This is a detailed (and lengthy) article on wedding videography gear. I’ve tried to cover everything here, as it’s a real passion. Enjoy!
Ah, wedding videography! The scene is set brilliantly – the bride looks stunning, the venue is beautiful, you have the perfect angle for this shot and…damn, the photographer just stepped into your shot for the 10th time today!
Yes, wedding videography can have its ups and downs. But, overall, it’s a fantastic industry to be involved with. Why?
- You get to capture the most special moments of a couple’s big day together.
- People (read: most people) are in high spirits as their family/friends are getting married. It’s awesome to be around good people and great fun when it all comes together!
- You can exercise your creativity and get well paid for what is essentially documentary event video.
I’ve been in this game for a long time. I’ve seen just about everything happen that can possibly happen at a wedding. Doing this kind of work teaches you many things, not least of which is learning to think on your feet and roll with the punches.
This Gear Guide that you’re reading is the equipment list that I wish I had when I first started filming weddings. I’ve broken it down into sections to help you find exactly what you need. The sections are:
- The Best Cameras for Wedding Video
- The Best Lenses for Wedding Videography
- The Best Stabilization Gear For Wedding Videos
- The Best Sound Equipment for Wedding Videography
- The Best Lighting For Wedding Video
- The Wedding Videography Beginners Kit List
- The Wedding Videography Intermediate Kit List
- The Wedding Video Advanced Kit List
Complete Guide to Wedding Videography Equipment
Let’s begin our guide by covering each aspect of equipment for the production side of wedding videography individually.
After that, we’ll put the gear into Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced kit lists to help you put together the right gear for your experience and pricing level.
Let’s begin!
The Best Cameras for Wedding Video
First off, let’s take a look at the top cameras for wedding videography.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
When Canon released the 5D Mark II, it changed the indie filmmaking world forever. It also changed the wedding videography world for good, too.
All of a sudden, we had immensely stunning 1080p HD footage that made wedding films look like cinematic movies. Sure, you still had to know what you were doing with the camera. But now we actually had an affordable technology that could give us near-cinematic quality video footage.
Whilst the 5D Mark IV is already out and making waves, I’m recommending the Mark III here for its all around workhorse capabilities and because I have a bit of a soft-spot for it.
Pay special attention here because this is the only camera on this list that can also double up as a photography camera. So if you want to make a living taking stills at weddings as well as video, there’s a big advantage to investing in one of Canon’s most beloved cameras.
Canon EOS C100
Ah, the C100…where do I begin. It’s fair to say that I absolutely adore this camera, and for good reason. It’s throning as the crown prince camera of indie filmmaking isn’t without reason.
It’s a solid all-rounder. Great for indie and narrative projects, as well as documentary and event video like weddings. Even all other uses aside for the purposes of this article, the C100 still shines as a pure wedding video camera.
One of the major advantages of the C100 over the 5D Mark III is the continous recording capability. The 5D Mark III (as well as other photo based cameras) has a 30 minute recording limit. This is based on a bizarre tax law that anything that can record longer than 30 minutes is considered a video camera.
The C100 doesn’t have that issue and is a true video camera in every sense of the word. The ability to record continuously is best felt in the wedding arena when it comes to the ceremony and speeches.
With DSLRs like the Mark III, the recording time limit was an issue if you wanted a master shot on, say, a static camera. Getting over to the static camera in time and re-clicking the record button could be a real ball-ache!
As well as that, the DSLRs do have a tendency to overheat, as anyone who’s shot event stuff on hot summer day’s will attest to.
The C100 is a true, rugged video camera, and it makes this list both for its obvious event videography capabilities and its abilities in other types of filmmaking.
Oh, and did I mention the quality of footage this thing produces is pretty amazing, too!? Here’s a wedding shot on the C100:
Sony PXW-FS7
Not everyone needs a Sony FS7 for a wedding. But, once people see the results in the amazingly awesome footage, nearly everyone wants one.
The guys I see using FS7s on weddings are usually companies who have a corporate/commercial video company as well, and they have an FS7 for that work. They then use the FS7 for high-end weddings.
It’s a great piece of kit and the slow motion capabilities are to die for, as this wedding highlight clip shows:
But there are drawbacks with the FS7. It’s not a perfect camera (what is!?) Still, the biggest drawback with the FS7 will be its hefty price tag. It’s out of the realms of affordability for lots of casual wedding videographers.
Here’s a solid FS7 review by the ever-reliable Philip Bloom:
The Best Lenses for Wedding Videography
The first thing to mention before we get into lenses is an important point: not all lenses work with every camera. Most people know this, but it’s worth belaboring the point here.
One of the key things about recommending the 5D Mark III and the C100 as wedding cameras is that they are both Canon cameras that use the EF mount.
This means that the EF lenses you use with your Mark III will also work with your C100. This makes the natural transition from the 5D Mark III to the C100 even more fruitful.
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
This is a great walk-around lens. Awesome for shooting the majority of a wedding.
What can we say about this workhorse of a lens? It’s considered by most in the know as one of the best Canon lenses of all time. And rightly so.
Whether you’re walking around at weddings or other event filming situations, or shooting corporate/commercial work, this is a workhorse of a lense that is good in a whole range of situations.
