Sony’s new ZV-E10 II camera is designed to keep vloggers away from $1,000 phones

Trickle-down economics may be rubbish, but Sony remains a firm believer when it comes to its camera technology. The new ZV-E10 II continues Sony’s trend of bringing small, iterative changes from its more expensive cameras to more affordable models. But it’s never without some compensations.

The ZV-E10 II is the APS-C mirrorless system camera that follows the original ZV-E10 from 2021, now with a larger battery, a 26-megapixel back-illuminated sensor, and improved 4K video. It will also cost $999 for the body or $1,099 bundled with Sony’s new PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS II lens when it launches in early August – about the price of a flagship phone like the iPhone 15 Pro Max. But, of course, even the best iPhone camera has a sensor about nine times smaller than the ZV-E10’s APS-C one, which is why phones rely on computational tricks to try to compete with the output. image and video from dedicated cameras. .

While the ZV-E10 II’s $999 price tag is a bit cheap compared to the $1,800 FX30 cinema camera it gets its sensor from, it’s also worth noting that it’s actually $200 more than the launch price of the original ZV-E10.

So what does the extra $200 get you over the original ZV-E10 (which you can I still receive it today for an even lower $700)? In addition to the borrowed sensor, the new camera now uses the NP-FZ100 batteries from its full-frame siblings to greatly increase battery life. The ZV-E10 II can also record 4K video at up to 30 fps without cropping, while the higher-end model limited uncropped footage to 24 fps (boosting to 4K/60 still has a slight 1.1x crop on the ZV-E10II ).

Battery longevity and high-quality recordings will certainly go a long way in a camera designed for someone to record long, self-filmed vlog video clips, but some trade-offs are made to give the ZV-E10 II these features while maintaining its compact dimensions. That is, the new camera eschews a mechanical shutter (making it virtually useless for taking photos of moving subjects, since its sensor is not stacked or partially stacked), does not have any in-body image stabilization (in favor of electronics), it yet It doesn’t have a viewfinder and hasn’t received the AI ​​processing chip of its more expensive cousins ​​to further improve autofocus. So while the ZV-E10 II has the kind of excellent autofocus that Sony Alphas are known for, it’s entirely focused on vlogging and video capture compared to other hybrid models that do it all.

These shortcomings might be a deal-breaker for someone willing to spend a few hundred dollars more and get Sony’s similar but more versatile A6700, although the ZV-E10 II is designed to be easier to use and more affordable than those cameras. from Sony’s A line. Alpha cameras. Like previous ZV models, it simplifies controls with more reliance on a touch interface, a Cinematic Vlog mode for a zero-effort one-touch cinema look, and dedicated buttons for a “bokeh mode” and Product Showcase autofocus ( the latter is a full focus mode for YouTube-type videos where someone presents things in front of their face).

Sony wants its ZV cameras to be the logical step forward that creators use when they want to move up from their phones to a more capable configuration, and while it’s not revising the playbook it started with the ZV-E1 or ZV-1 II, it’s hard to deny that despite the price increase, the ZV-E10 II could offer enough for a vlogger who wants room to grow – and at a similar price to many flagship phones.

Stay tuned for our hands-on video of Becca Farsace in her next episode of Full frame.