1:3 Lawyers: “What Kind of Camera(s) for Law Firm Video?”

Hey Lawyers – This is a 3 part series and today’s content is “What kind of Camera for Law Firm Video”. This 3 part series will help you look at do it yourself video for your law firm.

In this episode, “What kind of Camera(s) for Law Firm Video” you’ll learn about what kind of cameras to look for, what they do, and specs that matter to me. This is so you can figure out what kind of camera you might want and why.

For those of you who want video, but have no interest in filming, you may want to try Artificial Intelligence video You can go back and look at my series (linked here) or reach out to me Mary@GoMediaMarketing.com and get started!

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE VIDEO SERIES:

Being a law firm is hard enough, now you’re considering video, and may want to do it yourself. You’re in the right place!

Why listen to me? I’ve taught about 100 law firms (give or take) video production probably more because of my speaking gigs (and law firm educational videos) since 2008. I’ve set up studios for law firms all over the country! And I teach lawyers how video gets clients.

What you need to know (not to discourage you), is that only a tiny handful of them continue to produce their own videos to this day. Video is a lot of work.

But those who do continue to produce videos, have a library of videos working for them. Also continue to get clients on many platforms for years to come. This is because the videos we create are “evergreen” and continue to work for years to come.

PERSONAL MOMENT

First, a personal moment to thank everyone who purchased my Google Maps Road to Success course. I’m so grateful.

I don’t make anything from creating all this content for you, unless you get an online course here and there!

MORE ABOUT THIS 3 PART SERIES:

And now let’s talk about what’s in this new three part series!

This is episode one of three where we’re camera shopping! I’ll tell you all about the specs I need, and look for in a camera and why.

Episode 2 I’m going to talk about “How to use a Green Screen for DIY Law Firm Videos”. And Episode three will be “How to Beautify with Law Firm Video Lighting.” So let’s jump in!

What Kind of Cameras for Law Firm Videos?

I normally have a lot of video cameras for a variety of uses. I have blogger cameras, DSLR cameras for video and stills, and camcorders.

This video is about choosing a camcorder. But let’s look at what you might use a blogger camera or DSLR camera for… first let’s start with the blogger camera.

BLOGGER CAMERAS

Pretty much everyone has seen YouTube videos these days with someone walking around talking to a video camera. These kinds of cameras have gotten very small and have a lot of great features (for many of the features watch the video associated with this post).

You can use this for shooting educational videos at your desk and they’ll give you a blurry background and high definition video.

Drawbacks: But what you need to watch out for is that you’ll still need a great mic for audio, fabulous lighting and of course post production editing. Also, as with any camera, there will be a learning curve where you need to begin understanding the menus and what all the buttons and plugs do.

Also the batteries are small and they overheat and turn off. I’d suggest running them connected to power.

DSLR CAMERAS

DSLR Cameras are those still shot looking cameras that began offering video. We love them because you can use interchangeable lenses to get all kinds of cinematic effects. I always use one.

Drawbacks: But with most of these DSLR style cameras you’ll not only need a great mic for audio, fabulous lighting and post production, but you’ll also need stabilization gear.

You can’t just grab it and go the way you can with a modern camcorder. This is the kind of camera you want when you want to go into the menus and change things and love manual settings.

Also many DSLR cameras overheat and turn off as well.

CAMCORDERS

My workhorse camera is a modern camcorder where I can grab and shoot! For me, camcorder should be broadcast quality for TV, has a full sized sensor, possibly wifi and streaming capabilities, a bright good sized monitor for outdoor shooting and hopefully somewhat light weight.

Because I shoot a lot of music videos too,I want my camcorder to have 120 fps (which means I can shoot really clean slow motion). I want all of this for not very much money of course! If you have all those qualities, you can’t go wrong.

Drawbacks: The drawback of a camcorder is that they usually have a fixed lens unless you start really spending money.

And when you do start getting into the camcorders with interchangeable lenses, they are not the kinds of cameras where you can grab it and shoot.

Really with any camera, you’ll need to learn your camera. Every camera has it’s own menus, buttons and inputs.

So let’s look at a few camcorders on my list and I’ll run through what I think about getting them: (See video)

FINAL THOUGHTS

So whatever camera you get, make sure it has the specs you need. If it’s on a tripod all the time in front of a green screen, you still need high resolution, but for instance, maybe you may be able give up 120 fps because you’re not planning to shoot a music video in slow motion!

Speaking of green screens, next episode (2:3 “How to use a Green Screen for DIY Law Firm Videos”), I’m going to talk about how I use a green screen with so much love and creativity for you lawyers!

If you like my content, get my Handbook: “How to Grow a Car Accident Law Firm” or any of my courses and learn a few things. This supports this channel and encourages me to make more of this deep dive free content!

Thank you – And I’ll see you in the next video!

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