---
title: 'The Real Gear I Use in My YouTube Studio! (Complete Tour)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=sFutXwF4C20'
video_id: 'sFutXwF4C20'
date: 2026-07-28
duration_sec: 705
---

# The Real Gear I Use in My YouTube Studio! (Complete Tour)

> Source: [The Real Gear I Use in My YouTube Studio! (Complete Tour)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=sFutXwF4C20)

## Summary

In this complete studio tour, the creator showcases the gear and setup used for content creation, including main desk, secondary workstation, top-down filming area, and storage. The video highlights modular, beginner-friendly equipment for YouTube, live streaming, and podcasting.

### Key Points

- **Main Desk Setup Overview** [00:34] — Main workstation used for daily content creation, Zoom meetings, coaching calls. Powered by MacBook Pro M3 Max with one cable connection via CalDigit TS4 docking station.
- **Single Cable Setup with CalDigit TS4** [01:01] — All devices (Rodecaster Pro, secondary monitor, Sony FX30) connect to CalDigit TS4, then single cable to MacBook Pro for seamless connectivity.
- **Sony FX30 Camera** [01:42] — Primary camera at main desk; cinema camera at $2000 with internal fan to prevent overheating. Uses Sigma 16mm f/1.4 lens for shallow depth of field.
- **Elgato Prompter as Multi-use Display** [02:19] — Used as teleprompter for scripts and as extended display. Three-display setup including main MacBook, secondary affordable USB monitor, and Elgato Prompter.
- **Audio Setup: Shure SM7dB and Rodecaster Pro II** [03:00] — Microphone Shure SM7dB with low-profile desk arm; audio runs to Rodecaster Pro II, then to CalDigit TS4.
- **Lighting Controls and Additional Accessories** [03:44] — Filmmaker remote controls Amaran lights; main key light Amaran 60D S with Light Dome Mini; background fill using Amaran Pano 60C at 21% brightness.
- **Second Workstation for B-roll and Video Filming** [04:57] — Used primarily for filming talking head videos and B-roll. Computer is 2024 Mac mini M4 ($500 on sale). Features Yolo Cam S3 and S7 webcams, YoloBox Extreme for switching/streaming.
- **Affordable Gear: FIFINE AM8 Microphone** [06:16] — Best budget mic at $50 with boom arm; used at second workstation for showcasing affordable tech.
- **YoloBox Extreme and Yolo Deck** [07:12] — Dedicated touchscreen switcher/recorder for multi-camera live streaming; Yolo Deck controls presets and switching.
- **Top-down Filming Desk** [08:18] — Utility table for product B-roll and thumbnail photos; lightweight and movable with adjustable lighting.
- **Shelving and Storage Organization** [09:27] — Gear organized by category: top shelf audio/rigging, second cameras/lenses, third action cameras/gimbals, bottom wireless mics and hard drives. Bench stores tripods and C-stands.
- **Inspirational Props: First Camera Nikon P530** [10:50] — First camera kept as reminder of starting point; also collection of business/entrepreneurship books.

### Conclusion

The studio setup is modular and constantly evolving, with a focus on both professional and affordable gear. Key takeaway: a single-cable docking station simplifies connectivity, and versatile equipment like the Elgato Prompter enhances productivity.

