DJI

Luckily, people looking for a great vlogging camera don’t usually have to look far. Whether iPhone or Android, using a smartphone to shoot footage for your vlog is probably the easiest vlogging camera option for most people for recording and livestreaming. But what can make even good video bad is camera shake. A three-axis stabilizer, also known as a gimbal, will make sure everything you shoot looks nice and smooth.

DJI’s OM 4 (formerly called the Osmo Mobile) delivers on the stabilization using the same tech you’ll find on its camera drones. It has the same compact, lightweight folding design for easy travel as the prior model. It has the same controls, making one-handed use a breeze. And it still has a built-in battery for up to 15 hours of use. What’s new is how you mount your phone.

For the OM 4, DJI developed a new magnetic mount you can attach to your phone case as well as one that clamps around your phone like past models. This allows you to quickly attach and detach your phone, and it’s always perfectly balanced.

DJI’s Mimo app is packed with options, too, including its ActiveTrack 3.0 feature that lets you draw a box around your subject and it will instantly start tracking them. Basically, it’s more than just a phone stabilizer.

Logitech

Josh Goldman/CNET

From its small waterproof design to its incredible image stabilization to its excellent video quality, the Hero 9 Black is one of the most versatile cameras you can get for creating YouTube vlog gold. You can use the GoPro Hero Black as a studio camera, but it’s really made for video recording on the move.

Adding to the argument in its favor are the Mods designed to make the Hero 9 Black even more vlogging-friendly. The main Media Mod is a housing that adds a directional mic as well as a 3.5mm external mic jack for additional mic input, an HDMI output and two cold shoes. Display and Light Mods can then be slotted into the shoes to brighten your shots and let you see yourself when you’re in front of the camera. And if you want to livestream, you can do it through GoPro’s mobile app. I do recommend buying it from GoPro at the moment and taking advantage of the current deal that knocks the price down to $350 ($100 off) if you sign up for a year of its cloud storage service that’s included in that price.

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Mevo Start lets you create the look of a multicamera shoot with a single small camera. It lets you stream 1080p video live to every major platform instantly with the Mevo app for up to 6 hours without an external power source. It can also simultaneously record high-quality 1080p video to a microSD card in the camera.

Livestreaming can be done by connecting both a mobile device and the camera to the same Wi-Fi network, or you can directly connect by Wi-Fi to the camera and use your phone’s LTE mobile broadband signal to stream. Or, you can use a power-over-Ethernet adapter to power the camera and stream with a wired connection. The Mevo Start also has NDI HX built into the camera that’ll work on your network with either a wired or wireless connection.

The mobile app is the true star of the show here, though, as it lets you use its high-resolution sensor to create multiple tight and wide shots, and switch between them with a tap on the screen. Or, you can have the software automatically track people and switch between shots.

Lexy Savvides/CNET

Josh Goldman/CNET

Though its cameras aren’t as pocket-friendly as they once were, the current Pocket Cinema Cameras are still compact considering all they can do. There are two models: A 4K version with an active Micro Four Thirds lens mount and a 6K model with an active EF lens mount and a Super 35mm-size sensor. I tested the 4K version, which worked well as a cam for my studio space (aka my small, well-lit home office). The MFT mount means you have a wide variety of lenses to choose from at more affordable prices than EF lenses.

There are a lot of features to like about the camera, but what I most appreciated was the touch interface that makes using the camera so much easier than your average digital SLR or mirrorless camera. Other features like a USB-C 3.1 port, HDMI out, dual card slots (CFast and SD UHS-II) and both 3.5mm and Mini XLR mic jacks give you room to expand as your needs grow.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Lume Cube

Rode

An external microphone is a must for high-quality vlogging. When it comes to mobile or on-camera mics, I lean toward Rode’s microphones, such as the SmartLav Plus and the VideoMicro (shown here, mounted on a DSLR).

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Atomos

Monitors like the Ninja V not only give you a better view of what you’re shooting, including seeing your framing when you’re working solo, but also let you continuously record to their built-in storage. The Ninja V, for example, has an internal 1TB SSD so you can record up to 150 minutes of 4K video. Along with monitoring and recording, it also supports playback so you can instantly make sure you got the shot you wanted. And it’s not just for cameras: You can also use the Ninja V for video game capture and playback at 4K resolution in HDR.

Epiphan

Elgato