Sony tech - ZV-1

Been testing this little beauty for a while now. It was as much fun to use as the RX100 VII  was last summer...

However:
the fully articulated LCD-screen on the ZV-1 was a huge bonus
and on the downside:  for photo work (24fps is a blast!)  I really missed the pop-up EVF of the RX100's.
Then again: this camera is aimed more at videographers (I love the 4k vertical video feature and the HFR function --> 1000fps video is just crazy for such a tiny camera!)
Truth is: the only moments you really struggle to compose on the LCD-screen are in bright sunlight, in the rain and while wearing polarized sunglasses (damn my RayBan addiction!) But if you're photographing humans or animals (or filming humans), you can simply trust the "Real Time Eye Auto Focus" to find the target. It's even faster & more acurate than on an A7III.

 

The audio you get out of this tiny body even without an external mic is fenomenal due to the 3 capsules who record sound in 3D stereo. The fluffy deadcat comes for free in the box, I'd suggest you use it. It breaks the wind noise perfectly.

 

I'm very happy to say that both FHD/4k-video quality & 20Mp photo quality are excellent. Not surprising since it uses the tech from the RX100VII (while the new Canon 1 inch cameras are using the sensors from the RX100IV, just as a comparison.. because the RX100 mark 4 was a giant in it's time.)

You can go from f1.8 up to f11, and for those of us who like to shoot wide open (or those who click the dedicated "Bokeh switch") it's got an integrated ND-filter. I've put it most of the time on auto ND, which is just fine. ISO 80 up to ISO 12800, not a low light beast, but enough to warrant it a spot in your pocket during every nature hike or strawl through town. The best camera is the one you have on you, and ZV-1 deserved it's spot in my pocket.

 

I was pretty pleased with the stabilisation options, especially when Catalyst browse would stabilise the video footage based upon the gyroscope info. But do keep in mind that this stabilisation option is not compatible with the standard stabilisation.

 

The lens goes from 24mm up to 70mm, just like the RX100V. Hence it's more portrait friendly than the RX100VII. Some vloggers complain that 24mm isn't wide enough.. but I don't vlog and to create most other content than my-face-on-your-screen, 24mil is just wide enough.

 

Just like with the RX100's I advise to shoot in uncompressed RAW+JPG with a creative style. Most JPG-images you can use SOOC (especially if you want to send them to your phone and upload them to your socials) and for the complicated light-shots, the uncompressed RAWS can be pushed pretty far. (But don't expect it to be as forgiving as a full frame photo)

Soon one ZV-1 wi'll be fixed on my desk as a very hi-end Zoom webinar streaming camera (Trust me: it's a killer camera for streaming! Go for the f1.8 milky-background-goodyness and as with all video, just tap your face on the LCD while touch tracking has been activated and you'll never be out of focus) . For video it'll be temporarily swapped for something else.. something a bit bigger and véry exciting (eventhough more pro-oriented).

A few samples on Flickr.