Vlogging has become a quite popular career path and the advancements in technology have made it an easier task. The easy accessibility of gadgets and gizmos make it one of the most lucrative career line that pays much more than the investment it requires.
Those gadgets range from cameras to lighting equipment to microphones and much more. And within these gadgets, there are a plethora of categories to choose from. Let’s take an example of a camera. If you’re here reading this, then I am sure you have a little bit of idea about body cams.
These are very popular among hikers, swimmers and other vloggers as they are easily mountable on your body and eliminates any need of handholding the device. It makes the job much hassle free and many famous vloggers have turned to this type of camera for their vlogs.
Who Needs a Body Camera and Why?
Body cameras are mountable onto the videographer’s body and I can think of a few examples where these cameras would come in real handy and where they are absolutely necessary to create a worthy vlog.
Usually, the police personnel and similar people are seen wearing body cameras, but civilians are also allowed to do that as long as any privacy laws are not broken. That being said, using a body camera for vlogging is a very clever way to shoot unique angles and create interesting shots.
Using body cameras definitely enhance the close up shots and they can be used for sports vlogs, car vlogs, leisure vlogs etc.
Imagine a scenario where you’re in the snowy hills and you have the perfect opportunity to do some snowboarding and you want your viewers to experience that with you, but for safety purposes you can’t hold a camera in your hand.
That is when body cams step in. they’re like wearable dash cams, only better. You can wear the camera and start down the slope; it will record a POV video and voila! You now have a good shareable vlog!
Top 3 Body Cameras for Vlogging:
Now that I’ve told you how body cameras can be useful in vlogging, let me move on to the best body cameras available in the market, especially for vlogging purposes.
I have just listed the cameras below, not ranked them. So they’re all equally good, but I hope the Pros and Cons list will help you make your decision.
1- BOBLOV PD70 Wi-Fi Body Mounted Camera
Overview:
This Russian company makes the most impressive gadgets, and the Boblov PD70 body camera is hands down the most capable body cam available for vlogging.
It offers a simple button layout, making user experience smooth and along with the ease of use, it offers a great image resolution of 24 MP.
What makes it unique and perfect for vlogging is the availability of night vision mode, which would enable you to shoot videos even when it’s dark out there and you’re not equipped with any external lighting equipment.
The camera is capable to focus on subjects 30 feet away, in night vision mode which is quite remarkable.
Focal Length & Video Quality:
The camera has a 170 degrees angle of view, which makes it perfect for sports videos and POV vlogs. Speaking of vlogs, the Boblov PD70 offers a generous video resolution of 1296P, 1080P and 720P which isn’t bad for a body cam, given they come with a pretty mediocre video resolution. However, this video resolution is more than okay for vlogging purposes.
Display Screen:
This new model even offers a display screen from where you can decide where and how to review your draft footage, or even the final one.
The rotatable clip makes it quite handy; it is easily mountable onto a person’s clothes and even on helmets making it the absolutely right choice for vlogging.
Connectivity:
The camera comes with Wi-Fi connectivity and I am sure it is going to shock you that you can live stream your videos or vlogs to your channels online right from the camera.
Lastly, the Boblov PD70 comes with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that gives a recording time of 5 hours continuously, at 1080p resolution and can go up till a whopping 16 hours on standby.
Reason To Buy?
- Multiple memory variants (32 GB and 64 GB)
- Good video resolution
- Wi-Fi connectivity and live streaming option
- Night vision mode
Reason To Avoid?
- 5 hours’ cap on recording
2- MIUFLY Body Camera
Overview:
MIUFLY body camera is another strong and capable body cam available in the market for a reasonable price. It’s robust design and fierce audio-visual capabilities make it just the right choice for vlogging.
Image Resolution:
Where it cannot match the image resolution of Boblov PD70, it still has one of the best image resolutions available in body cams.
It comes with a 5 MP CMOS sensor and offers a range of video resolutions to shoot your videos in. the highest it can go is 1296p at 30 fps with the lowest being 480p at 30 and 60 fps. Pretty impressive, no?
Amazing Features:
Some other cool features include motion detection feature where the camera will automatically start recording as soon as it detects motion.
It also has a 2 inch display screen through which you can view your data and you can even protect it with a password to avoid data theft or deletion.
Along with that, you can capture videos in the dark as well, thanks to the 4 infrared LEDs (kind of like a night vision mode).
Angle of View:
The camera has an angle of view of 140 degrees which isn’t as wide as the Boblov one but is still a pretty decent feature and fine for vlogging purposes.
It also offers a 16x zoom which will allow you to shoot distant and afar views and subjects, with utmost ease.
Battery:
The MIUFLY body cam incudes a 2900 mAh rechargeable battery which lets you shoot for up to 10 hours without any interruptions which is remarkable. It definitely leaves Boblov PD70 behind when it comes to the battery.
I think it’s a pretty decent body cam set within the price range of $200 and I enjoyed using it!
Reason To Buy?
- 16x zoom
- Battery life
- Motion detection feature
- Strong design
Reason To Avoid?
