Sony ZV-E10 II review

The Sony ZV-E10 II is the company’s second-generation APS-C vlogging ILC. It brings a new sensor and larger battery, along with improved video specs.

Key features:

• 26MP APS-C BSI CMOS sensor
• Full-width 4K at up to 30p
• 4K/60p from a 1.1x crop (5.6K capture)
• 10-bit video capture
• S-Cinetone color mode and ‘Creative Look’ options
• Imports LUTs for previewing, embedding or applying to S-Log3 footage
• Three-capsule mic with automatic directional focus option
• No mechanical shutter

The Sony ZV-E10 II has a recommended price of $999 body-only or $1099 with an updated 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II retracting power zoom. These prices represent a $300 increase over the original version. The ZV-E10 II is available in black or white. The white version comes with a silver version of the 16-50mm PZ that isn’t to be sold separately.

Index:

• What’s new
• How it compares
• Body & handling
• Video Quality
• Image Quality
• Conclusion vlog
• Specifications
• Press Release

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What’s new

New sensor

The ZV-E10 II uses the same 26MP BSI CMOS sensor we’ve seen in the a6700 (and the pro-video FX-30). It’s a much faster sensor than the one in the previous version of the camera, and is able to deliver 4K video at up to 60 frames a second, where the previous version had to crop-in to shoot at 30fps, meaning it showed significant rolling shutter in its 4K modes.

10-bit video

The ZV-E10 II also gains a newer processor, allowing the camera to capture 10-bit video. This allows it to record Log footage with plenty of precision, which allows greater flexibility when grading color and tone. It also means the camera can capture true HDR footage for playback on HDR phones and TVs.

All the camera’s 4K modes are taken from oversampled capture: 6K for modes up to 30p and 5.6K (with a 1.1x crop) for the 50 and 60p modes. There’s no in-body stabilization in the camera, so digital stabilization applies a further 1.33x crop, meaning the 16-50mm kit lens ends up giving a 32mm equiv field of view, at its widest, if you want to use more than just the lenses’ optical shake correction, and 35mm equiv in the high framerate modes.

Updated features

The ZV-E10 II has the newer Bionz XR processor, rather than the ‘X’ of its predecessor. As part of this update it gains a UHS-II compatible SD card slot.

The ZV-E10 II doesn’t include Sony’s ‘AI processing unit’ but includes some of the latest subject-recognition algorithms, we’re told. It also gains the focus breathing compensation function that, with recognized Sony lenses, crops in to the narrowest effective field of view then progressively adjusts the crop and scaling to maintain consistent framing as the focus distance changes.

The ZV-E10 II also has the CineVlog mode from the ZV-1 Mark II, which gives a widescreen 2.35:1 look with baked-in black bars top and bottom and shoots at 24p. Onto this various ‘Looks’ and ‘Moods’ can be applied, to give a stylized appearance to your footage.

There’s no sign of Sony’s Auto Framing modes, though, so you can’t set the camera on a tripod and let it crop-in and follow your subject around the scene, nor set a subject’s position in the frame and have it crop to maintain that positioning, as you’re filming yourself at arm’s length.

Larger battery

The ZV-E10 II now uses Sony’s larger NP-FZ100 battery, allowing it to record for much longer. Sony did not disclose battery figures prior to launch, but the FZ100 has always made cameras much more usable than the smaller FW50 used by the original ZV-E10.

Updated kit zoom

The ZV-E10 II typically comes bundled with the Sony E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS II, a refreshed version of its compact, retractable power zoom. The version II gains the ability to focus while zooming, helping to keep your subject in focus if you change the focal length while recording, and also communicates information to help the camera’s stabilization efforts.

In principle, the lens can focus fast enough to work with 120fps shooting, in the unlikely event anyone ever attaches it to an a9 III. However, Sony has not made any changes to the optical design of the lens, which we’ve never been particularly impressed by.

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How it compares

We’ve chosen to compare the ZV-E10 II to its predecessor, Nikon’s Z30 that aims to offer something very similar, and to the a6700, to see what differences exist between Sony’s vlogging model and its enthusiast stills/video option. The other obvious competitor in this space is Panasonic’s DC-G100, which again offers a clever mic setup and front-facing screen for vlogging. However, its substantial crop in 4K mode makes it less well suited to high-res vlogging than the other cameras listed here, so that’s the one we’ve omitted for reasons of space in the comparison table.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of the ZV-E10 II over the original is the faster readout of its sensor. The mark 1 exhibited a lot of rolling shutter in 4K/24 mode and had to crop in to deliver 4K/30; by contrast, the new camera can shoot at 4K/60 using most of the sensor, meaning it’s over twice as quick as its predecessor.

