The Sony ZV-1 is a small vlogging camera that takes the premium Sony RX100 VII’s 1-inch sensor and excellent autofocus system and adds vlogging-friendly features like a fully articulating screen, a directional microphone with a detachable windscreen, and a hot shoe to attach a flash or an additional microphone. It has a 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 Zeiss lens built into it, giving you some framing options and background blur. ..
Design
The ZV-1 is a camera phone that feels as light and portable as a smartphone. Sony needs to nail the design if they want to appeal to millennials.
The ZV-1 is a small camera that is perfect for travel. It is light and fits in a pocket or small camera bag, and its grip is made of plastic. The ZV-1 has more in common with the Sony RX series in terms of design despite its emphasis on video capture.
The Sony a7R III has a built-in microphone, but it does not have a headphone jack. This is perplexing because vloggers often need to monitor audio levels while filming. ..
The ZV-1 camera is designed for those who want the best possible video experience. It has a large red button for recording, a smaller button for taking pictures, and a third shutter that is only used for using the camera’s bokeh mode.
Sony ZV-1 review: Screen and interface
Sony has been criticized for burying its feet in when it comes to making its UI touch-sensitive. Despite having a fully functional touch screen that supports touch to focus, the interface can only be used via pressing buttons on the camera, which is annoying. Sony has missed the trick of making its UI more touch-optimized for the umpteenth time, and it’s a head-scratcher. That being said, the interface and screen are both perfectly functional. ..
The ZV-1’s 3" screen is excellent in terms of screen quality. The LCD technology is as sharp as it needs to be with 921,600 dots, the same number as the RX-100 VII. Unsurprisingly, it performs fantastically indoors with excellent viewing angles and brightness levels, but it struggles in direct sunlight and photographers will miss the viewfinder. However, videographers can output clear HDMI video through the micro HDMI port when using an external display like the Atomos Ninja. ..
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera has a 16:9 screen aspect ratio, which sets it apart from other video-first cameras. The menu contains video-specific options, such as the built-in ND filter and granular Steadyshot control, that make it stand out. ..
Features
The Sony ZV-1 has three features that immediately stand out. First off, Sony typically stays with simpler tilting panels, however this device has a fully variable screen. When recording video vertically, the vari-angle pivot excels. Vertical video is what you need if your vlogs are intended for mobile viewing, which will make purists cringe. On the top plate, there is a microphone grille that is significantly larger than usual.
The internal microphone has been enhanced for voice recording and for mounting a specially made wind shield. This comes with the camera, clips into the accessory shoe next to the microphone, and has a furry baffle that covers it. Third, a new “product display” AF mode allows you to chat while the camera automatically switches its focus to whatever object you hold in front of it. This will enable amateur video producers to achieve cinematic background blur and focus pull effects without being troubled by technical details, along with a new “bokeh background defocus” switch.
The Sony RZ100 series cameras’ electronic viewfinder is absent from the ZV-1. It lacks both a flash and even a mode dial. However, stills shooters need not despair as all the standard shooting modes are still available and can be accessed by pressing the Mode button. If it helps, think of the Sony RX100 cameras as stills cameras that can record video and the ZV-1 as a vlogging camera that can also capture beautiful still images because both cameras have a 20MP sensor.
If you want to film yourself and your background, an interchangeable camera like the Sony ZV-E10 and the option of fitting a wide-angle lens are advantageous. The fixed lens is no disadvantage if you’re the type of shooter who works in a regular “kit lens” focal range anyway. Having said that, it doesn’t take much strength to hold the ZV-1 at arm’s length and record a selfie video.
Sony ZV-1 review: Connectivity
The ZV-1 is a high-quality camera that can be easily connected to the internet and use Smart Remote Control to remotely operate its shutter release and show a live view image on its screen. The camera is also compatible with the Movie Edit add-on from the Imaging Edge mobile app, making it possible to control the camera’s shutter release and take pictures or videos without ever having to leave your device.
Camera performance
Sony’s new RX-100 camera has a 1-inch sensor that is really beautifully done. It has eye-tracking, face detection, and a variety of conventional focus modes, from continuous AF to single-point AF. When the light is right, the image quality for both photos and videos is excellent for a compact camera. However, it isn’t as sharp as images taken with APS-C sensor cameras. ..
Sony’s new Soft Skin beauty setting is designed to help you look your best when you’re not feeling your best. The eye-tracking technology ensures that your face is clear on the ZV-1 until you hold up something, and a new feature called ProductShowcase allows the camera to quickly switch from focusing on the subject’s face to the product they are holding while it is in the frame. For some users, it effectively transforms this compact into a camera and a cameraperson. ..
The Sony ZV-1 is a camera that offers a lot of versatility with its 24-70mm lens and aperture range of F/1.8 to f/2.8. The camera combines OIS and Sony’s SteadyShot EIS to deliver a held-together image, but the crop factor might be an issue if you’re a walker and a talker. In comparison to shooting in Full HD, there is a crop factor when using the ZV-1 for 4K. Additionally, there is also a crop factor that is available when SteadyShot is activated. Conversely, if you’re vlogging without a selfie stick, you can suffer with the angle of view. ..
