What Sony Camera Should You Buy in 2024?

The new Sony ZV-E10 II was just released and it might not be for you but what Sony Camera should you actually buy?

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[AppleTrack]

That chart is actually extremely helpful and satisfying

[gerriti]

Your point around 23:00 about wanting manufacturers to just cram everything in is actually something I REALLY agree with. They're already spent the time and resources building out these features (especially ones that are mostly software). It makes sense they go in the expensive cameras first, but now they have it, and it costs comparatively little to continue adding to their cheaper models as they get refreshed, which is only good for everyone

[phoenixvette]

I could simpilfy this since I just finished a massive obsession of my own. Sony has a lot of overlap in their models. For budget seekers that still like quality, The ZV series of cameras will get you great video, some photos, the a6700 is the best budget hybrid for more photos. Most people don't need better than that. If you only care about photos I'd say the A7iii is still pretty solid, but for more demanding photography the a6700 is faster and better autofocus, but you give up the larger sensor, not that that is bad. The a7iv is the best bang for buck when you stay in Sony land. The R6ii from canon might be more friendly to non-photographers. If you want compact then again the ZV cameras are good and will take a still, but the a6xxx cameras will take more photos faster. If you are looking at greater than $1700, the A7RV will give you the highest resolution and unlike the ZV-E1 will be good for low light photos. ZV-E1 will do low light video. This is because the noise is smaller and easier to reduce in post. If you don't want to worry about processing I'd point you to the Fuji XT5 or similar. Sony is great but does add complexity that many people like but some people might not. Then if you're really going to shoot video I'd say the FX30 is great for everyone, the FX3 is overpriced and the FX6 is a good deal. The FX6 is however very common in the rental world so maybe you get yourself a smaller camera like the FX30 and then rent the FX6. For faster action photos the A7IV does well, but the a6700 will be better at rolling shutter, an effect that warbles a fast moving image. If you want to do a little bit of everything the Canon R5mkii really does a great job of taking what sony broke the glass ceiling with and made it extra reliable. If you like the small size of the zv cameras but want even smaller and just for photos I'd actually recommend the Leica D-Lux 8 since it's just the right amount of camera that fits in a pocket. If you want to just dump cash into awesomeness I'd get the combination of the A9III and the A7RV plus the ZV-E1 and then the 24-105 OSS, the 70-200 GM OSS II and two Sigma or GM primes you like. If you are like me and totally lost, wait with me for the A1ii, the A7V, the next FX camera and watch closely the point and shoot/ compact market before the holidays.

[robertsutton]

Been using 2 a6700s to live stream for the past nine months. I’m sure there’s better out there but quality and the price are incredible. We live stream at 1080 60 FPS to YouTube every week. I was just glad to see that you acknowledged the a6700. Makes me feel confident in the purchase. Also thanks for the video. Very informative. Makes me consider getting into full frame eventually.

[unquestionabletv]

Got three ZVE10s for like $500 each. Then picked up some full frame FE 1.8 lenses for podcasts. Then when I upgraded to FX3, the lenses will be great starter lenses

[jessekedar]

Do I have any intention to buy a Sony camera? No... Did I watch the entire video because I'm a tech nerd? ...mmmmaybe

[AndrewSacoman]

Very useful chart! I've already come back to this a couple times as reference to help select the right camera for my wife so we can shoot photos together 😃

[J-Dawg-]

The A7IV is a great hybrid camera for the price!

[pascalbasel]

I'd rate the a9iii as an overall hybrid camera instead of photo only. It's insane for both photo and video.

[amiri]

31:35 a9iii is $5, 999.99

Also because of it's global shutter it also looks more cinematic with camera shake or strobing lights (Matti Haapoja covered this).

Great video, I didn't realize how much they have in their lineup since I don't keep up with it

[A.C.MacLeod]

Love the video I just don’t consider interchangeable lens cameras as point and shoots. Great to have you back! Hope the family is doing well.

