A Vlogger’s Guide To Camera Lenses | Wondershare Filmora

A Vlogger’s Guide To Camera Lenses

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

On-Screen Caption Composer

Captions, like subtitles, can be a great way to improve the engagement of your video by reaching more and more audiences. But adding captions to your video is not an easy thing to do and without the right video caption maker, it can seem like an impossible task.

But it is important to add captions to your video, not just so you can target people who don’t understand the language or those who prefer to read rather than watch the video, but also to improve SEO and visibility.

Here, we will be looking at some of the best tools that you can use to add captions to your video.

Filmora Audio Recorder

Record computer system audio

Capture microphone audio

Customize recording volume

Record screen and webcam as well

Try It Free Try It Free

Best Video Caption Makers

The following are the top video caption makers that you can choose from;

YouTube Automatic Caption

If you already have your own YouTube channel, you can use the built-in speech recognition feature to generate accurate captions for your video. This feature can generate captions in a number of languages including English, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Korean, French, Italian, and Dutch which is more than some of the premium caption generators in the market.

The main reason most people choose this solution is that it is fairly simple to use. You don’t have to do much; just upload the video and the automatic caption generator will create the captions you need.

Key Features

• It is easy to use and freely accessible
• You can use it to generate captions in a number of different languages
• It is very accurate
• You can use it to generate transcripts for the video

Kapwing Auto-Subtitle Maker

Kapwing is an online solution that will generate subtitles and captions for most videos. But it does limit the size of the video that it can generate subtitles on to about 500 MB. There is a free version of the program that although limited in functionality will not add a watermark to the generated captions file. But free users can only get captions for up to 7 minutes of video, making it a less ideal solution when you have a longer video.

Key Features

• You can generate captions and subtitles for free
• It is accessible online and you don’t have to install software on your computer to get the captions
• It has a very simple user interface, making the caption generation process quick and easy
• In addition to generating subtitles and captions, you can edit existing files.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC

You may know Adobe Premiere as one of the most popular video editing programs on the market, but most people are unaware that it can also be used to generate captions for the video. This tool can be very useful in the creation of high-quality videos and you can generate an accurate caption or subtitle for the video as well.

But Adobe Premiere is not an easy solution to use for both video editing and adding captions, particularly for beginner users. But it is certainly one of the best ways to create and edit videos on your computer.

Key Features

• Even though the interface is not easy to use, it is clear and flexible
• You have numerous options to add the captions including font style and color
• The captions that you add using this tool will be very accurate
• It can also be used to edit existing subtitle and caption files

Amara Subtitle Editor

Amara subtitle editor will not be able to help you create or generate captions for your video, but it can be a good solution to edit a subtitle file that you already have. It can be very useful in syncing the subtitles with the video and you can use it to make minor changes to the subtitle.

While editing the subtitle file is easy, creating a caption file using Amara can be a lengthy process since you would have to type in the text.

Key Features

• It can be used to edit caption and subtitles files easily
• The user interface is pleasant and easy to use
• It is completely free

Aegisubs

Aegisubs is another tool that you can use to create subtitles for your video. But we must warn you right off the bat that this tool is not very user-friendly and you may find that you will spend a lot of time trying to generate subtitles for your video. But it is a free solution and widely accessible on most platforms.

Key Features

• It can be used to create subtitles and captions in different languages
• It supports numerous video and audio formats
• It has a simple user interface that is easy to navigate
• It doesn’t have speech recognition and you’ll have to enter all the text manually

AHD Subtitle Maker

AHD subtitle maker is a Windows program that can be used to create subtitles and captions for your video in a variety of formats such as SRT. It is a completely free solution that can also be used to edit subtitle files in numerous ways, even changing the format of the file.

Among other things, you can use AHD subtitle maker to translate, change, copy and delete selected text from a subtitle file and even replace the text with something else.

