OPINION

Like the vast majority of people, the camera on my smartphone is what I use to take the majority of my photos and videos. The reason for that is simple: the multi-camera systems on the likes of Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max and Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra provide excellent results in most lighting conditions.

Also, even though smartphone camera systems are getting bulkier, the devices still fit into my pocket. Your best camera is always the one you have with you when it’s needed.

Due to that, premium smartphones have knocked digital compact cameras pretty much out of the competition, forcing manufacturers of those to err, refocus their devices on the professional market. You know, people who use the gear as tools to help them earn money.

That’s something of a gamble as smartphone camera systems are getting better all the time; at the same time, it’s undeniable that chunkier compact cameras like the Sony ZV-1 that I had for some months offer some real advantages like large sensor sizes, long optical zooms with bigger lenses that have physical irises for different aperture settings.

Also, it’s easier to hold compact cameras than smartphones. The ZV-1 has okay ergonomics with buttons and setting wheels for shooting so you don’t have to tap a screen and cover objects with fingers. There’s a flippable touch screen but it’s only for focusing when shooting.

Ratcheting up the specialisation level a few notches, the ZV-1 is aimed at video bloggers. Yes, vloggers, awful word that is. It even has two particular shooting modes for that, Product Demo that makes the fast and accurate autofocus track whatever you’re vlog-flogging in the shoot, and a background defocus setting that blurs to keep viewer attention on what you’re shooting, and which looks professional too.

Sony’s user interface and menu system haven’t changed much over the years, and I think I’ve finally got the hang of it. You can shoot remotely with Sony’s Imaging Edge app (I tried the Apple iOS version), and transfer pictures and video to your phone, but it’s slow and laggy to use. Sony really should fix the app.

Even though the ZV-1 is aimed at vloggers, it’s a good all-around camera as well. The large one-inch sensor with 20.1 megapixel resolution produces great stills, the 24-70mm (35mm equivalent) lens is great, with bright f/1.8-2.8 apertures, and you can shoot 4K video at 30 frames per second, or 1080p at 120fps. There is also high-speed video at up to 960fps for slow motion effects, and preset shooting modes, including a weird one for beautification and a macro one that I couldn’t see the point of, and the 8-bit camera doesn’t do full 10-bit colour oddly enough.

In many ways, the ZV-1 is a decent journo-cam. Apart from the great image quality, the directional microphone with three capsules (dead cat included) captures really good and clear audio. Publication quality photos, videos and one-person pieces to cam, which the image stabilisation keeps steady if you have to move around, are easy with the ZV-1.

There’s no headphone jack on the ZV-1 and for reasons I’ve yet to work out, Bluetooth headphones I tried would not connect to the camera.

If you’re going to vlog it good with the ZV-1, get Sony’s GP-VPT2BT wireless Bluetooth grip for the camera, which also doubles up as a mini tripod. It makes using the ZV-1 at arm’s length easier.

You’ll need decent Instagram or YouTube revenue to justify the ZV-1 though. Shop around, and you should be able to get the camera itself for $1250-$1300. Add to that the GP-VPT2BT wireless grip and mini-tripod which I think is a must-have addition, and which costs around $250.

Still less than a smartphone but … ideally you do need one of those as well, with a fast data connection to transfer what you shoot, after editing the footage on a big smartphone screen, or even an iPad.

There’s no flash or LED illuminator on the ZV-1 so budget for something suitable in that regard for when it’s dark, and a bigger tripod is likely to come in handy too.

The ZV-1 is interesting and Sony certainly believes it’s not vlogging a dead horse with the concept as evidenced by the company releasing the bigger ZV-E10. The ZV-E10 uses interchangeable lenses, has a bigger APS-C sized sensor, mic and earphone jacks and more, all for not much more money than the smaller ZV-1 vlog camera.

Smartphones may have captured the mass market, but the Sony ZV-1 shows there’s livestreaming left in compact cameras still.

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