Your best camera is the one you have on you.

Which is usually your phone.

I use an iPhone and I like that the camera has a great deal of functionality out of the box. I can (of course) take photos and video, but there's a cinematic mode, timelapse mode, and slow mo all of which I can use to shoot footage for youtube videos or art reference.

It's great for travel, but sometimes it's nice to have a dedicated camera for doing that. Especially if you need your phone for communications, maps, and search. Taking photos is fine, but shooting video will drain your battery and storage space.

Here's some of the camera equipment I use to help me shoot art reference and Youtube videos. My criteria was to get stuff that was inexpensive (sans camera) and be compact so I could take it with me on the go or not have it take up a lot of space at home. This is the list of gear I came up with.

Camera Gear

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo

Buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
Price: $670 USD

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Overview

The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is a small, compact 4K camera with a built-in gimbal, making it perfect for vlogging and on-the-go content creation.

Key Features

• 4K Video with built-in stabilization.
• Face Tracking: Swivel the camera to track your face seamlessly.
• Multiple Shooting Modes:
  • Video
  • Slow Motion
  • Hyperlapse
  • Stationary Timelapse
  • Motion Timelapse (set start and end points for smooth trajectory-based timelapse shots).
• Creator Combo Add-ons:
  • DJI Mic for high-quality audio.
  • Deadcat muffler to reduce wind noise when recording outdoors.

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SAMSUNG EVO Select Micro SD-Memory-Card + Adapter, 512GB

Buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link) – $56 USD

A microSD card for the Osmo Pocket. Yeah, the camera doesn't come with one. You want a microSD card that can read/write fast enough to store 4K footage and this one serves that purpose pretty well.

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Skyreat ND Filters Set for DJI Osmo Pocket 3

Buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link) – $28 USD

ND Filters are great if you're outdoors and it's sunny. You can magnetically clip these over the Osmo Pocket 3's lens to step down the brightness.

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ULANZI VL49 RGB Video Lights, LED Camera Light

Buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link) – $20 USD

This is a small RGB light. It's incredibly bright and can be adjusted from yellow to white (light temperature) and also through a whole spectrum of RGB colors. There are various modes you can turn on to strobe the light or change it's color randomly. I generally set the color temperature and brightness and use it as a bounce light to illumate my studio. It comes with a 1/4 inch screw hole and will work with various ball mounts and tripods and it has a magnet inside so you can place this light anywhere you need it.

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ULANZI SK-03 Selfie Stick Tripod, 64" Professional Stand

Buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link) – $24 USD

It's a selfie stick and a monopod. It has mounts for an action camera, smartphone, and a 1/4 inch mountable device (i.e. RGB light or camera). It can work with the Osmo pocket if you want a quick tripod. It's a bit flimsy so if you're shooting outside it's best to take care or use it as a selfie stick. Indoors I think it makes a compact tripod/monopod if I need to place a camera somewhere for shooting.

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ULANZI Mini Ball Head

Buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link) – $10 USD

I bought this as an extra ball-joint mount for my Osmo Pocket, Insta360 action camera, smart phone, and RGB light. I mainly got this because some of my selfie sticks allow for 1/4 inch camera gear to be screwed in, it's hard to line up and make it straight. It would be nice to allow me to adjust it and that's where this ball mount comes into play.

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NEEWER Camera Desk Mount with Overhead Arm

Buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link) – $42 USD

Okay, admittedly I don't own this item, but I own the parts. This is essentially the Neewer Extendable Camera Desk Mount, but it comes with an auxillary arm. I bought the auxillary arm separate, and this contains both of those things together. So if you want/need an aux arm to connect a camera and light then you'd want this. Otherwise, the extendable arm is good enough.

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NEEWER Extendable Camera Desk Mount with Ball Head

Buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link) – $25 USD

This is a 1/4 inch mount that you can clamp to a desk. It's extensible meaning you can have it placed really high above you. I use it to place an RGB light or camera.

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MAYBESTA Wireless Lavalier Microphone for iPhone/iPad

Buy on Amazon (Affiliate Link) – $15 USD

I don't have this brand, but I have a lav mic like it. This is a simple wireless lav mic for your lighting port iPhone or iPad. I have one of these because my iPhone still uses a lightning port. It's plug and play and works really well. I don't use it as much because I have a DJI mic that came with the Osmo pocket. But if you're looking for a cheap solution for a better mic, something like this is useful.

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Portable Battery Pack You'll want one of these, but I don't have a good one to recommend you right now, because I don't like mine. I bought one with 20,000 mAh power. Honestly, it's heavy and takes up space. I didn't like to bring it with me when I was out and about. But, if I need to charge something, it becomes super-useful. Maybe getting something half that capacity (10,000 mAh) or a quarter of it (5000 mAh) is the right move if you want to stay light on your feet.

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