Sony ZV-1F Review: vlogging simplified

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Two-minute review

The Sony ZV-1F is designed for anyone who wants to make prime video content, but doesn’t possibly person the astir precocious camera knowledge. It’s neat, fits easy into a pocket, and offers large 4K video footage, making it a superb prime for beginner vloggers. 

It’s perfect for anyone wanting to determination distant from shooting video connected their smartphone, and volition perfectly clasp its ain if you’re wanting to marque the determination into videography to upload to YouTube oregon societal media. 

You tin set the settings connected this camera arsenic small oregon arsenic overmuch arsenic you’d like; you’ll get fantastic results either way. It features Intelligent Auto modes, which work the country you’re shooting and makes the decisions for you similar however agleam the representation is, oregon you tin acceptable it to manual mode wherever you person power of each the settings and vulnerability levels.

Photography is possible, but it plays 2nd fiddle to video. If you bash privation to delve into the menus and you’re caller to Sony, beryllium warned that its cameras instrumentality getting utilized to; galore users tin beryllium overwhelmed and confused by the dense menus. Much of the clip it's easier conscionable to acceptable the customized buttons to what you want, past enactment retired of the menus arsenic overmuch arsenic possible. 

Other than that this is an incredibly intuitive small camera. It volition crook connected arsenic soon arsenic you flip the surface open, making it precise speedy and casual to get recording, and it has 3 main modes – video, S&Q (Sony’s ‘slow’ and ‘quick’ in-camera modes for videos specified arsenic timelapses and dilatory motion), and photograph — each accessible with conscionable the property of a azygous fastener connected the apical of the body.

Image stabilization is ace impressive, portion the look and oculus tracking is 2nd to none, arsenic is modular for Sony cameras.

Sony claims you tin easy transportation each your images and videos implicit to your smartphone oregon machine utilizing its Imaging Edge smartphone app – but anyone who's really utilized this app volition archer you it’s… not great. If Sony could enactment arsenic overmuch effort into its app arsenic it does successful its cameras and autofocus, past it would marque sharing your images an atrocious batch easier.

This is decidedly a camera for vloggers alternatively than photographers, though, arsenic it doesn't person earthy seizure capabilities. Also, its lens isn't interchangeable, and portion the 20mm lens is decent for video, it limits your photography options somewhat.

Sony ZV-1F: merchandise day and price

•  Benefits from optional accessories similar the GP-VP2BT grip 
•  Cheaper successful the US 
•  Accessory bundles not disposable successful each regions 

The Sony ZV-1F was released connected October 17 2022, and you tin bargain it present for £550 / $499 / AU$845. 

An accessory and question bundle that includes representation cards, a flexible tripod, a pouch to support your camera harmless and particulate free, and cleaning supplies is disposable connected Amazon US priced astatine $598, but it didn’t look to beryllium disposable successful the UK oregon Australia astatine the clip of writing.

The handling of a vlogging camera similar the Sony ZV-1F is enhanced with optional accessories similar the GP-VP2BT grip (£170 / $139.99 / AU$249), which gives much stableness erstwhile vlogging. This grip tin beryllium utilized some arsenic an hold of your limb and arsenic a mini tripod. 

• Price Score: 4/5

Sony ZV-1F: design

• Small and lightweight astatine conscionable 256 grams 
• Optimized for car alternatively than manual shooting
•  You’ll apt request to usage a grip if you don’t person tiny hands 

The Sony ZV-1F astir apt isn’t going to beryllium the best-designed camera you’ve ever travel across, but it does person immoderate large features which lend themselves to the types of shooting you’d apt beryllium doing with this camera. 

Part of the quality of the Sony ZV-1F is its tiny size — it weighs conscionable 256 grams and measures 10.5 x 6 x 4.6cm, making it incredibly casual to question with, oregon to conscionable instrumentality it successful your pouch erstwhile you’re retired and astir and privation to entree it quickly. 

That said, portion cipher wants to lug a dense camera astir each day, its tiny size could beryllium a disadvantage, depending connected the user. It’s a tiny small camera, and it doesn’t person the biggest beforehand grip, meaning it could beryllium fiddly to clasp onto if you don’t person tiny hands. You tin alleviate this imaginable contented by utilizing it with the aforementioned GP-VPT2BT grip, however, that does impact spending much money.

The Sony ZV-1F has been built with partially recycled integrative worldly arsenic portion of Sony’s Road to Zero biology plan, and the fibers of the windscreen are made exclusively from recycled polyester. 

It’s designed to beryllium dust-proof and moisture-resistant, but it isn’t upwind sealed. This does marque it a little than perfect proposition for traveling as, obviously, you can’t power the weather, but – unless you’re a tempest chaser – you astir apt won’t beryllium utilizing it overmuch successful wetter upwind anyway, truthful it’s not a immense woody breaker for us. Additionally, if you’re looking astatine this camera aft handling immoderate top-of-the-line stills cameras, it’s going to consciousness plasticky and flimsy successful comparison. 

