for a much more compact Sony mirrorless setup.
It initially seemed logical to stick to Sony when I first started getting into video, but I very quickly discovered that the company’s user interfaces for video shooting are, to put it mildly, absolutely appalling. Groups of settings you would typically change together are found in completely separate menus, and some of them have very non-standard names.
Lots of Googling and video reviews finally brought me to the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 4K as offering a serious amount of camera for a reasonable sum of money – and with the best UI in the business. I honestly cannot tell you what a joy it is to use: it makes even Apple look like an amateur in the user interface game.
My iPhone as my B-roll camera
As delightful as the BMPCC 4K is, it does have some serious drawbacks when it comes to use outside of a home or studio. The complete rig is heavy, it attracts attention, and there is no autofocus (or, indeed, auto-anything). For that reason, it makes much more sense to have a far smaller and lighter camera for B-roll footage.
After initially experimenting with a couple of borrowed cameras, I found that using my iPhone was the best choice for several reasons.
First, as the old saying goes, the best camera is the one you have on you at the time. Although some of my B-roll footage is planned, I’ve also ended up using other footage that I’ve just shot casually whilst out for a walk or when traveling. My iPhone is always with me.
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