It’s worth noting the differences, compared with the more expensive a6700, too. The a6700 has a viewfinder, in-body stabilization, twin control dials on its top plate and a mechanical shutter, and is able to shoot 4K/120 if you can live with a substantial 1.58x crop. These are all omitted from the less expensive, more influencer-focused ZV-E10 II.

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Body and handling

The ZV-E10 II’s body is impressively small: it looks like an early Sony NEX model and is recognizably more compact than the a6700.

The downside of this is that the controls and operation also feel more like an NEX model, rather than one of Sony’s latest cameras, if you attempt to shoot stills with it. Unlike the twin dial a6700, there’s only a single top-plate dial on the ZV-E10 II and an awkward, fiddly rear-face dial that we’ve been trying to avoid having to use on Sony cameras for more than a decade, now.

The interface is primarily touchscreen-based, allowing direct operation while you’re holding the camera to face you. There are also dedicated buttons both for Bokeh mode (which opens the aperture up to a value that can be adjusted in the menu) and Product Showcase mode that tells the camera to prioritize nearby objects over face detection. Both buttons can be customized to perform other functions, if you prefer.

The ZV-E10 II is the first Sony to rotate its interface display when you rotate the camera, to make vertical video capture easier.

The ZV-E10 II has both headphone and mic sockets, along with a 5Gbps USB-C port that can be used to stream up to 4K/30 video when acting as a webcam. There’s also a micro HDMI slot.

We didn’t find the ZV-E10 II the easiest camera to hold, if we were facing towards it, to vlog, so we suspect the optional vlogging handle/table tripod with its Bluetooth-connected controls, will be really valuable. Trying to hold the camera at arm’s length without it just meant worrying about accidentally starting or stopping recording, and constantly nudging the zoom rocker on the lens and not being able to reverse the effect without stopping recording and bringing the camera back into two hands to push the zoom back out to wide-angle.

Battery

The use of the larger NP-FZ100 battery sees the battery life rating jump from the 440 shot-per-charge rating of its predecessor to 610 shots, using the standard CIPA testing methods. As always, these numbers underestimate the number of shots many people get, so double this number is entirely plausible.

For a vlogging camera, we’ll also quote the CIPA video figures, which are 195 minutes of recording if just left to run (assuming you don’t run out of card space or overheat before then), and 130 minutes using the CIPA “Actual” shooting duration test, which involves more stop/start recording, zooming of the lens and turning the camera on and off. Both are based on FullHD capture, not 4K.

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Video Quality

As with the a6700, the ZV-E10 II’s oversampled 4K mode provides a good level of detail, especially compared to subsampled video modes on cameras like the X-T50. While its 4k/60p mode does come with a crop, it should be more than detailed enough for its target vlogging audience.

Video Capture Options

The ZV-E10 II offers a huge variety of video options, arguably to the point where it may become confusing to beginners looking to use it as their first dedicated camera.

Shooting in H.265 gives you a good balance between quality and file size, but older computers without dedicated decoding hardware will struggle when trying to edit the files. Using H.264 instead will come at the cost of larger file sizes but make it even easier to edit; the same is true of the All-I modes, but you’ll need an especially fast V90 SD card to use it.

Rolling Shutter

You’ll still see rolling shutter in a worst-case scenario, like with this large truck passing close to the static camera, but it shouldn’t be a concern for most shooting situations. Shot at 4K/24p. Image: Mitchell Clark

The original Sony ZV-E10 had notable issues with rolling shutter performance, exhibiting a jello-like effect whenever you panned or pointed your camera at a fast-moving subject. That was especially true when shooting in 4K. Thankfully, the effect is much less pronounced with the ZV-E10 II, thanks to its much faster sensor readout times.

While extreme cases like the one illustrated above will still exhibit some rolling shutter effect, it’s no longer much of a concern for everyday shooting.

Overheating

The manual for the ZV-E10 II warns that, by default, the camera can only record around 5 minutes of 4K footage before overheating in ambient temperatures of 25°C (77°F). Our tests found that to be accurate. However, setting the ‘Auto Power OFF Temp’ to ‘High’ allows you to record for much longer.

During our tests, shot indoors at an ambient temperature of 23°C (73°F) and recording 4K/60p at the maximum 200M 4:2:2 10-bit quality, the camera overheated in an hour and 17 minutes with ‘Auto Power OFF Temp’ set to high. Shooting 4K/60p at the lowest quality, 45M 10 bit 4:2:0, the camera held on for an hour and 53 minutes.

