7 Best Cameras for Motovlogging in (2024)

Motovlogging can be a challenging, yet rewarding experience, and with the right gear, a lot of fun.

But what is the right gear?

Do you need an action cam or a compact one?

Is a DSLR overkill or perfect for your needs?

Well, that’s what we’re here for, to answer these questions and more, to make your moto vlogging life as easy as clicking ‘buy’ and waiting for a life-changing camera delivery to arrive.

Our team of experts has done the research and grunt work for you.

Before settling on a camera, though, you need to think about the kind of moto vlogger you are.

You need to be thinking about the duration of your vlogs, the kind of weather you’ll encounter.

We’ve selected cameras for every type of vlogger, but only you can determine the type of vlogger you are.

Best Cameras for Motovlogging in (2024)

For this list, we observed the habits of dozens of popular moto vloggers on Instagram and Youtube and noted the gear they use, and why they use it.

recommendations here are our top 7 picks from that list of gear, all selectively chosen for their ability to fill every kind of moto vlogging niche there is, and at all budgets.

1. Best Overall: Sony RX100 VII

The Sony RX100 VII is for motovloggers who are looking for uncompromising image quality in a compact package.

The large 1-inch sensor can gather more light than an action cam, and the 24-200mm equivalent lens is great for when you need more reach or doing street photography.

Lens, Sensor, Video Resolution

The VII uses a 1-inch stacked CMOS sensor paired with a Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* 24-200mm equivalent lens with an aperture range of F2.8-4.5.

This is fast for a compact camera and allows for excellent low-light performance and great bokeh, especially at the long end of the lens.

To take advantage of this sensor, Sony lets you shoot 4K UHD video at up to 30fps in various Log modes, and more importantly in HLG.

Support for HLG means that you can shoot HDR vlogs while on the move, a huge plus in the image quality department.

The camera supports 20.1MP stills at 20fps, and real-time AF tracking for eyes and faces.

And with 425 AF points, you’ll never miss a shot.

Additionally, the camera supports optical image stabilisation for both stills and video, making for a great camera for shooting on the move.

Features and Battery Life

This compact camera body supports a range of vlogging accessories, including tripods, mics, and lights.

Audio is especially good on this camera as Sony includes support for 3.5mm mics as well as digital mics that mount to the camera hot shoe.

For framing, you get a 921k-dot 3-inch LCD screen that flips up making it a great camera for YouTube vlogs — and there’s even a pop-up OLED EVF with a 2.35-million dot resolution.

You get a bunch of buttons and dials for camera control, as well as touch input.

The one downside to this camera is the 40-minute battery life when recording video.

This can be limiting on long journeys, but thankfully, Sony sells a travel charger kit with spare batteries that will keep the camera running for much longer.

Conclusion

The RX100 VII is a powerful compact camera with a great zoom range and excellent low-light performance.

This is a camera for cinematic vlogs, not action shots, and if that’s what you want, nothing else matches the versatility of this camera.

2. Best Runner Up: Sony ZV-1

If you want the power, versatility, and features of a premium mirrorless camera in a compact motovlogging setup, the Sony ZV-1 is the best camera for the job.

With a fast lens, fantastic sensor, and premium features, this is the motovlogging camera to beat.

Lens, Sensor, Video Resolution

The ZV-1 is the first premium compact camera that’s specifically designed for vlogging in the modern age.

It features a superb 1-inch Exmor RS CMOS sensor with an excellent low-light performance for its size, and this is paired with a 24-70mm Zeiss lens with an aperture range of F1.8-2.8.

The large aperture and inclusion of an electronic ND (neutral density) filter allow you to shoot the camera wide open in broad daylight.

This gives you superb bokeh and better background separation than you’ll get from any other camera in this class.

To add to this, this Exmor R sensor can record superb 4K UHD video at 30fps with OIS as well as a fantastic gyro-based stabilisation system that offers gimbal-like stabilisation in post.

For stills, you get to shoot 20.1MP images in a 24fps burst while retaining full AF/AE for each shot.

