Verdict
Sony ’s baffling decision to hit optical stabilization in this update to the ZV-1 rankles , but for vloggers who do n’t film on the hoof there ’s a pile to appreciate – chiefly the class - top autofocus , intelligent mike and summary design .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Sony ZV1 - II ( sometimescalled the ZV-1M2 ) is an update variation of theZV-1originally launched by Sonyin 2020 . With its similar design , specs and features , it ’s not until you dial down into the ZV-1 II that its differences become apparent – and when I encountered some of them , I wonder what possessed Sony to make the changes .
But let ’s not get forwards of ourselves . To start with the fundamental principle , the Sony ZV-1 II is a pocket - sized photographic camera focussed very much on appealing to vloggers . While it can take still pic , they amount secondary to video capture which , on newspaper , sound quite impressive thanks to its 4 jet resolution , support for a range of color profiles , a fast(ish ) spacious - angle zoom lens and built - in look-alike stabilization .
So , is Sony ’s latest vlog camera a desirable investment for anyone looking for fame and fortune on YouTube ? Or would a would - be contented creator be better off buying a large , pricier and more versatilemirrorless camera ? allow ’s find out .
Design
As I said above , the ZV-1 II looks very similar to its harbinger , and that ’s no spoilt affair . The camera is thickset enough to fit into a jacket pocket ( 105.5 x 60 x 46.7 mm ) and lightweight enough that you ’ll barely feel it in there ; it ’s 292 g with a battery and memory scorecard on board .
The eubstance is now constructed from SORPLAS , a reprocess plastic developed by Sony , and does n’t palpate any the bad for it . There ’s nothing cheap or tenuous about the finish here – though there ’s no weather condition - sealing or waterproofing either , so cover it with care on showery days .
The main operational departure between the physical structure of this camera and the original ZV-1 ’s is the lieu of the tripod climb gunpoint on the bottom : it ’s now offset so that it sit more centrally and better balanced when the screen is flipped out .
Whether that ’s a good or bad change depends on how often you use the concealment in this way ; I found it a moderately comfortable setup myself and I suspect most vloggers will feel the same way .
The somerset - out 3 - inch vari - slant touchscreen remains unaltered . It ’s a good screen door in terms of usability and image quality , though the menu are little and sometimes you may touch an unintended on - concealment ikon when navigate them . Still , it ’s nice to have so many control uncommitted to use on the touch screen .
Design - wise , the fact that the front - facing orientation of the screen does n’t get obscured by cables stop up into the USB - C , micro HDMI or 3.5 mm microphone socket is welcome .
The physical control condition are needfully modest and larger - finger users may observe them fiddly at time , but the only snatch of annoyance I experience was the partial covering of the on / off button when the ‘ idle cat ’ wind shield was attached . Even then , it ’s not even close to great deal - breaker stratum of aggravation .
verbalize of the windshield ( also made of recycled plastic ) , it comes included in the box and does a o.k. problem of reducing malarky dissonance when covering the microphone . It slot in the ZV-1 II ’s Multi Interface Shoe , which can also be used for first- and third - party accoutrement such as microphones and light-emitting diode spark . I seize the DJI Mic 2 ’s receiver unit and discover the cognitive operation very silken . It ’ll be even more so with Sony accessories like the ECM - G1 shotgun mic which does n’t even require a cable .
Performance and Features
Sony cameras rightly get a lot of praise for autofocus capability ; the ZV-1 II is excellent in this regard . Armed with up to 315 focus points across the frame ( 273 for video ) and the ability to recognise human and animal subject area ( you may choose which of the two categories you desire it to focalise on ) , it ’ll swiftly lock onto and track eyes and faces , keep them in sharp nidus even as they move around the underframe .
This is a feature that most vloggers will certainly find valuable . They ’ll also like the Product Showcase mode , which go around the eye- and face - tracking priority way when something is held up in the sum of the frame , only to re - acquire face - tracking once that object is removed . It ’s really handy for time you want to show something off in a picture but do n’t want to have to fog your face completely to get the television camera to focus on said object .
If autofocus lived up to my arithmetic mean , image stabilization did not . The original ZV-1 had both ocular and electronic stabilisation , while the ZV-1 II has only the latter . Not only does this entail that your TV frame must undergo a sizeable craw when stabilization is on , but it also deoxidise the effectiveness of the stabilization full - stop .
