Sony’s first compact vlogging digicam, the ZV-1, has confirmed to be fairly well-liked with the content material creation crowd. It affords glorious picture high quality, simple controls and a tiny, pocketable type issue – all at an approachable worth.

Since its launch in 2020, there was one grievance that stood out above the remainder, the lens on the ZV-1 is simply not extensive sufficient for vlogging. This meant that the unique digicam was a non-starter for many individuals.

Sony has heard these complaints loud and clear, and the result’s the Z-V1 II. It is a related digicam, in some ways, nevertheless it has a wider lens that is way more appropriate for self-shooting. That is not the one factor that is modified on this mannequin, although, and a few adjustments are much less welcome than others.

Sony

Sony ZV-1 II

The Sony ZV-1 was already probably the greatest choices for a light-weight vlogging setup, and the addition of a wider lens, much-improved touchscreen performance and a greater microphone make it much more interesting. It is only a disgrace that it introduced so many compromises with it, too.

Execs

• Wider discipline of view
• Wonderful 3-capsule microphone
• Distinctive autofocus efficiency
• Improved touchscreen controls
• Compact, light-weight and moveable

Cons

• Slower lens on the telephoto finish
• No optical picture stabilisation
• Much less sluggish movement choices
• Loud zoom motor

Design

• Dimensions: 105.5×60.0x46.7 mm, 292g
• Eco-friendly SORPLAS and recycled PET supplies
• New tripod mount location

The ZV-1 II is nearly an identical to its predecessor, the styling and button structure have not actually modified in any respect, and the burden is not noticeably totally different, both. The primary distinction that we noticed was the grip, it is now comprised of the identical materials as the remainder of the chassis, whereas the unique had a sort of rubberised coating.

It appears just like the ZV-1 II has visited a distinct barber this time round, too. The deadcat wind muffler for the built-in mic has a distinct texture, which reminds us of a Troll doll toy. The unique had a softer, extra convincing faux-fur impact.

Sony tells us that this new deadcat is comprised of 100 per cent recycled PET bottles and that the efficiency is similar as the unique. So far as we are able to inform, that is the explanation for the change of texture on the grip, too. The physique is comprised of SORPLAS, which is a Sony-developed recycled plastic materials. We’re all for it, particularly since neither of those adjustments impacts how the digicam feels to make use of, even when they give the impression of being barely much less premium.

The opposite change is a extra sensible one, the tripod thread on the bottom has been shifted farther away from the battery door, which suggests that you could now entry your battery and SD card with a quick-release plate hooked up. It is a massive win for comfort, nevertheless it’s nonetheless not the best location, it is now offset to the left-hand aspect of the lens, which makes framing your photographs with a monopod or deal with really feel somewhat awkward. Nonetheless, it is higher than it was, and these are simply the sort of compromises you need to make with such a compact digicam.

Show, connectivity and battery

• 3-inch flip-out touchscreen LCD, 921600 dots
• USB-C, micro HDMI, 3.5mm microphone, SD card slot
• Detachable NP-BX1 battery, as much as 75 min video recording or 290 stills

The show appears to stay unchanged on the ZV-1 II, it is nonetheless a 3-inch flip-out touchscreen panel with a 921,600 dot decision. Nonetheless, what you are able to do with the touchscreen has modified fairly dramatically.

The unique ZV-1 solely allowed you to make use of the touchscreen to give attention to a topic or enlarge a picture in playback mode, you could not change any settings or swipe by way of menus. On the ZV-1 II, you are given an array of contact icons to offer you fast entry to the entire digicam’s options, and you may swipe and faucet in all of the menus, too. It is a huge enchancment over its predecessor.

The connectivity is usually unchanged, too, other than the transfer to a USB-C connector, reasonably than a micro USB. Which means you get a micro HDMI for video output and a 3.5mm microphone enter, the USB-C is used for energy, file switch and webcam use. There’s nonetheless no headphone socket, which some customers will discover disappointing, and it does not seem that you should use a USB-C dongle for audio output, both.

The ZV-1 II makes use of the identical detachable NP-BX1 batteries as its predecessor, the longevity wasn’t spectacular after we reviewed that, and the identical is true of the successor. Realistically you’ll be able to normally get round 40 minutes of 4K recording on a cost, as long as you are switching it off between photographs. It isn’t too terrible, however one thing that we might have favored to see an enchancment on.

Picture and video efficiency

• New 18-50mm equiv. f/1.8 – f/4 lens
• Upgraded 3-capsule clever microphone
• 20MP stills, 4K 30fps video, As much as 120fps 1080p S&Q

With regards to imaging, the brand new lens is the issue that makes the largest distinction to your outcomes. The digicam utilises the identical sensor as its predecessor, and so the resolutions and body charges on provide listed here are largely the identical.

