In recent years, it seems like almost every camera manufacturer has developed some sort of vlogging-focused camera. Sony, of course, is no exception, having released the (excellent) ZV-1 body just a couple years prior.
Well, now Sony is back at it yet again with everything you loved about the original but supposedly better! On May 23, the company announced the release of the new and improved ZV-1 II.
So what exactly is new versus the predecessor? Body-wise, not much. It’s still small, forgoes the viewfinder for space-saving reasons and, of course, still has the tri-microphone setup.
The real improvement comes in the lens. The previous version of the camera rocked a 24-70 equivalent zoom lens, which many vloggers found lacking (24mm is just barely wide enough to film selfie-style). Now, we’re looking at an awesome 18-50mm F1.8-4. Gaining that extra 6mm on the wide end is game-changing.
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Turning on active stabilization still crops in to about 23mm. Highly unfortunate but not a deal breaker. It’s still an improvement over the Mark 1 version of the camera.
Video-wise, we see similar performance to the predecessor. No 4k60fps yet, as Sony decided 30fps was still good enough. This new version does, however, add S-Log3 recording, though still at 8bit (no 10bit yet, sadly).
So is it a worthy upgrade over the original Sony ZV-1? It depends. If you’re constantly feeling like the lens is a little too tight, then upgrade to the Mark II. However, if you’re shopping on a budget, the original Sony ZV-1 will do just fine!
Soon, I’m hoping to get a new ZV-1 II myself to do a hands-on test (hey Sony, maybe send me a free one please…? :)). Thanks for reading.