Sony ZV-1F Vlog camera Sony - Review 🏆

The Sony ZV-1F is a compact mirrorless camera designed specifically for vlogging and content creation. Announced in May 2022, it succeeds Sony's popular ZV-1 from 2020. The ZV-1F packs many of the features vloggers need into an affordable, lightweight body.

With a large 1-inch sensor, bright zoom lens, vari-angle touch screen, and extensive video tools, the ZV-1F is built for selfie-style shooting. It excels at filming yourself whether you're walking and talking, live streaming, or creating short-form social content. The camera offers crisp 4K video, reliable autofocus, high-quality audio, and a range of creative controls.

Sony had solo content creators and vloggers in mind when developing the ZV-1F. It's ideal for travel blogs, beauty tutorials, product reviews, interviews, and more. The camera is tailored for video rather than still photography. While you can shoot 20MP images, video is the main focus. The ZV-1F provides everything needed to create great-looking videos without much effort.

The Sony ZV-1F was released in June 2022 with a launch price of £500 for the camera body alone. It's an affordable model compared to other full-frame mirrorless cameras. The price makes it very accessible even for beginners and casual content creators looking to step up their production quality.

Design and Build Quality

The Sony ZV-1F has a compact and lightweight design that makes it very portable for vlogging and travel. It measures 105 x 60 x 43.5 mm and weighs only 294g with battery and memory card. The body is constructed from high-quality polycarbonate resin plastic with metal lens mounts. Despite the light weight, the camera feels sturdy and durable.

The handgrip and rear thumb rest area are textured for a secure and comfortable hold. The body shape allows you to grip it firmly with one hand. Buttons and dials are also well-placed for easy access. Overall, the ergonomics have been optimized for vlogging needs. You can comfortably hold and operate the camera even when extended at arm's length.

The smooth rounded edges and lack of protruding parts like an EVF or flash unit add to the portability. You can easily slip the camera into a bag or large pocket when not in use. The light weight also makes it comfortable to carry around your neck or mounted on a small gimbal for extended periods. Overall, the design focuses on portability and comfort for vlogging and traveling.

In addition to the ZV-1F, another excellent option for video enthusiasts is the Sony Alpha 6100. This mirrorless camera offers impressive autofocus capabilities, a large APS-C sensor, and 4K video recording, making it an ideal choice for capturing high-quality content. Its compact design and enhanced connectivity features also ensure that it complements a variety of shooting scenarios, enhancing your vlogging experience.

Image Sensor and Video Quality

The Sony ZV-1F features a 20.1MP 1-inch Exmor RS CMOS sensor, which is fairly large for a compact camera and enables good image quality. The sensor's resolution provides enough detail for sharp 20MP photos and flexibility for cropping if needed.

For video, the ZV-1F can shoot up to 4K resolution at 30fps, with full pixel readout and no pixel binning. This results in highly detailed 4K footage. You can also shoot at 1080p up to 120fps for smooth slow motion.

The camera utilizes Sony's advanced SteadyShot stabilization to reduce shake and enable smoother handheld videos. Active mode provides enhanced stabilization for shooting while walking or in motion. The ZV-1F also has an in-body 3-axis digital stabilization when shooting in 4K, helping offset minor bumps or vibrations.

Additionally, the Sony RX100 IV is another excellent compact camera option, featuring a 20.1MP 1-inch Exmor RS CMOS sensor and capable of recording 4K video. Its fast autofocus system and built-in electronic viewfinder make it a versatile choice for photographers and videographers. With its impressive image quality and handling, the RX100 IV stands out in the compact camera market, providing exceptional performance in a portable package.

Autofocus and Zoom

The Sony ZV-1F has a fast and accurate autofocus system thanks to its advanced hybrid phase/contrast detection AF. It utilizes both phase and contrast detection pixels on the image sensor itself to achieve quick and precise focus lock.

For still photos, it offers wide coverage across the frame with 425 phase detection AF points and 425 contrast AF areas. This dense AF point array ensures fast focusing and tracking across a wide area.

The ZV-1F has several focus modes to choose from depending on your shooting needs:

• Wide: Automatically focuses on a subject in all areas of the frame. Good for spontaneous shooting.

• Zone: Allows you to select a specific zone on the screen that the camera will prioritize for focusing. Useful when your subject is not centered.

• Center Fix: Focuses on a subject in the center of the frame. Ideal for vlogging when you want to keep yourself in focus.

• Spot Focus: Focuses precisely on a tiny part of the frame you select. Great for macro shooting.

• Manual Focus: For full manual control over focus.

For video recording, the ZV-1F leverages its fast hybrid AF system to provide smooth, natural focusing transitions when shooting in 4K resolution. This ensures your footage stays sharp even if your subject moves around.

The optical zoom on the ZV-1F is fairly limited with its built-in lens, offering only a 2.7x zoom range from 24-70mm (35mm equivalent). However, it does provide a 4x digital zoom up to 280mm equivalent for some added reach. The optical quality degrades at high digital zoom levels so it's best used sparingly. Overall the zoom capabilities cater more towards vlogging versus telephoto needs.

Display and Viewfinder

The Sony ZV-1F features a large 3.0-inch flip-out vari-angle LCD touchscreen display. This allows you to flip and rotate the screen to achieve flexible shooting angles, making it easy to capture selfie videos or vlogs.

The display has a resolution of 921k dots, providing a crisp and detailed live view. It's also a capacitive touchscreen, allowing you to make menu selections and change settings with taps and swipes. This adds to the overall convenience when shooting video.