Key Features

• It is a free program that works on all versions of Windows
• It can generate subtitle and caption files in a variety of formats
• You can use it to generate subtitle files or edit existing files in various ways
• It can also be used to generate various types of content including ID3 tags for music files

Videocaptionmaker.com

To generate captions and subtitles on your Mac for free, the best option is Video Caption Maker. The full version of the program is available for free and it can be used to create a subtitle file or make changes to a subtitle file you already have.

Key Features

• You can use it to add text to a video in a simple and straightforward way
• It can also be used to make changes to existing subtitles by changing the fonts, styles, backgrounds, positions, and more
• It will also add a visual waveform to an audio file to identify the start and end time
• It supports numerous video formats including .mov, .mp4, .mpeg, .3gpp, .3gpp2

Jubler

Jubler is a program that can edit subtitles and captions for videos. It can also be used to create new subtitles although it doesn’t automatically generate the captions and you will have to type them in. But when it comes to editing subtitles, this tool is very effective, allowing you to change the font style, color, and even positioning of the subtitles.

Key Features

• It works on all platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux
• It will graphically display the subtitles so you can easily move them to the desired location
• It supports all subtitle and caption file formats
• It allows you to edit the subtitles in many ways
• It can be used to translate the subtitles to various languages

Related FAQs

**How Do I Make a Caption for a Video?

Making a caption for your video can be easy depending on the type of program you choose to use. A good rule of thumb is to choose solutions that auto generates the captions as they save you a lot of time. If there are issues after the captions have been generated, you can then use a subtitled editor to fix them, more preferable to typing in the subtitles or captions yourself.

**How Do I Get Automatic Captions for my Video?

If you are uploading your video on YouTube, you can easily generate automatic captions from the YouTube studio. Just use these simple steps;

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube Studio and in the left menu, select “Subtitles.”

Step 2: Click on the video that you want to add subtitles

Step 3: Select “More” under Subtitles and then go through the captions to make sure they are correct. If not, you can edit them on this page.

If you are not using YouTube to share your video, you can use one of the solutions we have outlined in this article to generate automatic captions.

**How Long Does It Take to Caption a Video?

The amount of time that you spend creating a caption for your video is entirely dependent on the captioning tool that you use. Automatic caption generators can create captions in a few seconds but manual subtitle tools can lengthen the process, especially for a longer video.

Conclusion

Captions are a great way to get users to engage with your videos. Studies have shown that a captioned video is far more likely to get more engagements and shares on social media. And since it can be very easy to make caption for you video, why not utilize this little known resource and get your videos to stand out a little bit more.

Try It Free Try It Free

Best Video Caption Makers

The following are the top video caption makers that you can choose from;

YouTube Automatic Caption

If you already have your own YouTube channel, you can use the built-in speech recognition feature to generate accurate captions for your video. This feature can generate captions in a number of languages including English, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Korean, French, Italian, and Dutch which is more than some of the premium caption generators in the market.

The main reason most people choose this solution is that it is fairly simple to use. You don’t have to do much; just upload the video and the automatic caption generator will create the captions you need.

Key Features

• It is easy to use and freely accessible
• You can use it to generate captions in a number of different languages
• It is very accurate
• You can use it to generate transcripts for the video

Kapwing Auto-Subtitle Maker

Kapwing is an online solution that will generate subtitles and captions for most videos. But it does limit the size of the video that it can generate subtitles on to about 500 MB. There is a free version of the program that although limited in functionality will not add a watermark to the generated captions file. But free users can only get captions for up to 7 minutes of video, making it a less ideal solution when you have a longer video.

Key Features

• You can generate captions and subtitles for free
• It is accessible online and you don’t have to install software on your computer to get the captions
• It has a very simple user interface, making the caption generation process quick and easy
• In addition to generating subtitles and captions, you can edit existing files.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC

You may know Adobe Premiere as one of the most popular video editing programs on the market, but most people are unaware that it can also be used to generate captions for the video. This tool can be very useful in the creation of high-quality videos and you can generate an accurate caption or subtitle for the video as well.

