Updated January 31, 2025
We’re forever a split workforce with a mix of working from home, time in the office and taking that quick meeting at the neighborhood cafe. The good news for the corporate nomad is that gear is now more efficient and arriving in smaller packages. Think about your smartphone. Today onboard cameras compete with huge rigs that would cost thousands just a few years ago. Could 2025 be the year of the pack and carry studio with the best virtual event technology out there?
Reduce GAS
Every year I’m afflicted with gear-acquisition-syndrome, or GAS, as I change up my home studio for a new hybrid year and consider what new tech is truly worth investing in. GAS is naturally brought on by smart marketing strategies intended to convince me new is better and anything with a USB-A connection needs to be retired. Yet for most of us a modest camera, mic and LED light source are enough to be a daily Teams Warrior. So, as we look to what tech is worthy of your consideration, we cobbled together a definitive gear list to help you look and sound your best. This year our focus is great gear, small footprint – tech that takes seconds to set up, making it a viable pack-and-go studio as you flit from home to onsite.
Every day we record executives who are often coming to us live from a hotel room or even an airport, so for 2025, let’s take a look at gadgets that will make an impact at home, but mobile enough for you to tuck into your carry on.
Ditch Your Onboard Mic and Camera
With the uptick of amazing photo tech in smartphones, it’s shocking that laptop and tablet cameras and microphones are so bad. Trust us – we are unable to record a professional presentation when dark shadows swallow the presenter whole and their audio sounds like a 70s AM radio.
If you take virtual customer meetings or present online to more than a handful of folks, there are three mandatory items you need to bring with you on the road: a decent webcam (preferably with a small tripod to level your face with the camera so that you’re not looking down onto your audience), a small and mighty LED light source, and a quality microphone.
Here’s what we love in these categories for 2025.
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Webcam
- iContact Camera Pro ($179). An ingenious mini rig that drops the camera onto your laptop screen to ensure your eyes stay fixed to who you’re addressing rather than your eyes wandering all about the screen, nervously trying to find focus (which telegraphs a disorganized visual cue to your audience). Although a 4K camera degrades to 780P for most virtual meeting platforms, it looks far better than any laptop cam and we love the nifty camera extension so you’re always eye-to-eye with your team and customers. The 4K camera comes in handy for pre-recorded messages on platforms like Riverside. And a bonus two-in-one, this little camera comes with a noise-canceling microphone.
- Opal C1 ($300). Opal is an up-and-comer niche maker of mini professional webcams, including Tadpole and the newer C1, both packing a lot of punch in their small footprint. Opal brings a slick Apple-esque persuasion to what promises to be the first professional webcam. The C1 is a sexy bit of tech that looks great from the demos we’ve seen.
- Your personal DSLR. As we’ve called out before, most cameras with a USB-C or HDMI-out can double as an amazing webcam – either directly from the camera to your laptop or with a USB-A to HDMI video converter like the tiny Elgato Camlink ($100). If you use a small camera, remember a decent lightweight tripod to bring with you. AnkerWork makes a good all-arounder Mini Tripod ($39) that folds into a thin stick and allows you to use it as a selfie cam if you’re self-recording any video content.
- Logitech MX Brio 4K ($199). Newer in the Logitech lineup is the MX Brio which is helpful for anyone creating pre-recorded video content. If you’re just using a webcam to join meetings, most platforms cap you to 780p so the 4K sensor more than you need. Save yourself 100 bucks and go with the tried and true Logitech C922 HD Stream Webcam. ($79).
- Lighting
- Lume Cube is the standard-bearer of desk lighting for the remote worker and we like the dead-simple Broadcast Lighting Kit ($100) which includes a mount and tripod so that you can easily position the light based on your environment. If you use your smartphone as your camera for virtual meetings, Ring Light Mini ($130) is a fantastic two-in-one tripod that mounts your phone and surrounds it with a dimmable ring light.
- Aputure caters to the professional videographer and photographer, yet I love their gear as you can sync every light with a single Sidus app that is intuitive and lets you fire up and adjust each light without fumbling with the onboard light controls. The MC ($90) is my go-to and I have two that I use in my home office as backlights, yet they’re tiny, wireless and have a nifty pop-on diffuser and magnetic casing for easy mounting. The only downside is there’s no clip for your laptop,so a small tripod is required.
- Microphone
- Rode solves a lot of problems for the mobile worker – and their headsets are fantastic. The HS2 Lightweight Headeset Microphone ($300) is one-of-a-kind powerhouse in a small package. For those who don’t care for big can headsets, this is pricey, yet extremely well made. If you’re OK with the larger form factor, the NTH-100M ($189) is one of the best sounding headphones and with a plug-in mic. It quickly converts to a headset for your virtual events.
- Apple. At $19, EarPods (3.5mm Plug) is nothing fancy, yet always reliable plug-and-play which removes the last-minute pressure of pairing your Bluetooth headphones as you’re joining a meeting. It just works.
- Peripherals
- The webcam/light/mic trifecta is really all you need to worry about to get through your day regardless of location. But if you’re like me, a comfortable full size keyboard and wireless mouse is something worth packing. Logitech MX Key S ($109) is a worthy upgrade to the MX Keys with a weightier and silent keyboard with backlit keys that offers a nice, indented touch. What’s also cool about the keyboard is it lets you pair up to three different devices so if you’re constantly jumping from a laptop to a tablet, this is a great feature. Pair the keyboard with the MX Master 3S Performance Wireless Mouse ($99) that is a slight upgrade to the original where Logitech does away with the audible click – a small tweak that I like a lot.
- Elgato Stream Deck ($150) is a gadget I wouldn’t call portable, yet as I add more and more panels of essential shortcuts, it’s something I’ll toss in my backpack as I know it’ll ultimately save me time in the day.
- If you’re looking for a great backpack, we love the Peak Design Everyday Backpack ($279) with its nifty top and side zipper access with compartments and separators. Designed for photographers and DSLR videographers, it’s also a great tool for the nomadic worker so you can pack and unpack core gear with ease.
- In our next blog, we’re going to dive into more detail on the teleprompter, who it’s for and why it’s an essential tool for mobile presenters. Starting in February, Elgato is shipping its new Prompter ($280) that attaches to a webcam and allows you to maintain eye contact with your camera as you’re reading a script or answering Q&A from your audience. It’s a hefty investment, yet if you’re presenting scripted material, it’s a tool that frees you from having to memorize content or rely on off-screen notes. We think it’s an executive essential.
Best Virtual Event Tech for Creating Your Mobile Studio
You can’t replicate any one work environment and for me, there are key tools like desk-mounted light panels and a camera that doesn’t make sense to disassemble and remount every other day. For road warriors, a simple webcam/light/mic kit is essential. It will help you maintain confidence in virtual meetings and will only take you a minute to unpack and connect. If you’re interested in learning how the video production pros at Worktank can help you level up your virtual broadcasts, meetings, and hybrid events, contact us online or give us a call at 877-975-8265.