The Best Vlogging Camera With A Flip Screen (Vlog Like A Pro)

Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II

The Canon Powershot family of cameras is one I have been buying for over 10 years. These guys know how to make super high-quality gear that is very easy to use.

The Powershot G7 X Mark II is a great choice for people not wanting to blow the budget on a camera. And their recent creation the Canon M6 is another you might want to consider.

It comes with lots of features to love.

This camera ticks all the boxes when it comes to vlogging because it produces high-quality 1080p footage at up to 60fps. It also allows you to flip the 3-inch screen up so you can see exactly what is “in frame” when you are shooting yourself.

Another great feature for vloggers is auto-focus tracking which can recognize your face then keep it in focus as you move around. Something that is key for a great vlog video.

The lens the G7 comes with also has a low f-stop (1.8) which means it is great for low-light situations. So, indoors or dawn/dusk shots are now no problem at all for your vlogs.

The built-in image stabilization is also a great plus as it can help reduce the shake you get when doing hand-held vlogs.

It also has some cool wireless connectivity features and an app, so you can easily control the camera remotely or download images/video to your laptop without all those painful cables!

One of my biggest beef with this camera is that it uses a fixed lens. So, you have no chance of changing the lens for different situations. However, a plus side is that it retracts almost fully, so makes the camera smaller and easier to carry.

The lack of 4K in this day and age is also a bit of a shame. Although 1080p is fine for Youtube uploads, as things progress in the next years, 4K will become expected. Then you will need a new camera! Not the end of the world, but expect to have to upgrade at some point.

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-RX100 V

Sony produces some of the most popular vlogging cameras around, and the Cyber-Shot RX100 is a worthwhile purchase for sure.

This one is quite similar to the Canon above, but there are a few key differences. The Sony RX100 shoots up to 4K, has insanely fast autofocus, and some cool ultra-slo-mo functions that can be great fun

Being able to shoot up to 4K, the extra money you might spend on this camera is probably worth it.

Sony has also taken things to the next level with their crazy 1000fps mode for slow-motion too. Although you probably won’t be using this on a daily basis, it can be fun to use and add a little something special to your vlogs.

Again, the low f-stop (1.8) on this vlogging camera means it will handle really low light well. I even saw one girl reviewing this camera in an almost completely dark hotel room, and it still managed a reasonable shot!

The pop-up viewfinder is another great addition for people wanting to shoot photos. Why? Although the screen is great, if you want to really frame a shot, especially in bright conditions, a viewfinder is a must!

The Sony RX100 also comes with a reasonable popup flash, which also tilts up if you want to use it as a bounce flash.

There are not too many downsides to this camera. One of the biggest is that they have not given a touch screen. Which for the money is surprising. But you can definitely live without it, especially vlogging.

Another thing to watch is the battery life. If you are shooting a lot of videos, especially 4K, it will chew batteries like a cookie monster on crack. So be sure to have a few spare!

Panasonic Lumix G7 4K

Mirrorless micro four-thirds cameras are all the rage these days and for good reason. You get the quality of a big DLSR without the huge size and weight.

In the vlogging world, the Panasonic G7 is a very popular option.

Vlogging Cameras With Flip Screen Under $500

For those who don’t quite want to spend their month’s salary on a camera, these vlogger flip cams under 500 bucks are a great option.

Nikon COOLPIX S6900

Nikon is not as often mentioned in the vlogging world, but if you absolutely must have a flip screen, this camera is a good starting point.

The Nikon COOLPIX S6900 is an uncomplicated point and shoot with a clip screen and a 12x zoom.

Just about everything you need in both a point and shoot and vlogging cam. With 1080p video at up to 60fps and a 12x zoom, you are almost always good to go.

The biggest downside of such a camera is that it has an aperture that does not do very well in low-light. So, indoors, and at night are times when you will struggle to get good shots or take video. Sure there is a flash, but let’s face it, it’s only good for selfie group shots and definitely not video.

However, all in all, this is a great entry point vlogging flip cam.

Canon EOS M100 Mirrorless

Another mirrorless camera worth looking at is the Canon EOS M100.

With 1080p at 24, 30fps, or even 60p, this camera also has a nice flip-up screen built into a compact body. It uses detachable lenses so you can choose to upgrade or swap out for better zoom or f-stop image low-light quality later.

Canon always makes great cameras and this ticks most of the boxes. Of course, there is no 4K, but honestly, right now on Youtube, everyone is watching 1080p (in the future of course that will change, but then you can upgrade :>).

Although you also only get one lens with this kit (a 24-72mm equivalent) so it is a fairly wide-angle. You can easily upgrade and buy other lenses later.

THE BIGGEST downside of this camera is the lack of 4K and the mic or the ability to connect one. So, if you want sound (!?) you will need to record that separately (I often use a Rode Lav Mic connected to my iPhone with my cameras anyway).

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ300K

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ300K is just a touch under 500 and great value for what you get. It only has a 12.1 Megapixel sensor, but is able to produce 4K video and has a super handy flip screen.

This camera is really an entry-level superzoom with 4K video, flip touch screen, and viewfinder. Sure, it is not a 20-megapixel sensor or top-of-the-range camera, but if you don’t have $1000 then this is a great option.

On the negative side, it is not super portable (as it’s a bit on the large side) but it does have a lens that can go from wide to a superzoom. So it can double as a great camera for wildlife or sports.

All in all, it’s a great option for entry-level vloggers.

Pro Vlogging Cameras With Flip Screen

It is always worth checking out what the pros are using, or have recently used as they do a hell of a lot of vlogging and have the money to try stuff out.

The following couple of cams are what a few top YouTubers use​.

Panasonic Lumix GH5

A fairly new release, Panasonic Lumix GH5 is the camera star outdoor Youtuber Levi Allen Leftcoast and Casey Neistat uses and loves. Casey also uses this lens.

Why does he love it so much? It has insane built-in stabilization (in both the body and lens) that gives you rock-solid footage on the go.

Of course, it is also a top-end camera with a flip-out screen, viewfinder, interchangeable lenses, and more.

This is a pro camera for sure. It has a new high bit-rate recording for 4K along with the ability to live stream the footage to an external monitor.

The auto-focus is insanely fast and has a large number of points (225) along with some other cool features like the post-shot focus to correct focus issues.

At the around 2K mark just for the body, this is a serious piece of kit. It is no wonder that it is Levi’s outdoor vlogging camera of choice!

Canon 70D

Canon’s DLSRs are epic in the camera world. They take amazing pictures. But they are big and heavy, so people are moving away from them (like with the GH5 above).

However, it’s worth checking out the camera that Casey Neistat used to use before the GH5 – The Canon 70D.

This is a top-end camera with Canon’s amazing Dual Pixel auto-focus which really helps keep things sharp (just check out Casey’s older vlogs). It does however only come with 1080p which is a bit old for such an expensive camera (ok, the body is sub-1000, but in total, you will pay more). Canon has newer cameras that have 4K like the crazy expensive Canon 1DX Mark 2 (around 6 thousand).

Compared to the GH7 this is not the ideal pro vloggers camera but is a nice piece of kit anyway. DSLRs produce super high-quality images.

This does have everything you need to produce top youtube videos with nice sound (with an external mic of course) but it is perhaps a bit dated (no 4K, a bit big) for the Youtuber of 2017.