If you’re interested in slow-motion videography, you can record at a blistering 1000fps at an HD resolution.

Features and Battery Life

Unlike the RX100 VII, the ZV-1 features a flip-out LCD that’s more suited to vlogs than a flip-up one.

A flip-up LCD is easily blocked by top-mounted cameras, especially if you’re using one of Sony’s newer digital mics, which the ZV-1 fully supports.

Sadly, there’s no EVF, but this isn’t a big deal if you’re only vlogging.

Speaking of mics, this camera includes a directional 3-mic capsule with a windscreen.

The design helps filter out ambient noise when recording vlogs, which is useful when you’re on the move.

The camera interfaces with your phone via WiFi and Bluetooth, and with an external recorder, if you use one, via HDMI.

Battery life is limited to just 45 minutes when recording video so you’ll need to invest in a USB PD20 power bank and spare batteries for long trips.

Conclusion

The ZV-1 is a powerful, compact camera with superb image stabilisation and excellent picture quality.

It’s a premium device meant for vloggers who care about quality and don’t mind spending time in post editing and colour-grading their footage.

For run-n-gun shoots, we’d recommend an action camera.

3. Best 360° Camera: GoPro MAX

Looking for a fun, intuitive, weather-sealed 360° action cam for your motovlogs? Check out the GoPro MAX.

Featuring GoPro’s signature stabilisation and horizon-levelling features, this is one of the best, most feature-packed 360° action cams you can get.

Lens, Sensor, Video Resolution

Being a 360° camera, the GoPro Max features two sensors — one on either side of the camera — each with an identical 8.9mm ultra-wide angle lens (which is highly useful for real estate photography).

The video feed from these cameras is stitched into one, epic 360° video within the camera body itself.

Videos on this camera are recorded in 6K and stitched to 5.6K 2D footage at 30fps.

This can be pushed to a max frame-rate of 60fps at 3K.

Either way, you’re treated to high-quality 360° video footage that can be reframed to your liking via the GoPro app on your phone, tablet, or PC.

If you don’t want 360° video, you can record with a single camera at 1080p in 16:9, or 1440p 60 in 4:3.

These modes also support linear and wide angle lens modes for when you want to avoid distortion and other artefacts that arise from using an ultra-wide 8.9mm equivalent lens.

As expected from GoPro, all footage is stabilised via GoPro’s superb HyperSmooth mode, and you get access to Horizon Levelling to keep your footage smooth and level no matter what you’re doing.

Both features are perfect for bikers.

Features and Battery Life

Unlike the GoPro Fusion, the 360° footage from both cameras is stitched internally and recorded as a single file to a single microSD card slot.

Battery life is rated at 85 minutes when recording 360° video and 105 minutes for single camera footage.

This is quite good for a motovlogging camera, and can be extended via USB-C power banks.

As with all GoPros, the Max supports a multitude of GoPro accessories and mounts for quick access and ease of mounting on any kind of surface or helmet.

If you’re into live streaming, you can even live stream 1080p video without the need for a PC!

There’s a tiny little colour touchscreen for framing and setting up the GoPro, and better yet, the camera supports 12 voice commands that can be used to start and stop recording, switch modes, and more.

Oh, and there’s a 6-mic array that does directional audio recording as well as an ambient sound reduction for voice.

Lastly, the camera is weather-sealed and waterproof.

Whether you’re driving through rain or flying over desert dunes, this GoPro will handle it all.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a rugged, weather-sealed action cam for shooting immersive, 360° video, you won’t find a better camera than the GoPro Max.

4. Best Action Camera: GoPro Hero 9

GoPros are considered to be the best action cams, especially for shooting videos with improved stabilization.

If you’re searching for one such action cam, look no further and get yourself the GoPro Hero 9 (Black).

Lens, Sensor, Video Resolution

The Hero 9 Black records stunning, high-quality footage at 5K 30fps or 4K 60fps, along with support for a whole range of digital lenses to choose from.]

If that wasn’t enough, you can do 120fps slo-mo at 2.7K, and 240fps slo-mo at FHD.

