SONY ZV-E1

Does this small and powerful vlogging camera justify its high price?

- Gareth Bevan

www.sony.co.uk £2,350/$2,199 (body only)

The vlogging camera space is heating up, with manufacturers targeting content creators with products tailored specifically to their needs. Sony was one of the first to identify this market, and has produced several cameras in its vlog-focused ZV line, including the ZV-E10 and the ZV-1F, both of which were aimed at the entry-level vlogger, with 1-inch or APS-C sensors and affordable prices.

Now Sony has something for the more serious vlogger: the ZV-E1. It's a full-frame vlogging camera, with image stabilisation and a subject recognition and tracking system pulled from its top-of-the-line professional camera, the A7R V.

However, the ZV-E1 is still dogged by the same question as the rest of the vlogging camera market: when the video on an iPhone is so good (and is getting better), is there a need for a dedicated £2,350 vlogging camera?

Key features

The Sony ZV-E1 uses the same sensor as the A7S III, and features a 12MP back-side illuminated sensor with an impressive 15-plus stops of dynamic range and ISO range of 80-102,400 (expandable up to 409,600), powered by the Bionz XR processor and the dedicated Al chip from the A7R V. The camera inherits the impressive autofocus features from the A7R V, including person and animal subject recognition that tracks limb and body movements, so you can focus on partially obscured subjects.

In terms of video specifications, the ZV-E1 can capture 4K 60p footage without pixel binning, and the camera supports S-Log and 10-bit 4:2:2 all-intra internally and can be connected to an external monitor using a micro-HDMI for recording. It's also capable of live video streaming at 4K 30p or Full HD 60p via USB-C.