[JoshDyePhoto]

As a real estate photographer, I use an a7r3 for photos and a ZV-E1 for video. Yes it’s a hassle to have two bodies, but the ZV-E1 is a beast. It’s got the capabilities of an a7siii but for over 1k less. The only problem I’ve encountered was overheating from shooting at 4k 60fps. Granted it was nearly 100° out so that didn’t help. But that’s the only issue I’ve had with it so far and that was only one time. It’s a great camera.

[josephespanaYT]

Yoo, this was the most helpful video guide on Sony cameras I've ever seen. Well done! Thank you so much.

[richardsteinbergmakingknives]

Hey, great video!!! I have two of the old ZV-1 for walk and talks (seldom do any more) and two A7Siii for everything else. I've got to have a good EVF! The A7Siii spoiled me. I'd also like to see global shutter in the A7Siii update. That would be amazing. Congrats on the new addition to the family.

[antsalmon]

As someone who was thinking about the ZVE10, then eagerly waiting for the mark ii, seeing this video gives me a different perspective I'll definitely think about where I'm at and where my priorities lie a little more. Getting the FX30/6700 sensor in a cheaper tier sounded just awesome and could see longer use than the first zve10 because of that. But as you laid out there's a lot more to consider

[AndreSjoberg]

What people need to understand is that «a feature» isn’t «one thing». Some features need almost no processing power, while another feature might need extra processing power. Even though the ZV-E1 is *cheaper* it came later than the A7S3, and it has *additional chips* that the A7S3 don’t have, since it came out before the ZV-E1. So a feature that can be easily added to a newer camera with more/newer chips can’t necessarily be added to an older camera that doesn’t have those new chips.

And just because they added *some* new features to the A7S3 doesn’t mean mean they can add *whatever else* to the A7S3, since some features just need a little cpu power, while others, like luts, do real time image manipulation, which the A7S3 wasn’t built to do.

A never camera will have other and never chips, some being more powerful than a more expensive older camera, and capable of doing more, even though it’s cheaper.

[matthieuzglurg]

to see the A7CR in the "point and shoot" category hurts my brain. Those camera are not point and shoot camera, they are full frame ILC in a smaller package, that's not the same thing. Point and shoot camera have traditionally been camera that you have in your pocket / bag / purse which are wasy to use, are cheap and have a fixed lens, and last but not least, a flash. By that definition, the only point and shoot camera Sony makes is the RX100VII.

The ZV1 and ZV1F could be considered that, but they lack the flash, and point and shoot cameras are dinstinctively acamera made for stills first, and the ZV line is video first. So the ZV1, ZV1ii and ZV1F are all compact video cameras.


Also, why do you classify both the A7IV and A7RV as "hybrid photo" but the A7CII and A7CR which are basically the same cameras in a smaller package are "point and shoot video" and "point and shoot photo"? Also if the A7CII/R are in the "point and shoot category", why the A6700 isn't? It's an even smaller package than those two.

Anyway, I won't write a book about your chart, but there is a lot wrong with it.

So here goes one that I would consider correct :

Sony has several types of camera bodies : the big pro video bodies, the lighter, cheaper and smaller but less featured video centric bodies, and then the hybrids, which take different forms.

Starting with the point and shoot and compact camera, Sony has 3 : The ZV1F which is the cheapest, the ZV1ii which is a video focused rather premium compact, and the RX100VII which is a premium point and shoot made for travel photography.

Let's continue with hybrid cameras.

In the APS-C lineup, Sony still sells their previous generation A6x00 bodies, which qualify as the cheaper hybrid bodies : cameras that can do a bit of everything but don't have a clear and strong focus : A6100 (budget), A6400 (entry level), A6600 (mid range) and A6700 (higher end).