Whichever mode you choose to shoot in, you can rest assured that you’ll be treated to stellar image quality.

Features like HyperSmooth 3.0 and Horizon Levelling ensure smooth, stabilised video footage over any terrain with any vehicle.

You also get support for features like 4K timelapse, timewarp, and night-lapse, all of which can be added to your vlogging repertoire to up your motovlogging game.

Features and Battery Life

This compact, weather-proof camera is water-resistant to 33 feet (10 metres), and is weather-sealed, protecting it against dust and rain.

Come rain or shine, this camera will work and it will not let you down.

There are built-in clips that let you mount the Hero 9 to a wide range of accessories, and even to tripods and gimbals if necessary.

There’s full support for voice control, scheduled capture, and a number of other features that make shooting vlogs a breeze.

There’s built-in wind noise reduction for audio, support for 3.5mm mic input via the MediaMod and even RAW audio capture that’s great for editing in post.

If that wasn’t enough, the camera has support for WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, 1080p in-camera live-streaming, and GPS support for geo-tagging images and video.

Battery life is rated at a stellar 2+ hrs per charge.

Conclusion

The GoPro Hero 9 Black is the ultimate action cam and, perhaps, the best motovlogging camera you can get.

With weather sealing, superb stabilisation, and an industry-leading accessory ecosystem, the Hero 9 Black simply can’t be ignored.

5. Best Value for Money: DJI Osmo Action

The DJI Osmo Action’s attempt at making a GoPro competitor.

And to be honest, they did succeed in developing a viable alternative to the de-facto action cam of our generation, and at half the price.

Lens, Sensor, Video Resolution

The Osmo action has a fish-eye, 145° field of view and an F2.8 aperture.

This ultra-wide FoV is perfect for capturing everything that’s in front of you when shooting, but you do have to live with the warped, fish-eye look that comes from using such a lens.

Video can be recorded in a high-quality 4K60p mode, or slo-mo FHD240p and HD240p modes.

The quality of the footage recorded in either mode is great and comparable to that of the Hero 8. 4K HDR and time-lapse modes are supported too.

Features and Battery Life

The design of the Osmo Action is similar to that of the Hero 9 Black.

You get a cuboid body with a lens mounted on the side, and more importantly, dual displays that make vlogging and framing much easier for selfies.

The front display is a 1.4-inch 300 ppi unit that hits up to 800 nits of brightness, and the rear 2.2-inch display is denser at 325 ppi and hits the same level of brightness.

The high brightness ensures that the display is sharp and clear even under broad daylight.

Features like WiFi and Bluetooth are supported, as are a ‘RockSteady’ image stabilisation mode that’s comparable to GoPro’s HyperSmooth tech.

A wide range of accessories including various Bluetooth tripods, helmet mounts, dashcam mounts, and more, are fully supported by the Osmo Action.

Like the GoPros, there’s also support for voice control.

Battery life is rated at about 2 hours at 1080p with RockSteady enabled.

Conclusion

Rather than pick up an older GoPro, you might want to consider picking up the Osmo Action.

It’s a neat, inexpensive action cam that offers some great features and GoPro-rivalling performance in a nifty package.

6. Insta360 ONE X2

Setting the ONE X2 Panoramic apart from cameras like the GoPro Max is a set of software features and tweaks that better appreciate and embrace the capabilities of 360° video.

This fun, pocketable camera is great for vlogging your biking trips and everything else you might get up to en route.

Lens, Sensor, Video Resolution

The OneX2 features dual 7.2mm fish-eye lenses with an F2 aperture.

They capture 5.7K video at 30fps, 4K 50fps, and 3K 100fps.

If you want to use it like a regular action cam, you can also shoot at 2K or FHD 50fps with digital image stabilisation.

Whichever mode you choose to shoot in, you can rest assured that your video will be beautifully sharp, vibrant, and perfectly stabilised.

A tonne of software features such as subject tracking, bullet time, FPV mode, and more will help take your creativity to the next level.

