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Should you buy the sony zv-1?

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Sony ZV-1

Background

  • Release date: June 11, 2020
  • Built for bloggers, content creators.

What I like:

  • Price point
  • Built-in lens
    • Capable of outstanding image quality
  • Flip-out screen. Essential for blogging.
    • More flexible than the screen on the A6000 or A7S that just tilt up. This one is fully-articulating which is great.
  • Removable battery – and I do recommending buying a spare and a wall charger because battery life is not great.
  • Manual shooting modes
  • No video recording limit. OK, recoringlimits.com says the limit is 13 hours, but that’s fine.
  • It handles like a traditional point and shoot camera, so it’s easy and intuitive to use. I feel like if I handed this to a kid or my parents, they’d have no problem taking good pictures and recording video.
    • Scene selection
    • Background defocus – You don’t have to explain what depth of field is to a beginner. Just tell them to “hit that button” and you’re good.
  • Face detection
  • Auto focus/focus tracking

Pro Features

  • Focus peaking
  • Zebra – Adjustable
  • Electronic ND Filter – Until recently, this was unheard of for a camera at this price point. In the past, the only other camera I knew of with this feature was the Sony FS-5 which is more than $5,000.
  • LOG files for all you crazy colorists out there. I don’t take the time to work with LOG because I actually value my time, but if that’s something you do, the ZV-1 has it!

What I don’t like.

  • No lens filters. Outdoors, I like to use a CPL. But, the color rendition in this camera is excellent, so that’s something I can live without.
  • No headphone jack.
  • If mounted to a tripod, you must dismount to change memory card/battery.
  • Constant power – Will not work with battery removed.

Who would I recommend this camera to?

  • Anyone
  • That’s the beauty of this camera. The auto features are simple enough for a beginner to capture great video, but if you are more familiar with professional features, the camera is equipped.
  • Excellent for photo or video

Notable Specs

  • 1-inch CMOS sensor
  • 20 Megapixel
  • 4K 30p
  • Filmmakers rejoice: HLG and S-Log3 Gamma profiles
  • 24-70mm lens with F-Stop range of 1.8 to 2.8, depending on your focal length
  • Dedicated microphone jack and Sony’s multi-interface hot shoe that’s compatible with many accessories.
  • Tally light – so you know you’re recording!
  • Uncompressed HDMI output for 4k at 4:2:2
  • Includes Sony’s XAVC codec, providing up to 100M/bs bit rate. Also includes standard AVCHD format if you need to save space on your memory cards.
  • 120fps recording (Limited to full HD) and some crazy high frame rate of 960 fps
  • Interval shooting for timelapses
  • Mechanical and electronic shutter

Comparable cameras:

Canon M50 – No ND filter, 30 minute record limit, removable lens.

Panasonic Lumix FZ100, No ND filter, 30 minute record limit, inferior lens to the ZV-1.

Recap

Sony is aggressively responding to consumer demand. Sony has always been a top contender offering exceptional quality to the professional and consumer market. Over the last several years, I think they’ve done a great job coming up with products that cater to both markets for a reasonable price.

This is a camera you can use for years.

However, I have three big gripes: no headphone jack, SD card and battery placement (for tripod plate), and no lens filter options (although it does have electronic ND filter).

But the question is: Would I buy it? Yes.