Customer Ratings & Reviews

charge me money twice and did not return it. I called to Bestbuy fourth time and they still did not able to provide me a transaction id

Too small and very complicated to understand Our first camera , wished we never purchased it

Received a deffective item. Requested for a replacement within 24hrs, customer service gives multiple disclaimers would not let me speak to a supervisor. First deffective item and bad experience from bestbuy. 1000% dissapointing

If you're using your phone's front camera for your vlogging shots or still using a cheap webcam for your streams, this is probably the best upgrade for your dollar out there. It has most of the "prosumer" features you're probably going to need at one of the most affordable price points for "real" cameras. You're giving up a few higher end features here like a hot shoe and interchangeable lenses but that's what keeps this affordable and you probably don't really NEED those things as much as they're just cool. Setup is a piece of cake. It's a camera that's basically ready to go. Put a memory card in, install the battery and hit the power and you're ready to fiddle with all the settings and start taking pictures or recording video. There's a ton of settings if you're coming from a cheap digital camera or you're used to just your phone's camera. It was a little overwhelming from a non-photographer standpoint but I didn't mind playing around to get the best settings for what I was doing. There's a lot of versatility for this camera as well. It's clear that it's made to be a selfie vlogging camera from the flip forward screen to the microphone windscreen (I had to look up what this fuzzy little thing was in the book but it's a great little addition). From selfie range, it's easy to get your frame right and the microphone doesn't sound really bad. You aren't going to get a ton of the low end from your voice but it does a decent job picking your up and sounding clear for just a flat spot on the camera picking up the sound. Photos come out pretty good as well. Nothing to write home about if you already use your recently released phone's rear camera to be honest but they're good photos. If you want to carry a dedicated photo camera, this will get your some good pictures with settings your can't play around with on your phone so with some effort and experience you can probably get even better pictures but for me, the convenience of taking pictures with my phone can't be trumped. Especially with all the work that phones do in post processing now a days. I'll probably use this for photos and videos when I'm going to an event that I know I'm going to just be taking pictures non-stop, though. Video quality looks really good as well. You can only get 30fps for your 4K shots if that's what you're taking but you can go up to 120fps with 1080p shots. Again, things are very comparable to my iPhone 13 Pro Max's rear camera but blow away the front camera. If you have the skills, I'm sure there are amazing tweaks and settings you can do to get things to look perfect for every scenario. But from a non-professional standpoint, I find the picture quality to be great with most of the default settings. One thing that I think is overlooked for a camera like this is streaming on services like Twitch and YouTube. I replaced my $180 webcam with this camera (and bought a cheap quick-release thing to let me unmount it whenever I want to take it out of my setup) and the difference is night and day. The amount of control is fantastic when you're coming from not so cheap webcam. The most disappointing aspect of using this camera for streaming is that it's capped at 720p30 for streaming over USB-C. I'm not sure why this limitation needs to exist or if maybe they can bump that up to a solid 1080p60 with a firmware update in the future but it was sad to see when I tried it out. You CAN still use it with a micro-HDMI cable and an HDMI capture device, though. You'll get the full output that way. There's a setting to eliminate any of the UI elements on the HDMI output so you get a fully clear HDMI. The best part of using this as a webcam replacement is the flip forward screen that you can use to make sure you're in frame and everything looks good while you're streaming. My list of negatives is pretty short and they do focus around using the camera as a high quality streaming camrea for Twitch. The 720p output over USB-C is disappointing and means you'll need an additional cable as well as an HDMI capture device if you're looking to get more than 720p to your stream. Another thing that could be better is having more (all?) controls on the screen without needing to use the control wheel on the back. This downside also exists when taking vlog videos because you're probably looking at the screen flipped towards you and not the back of the camera. With my stream setup, the camera is fairly close to the wall and accessing the back of the camera is not super easy to do. So it's impossible to tweak every setting while looking at the frame I need to look at without using my phone to connect to the camera. There is a "button" on the screen that toggles the ability to touch certain controls on the screen to modify them but the controls available are limited (for instance, there's no manual/auto focus control on the screen). Having another control on the screen that basically just opens up the full menu would be amazing here. Speaking of controlling the camera with my phone, that's a thing you can do too! The setup is a little clunky and the performance could be better. I'm not 100% certain but I have to assume it's using 2.4Ghz wifi instead of 5Ghz so interference is an issue here but it might work fine for you. The most annoying part of the whole thing is how long it takes to control the camera from your phone. You need to launch the app, hit the "control camera" button and then connect and wait for it to connect to bluetooth and then disconnect you from your own wifi and connect directly to your camrea's wifi and then probably fail once and try again. So it's almost like a solid minute between deciding I need to tweak a setting and actually getting things going on my phone. When it's running on the phone, the video performance is pretty choppy but I've never used the phone to really look at the shot, I more care about being able to control some of the things I can't control from the screen without the control wheel. I understand having the phone connect directly to the camera since you'll probably be using this a lot when you're not on your home wifi, it's just a small annoyance and it pretty consistently fails with my iPhone on the first attempt but usually doesn't have an issue the second time. Overall, though, the phone connection is a saving grace to allowing me to control the phone when the back controls are not accessible and I can deal with the clunkiness for that ability. Overall, this camera is going to be my stream camera for a long time to come. The quality is top notch and with a quick release foot, it's easy to pop out and in and take the camera with me when I want to film something else or take some pictures of the kids. At it's price point, you can't really get much better than this. Sacrificing a couple of the bells and whistles that you get with a much more expensive professional entry (along with much more expensive lenses) is nothing because you probably won't need of those things anyways for what this camera is made to do. Make content better than using the front facing camera on your phone. The quality will rival the back facing camera on your phone as well so it's nice to have a dedicated piece of hardware that you can just use for all of your filming needs. Get this camera is you're looking for an upgrade.

