Wedding Videography Equipment: Camera & Lens
I keep wedding videography equipment to a minimum and use minimalist Nikon Z6 gear for my business making it much easier and lighter travelling. PLAY VIDEO
Anything that isn't used is sold on after about 3-6 months which I do like to keep for a bit as I may change my mind. But to be up front there needs to be certain equipment needed for wedding videography.
Table of Contents
Wedding Videography Gear
A list and breakdown of my wedding videographer gear are below with further explanation later on. The gear is ongoing so I’ll try to update this list when I get anything new.
Nikon Z6
Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S
Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S
Rode Video Mics
Sony TX650 voice recorders
Manfrotto monopod
Manfrotto Befree tripod
Gobe ND filter
iMac (silicon)
Adobe software
Now I’m not saying this is the best equipment for wedding videos as I’m a wedding videographer in Northern Ireland but it ticks all my boxes bar a couple that I can live without. My Wedding videography equipment list is always expanding and growing as you’d expect so there needs to be some testing of new gear and equipment which is why I have my YouTube channel. You can read more on my switch from DSLR to mirrorless.
What gear do you need to video a Wedding?
The question of what wedding videographer gear I need for filming weddings is a bit vague as you could essentially use any make and model of camera with varying results. If the equipment isn’t correct for the job of filming a wedding then you will have a more difficult time doing the job. My preference is Nikon but there are lots including Sony, Fuji, Canon and so on and then you can look at models within those brands. Most wedding videographers either use a zoom lens like a 24-70mm f/2.8 (which is what I did for ages) or a prime lens (which is what I use now) filming their A camera on a prime with their camera B on a tripod filming wide.
Wedding Video Equipment
My wedding video equipment Nikon Z6 unboxing, first looks and also the Z 50mm 1.8 with a couple of other things including Transcend CFexpress card reader and Integral 64GB CFexpress memory card.
Lens
I am finding the best lens for wedding videography is the prime lens and not the all-around zoom lens for a variety of reasons.
Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S
Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S
Cameras
Nikon Z6 x2 (upgraded from 2x Nikon D750s and 1x Nikon D610)
Nikon Z6
I love the Nikon Z6 camera system for video and I am super glad I moved over from the D750 and older D610 which I had the longest. Someone on YouTube said you're investing in the next five years and they are right as I know exactly what they mean.
Video editing
iMac (silicon)
External hard drives of varying sizes ranging from 1TB to 12TB
Adobe software including Adobe Lightroom, Adobe PS and Adobe Premier Pro
iMac
I love the Apple iMac 24” because I like the way Apple makes both the hardware and software called the operating system. I know PC systems can do the same job cheaper but I find the PC system to be a complete disaster due to having Windows (the operating system) installed. Unfortunately, the iMacs don’t last forever so I’ve had quite a few in my career as a professional wedding videographer as well as a tower too. With Apple making their chips now called silicon I’m finding applications work a lot faster than Intel-based iMacs and I’m hoping there will be fewer upgrades. For video the bolt-in sound on the iMac I find to be fantastic and you don’t need additional speakers although I have thought of adding a HomePod mini but decided against it.
Hard Drives
External hard drives are a must-have for work and storage as keeping them on your computer is not good as storage is limited. 4k video footage eats up a lot of space. Backup external hard drives are a must in case something happens to your computer. Smaller hard drives are older drives that are still working and going well today and the largest hard drives are used for back only.
Editing
Not the cheapest software to use but I still like using Adobe software using Adobe Premier Pro for video editing as I have the full suite that I have signed up for the whole year (ie expensive). There are cheaper alternatives but when you’ve been using Adobe software since the early 1990s it is quite difficult to stop using the software.
Can I save money?
You can certainly save money when buying camera equipment as I buy refurbished and second hand through MPB (where I have bought multiple cameras and lens from), Wex (where I sold all my old DSLR gear), eBay (where I bought my second Z6 from) and the Facebook marketplace (where I have bought a few difference things) in the past. My particular favourite now is MPB as they are camera experts and everything is thoroughly tested beforehand. I have gone completely off Facebook marketplace and eBay now as the amount of scams seems to have doubled this past year. If I am selling gear I try Facebook marketplace and Gumtree first before contacting MPB and Wex. I much prefer to sell privately.