It ’s just not as good as I was expecting it to be for a2024 vlogging cameraand if you ’re a take the air - and - talk vlogger you ’ll need to be deliberate with your movement if you want your footage to look ‘ professionally ’ fluid and stable . Having just come from reviewing the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro , which gasconade fantastic electronic image stabilization , I found the ZV-1 II ’s efforts decidedly underwhelming . If you ’re a photographer , it ’s even worse : for stills , you ca n’t benefit from any form of stabilisation at all .
It should be take down that the camera can implant its TV files ( include non - stabilised one ) with gyroscope data point . This allows electronic stabilisation to be added in postproduction using Sony ’s Catalyst Browse desktop program . Having tried this , however , I observe it to be a pull back - out and ill-tempered process that did n’t yield much expert results than the in - camera stabilization . uncalled-for to say , it still applies a significant crop to the original television data file and reduces its resolution .
Vloggers should be more impressed with the in - photographic camera audio recording . I was , anyway . Like its predecessor , there ’s a three - capsule microphone able to record audio from both the front and rear of the camera , or just from one area . you’re able to set this manually or utilise the machine setting , which flicks between all directions and the front when it detects a face in front of the camera . Audio quality , particularly of phonation , is clearer than I ’ve add up to expect from a succinct camera ’s built - in mic , but an external mic still yields much better results .
The television camera use removable NP - BX1 batteries . Those shooting often may want to endue in one or two extras , as I found I only father about 40 minute of use out of a full explosive charge when recording at 4K/24p .
you may recharge the barrage in - camera , however , and the USB - ampere-second port wine also works as a constant power supplying , so if you ’re recording at home you may rig up a cable’s length and wo n’t have to worry about the shelling at all . While I ’m on the subject of the USB - C interface , I should also point out that it allows the ZV-1 II to be used as a webcam when hooked up to a data processor – albeit with a rather disappointing video format of 720p at 30 build per second .
Video and Photo Quality
Video quality is where this camera experience and die out . It ’s good for a heavyset camera , if not up to the standards of a mirrorless television camera . I found the 1 - inch sensor could do a decent job in tricky kindling , and chances are vlog footage from the ZV-1 II is go to attend better than anything your phone can birth . It also has a work up - in ND filter , which can assist telecasting shooting in particularly bright outside conditions . So , overall the image quality is decent .
That being said , there ’s a fortune of room for melioration . While I was able to pip in various picture profiles include ‘ flat ’ S - Log3 to give me a greater level of control over post - production colour scaling and discipline , video is still 8 - act rather than 10 - bit . This limit what I was able to do with it . I would have also liked the pick to pip 4 K at 60fps ( or 1080p irksome motion footage at 240fps ) , and then there ’s the aforesaid issue with double stabilisation being pretty unable .
While I would n’t really recommend the ZV-1 II for anyone who want to do a lot of stills dart – it ’s a bit sluggish and there ’s no stabilisation option – it ’s altogether possible to get great - looking photos from it . It can sprout in RAW ( which I used for the sample photos above ) and its 20.1MP JPEGs also look sharp and colourful direct out of the camera .
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Should you buy it?
When the ZV-1 II is specify in place , the camera ’s good video quality and excellent autofocus make it a great pocket - sized choice for vlogging .
The lack of effective image stabilisation and taut - ish field - of - position point of accumulation the ZV-1 II ’s abilities as an on - the - go vlog television camera .
Final Thoughts
The ZV-1 II ’s portability , screen , audio quality and autofocus setup are all powerful impressive , but it lets itself down with sapless image stabilisation and slightly modified video recording options .
With 10 - piece video recording and a more efficient murder of stabilization , it would feel like a more compelling option for all - round vlogging . As it brook , it ’s quite situational and certain type of vloggers would be far better using a flagshipaction cameraas a portable walk - and - talk vlogging cock .
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FAQs
Yes , the Sony ZV-1 II has a fixed 18 - 50 mm tantamount crystalline lens with an f/1.8 aperture .
It does , but Sony has made the decisiveness to remove optical stabilisation this time around . The ZV-1 II still benefits from electronic stabilisation , but we did n’t notice it to be as effective as the visual / electronic union on the tv camera ’s predecessor . There ’s also no stabilisation option for stills .
Full Specs