No flash on this camera , every camera needs a lighting

Had it less than 4 months and already had to ship it off for defect

I was looking for a very easy to operate point and poke camera. This camera is far more complex than I need or want. I had quite a time attempting to take pictures and missed a few due to not understanding all the settings. I do not recommend this camera for anyone wanting a simple, easy to operate camera.

It was alright but the price could have been a little cheaper

If you’re into photography and videography, you would know that every camera model has its own purpose. The Sony ZV1F camera is designed specifically for vlogging so this is a camera that puts videography first, which is why it has the flip screen but no viewfinder. The camera would also be well suited for serious users who want to shoot straightforward video quickly, thanks to its compact design and the myriad of features available such as filters, exposures, and even creative options such as color presets, SLOG color grading and bokeh switch. Bottom line is, this is a camera that would generally save your time by having those options available for you as you record the video, as oppose to applying them in post process. I really like the small footprint of the camera. This is the camera that you can bring with you everywhere as you can easily slide it into the pocket of your cargo pants. It’s small but yet it’s powerful enough, which what gives it the edge against action cameras and mobile phones. Sony packs a 1-inch Exmor RS sensor with 20mm F/2.0 Zeiss Tessar T prime lens that gives you 20.1 megapixels for stills and up to 4K/30P with 100M bitrate. Decent specs and the lens does deserve the Zeiss’ big name. It’s important to note that you can only shoot stills in JPEG. It would be great if the camera can shoot RAW through future updates, but this seems to be unlikely to happen given that this camera is not primarily intended for photography. As expected, the camera gives you fairly fast auto focus response. Sony gives you active stabilization that will crop your video in exchange for a more stable clip. The active stabilization is ok, however it’s not as effective when walking in fast pace as I would expect it to be, considering what EIS can do these days. Also, I would like it more if the camera has a headphone jack so we can monitor the audio as we record the video but then again, we’re talking about a camera designed for straightforward shooting. As for Image quality, it is good. It’s sharp enough for a small camera. However, the rolling shutter is noticeable when you pan the camera a bit fast. Since this is a Sony, it works well with Sony’s external mic that makes use of Sony’s proprietary hot shoe. When paired with Sony’s new Vlogger shotgun microphone, you’d be getting clear audio with no hassle involved since the hot shoe supplies both the audio connection and power. I should say that even without using external microphone, the camera’s built-in microphone performs well and it is good enough for most users. As it is the case with other Sony vlogging cameras, you can use the camera as a webcam, which is a very nice and useful feature to have. For sure this camera performs better and gives you better image quality than your typical webcam in terms of low light capabilities and sharpness. To sum up, this camera lives up to what it is intended for; as long as you’re okay with some of its limitations.

battery charger was missing. such an issue shows poor quality control at Best Buy stores.

Horrible at downloading once you record content. Takes hours to download. Not happy at all.

