Sony tech - 10 features of the ZV-E1 that I really like
The ZV-E1 might seem like an odd little camera, sharing loads of features with A7SIII, FX3, A7RV, A6700, A7CII and looking a bit lost amongst the massive stream of paid influencer attention to the latter.
But allow me to make a blunt statement about the ZV-E1 up front: the marketing rep who decided to put this camera in the market as a vlogging camera has definitely never used it for anything else than a statistic in their Excel-sheets. It is SO much more!
Then who is it for?
Link: https://youtube.com/shorts/ZHDElV5-n6s
That answered the question:
Is the ZV-E1 a good camera for you?
Why I answer yes to:
Is the ZV-E1 a good camera?
Can be found in this video below.
Link: https://youtu.be/HFucLj4lT-0
Bonus notes not in the video:
1. No, why the 4k 100/120fps (in movie + S&Q) and
FHD 200/240fps (in S&Q only) were added with a free license eludes me.
Yes, it means it was from the beginning in the camera because no
firmware needed updating. Maybe other licences (free or payed) might come one day because the new "License list" tab has plenty of free space and has a mysterious column with "Expiration date" just like on professional FX-cameras.
And strangely enough: the A6700 received those features without license.. so maybe one day this ZV might grow closer to it's Cineline FX brethren than to the Alpha-line.
2. Streaming was not 1 of my 10 points eventhough it's a great 4k/FHD direct streaming tool. But the old ZV-1 fits better on my desk, takes less space (simply a tiny camera in a ringlight and then some kick- & rimlights) and ATM I don't stream in 4k.. Zoom doesn't like it 😋
3. When using autoframing you can do something special. Evidently you can always choose whether you want to record the cut or the complete image, but when using an external recorder, you can opt to record the autoframed image to the SD-card and the integral/uncut image to the external recorder. And that.. gives you some serious options. 4. Since recording the videos I have played around plenty with the 4k 100fps in 8bit h.264 even during our 1st national September heatwave and with a fast SD-card in it (write = 299MB/s), the screen wide open, filming for 5-10min clips at a time with only minimal cooldown time in between clips and my hand not touching the body thanks to a Smallrig cage, it hasn't once shut down due to overheating.
When changing cards: the card felt hot like a volcano, but it worked.
I guess using a V-lock battery via a dummy battery or USB-C cable would help even more in keeping the heat under control. That's an idea for if I'll need a really long slowmo-clip.
5. Meanwhile I've tested the A6700, A7CII and A7CR.. and the ZV-E1 still remains my fave 2023 release.. it must be the ISO😋
A gallery with sample pictures made with the ZV-E1 -because yes, it also makes great stills- can be found on Flickr:
Link: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAFkQy
A link to this article: https://tinyurl.com/theZVE1
Written articles + videos on Sony gear can be found on: https://tinyurl.com/SonyTechByRedCathedral
I hope this helped you deciding between the current onslaught of new cameras.
Namaste
