The Ultimate Zoom Video Setup // Gear
If you know my husband, you know he can’t purchase anything without doing all of the research. Whether it’s a vacuum cleaner, a rug, or an office set up, he has to explore and understand all 9,000+ options before he can commit to one and confidently recommend it.
When we moved to New York City, we got an apartment where M could have his own office, as he’s now full-time remote. And the first thing he did was research the best of everything for an office setup: desk, monitor, webcam, lighting, keyboard, storage, printer, etc. These are the results of his research, guest-written by him!
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With so much of my time spent on meetings, I really wanted to optimize my Zoom setup. Especially after reading that high quality audio makes you sound smarter, and high quality video does the same.
Since setting this up for myself, I started helping others in my company who were interested in the setup. Hopefully this helps you, too.
Setup Considerations
You need four things to set up a proper WFH Zoom Setup:
A Camera and Lens
A Camera <> Webcam Adapter (this turns your camera into a webcam)
Good Lighting - either natural or artificial
A Microphone
Choosing a Camera
There are a lot of considerations in choosing a camera that go beyond the scope of this post. At a high level, you want a camera with high image quality, near perfect autofocus, and the ability to run long durations without overheating. I choose Sony cameras because they have unbeatable autofocus and (after testing lots of brands) give me everything I need, but you don’t need to choose Sony.
Camera & Lens Option 1 (Most Expensive):
Camera: Sony Alpha 7C
Wide Lens: Viltrox 24mm f/1.8 or Samyang 24mm f/1.8 (buy whichever is cheaper at the time)
Slightly Tighter Lens: Sony 28mm f/2-22
You’ll need to experiment with the ideal focal length for your setup, but these are good starting points.
The Wide Lens at 24mm will give you a wider look, bringing more of your surroundings into the shot. At 28mm, the slightly tighter lens zooms in just a tad more and focuses more on the speaker.
Camera & Lens Option 2 (Cheaper):
Camera: Sony Alpha a6400
Wide Lens: Sigma 16mm f/1.4 (24mm equivalent)
Slightly Tighter Lens: Sony 20mm f/2.8 (30mm equivalent)
This is the cropped equivalent of the a7C (ie. smaller sensor).
The downsides are:
Slightly worse auto-focus (but unlikely to be noticeable)
Slightly worse color-science (which determines how close to reality your skin tones appear)
Slightly worse dynamic range (which determines how wide the gap between the lightest and darkest parts of your image can be). This really mattered for me because my window overlooking NYC is in my frame, and I didn’t want the view to be blown out on camera.
Camera Mount:
You’ll need a way to attach your camera to your desk! After testing lots of options, I whole heartedly recommend this option which is budget friendly and high quality: Camera Mount
Webcam Adapter:
This turns your camera into a webcam for Zoom. Cheaper options exist, but this is a tried and true solution that’s never let me down and many professional streamers use.
If you’re using the cameras I mentioned above, you’ll also need this cable: Micro HDMI to HDMI Cable Adapter
Lights:
The best cameras in the world look terrible with bad lighting. I am a huge fan of these lights because they are cost effective, extremely high quality and made for our purposes: Key Light with Adjustable Stand
If you are currently lit by light bulbs or windows, these will make a huge difference.
Microphone:
You need to pair great video with great sound. Below I outline a simple plug and play solution, along with a much more complex option that I personally use
General Recommendation: Blue Yeti USB Microphone
This is probably the most popular mic for streamers. It’s simple to use, just plug it in and talk. No fuss, no headaches.
I personally use something a bit more complicated…see below for the details!
I currently use an XLR mic, paired with a Motu M2, a Mic Stand, and an XLR Microphone Cable.
I landed on my mic after watching this video. I’m not 100% convinced the quality is any better, but it clears up my desk space which I really cared about.
Anyway…that’s it! Hope this helps and see you all on some HD Zoom calls!