Helpful
I hope this or at least some of my wedding camera equipment list has proved helpful to perhaps those starting in the profession and are essentially starting their journey in wedding videography. If it is leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
Wedding Videography Equipment
I keep wedding gear to a minimum for easy transport purposes and of course much lighter to carry around too. The Nikon Z6 has IBIS, which stands for In-Body Image Stabilization, built into the camera body so you don’t need an image-stabilised lens. The camera offers five-axis correction for native lenses and is rated to 5 stops of correction, per CIPA standard testing. To be honest, there are not a lot but if you are interested the additions are listed below. Most notable is the audio gear.
Wedding Videography Equipment
CFExpress type B cards
Gobe ND filter
2x Rode video mic
5x Sony TX650 voice recorder
Manfrotto monopod
Manfrotto Befree tripod
Memory Cards
CFExpress type B cards are what I use in my Z6 and to be honest I thought the older SD cards were great but filming in 4k is where the problem might be. SD cards are simply not fast enough to film in 4k resolution I’m afraid. There was a choice between XQD cards and CFExpress type B cards and opted for the latter because XQD is an older format but both are the same size.
Filters
The Gobe ND filter is great but is it essential? The ND filter acts like sunglasses for your lens so you can film wide open at a 1.8 aperture. I am starting to use the ND filter less and less over time due to time restrictions. If I am out filming a wedding for a certain length of time I will use this but if it’s only for a short length of time I tend to just close the aperture down cutting out the sunlight.
Micophones
I am finding, as you’d expect, the Rode video mic an essential part of my audio set-up for video. This helps record if close up to a bit of a distance but is not great if I’m too far from the subject. If there is other audio like laughing or clapping it makes it quite hard to capture audio so another audio source is needed. Although this is great for helping sync up audio to video when editing in Adobe Premier Pro. Below are some early Rode Video mic tests.
Best Microphone
Sony TX650 Voice Recorder
I would say the best microphone for wedding videography is the Sony TX650 audio recorder and find them another essential part of my audio equipment. I have just upgraded to the Sony TX660 but I have yet to test it out. The audio captured is fantastic and even though they are quite long they are so thin and light the person doesn’t even know they're clipped onto their clothes recording. Because it is black it blends in very well with dark clothes like jackets.
Misc Video Equipment for a Wedding
Manfrotto Monopod
I am finding the Manfrotto monopod essential for keeping the camera steady for periods of filming a wedding. If it’s longer a tripod would be better but it has a much wider footprint which will create more problems. If say filming on the go staying in the same position for maybe 10 minutes or so the Monopod is fine as you can pick up and move easily to another position. A tripod would simply not be as portable.
Camera tests
As always when getting new equipment in professional wedding videography it is a good idea to conduct some camera tests before a work shoot or video. I spent a bit of time during the lockdowns (thanks corona!!) testing out the Nikon Z6 camera system and lens. Below are some of my YouTube videos.
Face Detection
Nikon Z6 face detection test video footage with the 50mm 1.8 S lens in the back garden, mostly shooting wide open but didn’t have an ND filter so had to adjust the shutter. Overall very good and I am generally happy with it but not brilliant as couldn’t lock onto my face if there were a few things in the foreground but early tests so will need to test more. Let me know if you’ve any questions or anything else in the comments.
Conclusion
In conclusion, is the above the best equipment for wedding videos? It most likely is not, no but it does the job I need it to and does well at that. I am very happy and actually over the moon with the equipment and gear. It’s simple to use, the quality of video footage is superb and operating the menus is simple enough that if you need to find something in the camera system it is fairly easy to do so. My older equipment is, on the other hand, both not usable and not good (actually far from it) for filming wedding videos at all and I was more than happy to upgrade.
Nikon D750
One of my older cameras was the Nikon D750 which I had two of. These were both fantastic cameras producing very sharp images and superb in low light conditions. At first, I thought I could keep the two D750s and use the Z6 for video only but it became obvious after a bit of time testing out the Z6 that the D750s were reductant as the Z6 was on par with the D750 with a few extras too therefore had to go, so to help fund the transition from DSLR to mirrorless both camera bodies we're sold.
3D Focus Tracking
As you can see from my 3D Focus Tracking Nikon D750 video footage (stay to the end) it is a tad wobbly (understatement!) and not the greatest (far from it), Nikon early attempt I’m guessing, my advice is don't bother using it for video, manual focus on the D750 for video.