## Transcript

use for filming all of my videos here at Think Media. And what's interesting about this space [music] is that actually it's pretty modular and a lot set up in the space is actually pretty beginner-friendly and easy to use. So
behind-the-scenes look at everything I have going on in my studio and how I use basis. >> [music]
is this desk setup which is my main desk setup that I use for my daily content creation and Zoom meetings, coaching calls, all of those things I do here at this main workstation. And it's actually powered mostly by my MacBook Pro. This
is the 16-in MacBook Pro. It's an M3 Max chip. It's basically fully specked out and I've never needed any more horsepower out of my laptop than I have with this machine. Now as you might notice right here, I only have one cable
running into my MacBook Pro. That is connecting all of the devices that you the reason I'm able to do that is this little box right here on the desk. It's called the CalDigit [music] TS4 docking station. And all that really
is is a cool tool that allows me to plug in all of the other tech that you see here including my Rodecaster Pro which is my audio interface, a secondary is my audio interface, a secondary monitor that can connect USB or HDMI, my
probably my favorite piece of tech in this whole build and even my Sony FX30 that I use for all of my live streaming and a lot of my video recordings. So all of that tech and more funnels directly into the CalDigit TS4 [music] and that
plugs directly into my computer and I can use and see everything from that one cable. Now for my camera setup, I am using the Sony FX30 at this workstation. I think it's a great camera setup. It has beautiful image quality and yeah,
it's like a cinema camera that's only $2,000. Yeah, that might be kind of expensive to some people, but I can use this for professional video production live streaming, YouTube videos, and more. And because it has that internal
fan, it will never overheat on me. The lens I'm using on the FX30 is the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 lens. It's a beautiful lens that gets me that shallow depth of field to kind of make that background look a
I'll link that in the description below as well as all of the other tech in this my favorite piece of gear in this entire studio. It's the Elgato Prompter. And I use this not only for just content
creation, where maybe I load up a teleprompter script or some notes that I can look into the teleprompter and still be looking directly into my lens. That's it's also just an extended display. So, right now I have one main display for my
MacBook Pro, a secondary display. It's just a really simple USB or HDMI display that you can get off of Amazon. Super affordable, only like $80 or so. And Elgato Prompter. So, three displays in this array right now, and that gives me
a ton of flexibility for going live on YouTube or doing any coaching calls or teammates. For audio, we're using the Shure SM7dB. I love this microphone, and my podcast arm right now is the newer low-profile desk arm. I really like this
microphone arm and mic combo. It gets me great audio, and all of that audio is running directly into my Rodecaster Pro II, which is my audio interface of choice. I use this for all of my podcasting, live streams, and voiceover
work. And that is just plugged directly into my CalDigit TS4, which connects to do most of my daily work, too, I have some other accessories like SD cards, sticky notes, some Apple headphones, as well as a notepad that I use pretty
often for my to-do list. This little remote right here controls these lights, Filmmaker. You can turn them on or off together at the same time and then also control things like color temperature and brightness. So, these are cool
studio. In lighting for this main desk setup, I'm using the Amaran 60D S for my Amaran Light Dome Mini on just a little light stand that's pointing right here
actually don't even have a fill. Sort of these bar lights act as a little bit of a fill back here, but for the most part I'm just relying on this main key light look down here. [music] Tabs are tough. We've got We're testing different
chargers, lights, batteries. Just Just pretend none of that exists. And then this little extra light right here is from Amaran. It's their Pano 60C and I often use this to add a splash of color to my background. It's usually just set
to blue and I just point it up towards my ceiling to add a little bit of a blue fill to the entire background. It's super bright. It's only at 21% right now and it fills the entire space looking blue, so I use this all the time.
daily workflow. This is actually more for like filming B-roll or filming talking head videos only. I really don't do a lot of work from this workstation. I more film videos here or use it as a set piece if I'm demonstrating different
tabletop [music] work or filming B-roll of cameras. I like just to have kind of a techy background and I'll use this set for that. Audio for this setup, I actually find myself using the FIFINE AM8 pretty often because I love
showcasing affordable tech and this is by far the best microphone I have found that produces the best sound quality for the most affordable price. This mic is only about $50 and it even comes with a boom arm or you could grab it with a
tabletop mic stand. Either option is great, but the sound quality is what's even better. The studio monitors that I have here are a new addition from Samsung and so they're a great company that also makes really good microphones
like the Samson Q2U or the Q9U. We featured both of those on the channel before, but these are their MediaOne MX5BT studio monitors. So, they actually connect via Bluetooth. So, that's what