On the apical of the camera is simply a fastener to power betwixt photo, video, and S&Q shooting modes, a video grounds fastener and a camera shutter fastener with a zoom toggle, and a Background Defocus fastener (great for showcasing products). On the backmost of the camera assemblage determination are the modular function, menu, playback and delete buttons, on with a power instrumentality via which you tin entree the ISO, timer, thrust modes and vulnerability compensation — though these tin each beryllium reprogrammed to execute different functions. 

• Design 3.5/5

Sony ZV-1F: features and performance

• Decent oculus and look tracking for humans and animals 
• Versatile touch-screen 
• Impressive SteadyShot

For specified a tiny camera, the Sony ZV-1F tin really bash rather a batch erstwhile you delve into its settings and features. Although the Intelligent Auto mode works a treat, you tin besides sprout afloat successful manual if you privation to, arsenic good arsenic successful Aperture and Shutter Priority, positive a fewer different modes. 

There’s besides a Background Clear/Defocus fastener connected the apical of the camera, which is large for showcasing products oregon focusing connected a definite idiosyncratic successful your shot. In photography terms, this is fundamentally a speedy and casual mode to alteration your aperture to make a bully bokeh effect. You tin besides alteration the aperture manually erstwhile the camera is successful the close shooting mode, with the disposable scope moving from f/2 to f/8. 

When I was retired reviewing this camera, I was precise impressed and pleasantly amazed with however effectual SteadyShot is, peculiarly erstwhile shooting video. When I looked backmost astatine the footage it was evident that I was walking astir with the camera, but those movements didn’t ruin the footage and wide it did look precise smooth. Matters would beryllium improved adjacent further if you were to usage the camera with a gimbal.

I’m chiefly a stills lensman with small video experience, truthful I’m precise overmuch successful the people assemblage for the ZV-1F. At a Christmas market, I recovered it’s speedy to instrumentality retired erstwhile needed, and switches connected arsenic soon arsenic you flip the surface out, truthful I was capable to commencement shooting astir instantly. 

One vexation each lensman is acquainted with: you spot thing hap that you privation to capture, but by the clip you’ve got your camera retired of your bag, done the container up again, turned the camera connected and selected the close settings, the infinitesimal you wanted to sprout is agelong gone; truthful this was a bully change. I’m besides rather a clunky walker, and I noticed conscionable however bully SteadyShot was erstwhile the video footage wasn’t going each implicit the place. 

Even successful the dark, Sony’s unthinkable autofocus was brilliant. One unusual regulation of this camera is that it uses an older contrast-detection system, alternatively a hybrid setup that includes some contrast- and phase-detect technology, which makes it somewhat little reliable than its predecessor. 

Having said that, erstwhile I was walking astir the marketplace I noticed the AF automatically recognizing and tracking people’s faces arsenic they walked crossed the frame, adjacent erstwhile they weren’t looking straight astatine the camera. There’s carnal designation too, though erstwhile I tested this connected a mates of camera-shy achromatic cats it didn’t look to observe and way their faces unless I focused myself by tapping connected the screen, truthful it seems that its effectiveness depends connected the lighting, and the colour of the carnal you’re moving with. 

• Features and show 4/5

Sony ZV-1F: representation and video quality

• Better suited for daytime oregon well-lit shooting 
• Can lone sprout JPEG images 
•  Good audio, but you’ll request an outer mic for the champion results 

While it’s not the astir powerful, all-singing all-dancing camera successful the world, the Sony ZV-1F does really nutrient large representation and video quality. It has a 1-inch sensor with 20.1MP solution which isn’t atrocious astatine all, and tin grounds 4K video and dilatory question successful Full HD with its wide and crisp 20mm lens. 

We recovered that the ZV-1F performed amended during the time than successful lower-light situations, truthful that’s thing to support successful caput if you’re readying connected shooting contented astatine night. Looking astatine the footage we changeable of a Christmas market, wide the camera handled the contrasting airy levels beauteous well.

You tin spot successful our illustration images and videos that well-lit subjects and scenes were captured precise well, though with the occasional blown highlights; the darker skies had noticeable sound and atom - thing we’d expect from a 1-inch sensor.

The ZV-1F is designed to seizure your dependable clearly, whether you’re shooting wrong oregon outdoors. It’s cleanable for signaling dialogue, arsenic it features a built-in directional three-capsule microphone. It besides comes with a windscreen to destruct immoderate muffling from winds, which tin marque oregon interruption a video. We recovered the dependable was captured precise good for casual day-to-day vlogging, but for thing much nonrecreational you’ll decidedly request an outer mic for amended audio quality.

Another happening worthy noting is that erstwhile it comes to photography, this camera tin lone sprout JPEGs. While the images that came retired of it were precise good, you don’t person arsenic overmuch detail, oregon editing headroom, arsenic you get with earthy files. That said, if you conscionable privation to drawback speedy images that you tin upload rapidly with small oregon nary editing, this camera volition beryllium perfectly fine. 

• Image and video prime 3.5/5

Should I bargain the Sony ZV-1F?

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Also consider

If our Sony ZV-1F reappraisal has you wondering astir alternatives, present are 3 rivals to consider:

Sony  ZV-1F: investigating scorecard

First reviewed: January 2023