But Adobe Premiere is not an easy solution to use for both video editing and adding captions, particularly for beginner users. But it is certainly one of the best ways to create and edit videos on your computer.

Key Features

• Even though the interface is not easy to use, it is clear and flexible
• You have numerous options to add the captions including font style and color
• The captions that you add using this tool will be very accurate
• It can also be used to edit existing subtitle and caption files

Amara Subtitle Editor

Amara subtitle editor will not be able to help you create or generate captions for your video, but it can be a good solution to edit a subtitle file that you already have. It can be very useful in syncing the subtitles with the video and you can use it to make minor changes to the subtitle.

While editing the subtitle file is easy, creating a caption file using Amara can be a lengthy process since you would have to type in the text.

Key Features

• It can be used to edit caption and subtitles files easily
• The user interface is pleasant and easy to use
• It is completely free

Aegisubs

Aegisubs is another tool that you can use to create subtitles for your video. But we must warn you right off the bat that this tool is not very user-friendly and you may find that you will spend a lot of time trying to generate subtitles for your video. But it is a free solution and widely accessible on most platforms.

Key Features

• It can be used to create subtitles and captions in different languages
• It supports numerous video and audio formats
• It has a simple user interface that is easy to navigate
• It doesn’t have speech recognition and you’ll have to enter all the text manually

AHD Subtitle Maker

AHD subtitle maker is a Windows program that can be used to create subtitles and captions for your video in a variety of formats such as SRT. It is a completely free solution that can also be used to edit subtitle files in numerous ways, even changing the format of the file.

Among other things, you can use AHD subtitle maker to translate, change, copy and delete selected text from a subtitle file and even replace the text with something else.

Key Features

• It is a free program that works on all versions of Windows
• It can generate subtitle and caption files in a variety of formats
• You can use it to generate subtitle files or edit existing files in various ways
• It can also be used to generate various types of content including ID3 tags for music files

Videocaptionmaker.com

To generate captions and subtitles on your Mac for free, the best option is Video Caption Maker. The full version of the program is available for free and it can be used to create a subtitle file or make changes to a subtitle file you already have.

Key Features

• You can use it to add text to a video in a simple and straightforward way
• It can also be used to make changes to existing subtitles by changing the fonts, styles, backgrounds, positions, and more
• It will also add a visual waveform to an audio file to identify the start and end time
• It supports numerous video formats including .mov, .mp4, .mpeg, .3gpp, .3gpp2

Jubler

Jubler is a program that can edit subtitles and captions for videos. It can also be used to create new subtitles although it doesn’t automatically generate the captions and you will have to type them in. But when it comes to editing subtitles, this tool is very effective, allowing you to change the font style, color, and even positioning of the subtitles.

Key Features

• It works on all platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux
• It will graphically display the subtitles so you can easily move them to the desired location
• It supports all subtitle and caption file formats
• It allows you to edit the subtitles in many ways
• It can be used to translate the subtitles to various languages

Related FAQs

**How Do I Make a Caption for a Video?

Making a caption for your video can be easy depending on the type of program you choose to use. A good rule of thumb is to choose solutions that auto generates the captions as they save you a lot of time. If there are issues after the captions have been generated, you can then use a subtitled editor to fix them, more preferable to typing in the subtitles or captions yourself.

**How Do I Get Automatic Captions for my Video?

If you are uploading your video on YouTube, you can easily generate automatic captions from the YouTube studio. Just use these simple steps;

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube Studio and in the left menu, select “Subtitles.”

Step 2: Click on the video that you want to add subtitles

Step 3: Select “More” under Subtitles and then go through the captions to make sure they are correct. If not, you can edit them on this page.

If you are not using YouTube to share your video, you can use one of the solutions we have outlined in this article to generate automatic captions.

**How Long Does It Take to Caption a Video?

The amount of time that you spend creating a caption for your video is entirely dependent on the captioning tool that you use. Automatic caption generators can create captions in a few seconds but manual subtitle tools can lengthen the process, especially for a longer video.

