Sony ZV-1F Review | PCMag

The Sony ZV-1F ($499.99) is the third entry in Vlog’s first ZV camera family and the most affordable to date. Like his original ZV-1, it uses a Type 1 image sensor for 4K30 video, has a high-quality in-camera mic, a swing-out LCD, and a video-oriented capture assistant. I like some of the changes Sony made, like moving to a wider prime lens. However, the ZV-1F suffers from erratic autofocus and lack of support for capturing Raw photos. If you’re looking for a camera dedicated to YouTube and blogging, skip and he recommends saving up on the ZV-1 ($749.99) or Mirrorless ZV-E10 ($699.99).

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Point and Shoot for Video Bloggers

The ZV-1F is built around the same body style as the ZV-1. Available in black or white finish, with polycarbonate exterior and metal ringed lens. I received it in black and I think it’s a nice looking camera. Moderate ridges on the front serve as good hand grips.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The slim single focal length lens is pocket-friendly. It measures 2.4 x 4.3 x 1.9 inches (HWD) and weighs about 9.1 ounces with battery and memory card installed. A wrist strap is included. The lens requires a 40.5mm threaded filter.

The ZV-1F replaces the ZV-1’s 24-70mm (full frame equivalent) zoom with a wider 20mm F2 prime and also uses digital zoom when needed. The wider field of view is extremely useful for self-recording vlogs, especially when you turn on Digital Active SteadyShot stabilization, which slightly narrows the field of view of the lens.

f/2, 1/100 sec, ISO 125 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

The F2 aperture is wide enough to soften the background. Like other products in the ZV series, the 1F has an easy background clear/defocus button to toggle between a blurred background look (f/2) and a background focused frame (f/5.6) .

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Handling and management

The controls are the same as the ZV-1. There are 4 buttons on the top board: on/off, mode, record, background clear/defocus. The shutter release is close, and although the lens doesn’t have optical zoom, it does include a zoom rocker to take advantage of a nice-looking 1.5x digital zoom at 4K (and 4x at 1080p).

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The rear controls are housed in a rectangle surrounded by the rear thumb rest and LCD. These include a flat control wheel, play, delete, and menu buttons, as well as a button for launching the on-screen Fn menu.

The delete button also works as a toggle for Product Showcase autofocus mode. This is one of the vlog-centric features, switching focus from emphasizing faces and eyes to prioritizing objects set close to the lens.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

The ZV-1F also supports soft skin effects, creative look filters for photos and videos, and Sony picture profiles for flat video. Access these and more features through a convenient on-screen touch interface. The Fn menu provides access to numerous settings and is fully configurable.

A swing-out LCD serves as a monitor and touch control interface. The 3-inch screen is sharp (921k dots) and displays accurate colors. The default settings are bright enough for gray days. Sunny Weather mode is useful on bright days, but not available when set to 4K recording mode. It’s an unfortunate limitation for a video camera.

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Power and connectivity

The ZV-1F is powered by a Sony NP-BX1 battery. Rated at around 1 hour of 4K recording time, or around 360 JPG photos, or some combination in between. This is in line with my experience, after 20 minutes or so of recording time and 60 photos of him over the course of several hours, I saw the camera power down in half.

Charging on the go is possible, a welcome feature given the fairly limited battery power. Cells can be refilled via the ZV-1F’s USB-C port. Even so, I want to carry a spare battery for this camera. The NP-BX1 costs $40 with a Sony cell, but third-party options are plentiful and cheap.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

With built-in Bluetooth, the ZV-1F works with the Sony GP-VPT2BT Tripod Grip. This makes the camera much more comfortable to hold for self-recording video and doubles as a tabletop tripod. It’s a $150 accessory, but it’s very useful and the swivel head and on-handle controls help justify the cost.

Wi-Fi is also included. The ZV-1F has its own smartphone app, Imaging Edge Mobile Plus (available for Android and iOS). This wouldn’t be a huge change if the ZV-1F were the only Sony camera, but creators who might see it as a companion model to the ZV-E10 or full-frame α7 IV should load up the new app and take advantage of it. there is. File transfer and remote control. He reached out to Sony about its decision to fork from his Imaging Edge Mobile app for Plus-Free, but received no response.