Flowstate stabilisation keeps your frame smooth and level no matter the bumps in your route, and if you decide to take a dip in the sea on your trip, there’s even an ‘AquaVision’ mode that will clear up your image.

Features and Battery Life

The OneX2 sets itself apart from other 360° cams with a tonne of software features.

Two of the more impressive features are FPV and hidden selfie stick mode.

The former emulates the motion of an FPV drone by letting you align and stitch sequences of shots, while the latter uses AI to hide your stick and make it appear as if the camera is just floating.

Other features include a timelapse mode that eliminates people and vehicles from a scene, an accessory that lets you twirl the camera around your head for an epic, Matrix-like bullet-time shot, waterproofing to 33 feet (10m), and an InstaPano mode for taking instant panoramic shots.

For audio, you get a 4-mic array that supports directional audio and background noise reduction.

These mics also work underwater.

You get Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, USB-C image transfer, and a 1630mAh battery that’s rated for an 80-minute battery life when recording 5.7K 360° footage.

You’ll need a power bank for longer vlogs, but 80 minutes is enough for a daily vlog if you know what you’re doing.

Conclusion

The Insta360 ONE X2 is for those who are serious about 360° video.

It’s a fun little camera with a ton of pro features that are fun to learn and rewarding once mastered.

Take the time to learn this tool and you’ll come to appreciate its benefits.

7. GoPro Hero

If you need a GoPro but the Hero 9 is way too out of your budget, you can get the GoPro Hero 7 instead.

The Hero 7 is missing some of the premium features like a front-facing monitor & 5.6K video, but it has everything where it counts.

Lens, Sensor, Video Resolution

The Hero 7 Black was the first GoPro to introduce the HyperSmooth digital stabilisation system that is now a GoPro staple.

That system paired with the 4K 60fps video results in spectacular footage that is just as good as the 4K footage you get from the much more expensive Hero 9 Black.

If you’re into slo-mo, there’s even a 240fps FHD mode that is also stabilised.

The camera can take 12MP stills, TimeWarp video, Time Lapse, Night Lapse, and more.

The image quality of the Hero 7 Black has now been surpassed by expensive smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S21 and iPhone 12, but you still get the form factor and convenience of the GoPro system.

Features and Battery Life

Essential GoPro features including the rugged build, waterproofing to 33feet (10m), and voice control are all present.

HyperSmooh, Time Lapse, etc.

are also here, and while they’re not as good as what you’ll get on the newer GoPros, they’re still powerful, effective features that are very much usable in 2021.

The design is largely the same.

Instead of the color LCD that you get on the front of new GoPros, you get a monochrome LCD that’s good for checking the status of your video.

It’s not ideal for shots that need to feature your face, but given the price of the camera, one can’t complain.

Battery life is rated at 2 hours for video, which is great for motovlogs.

The camera is also easy to mount since it’s compatible with the bulk of GoPro’s accessory ecosystem.

Conclusion

The Hero 7 Black isn’t as glamorous as the Hero 9, but it’s also not as expensive.

Video quality and stabilisation is superb, as is battery life, and compatibility with GoPro accessories means that it’s easy to mount as well.

If you need a GoPro on the cheap, this is the one to get.

Frequently Asked Questions

Verdict

Motovlogging can be fun with the right gear.

What you need to do before a trip is to choose the right gear for the kind of vlog you’re interested in shooting.

To aid with that, here are our recommendations:

• The best overall camera you can get for vlogging has to be the GoPro Hero 9. It’s a versatile action cam with a ton of useful features designed for vloggers. If you’re on a more limited budget, the DJI Osmo Action would be our next pick.
• If you’re looking for image quality and shots of your surroundings, invest in an Sony RX100 VIIor ZV-1 from Sony.
  Choose either depending on the focal length you think you need.
• Lastly, if you’re on a budget, pick up the GoPro Hero 7. It’s a great Hero 9 alternative that offers 90% of the features for lesser price.

Good luck with your vlogs and remember to have fun, but more importantly, drive safe!