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You don't need 4K to look professional on YouTube

By Lewis Whitter, wedding & events photographer (11+ years) · How we pick

Here's a myth that makes people overspend on cameras: you need 4K to look professional. You don't.

Most people watch on a phone, and sharp one-thousand-and-eighty-p footage looks great there. What actually makes video look cheap is wobble, bad light and muddy sound.

So before upgrading, fix those three. Put your phone or camera on a cheap tripod.

Face a window instead of standing with it behind you. And lock your exposure and focus so they stop drifting mid-shot.

If you still want better quality afterwards, then a budget vlogging camera is a fair next step. Spend on stability, light and sound first, resolution last.

Save this before you buy anything.

You don't need 4K to look professional on YouTube
Photo: Maksim Sidorov, CC BY-SA 3.0. Credits

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