Indoor Video Lighting Help - PowerShot SX70 HS

[Kristin_Texas]

My camera is the Canon Powershot SX70. I'm pretty content with it, but my goals have changed a bit. I would like to start filming more video indoors, but of course this camera wasn't really made for that.

Eventually, I plan on purchasing a different model but for now I was wondering if there's a little work-around for the low lighting/indoor video debacle of my Canon Powershot.

I see so many pretty holiday decorating videos on YouTube now, and I wish I could do the same at our house. It would be so much faster and convenient for me to shoot video of the indoor decorations instead of photos.

Would some lighting equipment help at all? (I've been researching that but am becoming more and more confused). If adding affordable lighting isn't a good option, is there a different Canon camera model that's best suited for this sort of thing? (Hopefully not much more than $500).

Thanks in advance for any advice. It is much appreciated! 😊

[rs-eos]

Lighting should indeed help. And there are some very inexpensive things you can try.  For example, getting some construction lights from a hardware store.

Or if you have extra lamps you could move into the room you’re capturing video in.

[BurnUnit]

As rs eos has noted, there are lots of LED work lights available at the big box hardware stores. Some with big light output at good prices. It would be worth spending some time researching things like rated lumens and the light's color temperature though. Some of the cheaper models may only put out a colder bluish-white light that looks a little harsh to my eyes.

You might also want to get used to setting a manual white balance in your camera as well. And even though it's not noticeable to the naked eye, most A/C powered LCDs do have a flicker, like a flourescent lamp. Your camera may or may not have a setting to compensate for this effect if you notice it in your videos. Sometimes changing the exposure setting and/or frame rate of your videos can offset this, assuming that the SX70 allows you to do so.

If you don't have the full user manual for your camera, download a copy from Canon's website.