Greetings everyone and something really Interesting arrived in my office a week Or so ago for testing the Brand's new Sony zve E1 will be hitting store Shelves very soon and I'll put its final Price in the description below this is Sony's shot at making a video camera That appeals to virtually every kind of Content creator from vloggers down to Serious filmmakers but there's nothing Gimmicky in the broad appeal feature set On this thing it's actually a seriously Powerful camera to use and once I Actually got my head around some of its Features which were pretty new to me I Had fun using it with one or two little Caveats I'll talk about at the end if I Didn't need 8K so much for certain video Project I do then I'd seriously consider Getting one of these for travel footage It's absolutely lovely Sony's idea here Was to combine the processing power of The latest a7r series of cameras along With a low resolution but highly Sensitive full frame backside Illuminator sensor of the a7s series With 15 stop to dynamic range the small Size of the a7c camera and the ease of Use of the smaller zv cameras so it Might be of less interest to seasoned Professionals but they would still get High quality footage out of the zve1 if They did end up shooting with it I'd Like to thank Sony UK for loaning me
This new camera for a couple of weeks For testing although as usual this is a Totally independent review the camera is A lovely compact size especially as it Doesn't have a viewfinder yet it still Uses Sony's very good MP fz100 batteries Which lasted for about two hours video Shooting in my test and plenty of still Shots something else aiding the camera's Smaller size is that it has no Mechanical shutter mechanism I'll talk About that more a little later I didn't Really feel the camera overheating During use but then again I wasn't doing Any long shoots the grip around the Battery compartment is as small as it Can be without being outright Uncomfortable and it's finished in a Lovely rubber texture generally the Camera fits into your hand well although Working the rear dial will put a little Strain on your thumb after a while I Like the way the camera controls and Most things about how it handles the Button interface at the back is Refreshingly simple although somewhat Limited for higher level professionals The camera is quick and easy to use but One or two more control dials and Customizable buttons perhaps wouldn't Have gone amiss still the Simplicity is Bracingly simple also bear in mind that Many Sony and even Sigma lenses have Aperture control directly on their
Bodies nowadays giving extra Controllability there there's a nice big Record button and a helpful Zoom lever At the front which will control Electronic power Zoom functions on Compatible lenses you can control in a Camera's many how fast or slow it works Although I couldn't get it to creep Zoom Really slowly also I wish it worked in An analog way instead of just hardened And hard out I like the mode switch Between still photos video shooting and S and Q where the camera shoots at a High frame rate and then slows the Footage down automatically for you the Screen hinges out of the camera which is Ideal for self-shooting and its screen Quality is much better than Sony's Offerings from just a few years ago Being bright and high resolution the Lack of a viewfinder keeps the camera's Size weight and price a bit lower Although it can be a problem when Shooting in very sunny weather so that's Really something to bear in mind I did Find myself missing having a viewfinder Now and then but it's not a serious Problem the touchscreen controls are Very intuitive too the camera only Offers one slot for an SD card and you'd Better make sure they're fast ones as Video records at a high bit rate I've Been told that tfx pass cards won't work In there let's talk about that
Microphone on top for a minute and has Three capsule sensitivity meaning you Can set it to capture more audio from The front of the camera more from the Rear or audio from all around so Obviously if you're capturing Atmospheric sounds of the streets around You capture all around but if you're Shooting an interview with someone in Front of you set it to capture more of What's in front but if you're vlogging Perhaps doing travel work and shooting All around you but you want to capture The sound of your voice just behind the Camera shoot with it set to the rear the Camera comes with a useful dead cat Microphone filter also so when it comes To build quality it's easy to see what's Only we're trying to achieve here a very Compact size and simple control features Give it great appeal to casual and Intermediate video makers although Seasoned professionals will probably Want more and gravitate towards the a7s III or another Sony cam Hammer instead Well let's see about its video features Now first thing to note is that it's 12 Megapixel back illuminated sensor Captures Incredible video quality and Offers 15 stops of dynamic range full Frame 4K footage without pixel binning The narrow depth of field that naturally Flows from shooting on full frame well If you have a bright apj lens of course
And most interestingly spectacular image Quality in low light situations for Example here it is against my older 42 Megapixel Sony a7r III quite an old Camera now admittedly at ISO 1600 the Newer zve1s fitted already looks Wonderfully better at ISO 6400 the zve E1 is still looking great although noise Is creeping in it's nothing like the Older a7r III and here's 25 600 where The zve E1 is still just about usable Compared to the older cameras grainy Mass out of the box the camera is Capable of 8-bit 420 or 10 bit 422 video Recording including all intro mode which Use a lot of memory space but capture Every frame independently 4K 60p is Available and from this June Sony Claimed that a firmware update will Introduce 4K 120p and Full HD 240b Compatibility although any of you shoot An S and Q mode which is where your Camera will slow down the finished Footage for you so the zve E1 is clearly Excellent for shooting in all different Situations and light conditions Something professionals will love Alongside its great dynamic range but The camera is designed with a number of Other features for intermediate and fast Workflow video work for anyone happy to Shoot with large borders there's the Cinematic v-log mode with five looks and Four moods which can be combined
