What’s your webcam?

Hi. My name is Joshua and somebody asks me “What’s your webcam?” on every video call. So here’s a list of gear...

Joshua Blankenship sitting at his desk.

Behind the Scene(s)

I run a three-camera setup through an HDMI switcher, with a couple of key lights. This means I get a high definition face shot and a lovely blurred background, with the ability to go wide or shoot an overhead of my desk (or any other surface in the studio).

Camera 1 (Face)

The Sony a6400 is a mirrorless camera with a handy little flip LCD screen. I use the slightly weird 7Artisans 35mm ƒ/1.2 lens — it’s crisp, bright, and has a stellar bokeh for that cinematic background blur. I keep it about 3' from my face, so it’s a fairly tight crop, and I go out of focus if I shift too much forward or back. Like a human.

Camera 2 (Wide)

Do I need a second camera? Absolutely not. Did that stop me from putting a fisheye lens in the corner so people can see whatever shenanigans we’re up to in the entire studio? Also no.

Camera 3 (Overhead)

The overhead setup is handy for shooting flats of printed materials and sketches, but I’ll be honest — it’s mostly for playing paper Magic: the Gathering over webcam with far flung friends.

Secret Sauce

The ATEM Mini HDMI switcher will switch between four inputs with one cable into my computer. For me that’s three cameras, plus either an iPad or iPhone. The Stream Deck helps me control lights and a few other apps. And the Google Nest Hub is my primary voice interface in the studio.

Lighting

The Elgato Keylight Air comes with its own stands, but they have a large base which takes up desk space. Instead, I use two Multi Mounts with the Keylights on top, and Straight Arms to the side for the camera mounts. It’s clean, symmetrical, and mostly hidden by my monitor.

Audio

My audio setup is overengineered for average video meetings, but I also use it for recording podcast content and music, hence the gear. Face for radio and such.