The Video Marketing Blog

Should Your Business Buy a Video Camera?

Here at Yes! MediaWorks, we generally shoot with Canon XH-A1 cameras.

They have all kinds of useful features, and they let us make great video. When we book a shoot, they (and the big tripods that support them) work very well. But I've been feeling lately that bigger is not always better. That sometimes it would be really handy to have a little camera - small enough to tuck into my purse, easy enough to turn on, point, and shoot. And so this morning I went and ordered the Kodak Zi8.

I've been resisting a small HD video camera because up until now, they haven't had jacks for external microphones. Sure, the Flip HD cameras make nice-looking video, but the audio sounds like a small, inexpensive consumer camcorder, and there's no way to improve it. Good for some situations, but for me that's a serious limitation.

Enter the Zi8. With its HD capability, I can use it for all kinds of quick shots without having to lug around the big XH A1. And with its mic jack, I can also use it for impromptu videotaping at seminars & events - say, a two-minute hallway interview with a great speaker.

So... why do you care?

Because while your company - or nonprofit - may already have a relationship with a media company, you probably have events you don't send a videographer to, like seminars you attend. But video from those events could be very useful, for your blog, to edit into larger projects, etc.

Gathering video from the field - from your trade show booth, from site visits, from places and events that would be interesting to your customers and potential customers - is a really good reason to have a camera like this. Its price is low (on Amazon, about $250 with 16GB Flash memory card, tripod & bag), it shoots HD video, and your media company can handle the cataloging and editing for you. All you need to do is gather the raw video.

Owning a camera like this is such a good idea that I'm going to start recommending that my clients buy one. But wait - that doesn't seem to make sense. Yes! MediaWorks is a company that shoots video professionally. Why would we recommend that our customers buy and use a video camera?

Because the value that smart media companies provide is in creating and managing content, and in helping their clients understand how to use that content. NOT in being the sole content originator. It is in your best interest to market your company (or nonprofit) with lots of video. But unless you have a budget the size of EMC's video budget, it's just not practical to pay a videographer to shoot all your content.

So, when you're looking for a media company to help you understand and use video to market your business/nonprofit, ask this question: What kind of camera would you recommend we buy? If they try to talk you out of buying a camera, they may not be the right media company.