CONTENT CREATOR GEAR CHECKLIST techpicksio.com · last updated 27 August 2026 Full guide: https://www.techpicksio.com/content-creator-gear-checklist.html techpicksio.com is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases through links on the site. This checklist contains no links and costs nothing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- STEP 1 — MEASURE THESE FOUR THINGS FIRST ------------------------------------------------------------------------- These decide whether the gear you buy physically fits the phone you own. [ ] Phone width and length in MILLIMETRES, WITH YOUR CASE ON. width ______ mm length ______ mm Cage clamp ranges are stated in mm. A phone that fits bare often does not fit cased — this is the most common reason gear goes back. [ ] Your phone's connector: [ ] USB-C [ ] Lightning A microphone with the wrong connector is unusable until an adapter arrives. [ ] Does your phone have a MagSafe magnet ring? [ ] Yes [ ] No iPhones do. Android phones do not. This single fact rules half the cage market in or out. [ ] How long does a typical shoot run for you? ______ minutes This is the number that decides whether a microphone's battery life and a light's runtime are actually adequate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- STEP 2 — THE FOUR ESSENTIALS, IN BUYING ORDER ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Each one is more useful once the one above it is in place, so working down the list never leaves anything sitting in a drawer. [ ] 1. A phone that shoots 4K Almost certainly the one in your pocket. Do not upgrade it to improve video — the money goes further everywhere else here. [ ] 2. A wireless lavalier microphone The largest single improvement available for the money. Check: connector, battery life per charge, transmitter weight. [ ] 3. A cage or grip that fits your measured width Steadies framing and gives the mic and light somewhere to mount. Check: clamp range in mm vs. your cased measurement. [ ] 4. One pocket LED light Choose on CRI, not brightness. CRI decides whether skin tones look right; most pocket panels are used well below full output. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- STEP 3 — WORTH ADDING NEXT ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ ] A tripod or stand — move this to #2 if you film yourself alone. [ ] An ND filter, if you shoot outdoors. It is what lets you hold a cinematic shutter angle in daylight. [ ] Fast external storage, once you record in high-bitrate formats. Sustained write speed is the only spec that matters. [ ] A spare cable and a power bank. Unglamorous, and the two things most likely to end a shoot early. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- STEP 4 — LEAVE THESE FOR LATER ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not bad purchases. Badly timed ones. [ ] A gimbal — revisit when handheld movement genuinely limits a shot you want to make. It costs more than the first three purchases combined and adds a balancing step before every shoot. [ ] A drone — revisit when aerial shots are part of your format. Check take-off weight against local registration rules first. [ ] Anamorphic or add-on lenses — revisit once your footage is already well lit and well framed. [ ] A camera body — revisit when a shot you need is impossible, not when footage merely feels unpolished. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- STEP 5 — BEFORE YOUR FIRST SHOOT ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ ] Phone clamped in the cage FIRST, tightened evenly from both sides so it does not sit crooked in the frame. [ ] Microphone on the TOP cold shoe, not the side. A side mount can end up aimed at your own hand. [ ] LED light set to 30-40% output to start. Phone sensors handle highlights poorly and this is almost always enough. [ ] Cables routed through the cage's channels BEFORE you shoot. [ ] A 10-second test clip, walking normally, played back on headphones. Catches loose screws, cable rattle and clipped audio while they are still easy to fix. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Typical street-price bands at the time of writing (categories, not quoted product prices — check current prices before buying): wireless lavalier mic .......... $60-$100 cage or grip ................... $30-$70 tripod or stand ................ $20-$50 pocket LED light ............... $40-$80 ND filter or fast storage ...... $30-$120 Full guides, comparisons and the reasoning behind this order: https://www.techpicksio.com/content-creator-starter-kit.html