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Strong image quality, but JPG only

The ZV-1F uses a capable image sensor which is a 20MP Type 1 Exmor RS chip, similar to the imagers included in the ZV-1 and RX100 VII. It uses stacked CMOS architecture for fast response.

f/2, 1/2,500 sec, ISO 125 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

The ZV-1F, on the other hand, is limited to producing photos in JPG format. You can fine-tune your look in camera or choose from a splash of creative look profiles, but you don’t have the option to edit color and exposure like you do with Raw files.

Again, the lack of in-body flash comes into play here. Raw Photo can be used to lift shadow lighting and avoid flash when working in backlit conditions, but the ZV-1F can capture a well-lit subject with an overexposed background or a subject in shadow. You can choose either. The photo-oriented RX100 VA and VII have a flash and also support Raw snaps.

f/2, 1/250 sec, ISO 125 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

If you plan to use your camera for photography and want to increase the dynamic range of your photos, we recommend tweaking the JPG profile to your liking. Each of the 10 included looks has adjustable contrast, highlights, shadows, fades, saturation, sharpness and clarity. A Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) feature is also available. By default it is on and set to auto adjust. Shadows tend to be a little darker when you leave DRO set to auto, but you can dial in a more aggressive manual setting if you prefer a low-contrast HDR-look snapshot.

f/2, 1/500 sec, ISO 125 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

This lens delivers center-sharp results throughout the f/2-8 aperture range, with best edge-to-edge clarity at f/5.6. A bright aperture limits the need to use extreme ISO settings in low light. The JPG engine produces good looking snaps through a healthy ISO 3200 without being too noisy. The ZV-1F goes all the way up to ISO 6400 in the auto range and manually set to ISO 12800, so expect a drop in image quality at those settings.

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Good video…when it’s in focus

As a camera for vloggers, the ZV-1F should be a killer performer for video, but it falls short of all-star status in some aspects. Good for vlogging, even if triggered. The ZV-1F doesn’t offer sensor shift or optical stabilization, but the digital tech works well, even when recording walk-and-talk directly to the camera.

I am also very happy with the video quality. The standard profile provides great looking 4K30 footage and can be swapped out to S-Log2 or S-Log3 for flat, gradeable footage. XAVC footage is stored in 8-bit 4:2:0 color, so there’s less room for editing than 10-bit video. For slow motion, ZV-1F supports 1080p120 for up to 5x slow motion effect.

There are also great features for self-recording creators. A bright red tally light next to the lens clearly indicates that the clip is rotating, and the LCD also displays a bright red border. A soft skin effect can be turned on, and the ZV-1F’s metering system works with face detection to properly expose your on-screen talent, even in tricky lighting situations.

f/2, 1/200 sec, ISO 125 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

Unfortunately, the ZV-1F’s autofocus degrades the camera’s performance. Sony opted for contrast detection, which isn’t as reliable at maintaining focus as his ZV-1’s on-sensor phase detection. The result is wobbling in and out of the focus effect of the footage. It’s a distraction, and it happened a lot in my self-recorded footage.

Sony has included a high-quality in-camera mic on the ZV-1F, so there’s little need to reach for an external mic. A stereo mic grill is visible on the top plate, and the box contains a fuzzy windshield cover. You can also connect an external microphone via the analog 3.5mm interface. However, the ZV-1F does not include a connection for a digital microphone on its hot shoe like the ZV-1 and ZV-E10. It also doesn’t have a headphone jack for monitoring, but it does include a micro HDMI output.

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So-so autofocus powers the ZV-1F

Admittedly, I’m not the ZV-1F’s target market. Sony named the series after wanting Gen Z bloggers to snap up cameras. I can understand the appeal as Effective digital stabilization and a high-quality built-in microphone are also advantages.

f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO 125 (Credit: Jim Fisher)

However, the autofocus here is a major drawback for those looking to use the camera for self-recorded, camera-presented footage. It leaves you with a simple toolkit. In terms of still images, the lack of Raw format support is a downside for shutter bugs who like to edit photos.

As much as I love the ZV-1F’s ultra-wide angle lens, the focus is too flawed to recommend this camera to serious content creators. Those looking for a compact have the advantage of the ZV-1, but at $750, it’s a more expensive proposition. If you want an interchangeable lens camera like this, the Nikon Z 30 and Sony ZV-E10 are worth a look.

(Credit: Jim Fisher)

However, none of these alternatives meet the needs of vloggers looking to get a camera under $500. If you’re in that boat, I’d recommend forgoing the blurred background look and getting the GoPro Hero11 Black instead. It’s available in blogger kits with an external mic. Superior digital stabilization in a rugged form factor improves video quality.