Step-by-Step Process to Revamp Your YouTube Audio Tracks

How to Edit Audio on YouTube

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

In this article, we are going to show you how to edit audio with YouTube Video Editor, and the tips on adding your own audio file to YouTube.

• Part 1: Add your Own Audio File to YouTube Video
• Part 2: How to Edit Audio with YouTube Video Editor

Part 1: Add your Own Audio File to YouTube Video

Tools You Are Going to Need

YouTube video editor is far from meeting the needs of people who want to have more control on their audio. On the bright side, if you are interested in learning how to edit audio on YouTube, there is a solution. There are many video editors in the market that allow you to add your own music or audio files to a video. Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, and Magisto are some of the video editors available for you to choose from. In this guide, we recommend the Wondershare Filmora video editor. Below is a quick tutorial about how to edit audio in Filmora.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Why Should You Choose Wondershare Filmora?

There are many advantages associated with the use of Wondershare Filmora. You will see that it allows you to fully edit any audio file and gain 100% control over your files. It is an integrated solution that lacks nothing in terms of efficiency and quality standards. To be more specific, Filmora offers the following unique features:

• Built-in audio editing tools that allow you to gain full control of your audio in an easy way
• Exclusive audio track that enables you to mute, detach or even de-noise the audio from video
• All audio effects can easily be adjusted with one click only
• The built-in Equalizer is capable enough to create amazing audio effects
• Directly upload your video to YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo from Wondershare Filmora

How to add audio files to YouTube video with Wondershare Filmora

Do you want to know more about audio editing? Please read this article: How to add audio to video.

Step 1 Import Video Clips into Filmora

Filmora supports a wide range of video formats, such as MKV, MOV, AVI, WebM and MP4, you can import the video clip shot with Camera, smartphone or camcorder easily to it.

Step 2 Detach Audio

If you want to edit the original audio of the video, you can choose to split the audio file from the video by using the Audio Detach option on Wondershare Filmora. Then, the audio file will be shown in the audio track, and you can cut or trim it.

Note: If you do not want to keep the original audio file in the video, you can delete it from the audio track directly.

Step 3Add Audio Files

Wondershare Filmora offers you multiple royalty free audio effects and music in its rich audio library. What is more, you can also import your own music or audio file from your computer or iTunes. Of course, you should know that the audio should be royalty free for you to make use of. In a different situation, you cannot upload it and benefit from its quality and nature.

Step 4Edit Audio

In this step, you can adjust the audio volume and pitch, etc. There are multiple options for you to benefit from, including the Audio Equalizer, Music, Mix Audio. In this way, you can make sure that the audio is exactly like you have wanted it to be. For further information as to how you can improve the sound quality of your recorded videos, you can check out: How to improve sound quality of recorded videos.

Step 5Save Your Work and Upload on YouTube

If you are satisfied with your work on the audio file and you wish to publish it, the process is quite simple. You just hit Export and select to upload the video to YouTube. After signing in to your YouTube account, you will be ready to start uploading the audio file.

In case you wish to edit the audio from an already published video, you have to download the video first. Then, you can follow the steps above to edit the audio file in Filmora. As one of the widely used video editing software for YouTubers, Filmora is here to empower your imagination. Just download the free trial version and try it now.

Part 2: How to Edit Audio with YouTube Video Editor

Unfortunately, YouTube does not allow users to upload audio files such as MP3, WAV, etc. Instead, you can only upload audio files which are offered by YouTube in the first place. Since YouTube has got a plentiful audio library, you can find a lot of audio there. In this part, we will show you how to add and edit audio with YouTube Video Editor.

You may also like: How to Add Music to YouTube Videos >>

Note: From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complimentary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide. In the following part, I will show you how to add audio track , replace the original audio and adjust the audio position and length as well.

• Step 1: Sign in to your YouTube account
• **Step 2:**Click your profile avatar and select Creator Studio option.
• Step 3: In the left pane, go to Video Manager and then click Videos. In the Videos list, choose the video that you want to add new audio track, and then select Audio from the Edit button.

• Step 4: Now you can add or replace the audio in your video. Here you will find that there are various songs and audio files you can choose from. Click ADD TO VIDEO and the audio track will be added to the video directly.

