Sony ZV-1 review: the vlogging camera

In 2020, I hope I don’t have to convince you that vlogging is not a frivolous activity, but a real genre of video that can range from a hobby to a full-time job or a full media company. That’s why it’s so strange to me that so few cameras are custom designed for it.

Sony’s ZV-1 is an attempt to fill that gap, and also to fill the gap between what you can achieve with your smartphone and what you can do with a more expensive mirrorless camera. However, instead of starting from scratch, Sony has modified its venerable RX100 into something more specifically designed to take videos of yourself.

The result is a $ 800 camera that has many highly advanced video features and a handful of outrageous or frustrating limitations. But it’s also small enough to fit in a pocket, and it’s also a solid camera for taking normal photos.

It doesn’t make any sense to people who don’t need it, and it will be a godsend for those who do need it.

The easiest way to describe the Sony ZV-1 is to compare it to the Sony RX100. Sony essentially removed some of the more expensive parts from an RX100 VII, mixed into the lens of an RX100 V, and then added some vlogger-specific features.

Unless you’re familiar with Sony’s RX100, that description probably isn’t super useful. So let’s talk briefly about the RX100. For eight years, it has been (with apologies to Canon) the canonical example of a camera that integrates all the advanced features of a DSLR into a small point-and-shoot body. It may seem like the low-rent pocket camera you can pick up anywhere, but in fact it can cost more than $ 1,000 and do things that are normally only available on professional cameras.

I am, if you haven’t guessed it, a fan of the RX100 and have used one for many years. What I love about this is that by swapping a smaller sensor and non-interchangeable lenses for capture capability, you don’t have to compromise on versatility or features. It can do almost anything: I recorded long 4K videos on it, plugged it into my Mac, and blogged with Apple.

Full auto modes are proficient, but you can play around with ISO, shutter, white balance, aperture, color profiles, focus modes, and more. It is powerful. But as anyone who has tried to navigate Sony’s obtuse menu system can attest, it’s also tricky. However, once you get used to it, it often delivers on the promise of “DLSR in your pocket.”

That brings us to the ZV-1, which takes all the features and functionality of the RX100 and tweaks the camera hardware to optimize it for vlogging. Sony actually took the parts from two different RX100 models: You get the sensor and intelligence from the latest RX100 VII, but the brightest lens and ND filter (for outdoor shooting) from the RX100 V. You want the VII’s intelligence to autofocus, but you want the V lens because it provides better background blur.

Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge

Plus, the display articulates in a much better way, allowing you to place it in much more convenient positions. I can’t stress enough how important this is: a fully articulated display is the difference between getting the shot and not, and the ZV-1’s side hinge lets you flip the display without it getting stuck by what you have on the shoe. . There are other changes: the record button gets bigger, there is a nicer grip, an “indicator light” recording indicator, a new three-microphone array, and an accessory shoe. The last one is important: not having to worry about cables or external equipment just to be able to connect a shotgun microphone is huge.

Oh, and you also get a free dead cat. (That’s the name of the wind filter that blows over a microphone. Don’t look at me; I didn’t make it up.)

Sony is also trying to make the ZV-1 more accessible by lowering the price. A new RX100 VII costs $ 1,200, and the ZV-1 is based on that camera. Much of the work on the ZV-1 is not about optimizing for vlogging; it’s about cutting costs.

To drop to $ 800, Sony cut the viewfinder, magnesium body, focus ring, flash, and also turned off on-screen; it gets completely dark if you wear polarized sunglasses. Sony didn’t spend any money on making a completely new camera body either, which means the ZV-1 still has a lens that’s not ideal for vlogging and also that it uses Micro USB (ugh) to charge its very small battery (double ugh).

But perhaps the most annoying part of any Sony camera is the mentioned menu system. It is deep, confusing, arcane and mysteriously cannot be navigated with the touch screen. (Taps are essentially used for focusing.) In theory, however, a new vlogger doesn’t need to go through all the effort of learning about Sony’s menu system or even necessarily opening details, etc. In fully automatic mode, the ZV-1 is competent, and Sony has added a couple of preset buttons to make everything a little more accessible.

Grid view

One is simply called “Background Blur” and is designed to change all settings to maximize the amount of background blur. It’s a simple and useful touch for people who don’t want to worry about setting aperture manually and then offsetting the ISO and anything else. It works, but be aware that due to the ZV-1’s relatively small sensor, you won’t get the kind of bokeh results you’ll see on much larger cameras.

The second is called “Product Showcase” and, more than anything, it reveals that the ZV-1 is designed for vlogging. The layman’s explanation is that it guarantees that the camera will focus on a product that it is presenting to its viewers rather than being stuck on their face. The less technical explanation is that it disables Face Priority in focus settings, allowing you to focus on something that is closer to the camera than your face.

It sounds like a silly feature, but in fact it is a great example of just how good the focusing capabilities are on the ZV-1. It can be attached to your eye or a pet’s eye, and rarely suffers from the “focus search” you’ll get from other autofocus systems. It’s also lightning fast to change focus, so much so that you can let the camera change focus in the middle of a shot and not distract you.

The three-microphone array sounds much better than your average in-camera microphone (and the dead cat really works), but there’s a microphone jack if you prefer. Unfortunately, there is no headphone jack for those times when you want to check the sound on your clips when you’re on the go. The built-in speaker doesn’t really cut it.

While Sony has done a lot by taking the RX100 core experience and customizing it for vlogging, the decision to start there has consequences. The most important and disappointing is the field of vision. It’s the full-frame equivalent of 24mm at its widest part, and that gets a bit narrower when stabilization is used. That’s not wide enough to comfortably frame your head in one shot without holding the camera at an awkward distance. Some kind of small selfie stick is practically a necessity. (Sony will sell you a fancy Bluetooth remote for about $ 138.)

Another consequence is the battery. It is incredibly small and will run out long before you want. Sony rates it 260 shots or 45 minutes of recording, but both are optimistic in my experience. Fortunately, parts are super cheap since the RX100 has been around for a long time and the ZV-1 uses the same battery.

The ZV-1 is a kind of intermediate chamber. In fully automatic mode, the reasons for using it instead of just using your phone for photos and videos are not necessarily clear. An iPhone is more adept at making aggressive shake and shine fixes when needed. However, there is a limit to what a phone can do, and that’s where the ZV-1 lives. With its many controls and features, you can shoot videos that a phone cannot.

But the ZV-1 has a roof – you can’t change lenses, and eventually that can be frustrating. However, if that happens, the ZV-1 makes a solid secondary or B camera. If the learning curve in Sony’s menu system were a little less steep, I’d say it’s even ideal as an entry-level camera to teach you some more advanced video terms and skills. (It may be that for you, but it will take a little effort.)

Vlogging is professional work, and many of those professionals are far beyond what the ZV-1 is and can do. However, many are not, and others may just want something that can be kept in your pocket. I hope there are enough people to convince Sony to continue investing in the category. The ZV-1 is an admirable modification, but I’d love to see what a rebuild would look like from scratch.