After weeks of rumors, delays, shortages and postponements, the Sony ZV-E10 camera has been announced. Essentially it’s a vlogger-friendly addition to the Sony A6000 line that’s a new, affordable entry point rather than an expensive addition.
With a price of $698/£769/AUD$1,249 body only, or $798/£769/AUD$1,449 with the Sony 16-50mm PZ kit lens, the Sony ZV-E10 comes in just below the price of the base level Sony A6100 – but with a heavy focus on vloggers and content creators rather than all-round stills/video photography.
There are many technical similarities with the existing A6000 series cameras, but this is a very different design physically. It’s the same principle Sony used when designing the rather good ZV-1 compact camera alongside the existing RX100 range – a cheaper model that’s vlogging focused rather than a pricey all-rounder.
Sony is aiming the ZV-E10 at ‘daily vloggers’, ‘travel addicts’ and ‘beginner YouTubers’, though its appeal is likely to be wider still. Sony is positioning it between the smaller ZV-1 compact vlogging camera and the entry-level A6100 model in its current APS-C mirrorless camera line-up.
• Read our hands on Sony ZV-E10 review
Sony ZV-E10 vs Sony A6100
We’ll save a detailed technical breakdown for another article, but there are a handful of very obvious key differences between the new ZV-E10 and the existing A6100.
• Construction: The size, shape and layout of the body are much the same, but the ZV-E10 is slightly narrower than the A6000-series cameras and feels more plasticky – though there’s nothing wrong with that if the price is right. It’s a few millimetres smaller than the other Sony A6000-series cameras, measuring 113.0 x 64.2 x 44.7mm and with a weight of just 346g.
• Controls: There is a zoom lever around the shutter release rather than a power switch, though with relatively few power zoom lenses in the Sony line-up, it’s not clear how useful that will be. It does work with the Sony 16-50mm PZ kit lens, however. There is no mode dial on this camera, but there is a button to toggle between still, video and S@Q (slow and quick video) modes.
• Viewfinder: Well, there isn’t one. Vloggers won’t be too perturbed, and many still photographers won’t mind too much either. If you decide you really can’t do without an EVF, there’s always the A6100 and above…
• Vari-angle screen: This is the first time an APS-C Sony Mirrorless Camera has been given a vari-angle rather than a tilting screen, and it’s a big plus point in the ZV-E10’s favor.
• Microphone: The ZV-E10 has enhanced audio capabilities with a large microphone grille on the top plate and a slide-on wind muffler, just like the ZV-1.
Sony ZV-E10 key features
The 24MP APS-C sensor in the ZV-E10 seems to be from the same family used for so long by the rest of Sony’s APS-C cameras. The ISO range is 100-32,000.
The video specs will be familiar to Sony users, too. The ZV-E10 can capture 4K video at up to 30p, oversampled from 6K capture for best quality, and will full HD capture at up to 120p. Sony S-Log is included for wide dynamic range capture and color grading in post production. There is also a Portrait mode for vertical shooting for Instagram or TikTok.
Other vlogging functions include a Bokeh Switch for background blur, a Product Showcase setting for holding objects app to the camera, an Active mode to offer stable footage even while walking and both mic and headphone sockets.
Importantly, the ZV-E10 can be used as a video and audio webcam and requires no special software for this, supporting UVC/UAC connection standards. It also offers live streaming via USB cable to a PC or Xperia smartphone.
As well as its inbuilt directional 3-capsule mic and regular mic socket, the ZV-E10’s hotshoe also supports Sony’s Digital Audio Interface and its Shotgun mic ECM-B1M and Wireless mic ECM-W2BT.
Other optional accessories include the Sony GP-VPT2BT grip with Wireless Remote Commander and Stereo lav mic ECM-LV1.
Power supply is via USB, both for in-camera battery charging or long recordings via a separate AC-PW20 power adaptor.
The autofocus system uses 425 phase detect AF points and 425 contrast detect AF points to provide 84% combined coverage, with a 0.02sec minimum AF time. It offers Real-time Eye AF (human only for video, human + animal for stills), Touch Tracking and Real-time Tracking, and it’s possible to tune the AF sensitivity settings to suit your shooting style too.
Stills photographers aren’t left out, as the ZV-E10 still offers the 11fps continuous shooting capability of Sony’s A6000 series cameras and can capture up to 116 JPEGs in a burst.
Sony ZV-E10 lenses
Naturally, the ZV-E10 can use the full range of Sony E and FE mount lenses. It will be sold body-only, with the 16-50mm PZ kit lens or the the Sony E 10-18mm F4 OSS ultra-wide-angle. This latter lens could prove especially useful for vlogging, where you often need to capture a wide angle of view with the camera held at arm’s length and pointing back towards you.
Another lens that might work well with this camera is the Sony E 18-105mm F4 power-zoom lens.
Sony ZV-E10 availability and pricing
This camera was first expected in June 2021, but clearly there have been delays and currently retailers are quoting mid-August. Sony has indicated that the ZV-E10 will be positioned between the ZV-1 compact and the A6100, and it is being offered at $698/£769/AUD$1,249 body only, and $798/£769/AUD$1,449 with the Sony 16-50mm PZ kit lens. This is very competitive pricing from Sony and in start contrast to its steady price escalation of the past.
• Pre-order the Sony ZV-E10 at B&H $698 body only, $798 with 16-50mm
• Pre-order the Sony ZV-E10 at Adorama $698 body only, $798 with 16-50mm
• Pre-order the Sony ZV-E10 at Wex £679 body only, £769 with 16-50mm
• Pre-order the Sony ZV-E10 at Park Cameras £679 body only
Read more:
• Best Sony cameras
• Best vlogging cameras
• Best cameras for video
• Best mirrorless cameras