• Step 5: Now you will see the audio track appears at the bottom of the player. Here you can trim and drag the audio bar to adjust the audio positon and length. To Trim the audio, click the beginning or the end of the audio bar and then drag it to the left or right. After trimming, drag it to meet the target position.

Conclusion

Normally, it would be better to add and edit audio to video before updating to YouTube. In this case, Filmora is highly recommended as one of the best video editor for YouTubers , which provides some royalty free music sound in the Music Library to choose from and also the audio editing tools like remove background noise from the video, add fade in and fade out effects with ease or play the video backward or fast forward.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

In this article, we are going to show you how to edit audio with YouTube Video Editor, and the tips on adding your own audio file to YouTube.

• Part 1: Add your Own Audio File to YouTube Video
• Part 2: How to Edit Audio with YouTube Video Editor

Part 1: Add your Own Audio File to YouTube Video

Tools You Are Going to Need

YouTube video editor is far from meeting the needs of people who want to have more control on their audio. On the bright side, if you are interested in learning how to edit audio on YouTube, there is a solution. There are many video editors in the market that allow you to add your own music or audio files to a video. Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, and Magisto are some of the video editors available for you to choose from. In this guide, we recommend the Wondershare Filmora video editor. Below is a quick tutorial about how to edit audio in Filmora.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Why Should You Choose Wondershare Filmora?

There are many advantages associated with the use of Wondershare Filmora. You will see that it allows you to fully edit any audio file and gain 100% control over your files. It is an integrated solution that lacks nothing in terms of efficiency and quality standards. To be more specific, Filmora offers the following unique features:

• Built-in audio editing tools that allow you to gain full control of your audio in an easy way
• Exclusive audio track that enables you to mute, detach or even de-noise the audio from video
• All audio effects can easily be adjusted with one click only
• The built-in Equalizer is capable enough to create amazing audio effects
• Directly upload your video to YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo from Wondershare Filmora

How to add audio files to YouTube video with Wondershare Filmora

Do you want to know more about audio editing? Please read this article: How to add audio to video.

Step 1 Import Video Clips into Filmora

Filmora supports a wide range of video formats, such as MKV, MOV, AVI, WebM and MP4, you can import the video clip shot with Camera, smartphone or camcorder easily to it.

Step 2 Detach Audio

If you want to edit the original audio of the video, you can choose to split the audio file from the video by using the Audio Detach option on Wondershare Filmora. Then, the audio file will be shown in the audio track, and you can cut or trim it.

Note: If you do not want to keep the original audio file in the video, you can delete it from the audio track directly.

Step 3Add Audio Files

Wondershare Filmora offers you multiple royalty free audio effects and music in its rich audio library. What is more, you can also import your own music or audio file from your computer or iTunes. Of course, you should know that the audio should be royalty free for you to make use of. In a different situation, you cannot upload it and benefit from its quality and nature.

Step 4Edit Audio

In this step, you can adjust the audio volume and pitch, etc. There are multiple options for you to benefit from, including the Audio Equalizer, Music, Mix Audio. In this way, you can make sure that the audio is exactly like you have wanted it to be. For further information as to how you can improve the sound quality of your recorded videos, you can check out: How to improve sound quality of recorded videos.

Step 5Save Your Work and Upload on YouTube

If you are satisfied with your work on the audio file and you wish to publish it, the process is quite simple. You just hit Export and select to upload the video to YouTube. After signing in to your YouTube account, you will be ready to start uploading the audio file.

In case you wish to edit the audio from an already published video, you have to download the video first. Then, you can follow the steps above to edit the audio file in Filmora. As one of the widely used video editing software for YouTubers, Filmora is here to empower your imagination. Just download the free trial version and try it now.

Part 2: How to Edit Audio with YouTube Video Editor

Unfortunately, YouTube does not allow users to upload audio files such as MP3, WAV, etc. Instead, you can only upload audio files which are offered by YouTube in the first place. Since YouTube has got a plentiful audio library, you can find a lot of audio there. In this part, we will show you how to add and edit audio with YouTube Video Editor.

You may also like: How to Add Music to YouTube Videos >>

Note: From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complimentary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide. In the following part, I will show you how to add audio track , replace the original audio and adjust the audio position and length as well.

