So you’re asking yourself what is the best camera for vlogging under $200? Well, today we hope to answer that question with our top 5 of the best cameras that you could use for YouTube vlogging.
There are now hundreds of vloggers who are quitting their full-time jobs and living the freedom lifestyle. Vlogging empowers you to work anytime, anywhere, do whatever you want to do and make good money at the same time.
Being a vlogger is a dream job for millions of people, but not everyone has the courage to take the leap of faith and get started. But let me tell you this, the best thing to do if you are thinking about starting a vlog is just to get started.
And to start vlogging the first thing you need is a good quality vlogging camera. It’s important to have a good quality camera, but it’s not important to get the best camera in the world. At the end of the day, the content you create and the stories you tell will engage your audience.
But you do need a good quality camera otherwise people will not enjoy the content and won’t engage with them. So, if you are on a budget we have listed down the top five best vlogging cameras under $200.
Our Top Picks
1. Nikon Coolpix S6900
2. Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 HS.
3. Fujifilm FinePix S8600.
5 Best Cameras for Vlogging Under $200
Here’s a breakdown of the top 5 best vlogging cameras under $200 that you should consider in 2020. Be sure to check out the current pricing along with many customer reviews via the “Check Price” button in each camera section.
1. NIKON COOLPIX S6900
Nikon Coolpix S6900 is a camera that feels like it’s made just for vlogging specifically. It records in 1080p full HD video at 30 fps and also has a built-in microphone. It’s just under $200 and has incredible features like built-in Wi-Fi, a flip over touchscreen, NFC, etc. This is a compact and pocketable camera with really good image quality, it’s perfect for beginners.
It has a 16MP camera sensor for recording good quality vlogs. The flip screen is a 3” LCD screen, which will help you in creating selfie vlogs. This is a really simple feature, but a huge time saver for vloggers. Because without a flip screen you will have to spend a ton time figuring out the framing. But with the flip screen you can just look in the flipped screen and start creating your vlog.
It has a built in microphone and its front facing. Unlike other cameras where the microphone is on the top, here it’s on the front side. This is a really smart move by Nikon, because when the mic is on the top – many times you might unknowingly put your hand on it while holding the camera. This will completely muffle down your audio, but here as the mic is on the front, you don’t have to worry about that.
One slight downside of this camera is the battery life. It has an average battery life of 180 shots. But the good part is that it has a removable battery. So you can always carry a spare battery, just in case you need it.
Overall the Nikon Coolpix S6900 is a really good camera for vlogging. It’s portable, compact, pocketable, has excellent image quality, flip screen, and Wi-Fi. These features combined make it a really good vlogging camera.
2. Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 HS
The Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 HS is one of the go-to cameras for many vloggers. The design is slim and portable, and it can record 1080p full HD videos. It has a 20.2MP CMOS sensor, which shoots really good quality videos. And the image quality is fantastic at this price point.
The form factor of the camera is portable and pocketable. It weighs only 0.70 lbs. You can easily vlog with this on the go. The portability of the camera is really important, as without it you will not be able to shoot vlogs on the go easily.
The battery life of the camera is fairly good. It lasts up to 210 shots while the industry average is 243 shots. Though it will probably last the whole day if you are just vlogging, I would probably carry a spare battery, just in case.
This camera has a built in microphone on the front side. But it doesn’t have an external microphone jack. It also has features like optical image stabilization and wide lens. With the help of the optical image stabilization, you can easily record videos on the move. And with the wide lens you can create great videos at a shorter distance.
It doesn’t have a flip screen, unfortunately. This a really important feature for vloggers, as it allows you to easily adjust the framing while filming selfie videos. But on the plus side, it does have built-in Wi-Fi and NFC, for easy transfer of your videos and photos to your computer and smartphone. This feature will not only help you to transfer your vlogs, but you can now also click pictures for your Instagram and easily transfer it on the go.
Overall the Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 HS is a great camera as it has awesome features like recording 1080p Full HD videos, good battery life, optical image stabilization, and a wide-angle lens. But on the other hand, it does not have an external microphone jack or a flip screen. So, after weighing these pros and cons make your final decision.
3. Fujifilm FinePix S8600
The Fujifilm FinePix S8600 has a 16MP sensor and it records in 720p at 30fps. The overall image quality is really good, even though it does not support 1080p, but it’s good for starters. It is a very compact device, which is really important for vloggers.
It has an excellent battery life of around 250 shots, while the industry average is around 243 shots. This allows you to vlog all day without worrying about your battery life. Though we would recommend carrying extra battery for additional safety.
It has its own system called “Sensor Shift” for optical image stabilization. This system is developed by Fujifilm and that’s why it works really great. It stabilizes your video very well and will help reduce shakey video.
It has a wide lens which ranges from 25mm to 900mm. But as vloggers we are interested in the minimum focal length, as we are going to record “talking in the camera” type of vlogs, most of the time. And for this we need a wide lens otherwise you won’t be able to shoot great videos at a close distance. But this camera has a great wide lens and it can shoot really good videos even at close range.
This camera has fairly good low light capabilities, it’s not the best out there, but it has the capability to shoot fairly good videos and images in low light. At this price point, it’s not common to have good low lighting capabilities.