The brand new lens is 18mm equal at its widest, and this can be a excellent focal size for vlogging at arm’s size, which is what the digicam is geared in the direction of. Nonetheless, for some unusual motive, Sony has eliminated optical picture stabilisation on this mannequin, so that you’re caught with digital stabilisation solely. As you probably know, EIS requires a crop with the intention to operate, so when stabilisation is turned on, you successfully find yourself with one thing round a 21mm equal.

It is nonetheless wider than the ZV-1’s 24mm equal lens, however the distinction is much less dramatic, and that is a tad disappointing. In fact, in case you’re utilizing a tripod or a gimbal, then you definately’ll nonetheless have the ability to make the most of the total width, and never have to fret about jittery footage.

There are different compromises with this new lens, too. The 50mm telephoto size is considerably shorter than the 70mm attain of its predecessor, and it is slower at this finish of the zoom scale, solely opening as much as f/4, in comparison with f/2.8 on the ZV-1.

Whether or not this issues all is determined by how and what you shoot, fortunately the lens nonetheless opens as much as f/1.8 on the extensive finish, so you will get some good shallow depth-of-field in your speaking head photographs.

The autofocus capabilities are excellent, as we have come to anticipate from a Sony digicam, and animal eye-tracking now works in video, whereas on the earlier mannequin, you would solely entry it for stills taking pictures.

One other tweak comes within the type of multi-face recognition, which is inherited from the ZV-E1. This robotically stops down the lens in order that a number of topics can occupy the focal airplane, with out you having to resolve which topic must be in focus. It is very useful, particularly for these which might be unfamiliar with handbook controls.

Additionally from the ZV-E1 comes Cinematic Vlog mode, which applies 21:9 black bars for a faux-cinema look, together with a wide range of appears, that are basically like Instagram filters that you could add in digicam. We did not discover this one significantly helpful, its the kind of factor that we do in put up, reasonably than within the digicam, nevertheless it might be an excellent little bit of enjoyable for freshmen.

Surprisingly, the S&Q (sluggish and fast movement) modes have been nerfed on the ZV-1 II, and we’re not totally positive why. The ZV-1 may shoot all the way in which as much as 1000fps in 1080p, whereas the ZV-1 II maxes out at simply 120fps. We’re massive followers of sluggish movement, so we have been very disillusioned to study this.

The microphone has been upgraded on this mannequin, it inherits the automated direction-switching microphone that was launched with the ZV-E10. Which means that the ZV-1 II can robotically detect what you are filming and swap between entrance audio, rear audio, or a combination of each. It appeared to work fairly reliably in our testing, however in case you discover that it is not doing the trick, you’ll be able to manually choose the microphone course, too. We have been impressed with the audio high quality, it picks up voices particularly properly and the offered deadcat does a fantastic job of muffling wind sounds. The one draw back is that the sound of the lens zooming comes by way of very loudly, which was the case on the unique, too.

Despite the fact that it is clearly designed with video because the precedence, the ZV-1 II takes pictures too, and first rate ones at that. You will nonetheless profit from the very good autofocus, and the speedy stacked sensor means that you could shoot bursts of as much as 24fps – which is nice if you wish to seize some sports activities snaps.

We did not spend too lengthy testing the picture capabilities, as there does not appear to have been a lot improvement on this space for the reason that first mannequin, however the outcomes we received have been fairly good. As you would possibly anticipate, low mild is the weak level in comparison with different digicam techniques, because it’s solely a 1-inch sensor, however in good lighting, your footage would possibly shock you.

Verdict

All in all, the ZV-1 II is a little bit of a combined bag. We received a number of the issues that the digicam wanted, like a wider lens and higher touchscreen performance, however at the price of some options that we did not need to lose, like OIS and high-speed sluggish movement.

On the entire, we might say it is an enchancment on its predecessor, primarily owing to the massively improved touch-controls, extensive lens, autofocus tweaks and a greater microphone setup. If you happen to’re utilizing it for vlogging, because the producer intends, then these 4 components make it a lot extra interesting.

Nonetheless, the downsides are plentiful, significantly when you think about that this mannequin has elevated the MSRP by $100 over the unique. If you happen to’re not taking pictures your self vlog-style fairly often, you would possibly discover that the unique suits your wants higher, particularly in case you shoot at longer focal lengths and like slow-motion modes. Fortunately, the ZV-1 does not appear to be discontinued simply but, so you’ll be able to nonetheless decide up a type of in case you’d favor.

If you happen to’re in search of a video powerhouse that may slip into your pocket, we expect the ZV-1 II is without doubt one of the greatest choices round. It is a disgrace that so many compromises are concerned, however for essentially the most half, it is a greater expertise, and it is nonetheless simple to suggest.