One downside is that the ZV-1F does not have a built-in electronic viewfinder. You'll need to solely rely on the rear LCD screen for composing shots. This could be an issue in very bright sunlight where glare might make it harder to see the display. But overall, the high quality vari-angle touchscreen is well-suited for vlogging and video creation for social media.

Connectivity and Ports

The Sony ZV-1F has a good selection of ports for connecting external microphones, headphones, and other accessories. On the side, it has a 3.5mm microphone jack and a 3.5mm headphone jack for monitoring audio. The mic jack supports plug-in power to provide power to external microphones that require it.

For video output, the ZV-1F has a micro HDMI port that can output clean 4K video to an external recorder or monitor. This allows you to record higher quality video externally or get a larger screen for composing shots.

For transferring photos and videos or tethered shooting, the camera has a USB Type-C port. This supports USB 3.2 speeds for fast transfer of large video files. The port can also be used to charge the camera battery.

In terms of wireless connectivity, the ZV-1F has both Bluetooth and WiFi built in. The Bluetooth allows you to pair with smartphones or tablets for transferring images or remotely controlling the camera. The WiFi provides additional flexibility for transferring files or remote control from a phone or computer. Overall the wireless options provide a lot of flexibility for sharing content from the camera.

The ports and wireless options make the ZV-1F very versatile for both studio and on-the-go shooting and content transfer. The microphone and headphone jacks are especially convenient for vlogging and video creation.

Battery and Storage

The Sony ZV-1F has a rechargeable NP-FZ100 battery that provides enough power for around 430 shots per charge based on CIPA standards. This is decent battery life for a compact mirrorless camera.

For storage, the ZV-1F has a single SD card slot that supports SDXC and SDHC memory cards. UHS-I cards are supported for faster write speeds. A high speed SD card like a UHS-II or UHS-III card can allow you to shoot high bitrate 4K video without slowing down.

Charging options for the ZV-1F include charging the battery in-camera via USB-C or using an optional BC-QZ1 battery charger. The battery can be charged to 50% capacity in around 35 minutes and a full charge takes about 150 minutes. This makes it easy to top up the battery between shoots if needed.

Overall, the battery life and storage options of the ZV-1F are solid for a compact vlogging camera. The USB-C charging and high capacity battery allow you to shoot for reasonable lengths of time without needing to stop and recharge.

Special Video Features

The Sony ZV-1F has several special video features tailored for vlogging and video creation.

Face Tracking Abilities

One of the standout features is the camera's face tracking abilities. It uses face and eye detection autofocus to keep your face sharply in focus as you move around the frame. This ensures you stay clear and visible even when recording yourself at an arm's length away. The tracking works quickly and smoothly to adjust focus if you move closer or farther from the camera.

Product Showcase Mode

There is a dedicated Product Showcase mode that makes it easy to record high quality videos of products, crafts, food, and more. When you tap the screen on the object you want to focus on, the camera quickly shifts focus and adjusts exposure to showcase it clearly. This takes the guesswork out of recording videos where you want a specific item to stand out.

Vlog-Centric Capabilities

A variety of capabilities optimize the ZV-1F for vlogging and video creation. The directional 3-capsule microphone provides clear audio pickup. The bright tally light indicates when recording is active. A side-opening Vari-angle LCD screen lets you monitor yourself when filming selfie-style. In-camera editing features like proxy recording, HDR shooting, and interval shooting further enhance its versatility for video production.

Pros and Cons

Summary of positives

The Sony ZV-1F has a lot of great features for vlogging and video creation. The lightweight and compact design makes it very portable. It has a large 1-inch sensor that delivers excellent image quality, even in low light. Autofocus is very fast and accurate with real-time tracking. The vari-angle touch screen flips forward so you can see yourself when recording. It has great audio quality with a directional 3-capsule mic. The camera offers extensive video options like 4K recording, S-Log2/3, and 120fps slow motion. Some handy features for vlogging include product showcase setting, soft skin effect, and face priority autoexposure. Overall, the ZV-1F packs great performance into a small body at an affordable price.

Summary of negatives

While the ZV-1F is designed for vlogging, it lacks some features that full-frame cameras offer. There is no in-body image stabilization. Low light performance is good but not on par with larger sensors. It lacks a headphone jack for audio monitoring. The touch screen does not swivel sideways for selfie-viewing. Battery life could be better when recording long videos. There is no ND filter built-in like on some other cameras. It lacks advanced video features like 10-bit color depth. The zoom range of the kit lens is somewhat limited. While highly capable, it may leave more advanced users wanting more controls and features.

Conclusion

The Sony ZV-1F is an excellent choice for vloggers and content creators looking for a compact yet powerful camera optimized for video. Its large 1-inch sensor delivers impressive image quality, even in low light, while advanced autofocus ensures your subjects stay sharply focused. The vari-angle touchscreen simplifies framing shots from creative angles.

Sony packs the ZV-1F with features tailor-made for vlogging and social media, like face tracking, soft skin effects, and a product showcase setting. The lightweight design makes it easy to carry all day for run-and-gun shooting. High bit rate 4K video provides flexibility for post-production.

For solo creators, the ZV-1F is easy to operate thanks to the intuitive menus and useful presets. The directional 3-capsule mic captures clear audio without requiring an external mic. The hot shoe mount allows you to add accessories like lights or microphones.

The ZV-1F provides excellent value considering its versatile feature set and Sony's renowned image quality. It's an easy recommendation for vloggers, social media creators, and video enthusiasts looking for stunning 4K footage and advanced creative controls in a compact form factor. With the ZV-1F, Sony again shows they are the leader in content creator cameras.