That time will be drastically lowered if you don’t change the ‘Auto Power Off Temp’ setting or if you’re shooting outdoors in direct sunlight. If you’re indoors, you likely won’t have to worry about the camera overheating in all but the most marathon of shooting sessions.

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Image Quality

Edited to taste in ACR. Sony E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 @ 50mm| ISO 100 | 1/1250 sec | F5.6 Photo: Mitchell Clark

While the ZV-E10 II isn’t really set up to be a stills camera, it’s still capable of taking some excellent photos thanks to the sensor it shares with the Sony a6700. It produces pictures that have plenty of detail and colors that are vibrant without being aggressively unnatural. However, the lack of any mechanical shutter means you risk subject distortion with fast-moving subjects, and will be limited in your ability to shoot with flash.

It can also shoot Raw, and the files it produces give you a lot of flexibility to push and pull shadows. And while the lack of a mechanical shutter can sometimes come with a dynamic range hit, in our tests the ZV-E10 II performed similarly to the a6700 that it borrows its sensor from. Unlike its predecessor, it is capable of recording lossless – but still compressed – Raws, which give you a touch more leeway when editing versus lossy compressed Raws while still providing some space-saving benefits.

Click here to view the ZV-E10 II studio scene

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Conclusion

By Mitchell Clark

As with our initial review, we’ve shot the bulk of our review and a conclusion as a vlog, using the ZV-E10 II. Our classic scorecard and comparison to competitors will be below.

Overall, the ZV-E10 II can produce great 4K footage, especially when you’re shooting in a controlled environment. For those looking to film themselves in their office or studio, its best-in-class autofocus and beginner-friendly modes and features make it a great step up from a smartphone.

However, if your vlogging style is more dynamic with a lot of handheld shooting outside, it may not be the best choice; it doesn’t have the auto-framing or built-in ND of the ZV-1 II, nor does it have the stabilized sensor of the a6700. That means you’ll have to keep yourself in frame and keep the camera stable. If that’s the kind of video you want to make, it may be worth looking outside the ILC ecosystem and considering the DJI Osmo Pocket 3; it won’t give you the same image quality due to its smaller sensor, but its built-in gimbal will give you a smoothness that sensor stabilization and optical image stabilization alone can’t match.

One point especially bears repeating: the ZV-E10 II is not built for taking stills; it may share a sensor with the a6700, which is an excellent stills camera, but if you buy it hoping to get the same photo performance at a lower price, you’ll be sorely disappointed. The lack of a viewfinder can make it quite difficult to compose shots in direct sunlight, and the exclusion of a mechanical shutter means you have far fewer options when shooting flash, and you’ll have to worry about rolling shutter when shooting fast-moving subjects. The single dial on the top plate means you’ll often have to reach for the touchscreen to adjust your settings, and its interface is simply not laid out in a manner that makes sense for photography.

Scoring

Scoring is relative only to the other cameras in the same category. Click here to learn about the changes to our scoring system and what these numbers mean.

Compared to its peers

Compared to its predecessor, the Sony ZV-E10 II is a much more capable and usable camera for video. It has better controls – it now uses a three-way switch to control whether you’re in photo, video, or slow/quick mode rather than a button – Sony’s updated menu system and a faster sensor that substantially reduces rolling shutter and allows for 4K/60. The upgrade from 8-bit video to 10-bit is also a big win, as is the larger battery. It’d be hard to recommend that anyone buy the ZV-E10 now that the II exists.

Compared to the Nikon Z30, the ZV-E10 II’s advantages are largely similar to its advantages over the original ZV-E10 with regards to bit-depth and 4K/60p. It also has a headphone jack for easy audio monitoring, and a Log recording mode, all of which the Nikon lacks. Finally, there’s lens selection. If you want to upgrade from the 16-50mm kit lens, there aren’t really any fast, wide-angle zooms available for Nikon Z mount that would make sense for the Z30. And while Sony makes a few F4 zooms that could be a decent match for the ZV-E10 II, the best upgrade would probably be your choice of Sigma’s F2.8 wide-angle zooms, which are available for E-mount, but not for Nikon’s system.

The Sony a6700 is an extremely capable camera that should at least be on the radar of anyone considering the ZV-E10 II. It’s designed as a stills camera and thus has the EVF, second front control dial, and mechanical shutter the ZV-E10 II lacks. For vloggers, it has the same background defocus and product showcase features but adds in-body image stabilization, 4K/120p recording, auto-framing, and subject detection settings for insects, cars, trains and airplanes. However, those extra capabilities come at a cost: it’s 116g heavier and has a $400 higher MSRP.

Sample Gallery

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