Put it on a full-frame camera (like the 5D Mark III), or a CMOS like the Canon C100, and you have a piece of kit that won’t let you down in pretty much any situation.
It’s solid for interviews, fairly wide angle stuff, and is also a sturdy zoom up to 70mm. And when you need a little bit of extra zip in your zoom, pair it with the 70-200mm 2.8 for a great one-two punch.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM
The nifty fifty! Yes, this is a really cheap lens that has a great look to it.
It’s the baby brother of the 50mm 1.2 and 1.4, but this is still a great little lens that will help you get lots of lovely close ups with the so-called ‘blown out’ depth of field look.
This is the cheapest ‘blown out’ depth of field lens that money can buy. And you’ll find yourself using it throughout many parts of the day. Whether that’s during the Creatives mid-way through the day, or when light gets difficult and your 2.8s run out of kick without artificial light assistance.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
For longer range shooting, this is the Canon lense to get. It’s an exceptional lense for all kinds of event videography, including sports shooting.
This lense has superior optics and video image quality. I love using this to pick off ‘mingling shots’ of people during the reception.
If you’re far enough away, you can pick off really great two-shots of people talking. And the fact that it’s so telephoto means that you don’t have to be up in people’s faces in order to get brilliant shots. This means that you’re able to better capture those natural moments that a wedding couple swoons over when they see them.
Make sure you get the more expensive one with image stabilization, as it’ll pay off.
Rokinon 85 1.5 Cine Lens
Here’s a more speciality lense. Not going to include too many speciality lenses here, as this is a basic list and we could be here all day listing cool lenses!
Anyone familiar with the Rokinon lenses range for other other types of shooting knows how powerful and awesome a look you can get with this.
The 85mm is a good lense to use during the wedding prep shoot in the morning of most weddings. Especially good for close-ups and detailed shots that you can later use for inserts when you come to edit. Also good to switch out for the First Look and various other parts of the day.
A quick word on Sony lenses. I know I mentioned the Sony FS7 in the wedding cameras section, but I’m not going to cover all the Sony lenses here. The FS7 has a Sony E-mount, but it’ll also work with Rokinon lenses and even Canon EF mount lenses (with an adapter), as well as others.
Here’s a video:
The Best Stabilization Gear For Wedding Videos
Tripods
All important. Too many beginners think shooting handheld 90% of the time is somehow cool because they saw a still of their favourite indie DP doing it one time.
Get a solid fluid head with a sturdy tripod like the Manfrotto MT190X3. Manfrotto are some of the best manufacturers here. You’ll need a number of fluid heads to go with your tripods, monopod, slider, etc. But, obviously, chopping and changing with the same one is an option when you’re starting out.
I like the Manfrotto 500 series, especially the Manfrotto MVH500AH tripod.
If you’re after something a little cheaper, that still has a lot of the bells and whistles, then checkout the SOMITA Professional Video Tripod ST-650.
Monopods
The best tripod for wedding vidography is actually a monopod. Okay, I jest – but the monopod is such an amazing piece of kit. It’s fantastic for wedding days (and all kinds of event videography, actually), as it is unobtrusive and helps you get in those hard to stand areas.
Think about it, how many times have you been at a wedding (or some kind of event) and struggled to get off 3 legs of the tripod through doors, corners, corridors and other places? It’s not a good look!
Equally, you’ve no doubt seen a frlustered videographer at a wedding trying to squeeze his tripod through a church door whilst everyone’s leaving!
If you’ve ever used a tripod at a wedding, you know two things:
- It’s sometimes essential (static shots of the ceremony and the speeches).
- For all other purposes, a monopod is nearly always the better option.
Yes, monopods are for those occasions when one leg is better than 3! Which it nearly always is at weddings, aside from the ceremony and the speeches (and even then, a monopod can be used effectively!)
Again, I really like Manfrotto monopods. I use the Manfrotto Xpro Aluminum Video Monopod With 500 Series Video Head for a lot of uses, including weddings. But I also own quite a few different monopods.
Like with a tripod, you really need to get your hands on some and test them to find out which monopod is for you. Ask friends or colleagues to let you have a test drive.
A monopod is a very subjective piece of kit, so your mileage might vary!
Gimbals
When it comes to gimbals, I really like DJI’s Osmo series of handheld camera gimbals.
If you get the right attachments, you can have a pretty cool setup for tracking shots and slow-mo stuff throughout the day.
We especially like the Osmo for shots of the bride as she’s walking into the church (or ceremony location). You can follow behind her from low down getting great shots of her dress whooshing. Or walk backwards as she walks slowly towards the camera – just don’t fall over the altar!
The attachment enables you to rig your phone to the device, adding a walkaround monitor which is really handy. Obviously, you’re recording to card not via the phone – adding the phone to proceedings just makes viewing the shot a heckuva lot easier!
Also, remember that the Osmo works with DJI’s drone range, adding another element to what you can do with this great piece of equipment.
If you’re after an Osmo, you can get the full DJI OSMO+ Plus Handheld Fully Stabilized 4K Camera Bundle.
DJI’s Ronin series is also really cool and has many applications. I especially like the DJI Ronin 3-Axis Stabilized Video Camera Gimbal.
