Sony ZV-E10 _ What a Modern Day VLOGGING Camera Looks Like

What's going on, HYPER SHOOTERS? It's Jason Vong, and this is the brand new Sony ZV-E10, which is kind of an interesting name. I think they can do without the E and just call it ZV-10, but in any case, this is clearly the big boy or big girl version of the ZV-1, which is the pocket-sized point-and-shoot vlogging camera that Sony released last summer. So I'm going to go ahead and preface this video first and say this is going to be for my usual audience, but if you still want to watch all the way through because, hey, JB's got a new video, gotta watch and support. I love you guys. You guys are my real MVPs. But just in general, this camera right here isn't going to be for those who've already invested into the camera hobby because it's really not offering anything new that we haven't already seen from Sony's other lineup, but rather like the ZV-1, it caters more to the content creator demographic. And especially now, more than ever, we've been seeing an influx of new creators coming into the social media sphere, whether it be for vlogging on YouTube, live streaming platforms like Twitch or Facebook, TikTok videos, and even something as simple as getting a higher quality Zoom call. And that's sort of the schtick that Sony is going for, right? If you're looking to up your production quality in any way from a smartphone, from a point-and-shoot camera, then hey, maybe the ZV-E10 is it. It shoots in 4K and HD, but it shoots better 4K and HD because of the sensor size. It's an APS-C Super 35 sensor. And I would say, don't worry about it if you don't know what that means. Essentially, just imagine a bigger sensor versus a point-and-shoot camera, which has a smaller sensor, about one inch, and a smartphone would have an even smaller sensor than that. Bigger sensor size just pretty much means potentially more bokeh, more of that background blur, and even better low-light performance. So you see less noise and less grain in your night shots. Now, you might've heard of full-frame sensor versus crop sensor cameras. This is a crop sensor camera right here. Full-frame sensor obviously is bigger than crop sensor, and the quality is going to be better. But funny enough, the margin of improvement going from a crop sensor camera to a full-frame sensor camera isn't that much compared to the shift from going from a smartphone sensor to a crop sensor camera. The law of diminishing return, right? Just because you pay more money for a more professional-grade item doesn't mean the quality is significantly better than the one you were previously using from before. So the ZV-E10 is the best middle ground because you can actually see the difference when you upgrade to it, and the cost isn't as high as a full-frame camera. My community and I have always joked that hashtag APS-C is dead, but I caught it out last summer, didn't I? Even though full-frame cameras are getting smaller, they still have a higher cost of entry, whereas APS-C still remains to be relatively affordable to a larger group of people. So these types of cameras right here, they aren't going anywhere, and it seems like that's a trend that Sony's heading into right now. Having smaller full-frame bodies for professionals and extreme hobbyists, and then making their APS-C line specifically designed for modern day video creation. And I say that because there are a lot of features on this camera that just makes creating good videos easier and faster without filling with too much settings. Take for example right here, the top button, this top toggle right here, allows you to cycle between photo mode, video mode, and slow motion video mode. And right on top right here is a dedicated background defocus button. So if you want that slight background blur while you vlog, just hit that button. Easy. If you want everything to be in focus, just hit that button again. This doesn't require the user to think about what's the appropriate aperture needed to achieve the results, the camera just automates it for them. Now I know in the camera community, we're very adverse to any type of auto mode, right? Because we've been hearing it our lives, like don't shoot in auto mode. Auto mode is bad. Auto mode doesn't give you the best results. And while that might be true, that's not the point of this camera right here. If you know what you're doing, you can set it yourself. But if you don't know what you're doing and you don't really have the time to figure it out on the spot, just hit this button right here. Easy. And trust me when I say I spend way too much time trying to set up for the perfect shot while there's someone else on YouTube that's scoring way more views than me, making way more money than me, just shooting everything in auto. So big brain thinking right there. The next thing is the product showcase button on the back right here. And essentially it just turns off face and eye autofocus. And the face detection and eye detection autofocus on Sony cameras are really, really good. And sometimes it's too good where you might see some of your favorite creators having to cover their face while they show off their latest purchases to the camera. So it's just an easy button right here to turn that off. Whereas me, I have the bigger Sony a7S III and that would take me a couple of clicks just to get there, but I'll get there. Now, speaking of face, face priority auto exposure. And that just means it'll make your face a nice and bright in your footage, whether you're in a bright area or in a dark area, which I know is super unconventional for us pro camera folks, but this is perfectly acceptable in the vlogging community. And don't worry, you can toggle it off. You're not completely barred from using this camera in complete manual mode. There's skin smoothening, which my girlfriend loves. And you know what? I think my face could use some of that skin smoothening too. Now, the one critique that I have for this camera is the lack of built-in stabilization. I don't know if it's just to keep the cost down or keeping the size small, but I like to think it's possible because the Sony a6500, a camera that that was from the late 2016, it had it and it was relatively the same size as the ZV-E10. But don't think that the a6500 is automatically better just because it has built-in stabilization. For video creation, I wouldn't recommend that camera anymore for various other reasons. However, for this camera, we do have electronic stabilization, which my goodness, crops in way too much in exchange for a more stabilized footage. If you're using lenses with optical steady shot, which just means stabilization built into the lens, then you can actually get away with using standard stabilization in camera. However, if you're using lenses without optical steady shot, just be mindful of that. It's only a real issue if you do a lot of selfie style vlogs and you lack a proper ultra wide angle lens. But if you're just hand holding it like this and you're shooting out and you're lacking any sort of stabilization from either the body or lens, that electronic