LOGITECH G305 MOUSE
This is a cool cheap mouse. The newer version comes with an even better HERO sensor that is more precise and uses less power than the older one. You can make the mouse silent by replacing the switches, see THIS video for results you can get. And believe it or not there is a modding community to make the mouse lighter or to change the look and feel of the mouse.
KEYCHRON K8 KEYBOARD
This keyboard ticks all of my wants:
– it’s mechanical
– 10 keyless format (arrows and DEL keys)
– quick swap switches
– LED lights with plenty of modes
– the battery last 20-30 days in my case
– BT 5 connection, Android, PC, Mac
CANON POWERSHOT SX40HS
My first camera. It’s an older point and shoot camera that still has its uses. It can also be “hacked” to unlock additional handy features.
SPEED EDITOR KEYBOARD
The speed editor keyboard for DaVinci Resolve, meant to be used in the CUT page. It is a cool tool, but not quite for my editing needs. You can get it for FREE when you buy DaVinci Resolve Studio.
DAVINCI RESOLVE STUDIO
My video editing software of choice, that I also make my tutorial videos for. If buying teh studio version make sure you get the FREE speed editing keyboard bundle. The studio version has cool features and you only need to buy it once, when new new major version releases you have access to it.
SAMSON Q2U MICROPHONE
My microphone of choice because there’s is a lot of background noise where I do my recordings. It has an XLR and a micro USB connection so you can connect it to your PC without using a dedicated audio interface.
PANASONIC LUMIX G80/G85
The Panasonic Lumix G80 (in some countries G85) micro four thirds camera is what I am currently using to record my videos. It is one of the best entry level mirrorless cameras for the money, if you get it used for under $400, the second option would be the Lumix G7 which is its predecessor. I got my camera 2nd hand with a kit lens G VARIO 3.5-5.6/12-32.
The camera has a lot of bells and whistles. Among them is the flip touch screen which is super useful when recording on your own. It has a microphone jack which can make the video editing workflow more streamlined, but this depends on the microphone you use. And lastly it can shoot video in 4k, which not many cameras can do for such a low price.
For more information on the camera just look at the offical panasonic website or look at any Panasonic Lumix G80/G85 review.
BOYA MM1 BOOM MICROPHONE
This was my starting microphone that I first used with my smart phone, but now this small boom microphone is connected to the Panasonic Lumix G85 camera, which gives a much better audio quality than the camera’s built in microphone.
It also comes with a dead cat (hairy cover) which block out wind noise considerably and it also comes with 2 cables, so you can connect it to either a camera or a smart phone.
BOYA M1 LAPEL MICROPHONE
A tiny but good quality lapel microphone with a long cable. Perfect for times when recording audio with a big microphone is not an option. It’s also a nice and cheap portable solution as you can simply plug it to your smart phone or a camera as you can simply use the switch to tell it what device you’re using it with. When used with a camera the microphone will use the battery, which you can replace once it runs out.
NEEWER H-35 BALL HEAD
I can’t say much about this ball head since I didn’t get around using it in the way I intended. However, it does it’s job on a gorilla like twisting tripod. And the load bearing is supposedly 12kg which is a lot and should hold up most camera and lens combinations.
DOUK AUDIO G5 AMPLIFIER
The Douk Audio G5 amplifier is a great little device. The shell is made from aluminium so it’s very sturdy and cool to the touch. On the front it has a blue led and a power/volume knob. On the back there are 4 jacks for the Right/Left speaker a 3.5mm AUX in and a BlueTooth 5 antenna that can be unscrewed.
I’m using the Douk Audio G5 amplifier to power my McGREY box speakers, and because of my setup I rout the audio signal in from the Behringer UMC204HD audio interface device.
Since this is a BlueTooth device you can also connect to it with one of your smart devices, like a smart phone, and it works without any issues.
BEHRINGER UMC204HD
Behringer UMC204HD audio interface device. A bit overkill for my current needs, but I never know when I might find interest in other things that I could plug into it, like a quitar or any MIDI device.
It has everything that most people would ever need from an audio interface device. I’m currently using it with Samson Q2U XLR microphone, Douk Audio G5 amplifier, McGREY box speakers and AKG K240 Studio Headphones.
The Behringer UMC204HD also has headphone monitoring and mixing options, and it has an led that show if the sound is clipping.
MCGREY 40W BOX SPEAKERS
My dedicated speakers that are on my desk and they replaced a Logitech 2.1 PC speaker system. The spekers look nice and they have a detachable magnetic mesh. I’m no audiophile but the sound is much better than what I previously had.
Since the speakers are passive (no power) you need to provide an external audio amplifier – I’m using Douk Audio G5 amplifier. The speakers do come with the usual red and black audio cables, but there are no banana plugs included. So if you want a nicer look at the back of the speakers where the cables connect – and an easier way of plugging – then you’ll need to buy 8 banana plugs (4 per speaker).
