For those who want to move beyond recording vlogs on their smartphone, the Sony ZV-1 is a small vlogging camera. It 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. also you will read our article on Sony ZV-1 review.
Design
There is a case to be made that the ZV-1 should feel as portable and light as a smartphone, within reason of course, if Sony truly wanted to appeal to the smartphone crowd. Before a discussion about features could even begin, Sony would need to nail the design. The sight of bulky camera kits and elephant trunk lenses can be enough to send millennials running (myself included). So it’s safe to say they succeeded. The ZV-1 has more in common with the Sony RX series in terms of design despite its emphasis on video capture. The ZV-1, while not quite as small as Sony’s compact cameras, suddenly seemed much bigger in comparison to my travel-friendly Canon M50. The ZV-1 is small enough to fit in a pocket or a small camera bag and is light enough to hold at arm’s length. Its dimensions are 10.5 x 4.4 x 6 cm. The ZV-1’s grip is actually made of plastic, despite its premium features, and while it may not look like the most elegant choice, it still did the job of keeping the camera firmly in our hands. Even though there is a good built-in microphone, which we will discuss in more detail later, there is a hotshoe on the top and a tripod mount at the bottom in case you want to stick with your tried-and-true setup. Sadly, there is no headphone jack present, but no vlogger has yet to be seen constantly monitoring the audio levels while filming. But the choice of a micro-USB port over a USB-C port is perplexing. Come on Sony, USB-C should come standard on any product at this price. The ZV-1 has fewer physical buttons than a typical camera in order to better appeal to its target market. The rear-facing control panel has a scroll wheel that doubles as a larger button and is surrounded by four smaller buttons for mode switching and navigation. Although it is familiar ground for camera lovers, it lacks the same level of accessibility as its redesigned top button arrangement. The ZV-1 makes it clear that it is a video-first device by including a large red button for recording, a smaller button for taking pictures, and a third shutter solely for using the camera’s bokeh mode.
Sony ZV-1 review: Screen and interface
When it comes to deciding whether or not to make its UI touch-sensitive, Sony has buried its feet in. 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. The fact that Sony has missed the trick of making its UI touch-optimized for the umpteenth time is a complete head-scratcher. That is not to say that the interface or the screen are bad; they are both perfectly functional. The ZV-1’s 3-inch 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 standard 4:3 aspect ratio applies to the screen. A wider 16:9 screen, like the one on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, would have been a nice point of differentiation for this video-first camera, even if it had lengthened the ZV-1 slightly. However, the menu contains some video-specific options that make it stand out, such as the built-in ND filter, granular Steadyshot control, and zebra display.
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. you will learn our article on Sony ZV-1 review. 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’ integral 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. However, if you want to film yourself and your background, that 24mm equivalent wide-angle view may not be quite wide enough. This is where an interchangeable camera like the Sony ZV-E10 and the option of fitting a wide-angle lens is 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. It is a different proposition to do the same with a ZV-E10 and a Sony 10-18mm, for instance.
Sony ZV-1 review: Connectivity
Images can be instantly transferred to mobile devices via built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity for direct online sharing on social networking sites, via email, and on cloud storage websites. Once connected, the mobile device can use Smart Remote Control to remotely operate the camera’s shutter release and show a live view image on its screen. The ZV-1 is also compatible with the Movie Edit add-on from the Imaging Edge mobile app and can connect to a smartphone using a QR code. For effective camera control, Bluetooth connectivity also makes it possible to connect to the optional GP-VPT2BT Wireless Shooting Grip.
Camera performance
How does the 1-inch sensor in Sony’s high-end compacts compare to earlier generations of the RX-100, which were video-first? Really beautifully done. Eye-tracking, face detection, and a variety of conventional focus modes, from continuous AF to single-point AF, are all included in its quick initial focus. When the light is right, the image quality for both photos and videos is excellent for a compact camera, though not quite as sharp as images taken with APS-C sensor cameras. The Soft Skin beauty setting is available to smooth things out when you’re not feeling your best, and skin tones look warm and natural. We adore Sony’s eye-tracking technology, and it ensures that your face is clear on the ZV-1 until you hold up something. 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 a certain type of user, it effectively transforms this compact into a camera and a cameraperson. With a 24-70mm lens and an aperture range of F/1.8 to f/2.8, the ZV-1 captures a respectable amount of light and offers a fair amount of versatility. 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 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. When shooting hand-held in this situation, you won’t get extremely wide scenes with groups of friends in-frame, but if you don’t mind slightly tight framing, you should be able to get by with your own face. Despite frame restrictions, there is little doubt that if you use the ZV-1 to vlog, you will sound incredibly clear. 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. Use an external mic if you’re behind the camera because the sound it records won’t be as clear as if you’re in front of it. Despite its small size, the ZV-1 performs admirably in terms of audio and video. Thanks to that 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 hue and exposure of human faces is one aspect of image quality that Sony has focused heavily on for the ZV-1. Sony claims to have developed a “optimized color algorithm” based on user feedback that ensures skin tones are realistic no matter where you are from. In order to ensure that the vlogger’s face is bright and well-exposed under all lighting conditions, the ZV-1 reportedly also uses its face recognition technology to obtain exposure readings. Although we haven’t yet had a chance to test it on a variety of faces, this has definitely worked fairly well in our experience. 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. Of course, the ZV-1 is also a reasonably decent stills camera despite its vlogging focus. It can’t compete with its more stills-focused RX100 stablemates here because it lacks a viewfinder and a 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. Additionally, noise is well-managed up to ISO 800, with image quality only really degrading starting at ISO 6400 and higher. Of course, given their computational prowess, it can be argued that modern smartphones are at least competitive with the ZV-1 when it comes to still photography. While you should really be looking elsewhere for a dedicated stills camera, the ZV-1’s bright lens and high-speed shooting modes still make it a useful backup tool for shooting portraits and action scenes.
Video quality
Overall, we were pleased with the video quality of the Sony ZV-1 in both bright and dim lighting conditions. As we previously said, this enabled me to attach the camera to a grip that is similar to a gimbal and serves as a tripod. This 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, we discovered that 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. As a result, it shifts its attention away from the subject’s eye and toward the object in front of it. In general, it worked fairly well, especially when the product had lettering or numbers. However, when we attempted to use the supplied (and incredibly colorful) fuzzy wind muff, it occasionally failed to lock in at all. Even so, it worked extremely well the majority of the time, and we can see vloggers being 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. you will check our article on Sony ZV-1 review.
Price and availability
The Sony ZV-1 is currently available for pre-order, as it will go on sale on May 26, 2020. Shipping is anticipated to begin “in early June” in the US and UK and by “mid-June” in Australia, according to Sony. The small vlogging camera is similarly priced between the Sony RX100 Mark IV and RX100 Mark V at $749, £699, and AU$1,299. The ZV-1 lacks an electronic viewfinder, which helps to keep its price low, unlike every other Sony RX100 series camera. Real-time Eye AF autofocus is one of the newer features it brings that isn’t present on the latter two cameras.
Conclusion
For vlogging, the Sony ZV-1 is excellent. Since the camera is small and light, it is simple to carry around and use while holding it in a selfie posture for extended periods of time. To change settings while vlogging, you must turn the camera around due to the lack of touch functionality for menu navigation. As you record, the screen can fully articulate to face you, and the camera effectively reduces camera shake. The 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, it has a disappointingly short battery life, and prolonged recording sessions can cause it to overheat.