• Step 1: Sign in to your YouTube account
• **Step 2:**Click your profile avatar and select Creator Studio option.
• Step 3: In the left pane, go to Video Manager and then click Videos. In the Videos list, choose the video that you want to add new audio track, and then select Audio from the Edit button.

• Step 4: Now you can add or replace the audio in your video. Here you will find that there are various songs and audio files you can choose from. Click ADD TO VIDEO and the audio track will be added to the video directly.

• Step 5: Now you will see the audio track appears at the bottom of the player. Here you can trim and drag the audio bar to adjust the audio positon and length. To Trim the audio, click the beginning or the end of the audio bar and then drag it to the left or right. After trimming, drag it to meet the target position.

Conclusion

Normally, it would be better to add and edit audio to video before updating to YouTube. In this case, Filmora is highly recommended as one of the best video editor for YouTubers , which provides some royalty free music sound in the Music Library to choose from and also the audio editing tools like remove background noise from the video, add fade in and fade out effects with ease or play the video backward or fast forward.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

In this article, we are going to show you how to edit audio with YouTube Video Editor, and the tips on adding your own audio file to YouTube.

• Part 1: Add your Own Audio File to YouTube Video
• Part 2: How to Edit Audio with YouTube Video Editor

Part 1: Add your Own Audio File to YouTube Video

Tools You Are Going to Need

YouTube video editor is far from meeting the needs of people who want to have more control on their audio. On the bright side, if you are interested in learning how to edit audio on YouTube, there is a solution. There are many video editors in the market that allow you to add your own music or audio files to a video. Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, and Magisto are some of the video editors available for you to choose from. In this guide, we recommend the Wondershare Filmora video editor. Below is a quick tutorial about how to edit audio in Filmora.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Why Should You Choose Wondershare Filmora?

There are many advantages associated with the use of Wondershare Filmora. You will see that it allows you to fully edit any audio file and gain 100% control over your files. It is an integrated solution that lacks nothing in terms of efficiency and quality standards. To be more specific, Filmora offers the following unique features:

• Built-in audio editing tools that allow you to gain full control of your audio in an easy way
• Exclusive audio track that enables you to mute, detach or even de-noise the audio from video
• All audio effects can easily be adjusted with one click only
• The built-in Equalizer is capable enough to create amazing audio effects
• Directly upload your video to YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo from Wondershare Filmora

How to add audio files to YouTube video with Wondershare Filmora

Do you want to know more about audio editing? Please read this article: How to add audio to video.

Step 1 Import Video Clips into Filmora

Filmora supports a wide range of video formats, such as MKV, MOV, AVI, WebM and MP4, you can import the video clip shot with Camera, smartphone or camcorder easily to it.

Step 2 Detach Audio

If you want to edit the original audio of the video, you can choose to split the audio file from the video by using the Audio Detach option on Wondershare Filmora. Then, the audio file will be shown in the audio track, and you can cut or trim it.

Note: If you do not want to keep the original audio file in the video, you can delete it from the audio track directly.

Step 3Add Audio Files

Wondershare Filmora offers you multiple royalty free audio effects and music in its rich audio library. What is more, you can also import your own music or audio file from your computer or iTunes. Of course, you should know that the audio should be royalty free for you to make use of. In a different situation, you cannot upload it and benefit from its quality and nature.

Step 4Edit Audio

In this step, you can adjust the audio volume and pitch, etc. There are multiple options for you to benefit from, including the Audio Equalizer, Music, Mix Audio. In this way, you can make sure that the audio is exactly like you have wanted it to be. For further information as to how you can improve the sound quality of your recorded videos, you can check out: How to improve sound quality of recorded videos.

Step 5Save Your Work and Upload on YouTube

If you are satisfied with your work on the audio file and you wish to publish it, the process is quite simple. You just hit Export and select to upload the video to YouTube. After signing in to your YouTube account, you will be ready to start uploading the audio file.

In case you wish to edit the audio from an already published video, you have to download the video first. Then, you can follow the steps above to edit the audio file in Filmora. As one of the widely used video editing software for YouTubers, Filmora is here to empower your imagination. Just download the free trial version and try it now.