It doesn’t have a flip screen, unfortunately, which is a really important feature for vloggers, but it doesn’t have it. It also lacks built-in Wi-Fi or NFC to transfer your files wirelessly.
Overall the Fujifilm FinePix S8600 is a great camera for starters. It can shoot 720p videos, has an excellent battery life, built-in image stabilization system, wide lens, and shoots great videos even in low light. But on the downside, it lacks a flip screen and wireless connectivity.
4. Nikon Coolpix L840
The Nikon Coolpix L840 has 16MP sensor and it records in 1080p at 30fps. The overall image and video quality is really good. The battery life is great at 590 shots. The average battery life of a DSLR is around 340 shots. You can simply fully charge it and start vlogging, and it will easily last through a full day. This allows you to vlog on the go without worrying about battery life.
The optical image stabilization helps you to create non-shaky videos on the move. This feature is really great for those who want to vlog while running, cycling, riding a bike, etc. It has wireless connectivity for transferring your files easily. You can transfer your files without any cables with Wi-Fi very fast.
It has a built-in microphone which is not bad, but for vlogs, we need the best quality microphones as this is becoming a basic standard of all the vlogs out there. On this camera there is no external microphone jack, so we are not able to use an external mic.
To tackle this problem you can use a portable mic, they are fairly cheap and provides excellent voice quality. But you will have to manually sync the audio and video for your vlogs which can be time consuming.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a flip screen. As mentioned many times a flip screen is really useful for vloggers, but this camera lacks that core feature. Also, it doesn’t perform that well in low light.
The overall image quality of the Nikon Coolpix L840 is really good as it shoots in 1080p at 30fps. It has excellent battery life, optical image stabilization, wireless connectivity, and a built-in microphone. But it lacks external microphone jack, flip screen, and low light performance.
5. Canon PowerShot SX420
The Canon PowerShot SX420 has a 20MP sensor and it records in 720p at 25fps. The overall video quality is really good at this price point. Unfortunately it can’t record in 1080p but for beginners, 720p will do the job.
It has manual focus, which is not common in this price range. The manual focus opens a whole lot of opportunities and ideas for your vlog. It has a wide lens that allows you to shoot great videos at a closer distance. Most of the time you are going to create “talking in the camera” type of videos and a wider lens is a necessity for creating these types of videos.
The battery life is not great on this camera, it only has a battery life of 185 shots, which will not last the whole day. You will need to carry an external battery every time, but that is not that big of a problem.
This camera doesn’t have a flip screen. This is really crucial for vloggers, as with a flipping screen you can easily set the focus and see what you are filming. It also doesn’t have a touchscreen. Most of the new camera models come with a touchscreen, it’s just easy to navigate the camera settings with a touchscreen. It also lacks an external microphone, so you are stuck with the built-in microphone.
The overall image quality of the Canon PowerShot SX420 is good as it records in 720p at 25fps, and videos are recorded in this resolution only. It has manual focus, wide lens, built-in microphone, and amazing zoom. But it lacks a good battery life, touchscreen, a flip screen, and wireless connectivity.
Things to Consider when buying a Vlogging Camera
There are a few important considerations when searching for the best vlogging camera under $200.
Video Quality
The best video quality for vlogging cameras is 4k, but due to budget limitations of this list, there are no 4k cameras featured on this list. 1080p is the next step down in video quality and considered Full HD. 720p is the next step down but will certainly produce videos of good enough quality for YouTube.
A wide-angle lens
A wide-angle lens a big help when filming vlogs. Look for a 24mm lens in compact/point & shoot cameras as this usually enables you to capture the entirety of yourself in the frame, even from close range.
Flip screen
A flip screen is quite an important feature on a vlogging camera. But if your model doesn’t come with a flip screen, consider getting a mirror to place behind the camera! This handy trick helps you to check your framing while filming.
Weight
Usually, a lighter camera is better as it enables you to carry the camera more easily, it also makes it easier to hold the camera for extended periods of time while you’re filming your vlog.
Optical Image Stabilization
Another consideration is Optical Image Stabilization. This feature smooths out the recording and minimizes movement and shaking.
Audio
Obviously, when vlogging, you are recording and talking at the same time so you want to ensure that your camera has suitable audio functionality, including a forward-facing microphone if possible. This enables you to talk directly at the mic whilst filming yourself. A microphone jack is also a handy feature so that you have the ability to use external microphones.
A Tripod
A tripod is an added extra that certainly helps with the overall quality of video production. These obviously prevent unnecessary movement whilst filming.
Conclusion
This concludes our comprehensive review of the 5 best vlogging cameras under $200. Let’s quickly recap them:
- ☞ Nikon Coolpix S6900 – The Best Vlogging Camera Under $200
- ☞ Canon PowerShot ELPH 360 HS
- ☞ Fujifilm Fine Pix S8600
- ☞ Nikon Coolpix L840
- ☞ Canon PowerShot SX420 IS
These are the five best vlogging cameras under $200. But the best out of these five is the Nikon Coolpix S6900. It is portable and slim, can record in 1080p at 30fps, a flip screen, decent battery life, front-facing microphone, optical image stabilization, and a wide lens. All these features combined make it perfect for vlogging.
