Unbox Therapy. MKBHD. Austin Evans. The Verge. These are the best technology channels on YouTube, but how about their video equipment?
With many YouTubers admitting that they’re doing just fine with their smartphones, I doubt that’s the case with previously mentioned YouTubers. Let’s find out!
So, what camera does Unbox Therapy use? Unbox Therapy is using a set of three Canon c500 cameras. The frontal camera has a Tokina 11-16mm lens. Side camera has a Sigma 70-200mm lens, and the third c500 camera shooting an overhead video has a Canon 70-200mm lens. Every camera is recording into the Atomos Ninja 4K recorder. The total cost of the Unbox Therapy setup is approximately 52 000 USD.
Undoubtedly all this high-quality video equipment must have helped to grow the channel, but I am also sure that there is a big learning curve before such equipment can be used to the fullest.
Here is the list of cameras and lenses used by Unbox Therapy.
Click through either to BH Photo Video or to Amazon to learn more about the specs of each of the items.
|
Equipment |
Approximate price |
Link to product |
|---|---|---|
|
Canon c500 |
16 000 USD |
|
|
Tokina 11-66mm lens |
400 USD |
|
|
Sigma 70-200mm lens |
1 200 USD |
|
|
Canon 70-200mm lens |
1 700 USD |
I doubt many of you will even consider buying such expensive vlogging equipment. If you’re just starting, you don’t need any of the previously mentioned items. Look at how MrBeast began his YouTube career – with nothing else but his old laptop.
Unbox Therapy Setup Before And After
In 2018 Lew (Lewis George Hilsenteger) and his team moved to the new Unbox Therapy headquarters.
Check out the video below where Lew shares sneak peek of his plans for the Unbox Therapy.
Shortly after moving in, they built their YouTube studio, which you probably have seen so many times. It is the one with the smooth gray background.
Old studio video setup
The old studio isn’t closed, and it is still being used to create unboxing and other types of videos for Unbox Therapy’s YouTube channel.
As I’ve already mentioned, they have a three-camera setup. All three cameras simultaneously record the scene – one from the front, one from the side and one from the top down.
Side and top cameras shoot close-up shots. The main camera is used as the main camera to capture the overall action.
All three cameras are Canon c500’s:
- side camera has a Sigma 70-200mm lens;
- camera for flat lay videos has Canon 70-200mm lens;
- the frontal camera has a Tokina 11-16mm ultra-wide-angle lens.
All three cameras record into Atomos Ninja 4K recorders.
The curved TV on the left in the picture is LG 55″ Curved OLED 4K Smart TV, which costs approximately 2 300 USD.
Unbox Therapy’s YouTube studio has two such TVs – one on each side.
Old studio lighting setup
The lighting setup is straightforward – nothing but three LED softbox lights.
They use the Chimera softbox for Anova LED light from Rotolight. Its price on the Chimera website is 372 USD.
All three lights are used at full brightness for filling in any possible shadows.
As for the audio, there is a shotgun microphone right in the middle over the center camera being recorded separately and synced.
As for the video and photo editing, guys from Unbox Therapy are using Adobe Creative Cloud – Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing and Adobe Photoshop for images.
Well, these guys go with professional equipment in every position there is.
New studio video setup
By the new studio, I mean this huge, colorful and custom-built vlogging studio.
Most of the studio was built off-site and then brought to Unbox Therapy HQ, where it was assembled and set up.
Interestingly, the studio background lightning can be configured through an app. Every single light is controllable independently of the others.
The camera setup in Unbox Therapy’s new studio isn’t that much different from the set up in the old studio.
They use the same three Canon c500 cameras. One thing that has been changed is camera placement.
They don’t have a camera shooting an overhead video. That type of camera angle isn’t needed for this type of video studio.
They now have two side cameras instead. Both have 70-200mm lenses.
The middle c500 has a Canon 11-224mm lens, which costs approximately 2 700 USD. Of course, its picture quality is impressive, but its dimensions and weight are its biggest downsides – many people who own this lens say that it’s almost impractical to lug around.
As for the studio background, they have gone for ten 4K OLED TVs.
Assuming those are 55 inch TVs, the whole setup could cost approximately 14 000 USD.
On both sides of the studio, they have gone for two 77″ 4K OLED TVs. Currently, the latest LG Wallpaper 77 inch 4K OLED TV costs 10 000 USD. So another 20 000 USD for both of the side TVs.
How Did Unbox Therapy Start?
Unbox Therapy’s YouTube channel was created in 2010 by Lew (Lewis George Hilsenteger) and Jack (Jack McCann).
Now they have two additional team members – Kirk and Will. Kirk is editing photos and videos, but Will is creating video thumbnails and other stuff. Both of them are using MacBook Pro.
In 2014 they had their first viral video titled “iPhone 6 Plus Bend Test”. Yes, that’s the same video you’re thinking about right now. It has more than 70 million views.
Something other YouTuber’s haven’t thought of is their website. All of Unbox Therapy’s videos can also be viewed here – unboxtherapy.com.
What is Unbox Therapy worth?
According to statsmash.com, Unbox Therapy has a net worth of 6.2 million dollars as of May 2020.
They estimate that from advertising revenue alone, Unbox Therapy is making approximately 3000 USD per day.
Another source (naibuzz.com) estimates Unbox Therapy’s net worth of 20 million dollars – mainly from channel’s advertising revenue and also from sponsorship deals.
Without knowing what their real net worth is, it took them more than ten years to get where they are now.
On the 16th of February in 2018, they surpassed 10 000 000 subscribers mark. Now they have more than 15 million subscribers for their YouTube channel, which is an excellent result for ten years of work.
What’s Next?
Getting Canon EOS c500 for 16 000 USD? I don’t think so.
But you could check out this Sony FDRAX53/B 4K HD on Amazon. It is a great 4K camera under 1000 USD, and several famous YouTubers use exactly this camera as their primary vlogging camera.
Note that 4K video shooting will be available only when the camera will be on a tripod. It won’t be possible to shoot 4K videos while holding the camera in your hand.
Live streaming won’t be possible with this camera as well.
I’ve always believed that you don’t need high-end video equipment to start a YouTube channel. And many YouTubers began with their smartphones, and now they have millions of subscribers.
So I hope you had a good read and that this article brought you at least a couple of ideas about the possible setup up your own YouTube studio.
It is not only about the better video and audio quality for your viewers, but also about learning new things.
So I invite you to browse through my blog posts to learn more about vlogging as such, video equipment, and many more.
Have a great day!
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