Sony ZV-1 Camera Review

The Sony ZV-1 is very portable. It's incredibly lightweight and doesn't take up too much space in a bag. You can even fit it into a coat or hoodie pocket if you need.

The camera feels decently well-built. It's made of solid-feeling plastic, and it has a slight bump on the front designed to make the camera more comfortable to hold in a vlogging/selfie position. There's also a back thumb grip to help maintain a secure hold. The screen and its articulation mechanism feel fairly sturdy as well. However, some of the buttons are really small and can be a little sluggish to respond. The microphone grate on top also attracts dust and needs frequent cleaning.

There's only a single control wheel on the back of the camera that controls ISO, shutter speed, or aperture, depending on the mode you're using. If you're more accustomed to having multiple dials and buttons to change your settings, the single control wheel on the back of the camera can take some getting used to, especially given its placement. Having just one dial also makes it harder to adjust settings when shooting in manual mode.

There are two custom buttons (C1 and C2). By default, the C1 button controls the camera's 'Background Defocus' function, which quickly switches from a deep to shallow depth of field, while the C2 button toggles the 'Product Showcase' feature, which automatically switches focus to objects held up in the frame. You can set custom functions for the 'Fn' button, as well as the center, left, and right buttons on the control wheel.

• Sony ZV-1 camera
• Windscreen for microphone
• 1x Sony Np-BX1 battery
• USB-A to Micro USB cable
• User manual

The ZV-1 has good ergonomics. The buttons are all easily accessible, and there's a Fn button to access the quick menu to adjust your commonly used settings. It has a large, dedicated video recording button, which is great for quickly starting recordings on the fly, even when you're in photo mode. That said, because of the camera's compact size, it isn't the most comfortable to use if you have bigger hands. Its screen also has limited touch capability, which is really inconvenient when vlogging or taking selfies since you have to turn the camera back around to adjust settings. The detachable windscreen also gets in the way of the hot shoe and power button when it's attached.

The screen is fully articulated and quite large for a compact camera, which is great. The articulating mechanism feels solid, and the camera has a nice feature that powers the camera on/off by pulling out or closing the screen, which you can enable or disable in settings. It's useful for vloggers who want to power up and start shooting on the fly. Thankfully, the screen is quite bright, so it can overcome glare in sunny conditions. That said, it doesn't have the highest resolution. Touch capability is also limited, so you can use it to select focus points, toggle subject tracking, or as a touch shutter, but you can't use it to navigate the menu or change settings.

Unfortunately, the ZV-1 uses Sony's older, more convoluted menu system. Even worse, you can only navigate it using the camera's click wheel, since the screen's touch functionality is limited. More advanced settings are buried within poorly organized submenus, making them hard to find. That said, the camera has a lot of customization options, and once you configure the camera to your liking, you won't need to go deep into the menu too often.

The Sony ZV-1 has a built-in neutral density (ND) filter for its lens that effectively reduces the amount of light captured by the camera. This helps shoot at a large aperture or slow shutter speed in a brightly lit environment without over-exposing your image. The ND filter can be engaged and disengaged through the Fn menu.

If you're looking for a similar camera with an interchangeable lens design, take a look at the Sony ZV-E10.

The Sony ZV-1 has poor overall battery life. It uses the same Np-BX1 battery as the Sony RX100 VII and has a 260-shot CIPA rating. That number can vary drastically with real-world usage, but it still isn't great, so you'll probably need a spare battery or two for longer shooting days. If you don't want to carry extra batteries, you can also use a portable power bank, since the camera supports charging while in use via USB. For video, it'll last for about 50 minutes of continuous recording in 4k, which also isn't especially long.

Note: There's an 'Auto Power OFF Temp' setting that determines at which temperature the camera automatically powers off during use. When set to 'High,' you can keep shooting even when the camera gets hotter than usual.

The Sony ZV-1 has three different continuous shooting modes: 'Lo,' 'Mid,' and 'Hi.' The 'Hi' continuous shooting mode is only available when using the electronic shutter, and it can shoot up to a max of 24 fps. Note, however, that when using shutter speeds slower than 1/200s, the burst rate caps out at about 20 fps. The 'Mid' and 'Lo' speeds can be used with either the mechanical or electronic shutter; 'Mid' shoots at 10 fps, while 'Lo' maxes out at 4 fps.

Unfortunately, the buffer fills up quickly with burst shooting, and once full it takes about a minute for the ZV-1 to empty, which can slow you down when time is critical, like when shooting wildlife or sports.

The Sony ZV-1 has a solid autofocus system overall, but its tracking feature struggles with moving subjects compared to interchangeable-lens siblings like the Sony ZV-E10. The camera has several different area and tracking modes, and with Sony's 'Real-Time AF' tracking, the camera can seamlessly switch back and forth between general subject tracking and face/eye tracking when it detects a human subject in the frame. On top of human subject detection, it has an animal tracking mode, which is great for taking photos of your pets.

The tracking feature is generally okay at keeping up with moving subjects, but it tends to lose faster or more erratic subjects. That said, you can still get a fair amount of usable shots when shooting continuously.

When using the center point, the camera has no issues staying with the target. Focusing is generally very quick and accurate, which is great for when you want to have more control over the focus point, whether you're shooting a still subject or a subject that's moving in a predictable way.

The Sony ZV-1 doesn't have built-in sensor-shift stabilization, but its lens has optical stabilization, which Sony calls 'SteadyShot'. Overall, it does an okay job of stabilizing photos, though you'll need to use a tripod if you want to capture clear shots at shutter speeds slower than 1/30s.