Conclusion

Captions are a great way to get users to engage with your videos. Studies have shown that a captioned video is far more likely to get more engagements and shares on social media. And since it can be very easy to make caption for you video, why not utilize this little known resource and get your videos to stand out a little bit more.

Try It Free Try It Free

Best Video Caption Makers

The following are the top video caption makers that you can choose from;

YouTube Automatic Caption

If you already have your own YouTube channel, you can use the built-in speech recognition feature to generate accurate captions for your video. This feature can generate captions in a number of languages including English, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Korean, French, Italian, and Dutch which is more than some of the premium caption generators in the market.

The main reason most people choose this solution is that it is fairly simple to use. You don’t have to do much; just upload the video and the automatic caption generator will create the captions you need.

Key Features

• It is easy to use and freely accessible
• You can use it to generate captions in a number of different languages
• It is very accurate
• You can use it to generate transcripts for the video

Kapwing Auto-Subtitle Maker

Kapwing is an online solution that will generate subtitles and captions for most videos. But it does limit the size of the video that it can generate subtitles on to about 500 MB. There is a free version of the program that although limited in functionality will not add a watermark to the generated captions file. But free users can only get captions for up to 7 minutes of video, making it a less ideal solution when you have a longer video.

Key Features

• You can generate captions and subtitles for free
• It is accessible online and you don’t have to install software on your computer to get the captions
• It has a very simple user interface, making the caption generation process quick and easy
• In addition to generating subtitles and captions, you can edit existing files.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC

You may know Adobe Premiere as one of the most popular video editing programs on the market, but most people are unaware that it can also be used to generate captions for the video. This tool can be very useful in the creation of high-quality videos and you can generate an accurate caption or subtitle for the video as well.

But Adobe Premiere is not an easy solution to use for both video editing and adding captions, particularly for beginner users. But it is certainly one of the best ways to create and edit videos on your computer.

Key Features

• Even though the interface is not easy to use, it is clear and flexible
• You have numerous options to add the captions including font style and color
• The captions that you add using this tool will be very accurate
• It can also be used to edit existing subtitle and caption files

Amara Subtitle Editor

Amara subtitle editor will not be able to help you create or generate captions for your video, but it can be a good solution to edit a subtitle file that you already have. It can be very useful in syncing the subtitles with the video and you can use it to make minor changes to the subtitle.

While editing the subtitle file is easy, creating a caption file using Amara can be a lengthy process since you would have to type in the text.

Key Features

• It can be used to edit caption and subtitles files easily
• The user interface is pleasant and easy to use
• It is completely free

Aegisubs

Aegisubs is another tool that you can use to create subtitles for your video. But we must warn you right off the bat that this tool is not very user-friendly and you may find that you will spend a lot of time trying to generate subtitles for your video. But it is a free solution and widely accessible on most platforms.

Key Features

• It can be used to create subtitles and captions in different languages
• It supports numerous video and audio formats
• It has a simple user interface that is easy to navigate
• It doesn’t have speech recognition and you’ll have to enter all the text manually

AHD Subtitle Maker

AHD subtitle maker is a Windows program that can be used to create subtitles and captions for your video in a variety of formats such as SRT. It is a completely free solution that can also be used to edit subtitle files in numerous ways, even changing the format of the file.

Among other things, you can use AHD subtitle maker to translate, change, copy and delete selected text from a subtitle file and even replace the text with something else.

Key Features

• It is a free program that works on all versions of Windows
• It can generate subtitle and caption files in a variety of formats
• You can use it to generate subtitle files or edit existing files in various ways
• It can also be used to generate various types of content including ID3 tags for music files

Videocaptionmaker.com

To generate captions and subtitles on your Mac for free, the best option is Video Caption Maker. The full version of the program is available for free and it can be used to create a subtitle file or make changes to a subtitle file you already have.