Part 2: How to Edit Audio with YouTube Video Editor

Unfortunately, YouTube does not allow users to upload audio files such as MP3, WAV, etc. Instead, you can only upload audio files which are offered by YouTube in the first place. Since YouTube has got a plentiful audio library, you can find a lot of audio there. In this part, we will show you how to add and edit audio with YouTube Video Editor.

You may also like: How to Add Music to YouTube Videos >>

Note: From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complimentary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide. In the following part, I will show you how to add audio track , replace the original audio and adjust the audio position and length as well.

• Step 1: Sign in to your YouTube account
• **Step 2:**Click your profile avatar and select Creator Studio option.
• Step 3: In the left pane, go to Video Manager and then click Videos. In the Videos list, choose the video that you want to add new audio track, and then select Audio from the Edit button.

• Step 4: Now you can add or replace the audio in your video. Here you will find that there are various songs and audio files you can choose from. Click ADD TO VIDEO and the audio track will be added to the video directly.

• Step 5: Now you will see the audio track appears at the bottom of the player. Here you can trim and drag the audio bar to adjust the audio positon and length. To Trim the audio, click the beginning or the end of the audio bar and then drag it to the left or right. After trimming, drag it to meet the target position.

Conclusion

Normally, it would be better to add and edit audio to video before updating to YouTube. In this case, Filmora is highly recommended as one of the best video editor for YouTubers , which provides some royalty free music sound in the Music Library to choose from and also the audio editing tools like remove background noise from the video, add fade in and fade out effects with ease or play the video backward or fast forward.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

In this article, we are going to show you how to edit audio with YouTube Video Editor, and the tips on adding your own audio file to YouTube.

• Part 1: Add your Own Audio File to YouTube Video
• Part 2: How to Edit Audio with YouTube Video Editor

Part 1: Add your Own Audio File to YouTube Video

Tools You Are Going to Need

YouTube video editor is far from meeting the needs of people who want to have more control on their audio. On the bright side, if you are interested in learning how to edit audio on YouTube, there is a solution. There are many video editors in the market that allow you to add your own music or audio files to a video. Windows Movie Maker, iMovie, Adobe Premiere, and Magisto are some of the video editors available for you to choose from. In this guide, we recommend the Wondershare Filmora video editor. Below is a quick tutorial about how to edit audio in Filmora.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Why Should You Choose Wondershare Filmora?

There are many advantages associated with the use of Wondershare Filmora. You will see that it allows you to fully edit any audio file and gain 100% control over your files. It is an integrated solution that lacks nothing in terms of efficiency and quality standards. To be more specific, Filmora offers the following unique features:

• Built-in audio editing tools that allow you to gain full control of your audio in an easy way
• Exclusive audio track that enables you to mute, detach or even de-noise the audio from video
• All audio effects can easily be adjusted with one click only
• The built-in Equalizer is capable enough to create amazing audio effects
• Directly upload your video to YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo from Wondershare Filmora

How to add audio files to YouTube video with Wondershare Filmora

Do you want to know more about audio editing? Please read this article: How to add audio to video.

Step 1 Import Video Clips into Filmora

Filmora supports a wide range of video formats, such as MKV, MOV, AVI, WebM and MP4, you can import the video clip shot with Camera, smartphone or camcorder easily to it.

Step 2 Detach Audio

If you want to edit the original audio of the video, you can choose to split the audio file from the video by using the Audio Detach option on Wondershare Filmora. Then, the audio file will be shown in the audio track, and you can cut or trim it.

Note: If you do not want to keep the original audio file in the video, you can delete it from the audio track directly.

Step 3Add Audio Files

Wondershare Filmora offers you multiple royalty free audio effects and music in its rich audio library. What is more, you can also import your own music or audio file from your computer or iTunes. Of course, you should know that the audio should be royalty free for you to make use of. In a different situation, you cannot upload it and benefit from its quality and nature.

Step 4Edit Audio

In this step, you can adjust the audio volume and pitch, etc. There are multiple options for you to benefit from, including the Audio Equalizer, Music, Mix Audio. In this way, you can make sure that the audio is exactly like you have wanted it to be. For further information as to how you can improve the sound quality of your recorded videos, you can check out: How to improve sound quality of recorded videos.