The Sony ZV-1's RAW dynamic range is just okay. It struggles to preserve a very wide range of shadow and highlight detail in high-contrast scenes, although it's pretty on par for a camera with a 1-inch sensor. You can only push the camera's smaller sensor so far, as there's a lot of noticeable noise when you try to recover shadow detail in underexposed photos.

Photos taken on the Sony ZV-1 aren't the most detailed, because of its smaller sensor, but they still look fairly detailed. However, you don't have too much leeway to crop in without losing resolution and detail.

The Sony ZV-1 has decent RAW noise handling. There's minimal digital noise at moderate ISO values, though the higher you have to raise it in dimmer lighting conditions, the noisier and less usable the image.

The Sony ZV-1 can shoot Full HD (1080p) and 4k video. It also has several Log profiles, including S-Log 2 and S-Log 3, as well as HLG, HLG1, HLG2, and HLG3, to capture a wider dynamic range in video.

The Sony ZV1 also comes with a detachable windscreen meant to reduce wind noise when shooting outside. Although it can't completely get rid of ambient background noise, it's still helpful if you don't have an auxiliary mic and have to stick with the camera's built-in microphone.

Although it lacks higher frame rates suitable for slow-mo capture, the Sony ZV-1 can record 4k video at up to 30 fps. Unfortunately, it can only shoot 4k video with a slight 1.12x crop.

The ZV-1 has poor internal recording specs in 4k. It's limited to 4:2:0 subsampling and 8-bit color depth, meaning the camera can only capture a limited amount of color information, giving you less to work with when processing videos. It can also only output video files under 100 Mbps, resulting in lower-quality video, though smaller files will also reduce your transfer speeds.

Unfortunately, you can only record for a maximum of five minutes in 4k, and the camera frequently overheats and shuts down if you record a lot of 4k videos continuously. By default, 'Auto Power OFF Temp' is set to 'Standard', which is how the camera was tested for overheating. However, if you set 'Auto Power OFF Temp' to 'High', the camera lets you record for longer than five minutes and doesn't shut down until the camera reaches a higher temperature, though that also means it takes longer to cool down in between interruptions.

The autofocus system performs amazingly well when shooting 4k video. It reliably keeps moving subjects in focus, even when they're moving around the frame or popping in and out. Thanks to its 'Real-Time AF Tracking', it can automatically detect a human face and switch seamlessly to object tracking if the subject turns around. You can set 'Subject Detection' to either 'Human' or 'Animal,' which works best on pets or larger animals. There are also options to fine-tune how the autofocus performs, including the speed at which it racks focus and how sensitive the focus is.

This camera also features several specialized autofocus modes and features that can be useful to vloggers. These include 'Product Showcase', which is great for beauty or product vloggers because it automatically shifts focus to objects held up in the frame without having to block your face. There's also a 'Background Defocus' function, controlled by the C1 button by default, which toggles between an f/1.8 aperture and f/5.6 to instantly adjust the depth of field and get a bokeh effect.

The Sony ZV-1 produces good-quality 4k video in more controlled lighting conditions, but it's only decent in low light, with some noticeable noise and loss of detail.

Note: The auto white balance on this camera tends to be inconsistent, especially when shooting video. The color temperature can shift drastically, becoming very cold and blue when a subject approaches the camera before shifting back to a warmer tone as they move away again. This can be distracting, but you can set a fixed white balance value when shooting video to avoid it.

Unfortunately, there's a lot of noticeable rolling shutter effect in 4k. It's most visible with vertical lines like signposts or buildings looking skewed when panning quickly to the side. However, it can also be distracting during vlogs by distorting things in the background and making videos appear more wobbly if you turn quickly or suddenly.

The Sony ZV-1 can record FHD video at up 120 fps. It also has a High Frame Rate (HFR) mode that can record super slow-motion footage at 240fps, 480fps, or 960fps. You can set the video output to 24p, 30p, or 60p to get varying levels of slow-mo.

The ZV-1 has great 1080p internal recording capability, especially considering it's a compact camera. Though Sony says it has a 13-hour time limit, you're limited by the battery, so you can only achieve recordings of that length if you plug the camera into an external power source while shooting. Also, when recording at 120 fps, the time limit decreases to five minutes. However, it's still limited to 8-bit 4:2:0 recording, giving you less latitude when processing and color grading your footage.

Autofocus performance is fantastic in 1080p. It consistently keeps moving subjects in focus, even when moving around the frame or popping in and out. You can set 'Subject Detection' to either 'Human' or 'Animal,' which is good for tracking your pets or larger animals.

The camera also has additional autofocus modes useful for vlogging, including 'Product Showcase', which quickly switches focus to any objects held up in the frame without covering your face. Also, by default, the C1 button activates the 'Background Defocus' function, which instantly adjusts the lens aperture from f/1.8 to f/5.6 or vice versa, which is good if you want to quickly shift between having a deep or shallow depth of field.

Video quality is okay in 1080p. It looks decent in brighter lighting conditions, but it doesn't perform very well in low light, with some noticeable grain and loss of shadow detail.

There's less rolling shutter distortion in 1080p, although there's still some noticeable skewing with vertical lines, especially when panning more quickly.

The Sony ZV-1 has just a single SD card slot that's rated for UHS-I cards. It's unfortunately located on the bottom of the camera, meaning you can't switch out cards while the camera is mounted on a tripod or monopod.

The Sony ZV-1 has a good amount of inputs and outputs. Thankfully for vloggers, it includes a microphone input, meaning you can connect an auxiliary mic, but unfortunately, there's no headphone jack.