Sony ZV-1F Review: Vlogging Camera

With vlogging growing ever more popular, Sony launched a compact that is simpler and more accessible than ever. The ZV-1F borrows its look and its 1-inch sensor from a familiar Sony compact — and trims everything else back. This review is based on the published test of the ZV-1F, not on a hands-on trial of our own.

In the summer of 2020 Sony introduced the ZV-1, a simple, capable compact dedicated to vlogging: essentially an RX100 VII stripped of its electronic viewfinder and fitted with video-first functions — quick focus switching, easy product focusing and a fully articulating screen — everything needed to turn a compact into an ultra-accessible mini camera. Two years later, the ZV-1F set out to be simpler still. It broadly keeps the design and ergonomics of its predecessor but gives up the stabilised optical zoom (a 24-70 mm f/1.8-2.8 equivalent) for a fixed 20 mm f/2 equivalent lens. Together with the removal of certain functions, that made the ZV-1F the most affordable camera in Sony's line-up at launch — a deliberate opening of the catalogue to newcomers. Its natural rivals include the ZV-1 itself and Canon's PowerShot G7 X III, along with vlogging-oriented mirrorless options such as the Sony ZV-E10 and Panasonic Lumix G100.

Sony has not changed its formula: in the hand the ZV-1F is identical to its stablemates, and apart from the missing zoom it is almost impossible to tell the two bodies apart physically. Among the subtle differences, the ZV-1F is 40 g lighter than its elder and finally swaps the perennial micro-USB port for USB-C. It also benefits from Sony's updated menu system — still, frustratingly, without touch navigation. The rest is familiar: a genuinely pocketable body with no viewfinder, a fully articulating touchscreen, and controls cut to the bare minimum yet still effective. There is a microphone input and a remote connection, but no headphone jack and no weather sealing.

Two connected tricks are worth knowing. Plug the camera into a computer over USB and it becomes an HD webcam; and the body can be piloted over Bluetooth through Sony's Imaging Edge app for iOS and Android. Direct streaming to social networks, however, works only when connected by USB to one of Sony's own Xperia smartphones.

The ZV-1F is not among the swiftest cameras on the market, though it compares favourably with its predecessor in places. The two share the same processor, but the fixed lens brings speed advantages: start-up remains slow at around a second and a half, yet that is more than twice as fast as the ZV-1, and in low light the ZV-1F acquits itself well where the older model needs nearly a second to shoot. In daylight autofocus, though, the elder model remains clearly more reactive, and burst shooting disappoints: barely over 4 fps with autofocus tracking, climbing laboriously to about 17 fps without.

The clearest sign that this is a deliberately pared-back ZV-1 lies in the autofocus itself. The camera recognises faces and eyes, human and animal alike, but performs no real-time subject tracking — a surprising technical restriction, given that function is one of Sony's flagship autofocus strengths. In practice it makes little difference for classic vlogging or filming static products, but it is missed; Sony has, after all, previously added real-time tracking to the A7 III and A7R III years after launch via firmware. Happily, the one-touch product-presentation mode returns, letting you film an object at very close range while keeping the excellent autofocus locked on.

The ZV-1F carries the same 1-inch Exmor RS CMOS sensor and Bionz-X processor found in the ZV-1 and RX100 VII, with one significant limitation: it cannot record raw files, Sony's reasoning being that this compact targets a more amateur, video-first market. A clear-cut choice, but a coherent one. JPEG quality is, unsurprisingly, very close to the ZV-1's: well-produced images, comparable to the Panasonic Lumix G100. Noise is undetectable up to 400 ISO, rises to a first notable step at 1600 ISO, and images remain usable to 3200 ISO with some smoothing; higher values are too degraded to exploit.

The 20 mm f/2 equivalent lens offers a short aperture range that stops at f/8. Sharpness is honest from wide open, peaks between f/4 and f/5.6, then falls away distinctly at f/8 — where image quality degrades and digital noise becomes conspicuous in low light. With such a small sensor, low-light shooting realistically means staying at f/2 to f/2.8. A dedicated button opens or closes the aperture completely in a single press, letting beginners blur or un-blur the background at will — a genuinely clever touch.

The video mode is inherited wholesale from the ZV-1, itself descended from the RX100 VII: 4K UHD at 30 fps and up to 100 Mb/s in 8-bit 4:2:0, with a slight crop. That specification already felt tight in 2020; by the ZV-1F's launch a minimum of 4K at 60 fps was expected, but Sony chose simplicity. Footage is of decent quality, if a touch behind genre specialists such as the pricier Fujifilm X100V.

The 20 mm lens and articulating screen make a thoroughly relevant duo for vlogging, but walking shots demand the digital stabilisation, which imposes a significant additional crop. It does the job without rivalling the best in class — an action camera like the GoPro Hero11 Black stabilises far more effectively and, with its front screen, makes a formidable vlogging tool of its own. Autofocus in video remains efficient and reactive despite the absence of tracking — recognisably Sony — though sharp movements deserve caution, as rolling shutter is quite pronounced in 4K UHD, easing somewhat with stabilisation engaged. Photographers also gain an electronic shutter reaching 1/32,000 s, and the camera can shoot while powered over USB.

The ZV-1F is a good tool for vlogging: simple to use yet effective, with lovely image quality and reactive autofocus. It nonetheless suffers by comparison with its elder, the ZV-1, and the absence of optical stabilisation and raw files makes itself felt. In an era of high-definition video, a few additional recording options would have let it compete fully with the best of the genre.