Sony ZV-E10 II Review: A $999 Vlogging Camera With 10-Bit Log and a Bigger Battery
The Sony ZV-E10 II is a camera made for people who point it at themselves. No viewfinder, a flip-out screen, a big built-in microphone and a body small enough to hold at arm’s length all day. Sony released it in July 2024 at $999 for the body, and it’s the update the hugely popular original ZV-E10 needed.
The first ZV-E10 had a tiny battery, 8-bit video and an old sensor that wobbled when you panned. The Mark II fixes all three.
Inside is a newer 26MP back-side illuminated APS-C sensor, the same one used in the A6700, and Sony’s current processing.
Video review: Dustin Abbott
Built for video creators
4K at up to 30p is oversampled from 6K and looks very sharp. 4K at 60p has only a small 1.1x crop. You get 10-bit 4:2:2, S-Log3 and S-Cinetone, plus the ability to load your own LUTs. For a camera this size and price, that’s a proper color-grading workflow.
The three-capsule microphone on top comes with a windscreen and sounds better than most camera mics. There’s a mic input and the Multi Interface shoe for Sony’s digital-audio accessories.
Creator shortcuts are everywhere. Product Showcase mode snaps focus from your face to whatever you hold up to the lens. A Background Defocus button opens the aperture for a blurrier backdrop. The camera works as a USB webcam and for live streaming.
The battery fix
Sony moved this tiny body to the big NP-FZ100 battery from its full-frame cameras. Reviewers measured around two hours of video per charge, several times what the original managed. That alone makes it a different camera to live with.
What it doesn’t have
No in-body stabilization. Video uses Sony’s Active digital stabilization, which crops in further. For walking shots, a lens with optical stabilization or a small gimbal helps a lot.
No viewfinder, and no mechanical shutter. Stills are shot with the electronic shutter at up to 11 fps, which can show distortion with fast motion or banding under some lights. It’s a capable stills camera, but it’s a video camera first.
There’s no 4K at 120p. Slow motion tops out in Full HD.
It weighs about 377 grams with battery and card.
Who should buy it
YouTubers, vloggers, streamers and social media creators who want a real camera that’s still light and simple. Small businesses filming product videos. Anyone who used a phone and wants better low light, better audio and interchangeable lenses.
Pair it with the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 for low light and background blur, or a wide lens like Sony’s E 11mm f/1.8 for arm’s-length vlogging.
The closest rivals are Fujifilm’s X-M5, cheaper and smaller with film simulations, and Canon’s R50 V. The Sony wins on the lens system and the battery. If you want a photographer’s camera with a viewfinder, look at the A6700 instead.