Sony ZV-1 Digital Camera for Content Creators, Vlogging and YouTube with Flip Screen, Built-in Microphone, 4K HDR Video, Touchscreen Display, Live…

After 10 minutes of recording the camera shows a temperature warning and powers off. I’ve only used it in a basement studio during winter time, it’s about 15 degrees celsius. Even with every unnecessary Bluetooth and wifi setting disabled. These are the optimal conditions and it still overheats, I can’t imagine anyone using this camera on a warm summer day in the sun. What’s worse is that the camera is not even warm to the touch, clearly just cheap plastic design that is insulating all the heat. Apart from that major issue, it would be a great camera: For the price you get a high quality image, with loads of features and customizability. However, if you told me this camera was released in 2014 I would believe you. Clunky menu, no touch screen, awful mobile app. I never understood the sony hype but now i’m completely lost.

I bought this as a lightweight camera for vlogging. Definitely worth it. However, only use for video. The pictures are not good.

Cons: poor quality in dark areas/night shooting. You get the clear, crisp images when there’s tons of light.

Sony came so close to making a great camera for vloggers and people on the move. It combines a 1″ sensor, Zeiss lens, and a truly fantastic focus system. Unfortunately, without some sort of active gimbal, it is nearly impossible to hold steady enough to get acceptable footage. I originally tried the handheld stick which came with the accessory pack… it was useless… even with the SteadyShot on I was unable to hold the camera still enough to eliminate shake.

Notes- (please note… I am only reviewing this for its video capability)

– I am going to start off with the positive. The focus system is remarkable. I absolutely love that the camera will put itself in macro mode and focus on objects in the foreground. It is also remarkably fast in focusing in making the adjustment. This is a very useful tool for doing vlog style product features… you can record your face and then have the camera immediately (and almost magically) focus on a product that you throw in front of it. The challenge is next point)

– If you are doing this while holding the camera on some sort of non-active gimbal – your footage will likey have some serious shake. Personally, I find this to be a cardinal sin. YT and other services usually de-rank videos with shaky footage.

– Of course, you can overcome the shake by 1) using a tripod 2) getting an active gimbal. Option 1 is ok… but it kinda defeats the purpose of the super-fast focus. So I went with #2… and I was able to find a pretty decent active gimbal that worked well. Honestly, it dropped the shake to a point that I would have expected from the camera alone.

– The microphone is good… but not great. It is a solid choice for vlogging since it is omnidirectional.

– The picture quality is pretty good, but it’s not going to blow you away. Like most cameras, it does well in well-lit conditions (i.e sunlight) but it starts to fall short in indoor environments. I was recently comparing footage (outdoors) between the ZV-1 and my iPhone 11 pro… the picture quality was comparable (although the iPhone has less shake). I am not saying an iPhone is better for videoing (its not.. the ZV-1 has much, much better focusing, microphone, options, and etc).

– In a somewhat unfair comparison.. I recently filmed a trip to the zoo with both the ZV-1 and my Canon HFG60 (which also has a 1″ sensor). The Canon camcorder had a much better picture and I was able to film without the need of an active gimbal. Granted the Canon isn’t designed to be used for one-handed vlogging….. but it did highlight some of the limits with the ZV-1

– Form – Another thing that Sony got right. The ZV-1 is super light, can easily be held one-handed, and has a nice articulating screen. I found the buttons to be a bit awkward and a bit too recessed which caused me to accidentally *not push* record when I was trying to record something.

– The Sony menu system is ok… I am not used to it… so it is bit cumbersome for me

– Pro features… This camera isn’t designed for pros. I see no option for manual focus (Not that big of a deal) but you really can’t even operate it in manual mode. It has a manual mode, but you’re not going to be able to change the settings on the fly.

– The lens is a F1.8/2.8 so it is reasonably fast. It also allows for some decent bokeh despite a smallish sensor.

Final Verdict… It kinda feels like I a being hard on the ZV-1 by giving it 3 stars. However…. on one of my trips, I forgot to bring the connecting plate for my gimbal, and the ZV-1 became nearly worthless. While it has some very strong features… it could have been so much more!

I’ve been live streaming with a Canon SL2 for the last couple of years, but after moving from a white studio to a matte black studio I wanted to upgrade to a camera with “better” low light performance. After watching hours of YouTube reviews, I plumped for the ZV1.

I’ll preface what’s about to come by saying that I know my way around a camera. I’m no David Bailey, but I can adjust settings to get the image I want/need pretty well.

After waiting a couple of weeks for the ZV1 to be shipped, I was excited when it finally arrived. That excitement wore off within an hour, and the Sony is now back in its box and ready to be returned. Here’s why.

1) The small sensor doesn’t cope well with fine patterns and creates HORRIBLE moire. The larger APS-C sensor on the Canon copes far better (there’s still some moire, but it’s a lot less noticeable)
2) The ZV1 registered insane amounts of flicker from my background lights – again, the Canon has no problems with them.
3) The zoom on the Sony SUCKS. On most cameras, you can get exactly the zoom you want by rotating a ring. On the ZV1 you only get a rocker button with a severe delay. So, by the time it realizes you’ve stopped zooming, it’s already gone way past the focal length you wanted. You’re then into a game of cat and mouse, tapping the rocker one way, then back the other, and so on until you get somewhere near the zoom you were trying to achieve.
4) The f1.8 lens’s low light performance isn’t noticeably better than my Canon’s f4 kit lens. Even the Bokeh effect is pretty much indistinguishable

So, back to the drawing board. I’ll look at the A6100/A6400 again, or maybe stick with Canon and just go to the SL3.

I followed the Sony ZV-1 trend and bought it as a daily portable camera.

Overall, the footage is really good, and easy to carry (can fit into your pocket).

It’s better than my iPhone 13, and 14 Pro Max (footage quality), it has built-in Beauty Effect, and you can set it to LOW and get a great “filtered” look.

HOWEVER…

THE HEATING ISSUE drove me a bit crazy.

I don’t know how people can say this camera can record up to 30-40m on 4k.

My max recording time on 4k 24p & 30p is around 10-12m before the camera shuts off due to high temperature.

I’ve done so much research, I set the camera temperature setting to HIGH and switched from 30p to 24p, but still didn’t work.

People mentioned you can buy a separate cage + build a fan on it to prevent overheating issues. (I mean, that defeat the purpose of the portability, doesn’t it?)

I don’t know why in this modern age, Sony still can’t solve their camera overheating problem (for over a decade).

If you don’t want to face the overheating issue, I recommend recording only with 1080p.

Also, Keep in mind it does have a “crop” factor, especially with SteadyShot activated.

My absolute new favorite. What I love about this is it’s lightweight, easy to use and compact.