Together here you can see the S Cinema Tone clean she weak and fresh looks the Fifth is just mono and here are the four Moods Auto gold ocean and Forest so Those can be fun to play around with I Only wish the Cinematic v-log mode Doesn't Force those top and bottom Borders on you though you also get Tony's usual creative looks in normal Video shooting mode the camera also Features incredible AI powered auto Focus tracking for all kinds of subjects Including faces animals Birds insects Cars trains and planes all easily Selectable from the touchscreen all in The menus of course and in my experience The tracking was excellent and not Easily fooled the camera has a number of Other video features but most prominent Is the new auto framing feature this Allows you to set up a wide angle shot Perhaps on a tripod and then press onto The subject within it that you want to Frame for 1080p video of that subject That follows it around it's quite clever And a potentially neat feature for Anyone who wants a fast workflow and Wants to get interview or other footage Onto the internet ASAP or who simply Wants to set up their camera on a tripod And have the picture follow you around You can also choose to make the cropped Footage record until your SD card while The full frame records externally or
Vice versa and you can live stream the Cropped footage via USB which is helpful Too the auto framing is a cool feature Although I found it would get pretty Wobbly if you're walking with a camera Or otherwise moving too much so it's not Quite a miracle cure and the resulting Footage will only be 1080p professional Shooters with a bit more time on our Hands would sooner just take care of Cropping and editing oh and for those on The move or with shaky hands here is the Dynamic image stabilization in play here You can see unstabilized footage normal Stabilization active stabilization and Dynamics table utilization for walking Around you'll only want to use the Cropped Dynamic stabilization here which Does a good job if you have a wide Enough angle lens but does get a little Jittery in places again professionals With a bit more time on their hands will Much prefer to set up an electronic Gimbal for these kinds of shots instead Still a useful feature to have on hand When it comes to Rolling shutter Unfortunately it is visible when Shooting in all different resolutions I've seen worse than this before but Still I wish it were a little better at Least in 1080P mode for shooting fast Action let's take a look at video Quality now at lower isos there's tons Of detail coming from that 4K footage
Even when shooting 60 frames per second With no patterning or blockiness and Even at ISO 1600 the image is very clean It's only really at ISO 3200 that a Little noise becomes visible at ISO 6400 A little false colors to it's creeping In and at 12 800 we're notably losing Fine detail also ISO 25600 is really Noisy but still just about usable Anything beyond that and you're simply Pushing things too far still though this Is just about the best 4K video quality It's possible to get nowadays especially In the higher ISO levels and that's Saying something let's have a look at Till image quality now the camera's 12 Megapixel sensor is obviously not Capturing much resolution here but it Should offer great High ISO performance As you can see raw files capture lovely Resolution whereas the jpegs while still Sharp enough smudge the very finest Details up until ISO 1600 image quality Is very clean and sharp higher ISO Levels than this will start to really Introduce noise and smudging although 12 800 is still surprisingly usable Shooting Beyond this is for emergencies Only so there those still pictures are Cleaner than usual for a full-frame Camera but not miraculously so really The key benefit of that 12 megapixel Sensor lies in high ISO image quality During video Work rather than making a
Huge difference for still photography oh And do you remember I mentioned that There's no mechanical shutter on this Camera only electronic we do get some Rolling shutter effects when panning Heavily and shooting Stills at the same Time although again it's not quite the Worst I've ever seen overall then I Really enjoyed using the zve E1 and Sony Are rather treading A New Path with it In some ways which is always exciting to See an issue for me personally is the Lack of 8K shooting although obviously That would be completely impossible on a 12 megapixel sensor anyway 4K is more Than enough for most users though Despite being a very powerful camera as One that's only intended to be small and Easy to use it does lack features that The highest level professionals will be Be looking for unsurprisingly fewer Buttons means less controllability to Grow into after you've gotten used to How the camera Works although admittedly Having fewer controls on there does make Things less intimidating as you're Getting started or if you're still just Learning video making I wish the camera Had a prores recording mode I know it's An old format but still one that's Highly compatible which I personally Love some people will object to the lack Of dual card slots which could be a Little scary for those shooting weddings
Or other events make sure your SD card Is a reliable one and the choice of a Micro HDMI port instead of a full-sized One will annoy some professional video Makers too and annoyed me actually but Then again the camera is designed to be As small as possible and the lack of a Viewfinder can be a bit of a problem When shooting or reviewing footage on a Bright sunny day but overall this camera Has quite a lot of appeal and it's easy To see what Sony are trying to do with It beginners who ready for a little Challenge we'll have a blast with it With a little practice novice filmmakers Will be right at home with it for years And grown into its more advanced Features and professionals well they'll Want something a bit more controllable With a higher resolution sensor maybe But they'll still be satisfied with its High quality clean 10-bit 4K fitted and Advanced focusing features it really is A camera that would keep most video Makers delightfully happy and I'd Certainly be very tempted to hire it out For travel video Work its price should Be a bit over two thousand dollars Hefty But not unreasonable for a specialized Full-frame camera and if this is the Kind of thing that really fits your own Workflow then it definitely comes Recommended