the BT stands for, or I can connect them directly to my Mac mini and run the speakers. So, I actually review edits right here at this workstation. I also love listening to podcasts or music while I'm filming b-roll in my studio.
using for this setup. Now, as I mentioned, my computer for this setup is the 2024 Mac mini M4. And honestly, this thing is powerful enough to do some basic 4K video editing. This is like the baseline unit that I got for $500 on
sale. So, really cool, you can power an entire workstation off of a simple computer like the Mac mini. Now, the cameras that I have at this workstation filming that month, but right now I actually have two webcams from Yolo
Live. This is their Yolo Cam S3, which is about a $200 webcam. This is the best image quality I've ever seen out of a camera for under $200, and it's a webcam, which is pretty wild. And then behind it, I have one of their more
professional webcams, which is the Yolo Cam S7. So, a little bit of a larger sensor. It's a micro 4/3 mount as well. So, you can actually interchange different lenses, and I just have Yolo Live's 18 mm lens on the front of that
beautiful images. And another reason I use those cameras at this setup is because of this little monitoring device right here called the YoloBox Extreme. So, we've done reviews about this before on the channel, but this is a dedicated
touchscreen switcher and recording interface that I can use to record multiple 4K audio inputs, but I can also live stream directly from the YoloBox itself. I can even invite remote guests if I want them to participate in a live
released this cool little device, which is called their Yolo Deck. It's kind of similar to a Stream Deck if you've used one of those before, but basically I can control some of my live switching right here with these buttons and presets, or
adjust right here with the Yolo Deck. For lighting, I have one streaming light stand. Again, I'll link these model numbers in the description for you. And then over here, I actually have a light from Zhiyun that I've had for a couple
years that I just set up, so I don't have to keep twisting this light over here over to this side of my studio. I decided, "Hey, let's just get two set up, one key light on each side, so I don't ever have to move these around."
in the corner that I use often for adding some texture in my scenes and a lives right here in the corner and I pull it out whenever I need it. So, those are my main desk setups, but I actually have one other desk over here
in this corner that I use often for top-down work. So, if I'm filming tabletop unboxing videos, or if I want to do some B-roll of products on a desk, I will actually pull this out away from the corner and [music] put it in the
some of these lights that I use to light a nice scene for filming some beautiful product [music] B-roll. I'll also shoot YouTube thumbnails sometimes in this for that. But basically, it's just a utility table that I pull out when I
need it, so I don't have to try and reach these heavy tables over here that have a ton of stuff on them. I can just leave those exactly where they are and pretty light to move around my studio for product B-roll. And obviously, this
here is a couch. I use it to sit on. >> [music] I'll try to clean it up and organize it a little bit better for the B-roll of
staging equipment and really try to organize my gear based on my daily cameras that I'll use for different purposes, like filming YouTube style talking head videos or my professional video production work or shooting
weddings. Based on the season of life I'm in, I'll have different cameras out that are rigged in different ways just depending on what I'm shooting. And I different types of categories. So, the top shelf is mostly like audio gear and
rigging accessories. The second shelf is more for cameras and lenses. The third shelf is for different types of cameras, like action cameras and gimbals and also a few Canon cameras and Yolo Live cameras that I use and work into my
towards the bottom, there's a bunch of wireless microphones and different ton of hard drives and other accessories. Now, this little bench has actually pulls out. And a lot of times I'll store in here tripods and different
C-stands or gimbals or just like shoulder rigs that I won't use as often, time to time, especially the C-stand for creating some top-down shots. And then the shelving on this side is just like some more storage and props that I use
lot of books right here that I love to read. So, you can see you can pause the video anytime you want and just see kind of like the books that I'm interested in reading. A lot about like business, entrepreneurship, and content creation.
button from Think Media. And then probably my favorite prop in this whole shelf is this little camera right here. This was my first camera. It's the Nikon P530 and I bought it to teach myself
photography. And at one point it was the only piece of tech that I had related to anything photo video. So, I just love keeping that right there visible as a reminder of where I started and as like some inspiration to keep going. So,
studio set up. And honestly, it's constantly evolving and changing. I'm always swapping around different lighting and cameras just to try out new up on a typical basis. If you're interested in any of this gear, I'll be
description below. And if you have a question about something that maybe I comment section and I'll be sure to help you out. And if you want to check out some of my favorite affordable YouTube accessories for creators, you can click
that video and I'll see you in the next one.