Step 5Save Your Work and Upload on YouTube

If you are satisfied with your work on the audio file and you wish to publish it, the process is quite simple. You just hit Export and select to upload the video to YouTube. After signing in to your YouTube account, you will be ready to start uploading the audio file.

In case you wish to edit the audio from an already published video, you have to download the video first. Then, you can follow the steps above to edit the audio file in Filmora. As one of the widely used video editing software for YouTubers, Filmora is here to empower your imagination. Just download the free trial version and try it now.

Part 2: How to Edit Audio with YouTube Video Editor

Unfortunately, YouTube does not allow users to upload audio files such as MP3, WAV, etc. Instead, you can only upload audio files which are offered by YouTube in the first place. Since YouTube has got a plentiful audio library, you can find a lot of audio there. In this part, we will show you how to add and edit audio with YouTube Video Editor.

You may also like: How to Add Music to YouTube Videos >>

Note: From 20th September 2017 users will no longer be able to use the complimentary editing suite. Check the best YouTube video editor alternatives from this complete guide. In the following part, I will show you how to add audio track , replace the original audio and adjust the audio position and length as well.

• Step 1: Sign in to your YouTube account
• **Step 2:**Click your profile avatar and select Creator Studio option.
• Step 3: In the left pane, go to Video Manager and then click Videos. In the Videos list, choose the video that you want to add new audio track, and then select Audio from the Edit button.

• Step 4: Now you can add or replace the audio in your video. Here you will find that there are various songs and audio files you can choose from. Click ADD TO VIDEO and the audio track will be added to the video directly.

• Step 5: Now you will see the audio track appears at the bottom of the player. Here you can trim and drag the audio bar to adjust the audio positon and length. To Trim the audio, click the beginning or the end of the audio bar and then drag it to the left or right. After trimming, drag it to meet the target position.

Conclusion

Normally, it would be better to add and edit audio to video before updating to YouTube. In this case, Filmora is highly recommended as one of the best video editor for YouTubers , which provides some royalty free music sound in the Music Library to choose from and also the audio editing tools like remove background noise from the video, add fade in and fade out effects with ease or play the video backward or fast forward.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Perfect Shots Start With The Right Camera & Lens Selection

A Vlogger’s Guide To Camera Lenses

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

The staple of any vlog is the talking headshot, a shot of the speaker talking directly to the audience. You can compose this shot with different kinds of lenses for your interchangeable lens camera.

But which kind of lens is the right lens for you as a vlogger?

In this article, I’m going to help you figure that out.

• Part 1: Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto
• Part 2: Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group
• Part 3: Crop Factor
• Part 4: Focal Length Equivalency Table
• Part 5: Aperture
• Part 6: Vlogging With a Fast Lens
• Part 7: Optical Image Stabilization

Three Focal Length Groups: Wide, Standard, Telephoto

There are three main ranges in focal lengths that camera lenses can be categorized into wide, standard, and telephoto.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses can “see more.” They allow more of your scene to fit inside your frame. Objects that are closer to the lens appear much bigger while objects that are further away appear even smaller. Perspectives are also enhanced, making close objects and people that just make it into the sides of the frame appear more stretched out. Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, wide-angle lenses will appear the least zoomed in.

Standard Lens

With standard lenses or normal lenses, you won’t get the stretched out objects or enhanced perspectives that you get from wide-angle lenses. Instead, standard lenses are meant to see scenes as the natural human eye is meant to see them. If you shoot a scene with both a wide-angle lens and a standard lens from the same position, you’ll notice that less of the scene fits into your frame. Standard lenses will appear more zoomed-in than wide-angle lenses, but less zoomed-in than telephoto lenses.

Telephoto Lens

Out of all the other ranges in focal lengths, telephoto lenses will appear the most zoomed in. This can be beneficial for the shooter who wants to get a closer shot of a scene without having to physically be in close proximity to the scene. Objects that are further away in the background also appear larger and closer than they would appear on wide-angle or standard lenses.

Vlogging With Each Focal Length Group

You can get your talking head footage using lenses from any of the three focal length groups. Depending on how you plan to vlog most of the time, though, one of the three focal lengths might be more suitable for you.