stabilization is actually quite nice to have. Which brings me to lens choices. And the lens that comes in the $799 bundle is the 16-50mm kit lens. And while this lens does have optical steady shot built in, the 16mm on the widest end with the standard stabilization in camera may still not be wide enough for some people for vlogging. So you might want to consider something like the Sony 10-18mm f4 and ultra wide angle zoom lens. And because it does have optical steady shot, you can get away with using standard stabilization in camera. But let's just say you're considering this lens right here. This is the new Tamron 11-20mm f2.8. And I can see a lot of people choosing this over the Sony just because it has the f2.8 aperture. But unfortunately, this lens right here does not have optical steady shot. But because it's wide enough, you can still actually enjoy the wider framing and the active stabilization on the ZV-E10. And that's the beauty of using the ZV-E10 as opposed to using a smartphone or a point and shoot camera because you have a myriad of lens choices that you can tap into for a different look and a different feel for your footage. Now, I hate to trash talk on kit lenses because they really aren't that bad. But quality zoom lenses and prime lenses can really make a huge difference in your footage. And the great thing is they come in all different shapes, sizes, and focal lengths. You can get macro lenses like this 30 right here for close up shots. You can pick up an f1.4 lens like the Sigma lens right here for more bokeh for better low light performance. Or you can even pick up a longer zoom lens for those extra distance shots. And that's really where all the fun and excitement lies in, right? These lenses, these glass right here, because the cameras are temporary, glass is forever. And you can use any of these lenses that you invest in and other Sony E-mount cameras, right? Even the ones that come out later on in the future. And if Sony lenses are a little bit out of your budget right now, the good news is that there's been an influx of third-party lenses that are on the market right now. And that's incredibly affordable that you can pick up for, that you can pick up as well. But anyways, audio. For onboard mic, it's the same as the ZV-1. They which essentially is better than any of the other onboard mics on the A6000 series camera. It's supposedly able to filter out the noise in the background and just simply hones into your voice when you speak into it. There's a draft of wind just kind of blowing through. So I'm just testing out the wind. Obviously, I don't want to turn off wind reduction, wind noise reduction, just because it's going to make it sound like I'm underwater. So we're going to have the wind kind of do its thing with the wind muff on top right now. And yeah. And what's surprising is that they have a headphone jack along with a mic jack. And I say surprising because you usually find a headphone port in the higher-end cameras. But what's even more surprising is that this camera right here actually has the updated multi-interface hotshoe, which allows you to use these newer Sony mics that does not require a mic cable because all the connection happens through the hotshoe right here to receive audio. And I also say surprising because this mic right here, the ECM-B1M microphone, this is a very expensive mic, almost half the cost of this camera right here. So I don't think people who are buying this camera will be buying this mic right off the bat, but I guess it's good to know that we have that option. But stick with the Rode VideoMic Pro or the Rode Wireless Go for more affordable mic solution for this camera right here. USB-C live streaming webcam. I think it's really nice that they have the software in the camera that allows you to just use a USB-C cable to use this as a webcam for when you're live streaming. But I still think it's a lot better if you have a dedicated capture card or a USB dongle like the Elgato Cam Link because the frame rate and the general video quality is just so much better with that dedicated device. But overall, I'm really happy that they opt for USB-C for this camera as opposed to micro USB because I don't have those anymore and I just use strictly USB-C cables. But just for general charging purposes, that is really nice. Speaking of which, this camera I don't think comes with a battery charger by default, so you might want to pick one up along with several extra batteries. Overall look and feel, it's really nice to hold. It's very small, it's very comfortable, and I think part of the reason why that is is because they also kept the battery small as well. They are using the NP50, uh, 50, FW50 batteries. I always get these models mixed up, but these smaller batteries right here instead of the bigger Z batteries that they've transitioned all their full-frame Sony cameras to. Which is fine, I mean, if it's odd to keep the form factor nice and small and comfortable. Now I got about an hour and a half of 4k 30p recording off just one battery and roughly about two hours in 1080p60, both without the camera overheating or becoming too hot to touch. It is available in two colors, white or black, and the white version is really sleek, but lenses that are silver to match with it is far and few, so it might be tough if you really care about the aesthetics of your camera. And that's all I really have to say. Okay, so price. It's $699, body only $799 with the kit lens, and honestly it is not a bad price at all. It is $50 less than the a6100, which is the current entry-level APS-C camera right now. Which is kind of crazy to think about it because when you actually compare the two cameras, the ZV-E10 actually brings a lot more to the table in terms of video creation. The better onboard mic, a headphone jack, those easy buttons that I talk about, and I didn't even mention it yet, but picture profiles. We have S-Log and Hybrid Log camera on the ZV-E10, which the a6100 does not even have. So not a bad price, but again it's really going to be the lenses that's going to take this camera places. So you do have to factor that into your budget. Depending on what lens you're going to get, it might range between $100 to an extra $1,000 on top of the body. So for example, if you do want an ultra wide angle lens to vlog with, then you're looking at about $1,500 minimums just to get started. Now that's not me trying to discourage you, but I'm just trying to be budget realistic for you. If you have a setup that you're using right now and you literally have no complaints about it, then hey, maybe you can skip out on this camera. But if you're really starting to notice the quality that your smartphone or your point and shoot camera is just not matching up to your standard, well then hey, maybe the Sony ZV-E10 might just be for you. Vivian and I always strive to bring you guys the best and most unique image and video samples whenever we talk about cameras and lenses. And oftentimes we have high production costs to make this all happen. 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