Key Features

• You can use it to add text to a video in a simple and straightforward way
• It can also be used to make changes to existing subtitles by changing the fonts, styles, backgrounds, positions, and more
• It will also add a visual waveform to an audio file to identify the start and end time
• It supports numerous video formats including .mov, .mp4, .mpeg, .3gpp, .3gpp2

Jubler

Jubler is a program that can edit subtitles and captions for videos. It can also be used to create new subtitles although it doesn’t automatically generate the captions and you will have to type them in. But when it comes to editing subtitles, this tool is very effective, allowing you to change the font style, color, and even positioning of the subtitles.

Key Features

• It works on all platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux
• It will graphically display the subtitles so you can easily move them to the desired location
• It supports all subtitle and caption file formats
• It allows you to edit the subtitles in many ways
• It can be used to translate the subtitles to various languages

Related FAQs

**How Do I Make a Caption for a Video?

Making a caption for your video can be easy depending on the type of program you choose to use. A good rule of thumb is to choose solutions that auto generates the captions as they save you a lot of time. If there are issues after the captions have been generated, you can then use a subtitled editor to fix them, more preferable to typing in the subtitles or captions yourself.

**How Do I Get Automatic Captions for my Video?

If you are uploading your video on YouTube, you can easily generate automatic captions from the YouTube studio. Just use these simple steps;

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube Studio and in the left menu, select “Subtitles.”

Step 2: Click on the video that you want to add subtitles

Step 3: Select “More” under Subtitles and then go through the captions to make sure they are correct. If not, you can edit them on this page.

If you are not using YouTube to share your video, you can use one of the solutions we have outlined in this article to generate automatic captions.

**How Long Does It Take to Caption a Video?

The amount of time that you spend creating a caption for your video is entirely dependent on the captioning tool that you use. Automatic caption generators can create captions in a few seconds but manual subtitle tools can lengthen the process, especially for a longer video.

Conclusion

Captions are a great way to get users to engage with your videos. Studies have shown that a captioned video is far more likely to get more engagements and shares on social media. And since it can be very easy to make caption for you video, why not utilize this little known resource and get your videos to stand out a little bit more.

Try It Free Try It Free

Best Video Caption Makers

The following are the top video caption makers that you can choose from;

YouTube Automatic Caption

If you already have your own YouTube channel, you can use the built-in speech recognition feature to generate accurate captions for your video. This feature can generate captions in a number of languages including English, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Korean, French, Italian, and Dutch which is more than some of the premium caption generators in the market.

The main reason most people choose this solution is that it is fairly simple to use. You don’t have to do much; just upload the video and the automatic caption generator will create the captions you need.

Key Features

• It is easy to use and freely accessible
• You can use it to generate captions in a number of different languages
• It is very accurate
• You can use it to generate transcripts for the video

Kapwing Auto-Subtitle Maker

Kapwing is an online solution that will generate subtitles and captions for most videos. But it does limit the size of the video that it can generate subtitles on to about 500 MB. There is a free version of the program that although limited in functionality will not add a watermark to the generated captions file. But free users can only get captions for up to 7 minutes of video, making it a less ideal solution when you have a longer video.

Key Features

• You can generate captions and subtitles for free
• It is accessible online and you don’t have to install software on your computer to get the captions
• It has a very simple user interface, making the caption generation process quick and easy
• In addition to generating subtitles and captions, you can edit existing files.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC

You may know Adobe Premiere as one of the most popular video editing programs on the market, but most people are unaware that it can also be used to generate captions for the video. This tool can be very useful in the creation of high-quality videos and you can generate an accurate caption or subtitle for the video as well.

But Adobe Premiere is not an easy solution to use for both video editing and adding captions, particularly for beginner users. But it is certainly one of the best ways to create and edit videos on your computer.