When to vlog with a wide-angle lens

Wide-angle lenses are the most commonly used lenses for vlogging. Wide-angle lenses are great when you need to be close to your camera. This might be the case for you if your recording space is small or if you want to film yourself as you hold your camera up with your own hand.

Being close to your camera not only gives you the option to use your camera’s built-in microphone, but it also gives you the option to make use of camera-mounted shotgun microphones.

When to vlog with a standard lens

Standard lenses are great when you have more space to be further away from your camera. The perspectives in your shot will look more natural through a standard lens, making your talking head footage feel more corporate or professional. You’ll also be able to get blurrier backgrounds using a standard lens versus a wide-angle lens.

Being further away from your camera, however, means that you’ll have to use a separate microphone positioned closer to you.

When to vlog with a telephoto lens

As telephoto lenses are even more zoomed in, you’ll need to be even further away from your camera to fit yourself inside your camera frame. Why would any vlogger ever need to be that far away from their camera? One word… teleprompter. If you want or need to stick to a script, you’ll have to be far away enough from your camera that it doesn’t appear like your eyes are scanning left to right. You then close in the distance with a telephoto lens.

In the above video, Marcos Rocha compares different focal lengths for talking head videos. Which focal length range do you like the look of?

Crop Factor

Focal lengths in camera lenses are measured in millimeters. You can vlog yourself handheld with a 24mm lens on a camera with a full-frame sensor (the sensor is the piece of hardware inside your camera that turns the light it receives into a digital image). But if you use a 24mm lens on a camera with a smaller sensor, like an APS-C sensor or even smaller Micro 4/3 sensor, more of you will get cropped out (see below).

In order to make up for the cropping that occurs, you will need to use a wider lens on cameras with smaller sensors to get the same shot you’d get with a full-frame camera.

Focal Length Equivalency Table

This table shows you the focal lengths needed to achieve the same shot between cameras with different sensor sizes. In order to take a shot as wide as the shot I took of myself with the 24mm lens on my full-frame camera, I would need a 15mm lens on an APS-C sensor camera or a 12mm lens on a micro 4/3 camera.

Focal Length / Sensor	Full Frame	APS-C	Micro 4/3
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	16mm	10mm	8mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	18mm	11mm	9mm
Wide (Handheld Selfie-Safe)	24mm	15mm	12mm
Wide	35mm	22mm	18mm
Standard	50mm	31mm	25mm
Telephoto	70mm	44mm	35mm
Telephoto	100mm	63mm	50mm
Telephoto	200mm	125mm	100mm

Aperture

The next thing to consider when you’re looking for a lens is the aperture, the hole (often adjustable) within the lens that lets light in. Aperture for camera lenses is measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/1.8, f/2.0) - the smaller the f-stop number, the larger the aperture (bigger hole letting even more light in).

Because larger aperture lenses let more light in, they need a shorter time for cameras to compose an image. This is why larger aperture lenses are also called “fast” lenses.

Fast lenses are more expensive because they cost more to produce. There’s a lot more that goes into them, including larger and higher quality glass elements.

But do you even need a fast lens?

Vlogging With a Fast Lens

Pros of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• Better low-light performance
• Better autofocus performance
• Better “bokeh” (out-of-focus areas, like your background, having that nice blurry look that you see in a lot of movies)

Cons of Vlogging With a Fast Lens

• More expensive
• Moving subjects more likely to get out of focus when shooting with a large aperture
• Better continuous autofocus performance needed when shooting moving subjects with a large aperture

Optical Image Stabilization

Finally, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want your lens to have built-in optical image stabilization (OIS).

OIS is very beneficial to have on a lens if you’re a vlogger who films mostly handheld footage. Although this technology adds to the price of your lens as well, it can greatly help you to capture smoother footage that may otherwise be shaky. Nikon calls this technology “Vibration Reduction” (VR) for their lenses.

In the above video, you can see how much OIS can help to stabilize your footage. MicBergsma simultaneously compares the footage between two GoPro Hero5 Blacks, one with OIS on and one with OIS off.

If, however, you are shooting most of your vlogs on a tripod, you won’t need a lens with OIS.

Looking for ways to set up your talking-head shot for YouTube with any of these lenses? Check out our post on 4 Ways To Set Up Your Talking-Head Shots For YouTube .

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett