Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-07-18)

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FEATURES 9/10

BUILD& HANDLING 6/10

METERING 8/10

AUTOFOCUS 9/10

AWB& COLOUR 8/10

DYNAMICRANGE 8/10

IMAGEQUALITY 8/10

VIEWFINDER/LCD 8/10

+Pocketablebody

+Goodimagequality

+Fullyarticulatedscreen

+Clevernewvloggingfeatures

• Noviewfinderoption


• Frustratingcontrols


• Minimaltouchscreenfunctionality

Forandagainst

The lens can deliver a

limited degree of

background blur

70mm equivalent,

1/400sec at f/2.8, ISO 125

WITH the ZV-1, Sony has made

an interesting little camera that

takes RX100-series technology

and gives it a video-centric

twist. Its new vlogging features

generally work well, and appear

cleverly targeted to its intended

audience. But the fl ip side is

that while it’s perfectly capable

of taking excellent stills, it’s not

a great choice for users who

like to tinker with their settings

on a shot-by-shot basis, or

compose their images using an

eye-level viewfi nder.

However one feature that

might tempt photographers is

the rare delight of getting a fully

articulated screen on a pocket

camera, which I’ve really

enjoyed using. This is only found

elsewhere on the Canon G5 X

and G1 X Mark III, whose larger

SLR-styled bodies aren’t really

pocketable. This highlights a gap

in the current market, although

sadly, one that the ZV-1 isn’t

especially well equipped to fi ll.

So while it’s likely to prove very

popular with vloggers, an

RX100 model would probably

still be the better choice for

most photographers.

you want to change settings on
a regular basis, particularly when
it’s compared to its closest
competitor, the Canon
PowerShot G7 X Mark III. This is
unfortunate, as Sony has thrown
a lot of advanced features on
board, but made them overly
diffi cult to access.

Performance
Once you start shooting with the
ZV-1, it quickly becomes clear this
this is indeed a camera that’s
better suited to video, rather than
stills. In fact, it’s a very capable

little video camera. It records

impressively detailed footage in

both 4K and Full HD, with

generally well-judged exposure

and white balance. Sony’s

remarkable autofocus really

comes into its own, keeping the

subject sharp no matter how they

move relative to the camera. The

uprated SteadyShot Active

stabilisation does a great job of

keeping footage watchable when

it’s recorded on the move, while

face priority AE effectively

prevents your subject from

disappearing into the shadows or

being blown out by bright sunlight.

Sound quality is also really good,

with the built-in microphone being

a cut above those found in other

small compacts. It gives impressive

depth and clarity to speech, but is

also excellent at picking up

environmental sounds such as

birdsong. Sony has done a good

job of keeping the camera’s

operational noise to a minimum,

although the built-in mic can

sometimes pick up the zoom

motor in a quiet room. The

supplied windshield does its job

effectively, although it completely

obscures the power button, which

then becomes oddly easy to

confuse with the identically sized

mode button alongside.

As for those new vlogging

features, the Background Defocus

button does its job, with the caveat

that the ZV-1’s small lens isn’t

necessarily going to deliver that

much background blur even at

maximum aperture. The Product

Showcase mode works well too,

but with the signifi cant catch that it

disables image stabilisation. So if

you forget to turn it off when

recording handheld footage, it’ll

turn out shaky. Unfortunately the

camera doesn’t really warn you of

this: it instructs you to use a tripod

when you enable the feature, but

without explaining why. Also, the

tiny on-screen icon indicating the

mode is active only appears in the

most cluttered of the fi ve available

display modes.

When it comes to stills

photography, the ZV-1 offers

more or less the same capability

as the RX100 V. But there are a

couple of reasons why you might

choose it ahead of its sibling.

Firstly, the addition of real-time

Eye AF nicely complements the

large-aperture lens when taking

pictures of people. Secondly, the

screen’s extra fl exibility means it

can be used to compose low-level

or overhead shots in portrait

format as well as landscape.

Crucially, I fi nd this type of screen

works much better on a small

compact compared to larger,

heavier cameras, as you can use

your left hand to manipulate the

screen and support the camera

while you’re shooting. I’d love to

see Sony add one to the next

RX100 generation.

Verdict

Recommended