- Image resolution
3. TRANSCEND DRIVEPRO BODY 30
Overview:
The Transcend DrivePro is one of the best choices of body cams for vlogging. It comes packed with a plethora of amazing features. The device offers a video resolution of 1080p at 30 fps which is not bad given its price of under $250. It creates clear, smooth videos and hence is the perfect fit for a vlogging body camera.
Internal Memory:
The camera also houses an internal memory of 64 GB which is more than enough for vloggers; I mean, you can always empty down the internal storage and make more space for new data. But even if you make videos daily, 64 GB is enough to store the video content for a good 4-5 months.
Night Vision:
Like the Boblov and MIUFLY, this camera also has an impressive night vision mode with infrared LEDs but not just that. It also features image enhancement technology which works great under lowlight conditions or dark areas.
Focal Length:
The view of angle that Transcend DrivePro offers is even a bit less than the MIUFLY one, but is still workable. The 130 degrees’ view of angle can be used to shoot less wide shots for vlogs and you can switch in between other cameras to bring versatility and diversity to your vlogs.
Battery:
The battery is quite impressive; it offers up to 12 hours of recording time unlike the Boblov’s battery which gave only 5 hours of recording time.
Weather Proof:
Along with that, it is perfect for sports vlogging as it has weather proofing, which means it can withstand extreme weathers like rain or snow. It is also shock resistant which makes it invulnerable to accidental drops and falls, which happens quite so often while vlogging.
Rotatable Clip:
The 360-degrees rotatable clip can be used to pin the camera on your clothes, or on your helmet and it makes vlogging with the camera easier and the overall user experience is smooth.
I really enjoyed experimenting with this camera and it really does offer value for money.
Reason To Buy?
- Highly durable
- Impressive battery life
- High quality videos
- Good internal storage
Reason To Avoid?
- A bit heavy in weight
Other Types of Cameras for Vlogging:
Apart from the body cams, there are a lot of other types of cameras that vloggers use to create their content.
You can switch in between different cameras to capture various types of shots and then compile them together to create unique but interesting vlogs for your viewers.
Mirrorless Cameras:
These type of cameras are very common among vloggers. The best models are lightweight, with amazing video resolutions and strong image sensors. It usually features an LCD screen, because the electronic viewfinder displays a preview of the images you capture.
These are found to be really good for vlogs that require a professional touch; the ISO and aperture and shutter speeds can be adjusted and the lenses are also interchangeable so it provides a lot of options to modify your videos, angles, frames, brightness and what not.
The popular mirrorless cameras are sold by Sony, Canon and many other camera manufacturers.
Action Cameras:
These are smaller in size and very lightweight, usually made for sports or action vlogs, that include hiking, surfing, snowboarding, skiing, cycling etc. These cameras can be mounted on top of your helmet just like body cams and they record crystal clear videos of your actions in a POV angle.
These can also be used for other vlogging niches as they provide high resolution videos; they can be paired up with ring lights, gimbals, tripods etc to enhance the quality of the videos.
The most popular and the best action cameras are sold by GoPro. DJI and Osmo also make some impressive action cameras.
Other types of cameras include drones, DSLRs, digital point and shoot cameras and professional studio cameras that are widely used for filmmaking etc.
Accessories to Pair With Body Cameras:
While body cams can be used without any accessories, it is only wiser to keep the extras for bad times. They can always come in handy.
Mounting Kit:
A mounting kit is used to fixate the camera on to your body. Sometimes the cameras don’t come with a built-in clip, so the mounting kit becomes a need more than just an extra.
Where the camera has a built-in clip, keeping a mount is important because in case the clip falls off or you need to mount the camera not on your clothes, but somewhere else on your body, you will then need the mount.
USB Type-A Power Cable:
This power cable is important to recharge your camera’s batteries, especially when you’re traveling. You don’t wanna run out of battery while in the middle of a video shot.
External Microphone:
Body cameras do not have enhanced audio capabilities and hence it is vital to pair your body cam with a microphone that can capture your voice clearly and block out or reduce any background noises to the maximum.
Extra Rechargeable Battery:
Keeping an extra fully charged rechargeable battery is important to have when you’re traveling a lot. In case you don’t have access to a charging port, you can use the extra battery pack to continue your vlogging journey without any unnecessary interruptions.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Which Body Cam is the Best for Vlogging?
Boblov PD70 is the best body camera out there at this point. In terms of video resolution, image resolution, night vision mode, and so many other features. However, in terms of battery life, Transcend DrivePro 30 is your best option if you tend to shoot for long hours.
Are Body Cams Better Than Mountable Action Cameras?
I would prefer using an action camera that is mountable on the helmet rather than using a body camera.
However, action cameras are way too expensive so if your budget is tight, body camera will do the job for you under the budget but of course, the quality of the vlog won’t be as good as the action camera would provide.
Which is the Best Camera Type for Daily Vlogs?
Daily vlogs are very basic vlogs and they don’t require any such special features in cameras so any kind of camera can be used.
However, my personal opinion would be to use a basic smartphone camera because along with providing a decent video end result, it will also be quite economically feasible for most of you.
