The Sony ZV-1 | Taking vlogging to a whole new level

[IamNic]

The Sony ZV-1 is very compact, but still offers some features only common with from big cameras and camcorders. Among other things it has eye autofocus (Eye AF), a built-in ND filter and features proxy recording. The ZV-1 offers all these features in a pocket-size for factor, making it the perfect allround camera for vlogs.

The obvious

First lets have a look what is inside the box. To do this I made a short unboxing-video:

Since I hadn't properly adjusted the overhead lighting some details are hard to see in the video. Therefore I added a few detail-shots below:

 
On the right side of the camera, from top to bottom, there is a 3.5mm stereo microphone connector, a MULTI port and a micro HDMI connector. In front of it the eyelet for a wrist band.

From left to right you can see the MI accessory shoe, the grille under which the three microphone capsules are hidden, the on/off switch, the mode switch, the photo shutter with zoom rocker, the video start button and the C1 control button

Next to the display are the function button, the menu button, the dial, the play button and the C2/Delete button.

Articulating display 

Sony has decided not to have the display swivel upwards over the camera body like with other cameras (RX0m2 or a6400), but to make it foldable to the side. This has the advantage that microphones can be mounted directly on top of the camera without covering the display.

Another advantage of this kind of this articulating display is that you can orient the "good" side of the display towards the camera body, which protects it from scratches and shocks during transport.

The only criticism I can think of here is that the camera is built to be held with the left hand in selfie mode. Here it would have been nice if Sony offered two versions of the camera (mirrored) where you can choose whether to hold it with your left or right hand, as I would have preferred the right hand position.

4K-Recording

Like all current cameras, the ZV-1 offers 4K recording. In NTSC with 24 or 30 frames per second, in PAL with the usual 25 frames per second. It is also possible to record in 4K resolution and create proxy files with lower resolution and data rate directly in-camera. The camera can record for an unlimited time (until the battery is empty or the memory card is full).

The images are brilliant and clear as long as you give the camera enough light.

Proxy Recording

In my opinion, this feature is widely underestimated and given far too little attention (both by potential customers and by Sony's own marketing team).

What is proxy recording anyway?

Proxy files are created in parallel to the higher quality 1080p or 4K files during recording and are - to put it simply - video files with identical content but lower resolution and data rate, which can be used in video editing programs for a less performance-intensive editing workflow.

Until now, it was only possible to have such files created in the video editing program, which required a one-time processing of all imported video files and therefore you had to wait a few minutes or even hours before you could start to edit. With proxy files which are already created in the camera, you save valuable time.

When it comes to exporting the finished video, simply replace the proxy files in the storage directory with the high quality 1080p or 4K video files and click "render" or "export". Only now the video editing program processes the files, which require a lot of processing power and therefore time. But since rendering takes up an incredibly small percentage of the time compared to video editing, this doesn't hurt the process, since you have saved way more time in the previous steps.

In the semi-professional or professional sector, you can even send video editors who are located in a different geographical location said proxy files, so that they can start editing before the upload/download of the much larger source files is completed or so that they can send the finished project file back to the original location to render there with the source files.

HFR (High Framerate Recording) = super slow motion recording

Like the RX0 or the Sony FDR AX700 camcorder, the ZV-1 offers the possibility to record super slow motion.

The HD video information (1920x1080 pixels) is written into a fast buffer memory and then offloaded onto the SD card.

The frame rates in PAL mode are 250/500 and even 1000 frames per second. Using the latter option you can create 40 video seconds from one real time second. Because of the buffer memory mentioned before, this recording is only possible for a short time (about four seconds).

Additional features:

Tally-light on the front of the camera (REC-LED)

There is nothing worse than filming yourself just to later realize that you did not press the REC button at the beginning of the recording. To prevent this from happening, Sony has attached a status LED to the front of the ZV-1, like you only know it from camcorders.

It is located (seen from the front) on the left above the lens.

Zoomlens

The ZV-1 - unlike previous competing cameras specialized in vlogging - is not equipped with a prime lens or fisheye lens, but with a zoom lens. This is equivalent to a 24-70 mm full-frame lens adapted to the sensor size.

Control over the (auto)focus

As usual for newer Sony cameras also the ZV-1 got the eye autofocus for humans and animals. If activated the camera keeps the focus very reliably.

Bokeh-function

Pressing the C1 button (in the standard configuration) opens the iris of the camera completely to create a very nice bokeh. Since the camera has a built-in ND filter, this filter is used together with other settings that change automatically at that moment to keep the look of the image (e.g. exposure) the same as before pressing the button.

Product-showcase mode

If you activate this mode with the C2 button (standard assignment), the camera focuses on the object closest to the lens. This way you can avoid the problem that the camera does not focus on a small object until you put your hand behind the object.

Image profiles (including s-log)

One of the reasons I had a lot of fun during my test was the possibility to select image profiles and thus to create images in the log color space (e.g. S-Log2), which can later be color graded. This way you can adjust the video material of different cameras even more precisely and improve the overall impression of shot videos.

Wind protection on the camera

Those who film a lot outside know how important it is to put a so-called "dead kitten" or a foam windscreen over the microphone. While this is not a problem with external microphones, you had to make do with adhesive foam/fur pads for internal microphones until now.

With the Sony ZV-1, Sony has come up with a great solution - here you can slide a windscreen into the multi-interface shoe, which directly covers the microphone capsules.

Using it as a webcam

While unfortunately not yet released during my test in the meantime it is possible to connect the camera directly to the PC with the included USB cable and use it as a webcam. This was previously only possible with an HDMI Capture Card (e.g. Elgato Camlink), which has to be purchased seperately and costs between 80 and 100 pounds.

For the software extension "Imaging Edge Webcam @Peter_S. already released a short article here.

Conclusion: The ZV-1 has me fully convinced. I personally will probably buy one soon and use it for video shoots where my FDR AX700 camcorder is too big. With the ZV-1, Sony has created a great all-in-one solution for video creators who don't want to buy many different cameras or lenses, but still want to be very flexible when shooting video.

- Nic