If you’re shooting handheld, you’ll likely only be able to get shots of close friends in the frame. However, if you’re okay with slightly tighter framing, the ZV-1 should work well for vlogging. Despite frame restrictions, the directional recording is ideal for chatting away down the length of the lens. The supplied bunny tail/wind muff—dubious names for the same thing—does a respectable job of minimizing interference. Even in relatively noisy environments, the directional recording is ideal for chatting away down the length of the lens. ..
If you’re using a camera with an external mic, make sure to use a good one because the sound it records won’t be as clear as if you’re in front of the camera. The ZV-1 is a small camera that does well in terms of audio and video. Thanks to its clear HDMI out, the camera can record video at up to 4K, 30 frames per second, capture photos at up to 20.1MP, and support live streaming when used with a capture card. ..
Sony ZV-1 review: Image quality
The Sony ZV-1 is a camera that uses optimization of color algorithm to ensure skin tones are realistic no matter where you are from. The camera also uses face recognition technology to obtain exposure readings.
The ZV-1’s skin smoothing effect was one thing we did change, though; it is fairly strong by default, so we erred on the side of turning it to “low” or off completely. The stronger skin smoothing variants still look a little too artificial for our tastes, despite Sony’s efforts to make it more natural-looking than many comparable smartphone modes. ..
The ZV-1 is a decent stills camera, but it can’t compete with its more stills-focused RX100 stablemates here. It lacks a viewfinder and lens control ring, but the quality is still there if you want to take some Instagram-worthy stills to go along with your YouTube videos. Images contain a tone of detail, and if you shoot in raw, you can recover even more from the highlights and shadows. ..
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZV1 is a great camera for stills photography. It has bright lens and high speed shooting modes. It can handle ISO 800 and up.
Video quality
We were pleased with the video quality of the Sony ZV-1 in both bright and dim lighting conditions. This enabled me to attach the camera to a grip that is similar to a gimbal and serves as a tripod, which saved us from having to worry about packing additional equipment when we took footage of us playing and singing along to our guitar in a Long Island pub in Mattituck. It’s also extremely convenient that it doubles as a tripod. ..
Overall, our video clips had a very good dynamic range and generally had clean, crisp details. The dedicated defocus button on the Sony ZV-1 comes in handy when you don’t always desire fine detail. When turned on, this switch, which is located on top of the camera body, opens the camera’s widest aperture, which is f/1.8. This produces a very nice bokeh effect in the background, allowing you to concentrate on the subject. And you can just turn it off again if you decide not to use it. Additionally, you can use it while shooting.
The new Product Showcase Setting is another feature of this camera that we enjoyed, despite the fact that it wasn’t always functional. When a product is placed in the foreground, for example, the camera “knows” when to focus on it. Sony’s Real-time Eye AF and Real-time Tracking AF for video, which the company claims “allows the ZV-1 to seamlessly switch focus between multiple subjects while controlling the AF speed and tracking sensitivity,” are included in this model.
The product worked well, especially when the letters or numbers were included. However, when we tried to use the supplied fuzzy wind muff, it occasionally failed to lock in at all. Even so, it worked extremely well most of the time and vloggers are enthusiastic about it.
Battery life
A tiny camera inevitably has a limited battery life. According to Sony, the ZV-1 can record for up to 45 minutes. We found it to be a tad ambitious after testing this at 4K video resolution. Although we didn’t get close to 45 minutes of capture in our own use, a lot of our testing time was spent navigating menus, experimenting with settings, and testing various features, all of which depleted the battery. Fortunately, it’s one of those cameras that’s easy to keep charged. When you’re finished, simply plug in the Micro-USB cable to a power source at home or carry a battery pack with you when you’re out and about.
Price and availability
The Sony ZV-1 is a small vlogging camera that is similarly priced between the Sony RX100 Mark IV and RX100 Mark V. It has Real-time Eye AF autofocus, which is one of the newer features it brings that isn’t present on the latter two cameras. Shipping is anticipated to begin “in early June” in the US and UK and by “mid-June” in Australia. The ZV-1 lacks an electronic viewfinder, which helps to keep its price low. ..
Conclusion
The Sony ZV-1 is an excellent vlogging camera. It is small and light, making it easy to carry around and use. The lack of touch functionality for menu navigation can be a bit of a challenge, but the screen can articulate to face you effectively reducing camera shake. ..
The camera’s autofocus system has a few modes specifically designed for product and animal vloggers, and it can track faces without any problems. Additionally, a dedicated “Background Defocus” button allows you to quickly achieve a shallow depth of field. Unfortunately, the 4k rolling shutter effect is very obvious and can blur subjects when panning quickly. Additionally, the camera has a disappointingly short battery life, and prolonged recording sessions can cause it to overheat. ..
