Sony officially announces its latest vlogging camera, which reportedly embodies almost all the specs that content creators have been asking for.
The Verge has dubbed Sony ZV-1 as a “tiny vlogging powerhouse,” because it really is. It is designed most especially for content creators who shoot their footage themselves.
In a nutshell, the Sony ZV-1 is a modified, inexpensive version of the RX100 series. Accordingly, the new vlog camera is “built off the exact same chassis” and the same internal parts with the RX100 VII.
Sony took out the components that made the RX100 expensive and did some alteration based on the content creators’ “biggest complaints”—and as a result, we have Sony ZV-1.
The Sony ZV-1 specs
According to Sony‘s official website, this how the Japanese tech giant describes its latest camera creation:
The ZV-1 is designed for content creation with a selfie-friendly vari-angle LCD screen, body grip, and a recording lamp. A directional 3-capsule mic with wind screen picks up your voice clearly with less wind noise; and the Bokeh switch and Product Showcase Setting make videos more interesting with less effort.
For its lens, it carries an F1.8-2.8 ZEISS Vario-Sonnar T* large-aperture lens, with a BIONZ X image processing engine.
The Sony ZV-1, basically, shoots at 4K and maintains the well-loved Sony features, which include the eye-autofocus, object tracking, and picture profiles. There’s also a Directional 3-capsule Mic, which captures minimal background noise.
Aside from that, there’s a 3.55m mic input, a Multi-Interface (MI) Shoe for external microphones, and a windscreen—a noise reduction feature for outdoor shooting.
For its power, it runs on a 3.6 V power source, with a rechargeable NP-BX1 battery pack. The battery life can run up to 205 minutes if users will be taking still images alone. For actual video recording, it can last up to 45 min. to 75 min.
The body of the camera is an RX100 modified that has a larger grip on one side and a three-inch swiveling screen, which can be flipped to support self-shooting.
The vlogging features
It also has new focus modes such as “Background Defocus” and “Product Showcase.”
Sony created a one-button setting for “Background Defocus,” where it sets a natural bokeh, focusing mainly on the creator as it subtly blurs the background out. In other cameras, users would need to manually adjust the settings, such as the aperture, to make sure that the camera will focus on the subject instead of the background—a very common blogger dilemma.
The “Product Showcase,” on the other hand, is also a one-button setting to immediately adjust the focus from locking in on the users’ face to an object brought closer to the frame. In the past, beauty vloggers would need to keep on adjusting the focus of the camera by the use of their palms as they try to show, in a closer view, the product that they are showcasing.
It also has an interval shooting mode that creates a “cinematic” time-lapse footage, thanks to its Imaging EdgeTM Desktop PC software. There’s also a USB power input, so users can plug in a mobile battery and shoot for an extended time, worry-free.
Sony ZV-1 has a lot of features that are clearly designed to encourage content creators to create more view-worthy videos.
Featured image Sony|Camera Channel/YouTube Screenshot