In the 413th episode of the Mail-Right Show, Jonathan Denwood, and Adam Brown discussed the different types of equipment agents need to make great real estate videos, from high-quality cameras to gimbals to microphones to drones. Jonathan Denwood is a video expert and the co-founder of Mail-Right, a platform that builds WordPress websites and combines digital marketing tools in a streamlined, user-friendly package. Meanwhile, Adam Brown is also the co-founder of Mail-Right and produces videos for real estate agents.
Cameras
When creating real estate videos, you will need your camera, which you can do with your iPhone or the latest high-end Android. The iPhone 12 Promax or any Pro version has three camera lenses, which can change the appearance and do some cool tricks.
When creating 4K videos, you can change the FPS, which is the frames per second, to 30 or 60 frames. Slow Mo even goes higher than that if you ever do slow-mo videos.
If you use an iPhone or Android, depending on the platform you will put your videos on, they will get compressed and reformatted. So, you must also consider how much space you have on your phone. If you don’t have a 256 gig or don’t have a lot of space, you have to consider it because 4K videos take up a lot of space if you keep them on your phone and don’t delete them.
You usually want to use the vertical or portrait position when posting videos on social media. But it’s better to use the horizontal position if you’re making a long YouTube video, like a half-hour podcast or vlog. You have to change your camera settings to 1080 resolution and 30 frames per second. You’ll see that on your iPhone on the upper right side. Put it to 1080 and 30, giving you a pretty good cinematic look and only taking up a little space. It won’t get compressed when you upload it to Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube shorts. You can do 4k, which won’t get compressed if you’re doing longer versions.
1. What’s the difference between 1080P and 4k?
The difference between 1080P and 4K is the resolution in pixels. 4K is higher quality and shows more detail because it has more pixels. Imagine watching someone’s face on a screen: in 1080P, you see just the face, but in 4K, you see more around it, like their whole head and background.
2. What should you then look at when buying a DSLR camera?
You can get some good deals on the less up-to-date iPhone model. But at some point, you may want to buy a DSLR camera.
With a DSLR camera, you’ll get high-quality video and be able to take good pictures, but you’ll be limited in what you can do.
iPhones and Androids have some pretty cool perks, too, but with a DSLR camera, there’s a lot of stabilization. That’s the other thing about the newer iPhones; it was a significant limitation, but they have improved much on the light side in finding stabilization.
Lenses
DSLRs are also good choices if you want that depth-of-field look or the aperture, which means that the person’s shot is blurry, but their background is blurry.
You can get cameras for around $450 to $500 or even better. But to get that blurry effect, you have to use a lens, like a Sigma 16-millimeter lens, which might cost as much as the camera.
But a lot of the time, you will be doing a walkthrough, talking to the camera, and having the phone on a gimbal, so when utilizing a DSLR, you will have to invest in a pretty quality lens.
The iPhone 12 Pro Max provides a clear view everywhere, and even the depth of field is good; you can see everything behind you, and it is not blurry. That is one of the perks of having a good camera besides having just your iPhone. It’s worth it because you don’t have to carry it around, and you can set it up and leave it set up.
Gimbal
You might often film property walkthroughs, open houses, and testimonials. Because of that, you’ll need a decent gimbal. That’s the device that keeps the shape down. And they’ve got some choices. Gimbals start at $9 and go to $199; the next one is around $250.
1. Why is there a big price difference?
When you use a gimbal, sometimes it has a mode where it follows and moves the camera for you. You can control how it moves. It does lots of cool stuff and makes videos look cinematic, which catches people’s attention better.
But often, you get what you pay for regarding audio-video equipment. And if there are certain things you’d like, for instance, if you just want to be able to follow or if you want to have a little joystick for your fingers as you’re following, you can also turn the camera. Those things might not seem important until you get a gimbal, which is why prices vary.
The $1000 gimbals hold heavy cameras and do some stuff you don’t necessarily need to do. But whatever your budget affords, try those as long as it gets good reviews.
Audio
If you want to keep your audience watching your videos, you’ve got to have good audio. They will put up with blurry images or shaky video, and they’re pulled out of all sorts of things as long as they’re interested in the content, but they won’t put up with bad audio. Audio is the main thing that will make your videos work and drive some quality links for you, or they will just click out so many essential pictures.
You can utilize a USB mic like the Rode NT-USB mini or the Samson Meteor Mic. They aren’t very cheap, but they have come down a lot. The Samsung Meteor Mic costs $45, and the Rode NT-USB mini starts at $99. But for around $18 to $100, you can get a good or two USB mics.
But if you don’t want to invest an enormous amount, go with a USB. You need a sound deck for a small group of mics, but you’ll get excellent results with a reasonable-quality USB.
If you will be doing podcast content, a good and recommended brand is the Rode Wireless GO II Single Channel Wireless Microphone, which costs under $200.
Using a lapel mic that plugs in is also recommended because it produces a much better sound, and you can get the little wind covers for them. You’ll need a two-mic setup if you’re doing business-to-business with local businesses and self-promotional ads.
It’s well worth looking at a $80 to $90 USB mic for your desktop and $150 to $200 for good wireless. Make sure to read the reviews. You may also have to buy extra batteries because they always run out at the wrong moment.
Drones
The DGI is the best brand out there if you want to invest in Drones. Some people aren’t going to agree, but DGI has good warranties, and they fix them for cheap when something happens. Another fantastic drone with high quality is the DJI Mini 4 Pro, which costs $759. You will also need to get extra batteries
So, if you’re a DIY type, you know you’re not a pro. What price range can you start with to solve and do a reasonable job?
You can start with $100 to $234, but remember, you will get what you’re paying for, so don’t expect a ton. The other thing, too, when it comes to drones, is that there are many regulations that many people need to learn about.
There’s FAA part 107 if you are flying for any reason, with the intent to make money off of it, whether for a listing or for a video on your website to track people that’s considered commercial. Then, you need to have your part 107 certification. This test is like it assesses if you know how to fly a plane even though you’re just flying this like a remote control.
To conclude, real estate agents should know the importance of video, use what they have, and work their way up. Try to master your phone, and when you get good at it, use audio and a mic, then move it up and start looking at better cameras that you can integrate into your system and what you’re doing. Make vlogs and test them; many people want to avoid taking the first step, which is the most challenging step, but you must still try to do it.