Key Features

• Even though the interface is not easy to use, it is clear and flexible
• You have numerous options to add the captions including font style and color
• The captions that you add using this tool will be very accurate
• It can also be used to edit existing subtitle and caption files

Amara Subtitle Editor

Amara subtitle editor will not be able to help you create or generate captions for your video, but it can be a good solution to edit a subtitle file that you already have. It can be very useful in syncing the subtitles with the video and you can use it to make minor changes to the subtitle.

While editing the subtitle file is easy, creating a caption file using Amara can be a lengthy process since you would have to type in the text.

Key Features

• It can be used to edit caption and subtitles files easily
• The user interface is pleasant and easy to use
• It is completely free

Aegisubs

Aegisubs is another tool that you can use to create subtitles for your video. But we must warn you right off the bat that this tool is not very user-friendly and you may find that you will spend a lot of time trying to generate subtitles for your video. But it is a free solution and widely accessible on most platforms.

Key Features

• It can be used to create subtitles and captions in different languages
• It supports numerous video and audio formats
• It has a simple user interface that is easy to navigate
• It doesn’t have speech recognition and you’ll have to enter all the text manually

AHD Subtitle Maker

AHD subtitle maker is a Windows program that can be used to create subtitles and captions for your video in a variety of formats such as SRT. It is a completely free solution that can also be used to edit subtitle files in numerous ways, even changing the format of the file.

Among other things, you can use AHD subtitle maker to translate, change, copy and delete selected text from a subtitle file and even replace the text with something else.

Key Features

• It is a free program that works on all versions of Windows
• It can generate subtitle and caption files in a variety of formats
• You can use it to generate subtitle files or edit existing files in various ways
• It can also be used to generate various types of content including ID3 tags for music files

Videocaptionmaker.com

To generate captions and subtitles on your Mac for free, the best option is Video Caption Maker. The full version of the program is available for free and it can be used to create a subtitle file or make changes to a subtitle file you already have.

Key Features

• You can use it to add text to a video in a simple and straightforward way
• It can also be used to make changes to existing subtitles by changing the fonts, styles, backgrounds, positions, and more
• It will also add a visual waveform to an audio file to identify the start and end time
• It supports numerous video formats including .mov, .mp4, .mpeg, .3gpp, .3gpp2

Jubler

Jubler is a program that can edit subtitles and captions for videos. It can also be used to create new subtitles although it doesn’t automatically generate the captions and you will have to type them in. But when it comes to editing subtitles, this tool is very effective, allowing you to change the font style, color, and even positioning of the subtitles.

Key Features

• It works on all platforms including Windows, Mac, and Linux
• It will graphically display the subtitles so you can easily move them to the desired location
• It supports all subtitle and caption file formats
• It allows you to edit the subtitles in many ways
• It can be used to translate the subtitles to various languages

Related FAQs

**How Do I Make a Caption for a Video?

Making a caption for your video can be easy depending on the type of program you choose to use. A good rule of thumb is to choose solutions that auto generates the captions as they save you a lot of time. If there are issues after the captions have been generated, you can then use a subtitled editor to fix them, more preferable to typing in the subtitles or captions yourself.

**How Do I Get Automatic Captions for my Video?

If you are uploading your video on YouTube, you can easily generate automatic captions from the YouTube studio. Just use these simple steps;

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube Studio and in the left menu, select “Subtitles.”

Step 2: Click on the video that you want to add subtitles

Step 3: Select “More” under Subtitles and then go through the captions to make sure they are correct. If not, you can edit them on this page.

If you are not using YouTube to share your video, you can use one of the solutions we have outlined in this article to generate automatic captions.

**How Long Does It Take to Caption a Video?

The amount of time that you spend creating a caption for your video is entirely dependent on the captioning tool that you use. Automatic caption generators can create captions in a few seconds but manual subtitle tools can lengthen the process, especially for a longer video.

Conclusion

Captions are a great way to get users to engage with your videos. Studies have shown that a captioned video is far more likely to get more engagements and shares on social media. And since it can be very easy to make caption for you video, why not utilize this little known resource and get your videos to stand out a little bit more.

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