My package never came and they never tried to help resolve this issue

The Sony ZV-1F Vlog camera is the perfect setup for almost all types of content creation. It is small, light, and very easy to hold. The full kit to get the best setup would also include the Sony Vlogger Accessory Kit, and also the Sony Vlogger Shotgun Mircrophone. This review will just be covering the camera. If you are not getting an accessory kit which includes an SD card, you will need to buy an SD card along with this camera as one is NOT included with just the camera. Out of the box, The camera is pretty easy to set up and you will just need to install the battery and an SD card. When powering on, you will go through the standard setup of date/time, then you will have access to the menu to be able to configure the camera in a whole plethora of options, like setting up bluetooth and wifi connections, Video resolution and recording fps, Image resolution and ISO, etc. It takes some playing around with and studying up on if you are not familiar with cameras in general. It has a 3 inch screen that is very bright and great clarity. It can be flipped around to view yourself in selfie mode you could say, and easy to watch your video as you record a vlog. It has been a perfect setup for me with the mic and accessory kit as I have been able to start content creating with my wife for Youtube. The camera does come with a windsock sits over the built in microphone. It does a pretty good job of keeping wind noise out of videos. The microphone that is built in is ok for some general use photography and video, but when you are vlogging or content creating, you will want something more directional like the Sony Shotgun Microphone. The regular microphone will still do fine if you are only able to start with just the camera. The camera itself boasts a 20.1 Megapixel lens with a large amount of digital zoom (44x) but only 2.7x Optical zoom. I would have liked to see more optical zoom but this is a good amount for a non SLR camera It can record 4k HDR Video at 30fps and 1080p Video at 60fps. It can also do slow motion with HFR at 960fps, which is super fun to do. The built in image stabilization does a pretty good job at keeping the camera steady while walking or just moving it around a bit. Auto exposure does a pretty good job at consistent illumination and filling when moving around lighter and darker areas while filming. Connecting through Wifi lets you transfer photo's and videos off the device and easily manage the others Overall I am pleasantly surprised with this camera and its functionality and image and video quality. The sound quality from the built in microphone is overall good, but I would recommend upgrading to the Shotgun Microphone. I highly recommend this camera for content creators and vloggers. It's hard to go wrong with this option. It is fun to use, easy, and great quality!

This store doesn’t have a separate line for pickups. There was only one cashier. It took way longer than it should for me to checkout

The camera isn’t making vlogging easy for me and didn’t make editing easy

This camera is perfect for what I need it for, which is taking basic videos and making vlogs for work. The camera has a steady shot and is light and easy to use. The included microphone puff doesn't look like the picture, it looks like a dead rat on top of my camera. Overall, this is a great beginner camera for vlogging.

BROKE THE 2ND WEEK I GOT IT , THIS IS ridiculous PLEASE GET PROTECTION PLAN ALSO

I think the Sony ZV-1F camera is a perfect entry level vlogger camera. The features are slimmed down so that you can get started quick and easy. It does still have a lot of settings that you can dive into and grow into as you learn more. Personally I don't need access to a bunch of settings for my purposes. It also has some of the familiar settings that come with all Sony cameras which I'm primarily used to. The touch screen is very responsive, clear, and bright. There are very few buttons keeping with that simplistic approach. I liked the dedicated button for defocused or clear background. Capping the robustness of the camera it does not have interchangeable lenses. This allows you to get into events a lot easier but limits it's flexibility. I love how light it is. It seems kind of cheap but I'll accept that trade off to help prevent arm fatigue when on the go. However I think if Sony included some gripped texture it would have added a lot. The video seemed a little jittery when moving too fast. I wish that was smoothed out some. There is a mode for slow/quick motion which works good but since it's not running at real time there is no audio. So if you want fast motion in real time with audio you'll have to settle with some jitter. However focusing on products up close was fast and looked really good. I was surprised how good the stock microphone is. I didn't use it in a noisy location but it picked up my voice loud and clear about three feet away. This camera has a cold shoe but I really wish it was a hot shoe so it's easier to connect a shotgun microphone. In the realm of picture taking I was very happy. The pictures take very fast so you can catch every moment. This also makes it so action shots don't get very blurry. The dark pictures lighten up pretty good and are only a little grainy. There's just a little bit of zoom so you either need to be capturing large areas or be able to get close to your subject. I think this is a fun camera to try out a new hobby or profession with. It has become my go to camera.

Better off with a $20 camera from the toys section of target

For content creators like Twitch streams who want a camera this is a night and day improvement over a webcam as it gives you a better a lens and potentially a better output to capture yourself or your content that looks sharp and more professional the Webcam you use for your Zoom calls at work. Its compact enough that it can fit in even the most crowded setups without taking up too much space but with all the great features on a Sony camera. It can also double as a webcam (only at 720 though) so if you need a quick cam for a zoom call or discord, it can be easily used, but for me as a hobby streamer on Twitch, its better to get your own Micro-hdmi to hdmi cable/adapter to a cam capture card to use the HDMI output to OBS and get 2160p output directly which looks worlds better. It focuses easy and the inbuilt mic can be used in a pinch if you need too as well, comes with a wind screen so that if you are using it in a windy environment you can help make it not sound like your in a wind tunnel. Overall I'm really happy with this for my content creation/twitch streaming and look a lot better in my videos for it. Since it uses a standard tripod mount its really easy to setup. Overall I've been very happy with it.