You don’t need thousands of pounds of gear to start. Here’s honestly what you need to get going — from filming on what’s already in your pocket, to a first proper edit setup.
Honestly? Start with your phone. A modern iPhone (or a good Android) shoots great 4K video and is more than enough to learn on. The camera matters way less than knowing how to use light, angles and movement — so don’t let gear hold you back from starting.
When you’re ready to step up, a DJI Osmo Pocket 4P is a brilliant first proper camera — tiny, gimbal-stabilised 4K, and it’s what I use for most of my content. Pair it with a cheap tripod and you can get shots you can’t handheld.
Start with something free or cheap while you learn. DaVinci Resolve is genuinely free and powerful. CapCut is great for quick mobile edits. When you get serious, Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects are the industry standard — that’s where I do everything.
You don’t need a monster to start, but video editing is demanding, so aim for a few key things:
• CPU: a modern multi-core chip — something like a Ryzen 7/9 or Intel i7/i9. More cores = faster renders.
• RAM: 16GB minimum, 32GB ideal for After Effects. This makes the biggest day-to-day difference.
• GPU: a decent graphics card helps playback and effects — you don’t need top-end to start.
• Storage: an NVMe SSD for your projects and footage — way faster than a normal hard drive, and you’ll feel the difference instantly.
Get those roughly right and you’ve got a setup that’ll handle real editing without holding you back.
Don’t wait until you can afford the “perfect” setup. Start with your phone and free software, learn the craft, and upgrade as you go. The person who starts now with a phone beats the person still saving for a camera they don’t know how to use yet.