The speakers can be loud, as long as your audio amplifier can provide enough juice. How loud? Let’s just say that I never turn the knob on the amplifier by more than 30% if YouTube player is at max volume.
Just for reference how I have the speakers connected, because this was very confusing to me when I first tried connecting them to the PC.
USB connectiton : PC >> Behringer UMC204HD audio interface
DiY cable 2x XLR to 3.5mm : Behringer UMC204HD >> Douk Audio G5 amplifier
DiY banana cables : Douk Audio G5 amplifier >> Left & Right McGREY speaker
AKG K240 STUDIO HEADPHONES
My studio (and daily) headphones that I use for editing videos or listening to music or watching movies.
The headphones have a detachable cable, which is good if you’re one of those people that likes to pull on the cable – you can replace it. The cables has a 3.5mm jack but it also has some threads on which you can screw a 6.3mm jack connector that comes included.
You have all the adjustments that most headphones allow. The ear pads are soft and not too strong so you can use them for couple of hours straight. And you can also replace the ear pads when they get used, which is great since it means you don’t have to throw the headphones away.
ARTCISE AF30 TRIPOD
A good tripod for under $100? Is it possible? I’d say it’s more than possible!
Some of the tripod features:
– 48 to 210cm height
– comes with a ball head that supports up to 15kg and the pan is smooth (for the price)
– is built like a tank and doesn’t woble
– only weighs 1.8kg
– can be used as a monopod
– the legs can be placed at different angles
– has counter weight hook
– rubber feet can be unscrewed and replaced with steel spikes
– legs have a clamping mechanism
– comes with a carrying bag
WD ELEMENTS HARD DRIVE
I got myself the 8TB version of the WD Elements. I use it to store everything I deem worthy to make an archive of, and that is mostly media.
It has a USB 3.0 connection, it works fine and the transfer speeds are good. What bothers me is that the drive is somewhat loud and it can get hot (58°C hot) if you do transfers for extended periods of time.
Since these external drives are the cheapest when it comes to hard drive size/price it’s a good option for making your own NAS server, you can search for ‘WD shucking’ to see how you can get the drive out. While I don’t need a NAS yet, it is something to take into consideration if you like to tinker with things and you don’t like to buy the plug & play off the shelf solutions.
UGEE M1000L GRAPHICS TABLET
An older graphics tablet that I bought for fairly cheap at the time. The drawing area is just a bit smaller than an A4 paper. The tablet is pretty much plastic, it has quick access shortcuts on the top and buttons on the left that you can also reconfigure to do different commands.
The pen comes with 8 changeable tips that are inside the pen holder and it doesn’t use any batteries. My tablet has a bit of a dome shape in the center so if you plan on buying a no name brand tablet that is something to watch out for. Now the tablet stil lworks, but it doesn’t detect the pen correctly if I don’t push on the drawing surface with my other hand.
VIEWSONIC VX2758-2KP-MHD
One of the best price/performance monitors when I bought it. These are some of the specs that I was searching for:
– 27″ diagonal
– 144 Hz refresh rate
– IPS panel
– Very good color reproduction
– 2560×1440 resolution
– VESA mount
– FreeSync
Watch the review video I did on the ViewSonic VX2758-2KP-MHD monitor.
DUAL MONITOR ARM STAND
One of the cheapest and sturdiest dual monitor arms that I came accross. The arms have nifty semi detachable covers for cables and it also has a USB 3.0 and microphone/headphone jack combo at the base of the stand. The arms can easily hold more than 4kg each in any position without any sagging.
There is also a cable clamp on the back of the stand at the base level, what the base doesn’t have are some rubber feet so I used some that I had on hand. As for the vesa mount for the monitor, you can rotate it almost in any way that you want, if you want the monitor in a vertical position you can only rotate it in one direction.
You can or rather should adjust the spring/pistol tension so that it’s not too tight or too loose, which affects whether the monitor will sag or if it will be too stiff to move.
Watch the video on unpacking and setting the dual monitor stand up if you want more information.
MY WORKSTATION PC
An EKWB prebuilt PC that I bought 2nd hand at the end of 2018:
– SSD: 250 GB, 1 TB
– HDD: 4 TB
– GPU: MSI GTX 1060 6 GB
– CPU: Ryzen 5 2600
– RAM: 32 GB
– MOBO: MSI B350 Tomahawk
– PSU: EVGA 650 G3
– Cooling: EKWB Water Cooling
– Case: InWin 101
Not all of the listed components were in the PC when I bought it so I upgraded some parts when I felt it started lagging. The PC is perfectly fine for editing 1080p videos, and it can also edit 4K videos, albeit my user experience is not great.
You can also watch the video of me cleaning the PC and changing the water cooling liquid, and lastly killing the water pump in the process. Which sucked but I managed to replace the stator from a cheaper water pump.