Then, in the full frame line, we need to separate the "pro like" bodies with large grips, lots of buttons, dual card slots etc to the others.
The A7IV (pro) and A7CII (compact) are the two "real hybrids" where there is as much focus on video as there is on stills. Then come the high resolution A7RV (pro) / A7CR (compact) which are specialized in stills but are really lacking in the video department (not because of the specs, but because the sensot is way too slow).
The Video focused hybrid is teh A7SIII, and has a "pro" body with no compact equivalent (as of yet, in hybrid form)
Then we have the sports / action camera hybrid in the form of the A9III (which is extremely fast, both for photo and video, at the cost of reduced image quality), and finally the flagship A1 which has both excellent video and uncompromised stills quality in the same camera.

And that's about it for the hybrids.

Then, we have the video line. I already talked about the ZV1F and ZV1ii but imho they deserve their own category.

So basically you have :
casual use :ZV-E10ii, which is the affordable entry level video body, then you have the ZV-E1 which is the higher end video centric body, both those cameras have a similar design and set of features, but the ZV-E1 costs more because of the larger sensor (identical to A7SIII), IBIS ect.

pro use : FX30, which is a profesionnal version of the ZV-E10ii, and then the FX3, which is a profesionnal version of the ZV-E1. Both those cameras have the same body, same feature set, same tech but ony vary in the sensor used and price tag. Those camera are NOT HYBRIDS. They don't have mechanical shutters. They can take photos but they were never MEANT FOR THIS. That's why they're video centric and almost never used for photography unless there is no other option available. Each of those cameras have an hybrid equivalent that has all the features that a stills camera needs (A6700 for th ZV-E10ii / FX30, A7S3 for the FX3 and ZV-E1), including a viewfinder, mechanical shutter and not video centric button layout.

You could also sort out those camera based on the sensor they use. Nice thing about Sony is that besides releasing a bazillion cameras each year, they have only a couple of sensors in their cameras and it's easy to sort them out this way :

1" 10MP BSI : ZV1F (video)
1" 20MP BSI stacked : RX100VII (photo), ZV1ii (video)
APS-C 24MP FSI : A6100 (hybrid), A6400 (hybrid), A6600 (hybrid), ZV-E10 (video)
APS-C 26MP BSI : A6700 (hybrid), ZV-E10ii (video), FX30 (video pro)
Full Frame 33MP BSI : A7IV (hybrid pro), A7CII (hybrid compact)
Full Frame 12MP BSI : A7SIII (hybrid pro), ZV-E1 (video), FX3 (pro video)
Full frame 51MP BSI : A7RV (photo pro), A7CR (photo compact)
Full Frame 24MP BSI Global Shutter : A9III (pro sports / action hybrid)
Full Frame 50MP BSI Stacked : A1 (pro hybrid flagship)

[JoseOnTheAir]

Thanks for this kind of video! As a ZV-E10 first gen owner, I honestly don't even see much to upgrade in with the Mark II because they started on a great foot with the original. If anything I've added a Nikon Z30 to replace my ZV-1 to have more variety with shooting, especially with Nikon's colors (and they have an adapter for E mount lens!). Honestly at this point, I'd be riding my APS-C cameras out until they no longer serve me and that point I'd transition to full frame. Whether it's something like an A7C or even a Lumix S9 since I'd still want something in a smaller body, or maybe options are even more vast by then. Finally curbing some of my G.A.S. 😂

[scottr]

1st, Congratulation on the little one. Looks like you and John are loving being parents. ❤

Thanks for the video. We do look at these videos even after we make our purchases for validation. I feel good now!😁
Being a budget minded, photo centric amateur and liking the smaller form factors the A6700 is my main camera and the ZV-1 is my point & shoot. They are upgrades from my A6500 & RX100Va.

Like many I also have some specialized cameras. Insta360 Go3S, Insta 360 X3 & DJI pocket 2. Each has its uses.

Thanks again from a long time viewer.

[groundedsuburbia]

Great video. We need a new Sony RX 100VIII