A Concert & A Sony ZV-1: Sorting Out Sony’s Place.
Photo exhibit opening from yesterday done.
It was concert day.
And photos were taken.
But… the brief spec for the day was different. For a concert compactness counts over all else. And there is nothing more compact than the Sony ZV-1.
Since the focus was on singing, I appreciate another thing about the ZV-1. Simplicity.
There are other small cameras. I have a couple of them. But none are as simple as the ZV-1. Focus speed and accuracy approach the super natural. Burst speeds allow for quick grabs of candid moments with a few images to choose from. Helps when a subject might blink or move awkwardly. Gives a few options when culling images later.
There is only one downside. That 1″ sensor being pushed pretty far in low light. But there is a fix. Hit the image with the Lightroom AI Denoise stick when needed.
Enough of that.
Here are the images from the day, including candid pics while getting ready for the concert. Not that many. Nothing Earth shattering.
Noticed walking in to after concert dinner with my family.
Thoughts.
I have been trying to sort out Sony’s place in my photography journey recently.
Recently wrote a post prattling on about how a Leica had won my heart for every day photography. My Sony gear has not seen a lot of use recently. So where does this leave Sony? Surprisingly I think the ZV-1 may have answered that question.
It is the camera brand I look to when I just want the picture.
I have said this before. Was kind of joking in the past. But that is actually very accurate. Take out camera. Point it in the general direction of that which you intend to capture. Press the shutter button. Boom. Picture.
Will it be artsy fartsy? No.
Will it leave you waxing poetic and blathering on about experience and feel? No.
Will I have a serviceable picture? Yes.
Will it fit in my pocket, even in my shirt? Yes.
Will it have people stopping you occasionally and asking, is that a Sony ZV-1? Absolutely not.
But that is a perk.
If I do slow down can it take an actual good picture, and even a little subject isolation? Yes.
Will it crush video? Yep. Kind of what it was made to do.
Exhibit A: A quick video taken on a night out with the Mrs.
Had the ZV-1 in pocket even as I snapped away with the Leica I prattled on about as my main camera.
Could I have taken stills with the ZV-1 that night? Yes.
Choosing a different tool for stills that day does not change the fact that the ZV-1 is also a capable tool.
And that in a nutshell is my analysis of Sony as a whole. It remains because it is a technological wonder that can be relied upon for things my artistic side self could only dream of with a manual focusing implement. I keep it around for its technical capabilities as well as its image capturing competence. It may not move the soul in use, but it sure enough gets the pic. And this is important as well. For example on this day for this session…
…do you think the matriarch cared how much I enjoyed myself? Not at all. She wants in-focus and properly exposed pics of her family.
And this is not just a Sony thing. Any number of modern or recent camera systems could fill this role. And none of them is any more soul stirring than the other to me. Even those that sold themselves as dial centric retro friendly devices have caved and mostly produced same-y faux SLR shaped devices as of recent. I just chose Sony. But any would do. Welp.
Another successful bit of image-capturing therapy with a bit of singing thrown in as a bonus.
Happy capturing.
-ELW
Eric L. Woods 
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