Best cameras for teaching yoga online in 2024
Every day a yoga teacher asks me what camera I use to teach yoga online.
When I started teaching yoga online, I didn't know much about cameras – but I was fortunate to marry a photographer and a gear geek. My husband Konrad spends an unreasonable amount of money on cameras and lenses and copious hours watching YouTube camera reviews. Here's what he has helped steer me toward.
Before you read more, if you don't have a good mic yet for teaching online, then I strongly recommend you start there. Audio is king, and a good mic will have much more influence on your video quality than a good camera will. Consider checking out this rundown of the best mics for online yoga teachers.
Now, for cameras, I'll run through options from the most affordable options including the phone you already have, all the way up to the highest quality that the top professional yoga teachers use.
Here's the list of choices, in order of price:
Webcam
Most built-in desktops and laptops have their own webcam. These are typically low resolution and low quality, but they work fine for some yoga teachers' needs. For higher quality zoom yoga classes, you'll want to buy a webcam that plugs into your computer's USB port and hooks onto the top of the monitor.
The best starter webcame for yoga teachers is the Logitech C920x ($69.99) which is Full HD (1080p) resolution.
If you can pay a little more I strongly recommend the Logitech Brio ($128.30). This is what I use for my Zoom yoga classes, and I've chosen it for two reasons: (1) The smart lighting is amazing, and it adjusts to help me look professional in any lighting environment including low light, direct sunlight or high contrast lighting conditions. (2) The Brio's adjustable field of view means I have three angles to choose from. When I'm on my mat I use the widest angle, which gets my whole body into the frame when I'm in standing postures, even in a relatively small room. It also allows me to be closer to the computer to better interact with Zoom students while demo'ing postures. When it's discussion time, I switch to a closer camera angle that frames my head and shoulders.
Smartphones & iPhones For Zoom Yoga
Most yoga teachers with a smartphone or iPhone already have an excellent camera in their pocket. If you are okay with not seeing your Zoom students as easily as you can on a laptop or computer, then this may be the way to go if you're on a budget.
Be sure to mount your smartphone using a tripod like my favorite, the GorillaPod Stand ($19.83).
Note for Zoom teachers: If you're primarily teaching on Zoom to live groups, a webcam or phone is probably all you need. Moving into the next level of quality is primarily for those making on-demand videos to post to YouTube or professional live-streaming applications. Keep in mind that Zoom degrades your video quality, so it really doesn't make a lot of sense to maximize your video quality for Zoom.
Digital Camera for Livestreaming
For higher quality live-streaming, I use a Sony ZV-1 Digital Camera ($648) which is perfect for vlogging (aka self-videoing) with a self-facing viewer. It also acts as a webcam with plug-and-play functionality into live-streaming software.
Camcorder
Most professional DSLR and mirrorless cameras are strangely ill-suited for long-form video classes. They have short battery lives (usually 30-60 minutes), plus that pesky 30-minute video recording limit which is apparently related to EU regulations. But the Panasonic 4K Ultra HD Video Camera Camcorder ($797.99) gets around these. It's made for video, not photography, and is a top-notch choice for amazing 4K video quality. It has a multitude of automation features that are essential for those of us who film ourselves including great auto light adjustment and auto-focus. for fitness and yoga videos.
Mirrorless Camera
When I want the highest professional quality I use my husband's camera. It's major overkill for most yoga teachers' needs, and there's a learning curve to use it right, but it makes me look amazing, with sharp focus and phenomenal color. It's the Sony A7R4 mirrorless camera ($2,998), and it's the camera I've used for most of the yoga videos on my YouTube channel. It does *not* have the 30-minute video limit that most pro cameras have, and I can film for 2-3 hours before I need to swap batteries – which is essential since I film long yoga videos, often 1 hour or more. I use it with this 16-35mm wide-angle zoom lens ($1,898).
What Yoga with Adriene Uses
With over 11 million followers on YouTube, Adriene Mishler and her producer Chris Sharpe use two cameras including the pricey Canon EOS C-200 and a more affordable Sony RX100 ($998, 24-70mm lens included).
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