There are two ways to make a video podcast look professional in Los Angeles: book a studio by the hour, or rent cameras and shoot in a room you choose. Here’s what each one really costs — and what each price leaves out.
What LA podcast studios charge
Published rates we checked in September 2026:
- Self-serve studios (you run everything): about $50–$150 an hour.
- Full-service sessions with an operator: about $150–$300+ an hour.
- Podcast-studio listings on Giggster in LA average about $145 an hour.
- A 3-camera studio in North Hollywood lists $215 an hour for an audio and video session with an engineer.
- Premium packages run $500–$2,000+ per session.
Almost all of them bill by the hour, so the meter runs through setup, retakes and the conversation that goes long.
What a kit costs
A kit is priced by the rental, not the hour. Every camera comes with its lens, a fluid-head tripod, a 1TB drive and two batteries:
| Kit | Quick Shoot5 hrs | Same-Dayup to 12 hrs | Full Day24 hrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 cameras | $40 | $50 | $60 |
| 3 cameras | $50 | $65 | $80 |
| 4 cameras | $60 | $80 | $100 |
| 5 cameras | $70 | $95 | $120 |
You also leave a $300 refundable deposit hold on your card (+$100 per camera over 3). It’s a hold, not a charge, and we release it within 24–48 hours of return.
The math for one recording day
Here’s a 3-camera setup both ways, at the average studio rate and at the 3-camera studio’s rate:
| Recording | Studio$145/hr | Studio$215/hr | 3-camera kit |
|---|---|---|---|
| One 1-hour episode | $145 | $215 | $505-hour Quick Shoot |
| Three episodes back to back | $435 | $645 | $505-hour Quick Shoot |
| A batch day: six hours | $870 | $1,290 | $65Same-Day, up to 12 hrs |
A 3-camera studio session in LA runs about $215/hour. Our 3-camera kit is $80 for the whole day — you bring the room. That last part matters, so the rest of this guide is about what the studio price buys you.
What a studio price includes
- A ready room — acoustic treatment, furniture and a set that already looks good on camera.
- Lights that are already rigged and pointed.
- Microphones and an engineer at full-service studios, so the sound is handled.
- Often an operator and live switching, and sometimes files the same day. One LA studio’s packages start at $189 for 60 minutes with two cameras, an operator, live switching and same-day files.
You walk in, sit down and talk. For a one-off episode with a busy guest, that’s worth a lot.
What a kit gives you
- Your space, your look. Your office, your living room, your set — so the show looks like you, not like everyone else who books that room.
- No hourly meter. A Quick Shoot covers 5 hours and a Full Day covers 24. Run long, reshoot the intro, take a break.
- Batch recording. Record three or four episodes in one rental.
- Cinema cameras. Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K with 13 stops of dynamic range, Blackmagic RAW and matched lenses — and up to eleven of them for panels and live sessions.
- Hourly booking. Pick up in Silver Lake and return the same night; pickups run 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM.
What you’ll need to bring
Be honest about this list — it’s where kit rentals go wrong.
- A room. Quiet and not echoey: rugs, curtains, a sofa and full bookshelves all help. A hard, empty room sounds bad on any camera.
- Audio. Our kits don’t include microphones. The camera has a mini XLR input with phantom power and built-in mics for a guide track, but a podcast needs a mic for every voice, usually into a separate recorder.
- Someone to run it. Press record on every camera, watch the levels, keep an eye on the drives — then press stop.
- Light. A big window and a lamp can work. Our softbox add-on is $10 a day for one light.
- Edit time. Cinema files are big. Free DaVinci Resolve edits them, but plan the hours.
The equipment checklist covers all of it, item by item.
Costs that aren’t on the price tag
Both options have them, so count them before you compare.
- At a studio, the meter keeps running when the conversation goes long, and extras like more cameras, editing or rush delivery are often priced separately. Ask what’s included before you book.
- With a kit, the deposit hold reserves $300 on your card until we release it, you’re responsible for the gear while you have it, and a late return is billed by the hour. Setup and pack-down come out of your rental hours, so give yourself an hour on each side of the recording.
Side by side
| Topic | Studio | Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | By the hour: $50–$300+ | By the rental: 2 cameras from $60/day |
| Room & sound | Included | You provide |
| Microphones | Usually included | You provide |
| Operator | At full-service studios | You or your crew |
| The look | The studio’s set | Your space |
| Time | The meter runs | Up to 24 hours for one price |
| Cameras | Whatever the studio owns | Up to 11 matched Blackmagic 6K |
| Responsibility | The gear stays with the studio | You look after the kit while you have it |
Which should you choose?
Book a studio if you don’t have a room that sounds and looks right, you want an engineer and an operator, you need files the same day, or it’s a one-off with a guest who has 45 minutes.
Rent a kit if you have a room you like, you record regularly, you want to batch episodes, or you want more angles than a studio offers. A 3-camera kit for the whole day costs less than one average studio hour; the work you put into the room and the sound is what makes it look and sound like a show.
Not sure how many cameras? Read 2 vs 3 camera podcast setup, or compare every kit size on kits & pricing.