Sirui AF 75mm f1.2 & Sony ZV-E10
My pursuit for the lightest camera and lens combination (for shooting friendly wildlife and Bokeh Panos) has not only taken me to a crop sensor vlogging camera, but also a very interesting new Chinese lens. Although the camera lacks an electronic viewfinder, body stabilization and a high capacity battery, this keeps the weight down while being surprisingly friendly on your wallet too!
ZV-E10 + Sirui AF 75mm f/1.2
Lens Specifiations
Mount:
Coverage:
Stats:
Stats (eqv.):
Diaphram:
Design:
MFD:
Filter:
Focus (Turn):
Length:
Weigh:
Hood (type):
Firmware:
Colours:
E / X / Z
APS-C (1.5x)
75mm f/1.2
112.5mm f/1.8
15 (blades)
13e in 9g
69cm
67mm (metal)
360° (by wire)
94mm / 3.7"
466g / 1.0lbs
Plastic (bayonet)
USB-C (built-in)
3x
As much as I love shallow depth of field (DoF) photography, I don't love how large, heavy and expensive the gear can be. Mirrorless designs initially promised to make small and light cameras, but much of those gains have been surrendered in pursuit of ultimate performance.
Although I was willing to compromise in a few areas, I still wanted this camera to have access to a lightweight portrait lens with a large aperture, decent image quality, fast & reliable autofocus, silent operation, good burst / buffer speeds, and a variable angle screen. Amazingly, this system has all of that while being surprisingly affordable too.
Cam Specifiations
Sensor:
Resolution:
Burst:
DR Stops:
P-Shutter:
E-Shutter:
SS:
AF points:
Video:
Vid Qual:
ISO:
EVF:
LCD:
Memory:
Weight:
Connection:
Battery:
APS-C CMOS
24mp
11fps / 48 shots
10.5 (14bit)
1/160th
1/30th
30s - 1/4,000th
425 (93%)
4kp/24
4:2:0 / 8bit
100 - 25,600
None
3" / 0.92m / Flip out
SD
343g
USB-C (+ power)
440 (NP-FW50)
NOTE: All photos in this review were taken with the Sirui AF 75mm lens at its widest aperture (@ f/1.2).
Sony used to make lightweight photo oriented APS-C mirrorless camera bodies, but sadly that ended with the A5100 (in 2014). Today Sony's APS-C (crop) photo models are no lighter than their full frame ones (A6700 vs A7C). However, if you're willing to lose the EVF, IBIS, and large battery, the ZV-E10 is not a bad option. When combined with the Sirui AF 75mm f/1.2 it is a lightweight portrait powerhouse. But, how much shallow Depth of Field (DoF) and image quality we can squeeze out of this little combo?...
Red Squirrel - Sweden | 1/250th, ISO 400
The Sony A9 with a Sony 135mm f/1.8 lens had been my "go to" full frame choice for shooting friendly wildlife and Bokeh Panos for a while. It does still have an edge over this system (read below), but at 1,628g (3.6lbs) the weight can still cause shoulder discomfort after a long day. When I started to look for something a little lighter, I didn't realise quite how much the weight and cost could be reduced while maintaining decent image quality and very shallow DoF.
Small, Light, Cheap & Awesome
At 810g (1.8lbs), the Sony ZV-E10 and Sirui AF 75mm f/1.2 weighs just half that of my full frame setup (above) and costing far less (€800 s/h). Now to be fair, if we change the camera to the compact Sony A7C and the lens to the Samyang 135mm f/1.8 then you can get the weight and cost down to 1,280g & €1600 (respectively). Although it's the same resolution, the larger, stabilized sensor, bigger, sharper lens, and better AF system do provide a noticeable jump in image quality. Plus, the bigger battery and viewfinder (albeit a rather poor one) are also worthwhile additions. Whether that destroys the premise of this camera and lens is up to you...
Douglas Squirrel - Canada | 1/250th, ISO 100
100% Crop (on PC)
At 113mm f/1.8, the Sirui lenses' equivalency is close to that of the full-frame setup (above), and is ridiculously light given its 63mm entrance pupil! Usually you can't cheat physics this hard, so for only €356 (brand new & incl. tax), this lens represents extreme value!!
Image Quality
The image quality from the ZV-E10 is similar to most other modern 24mp APS-C sensors. Sure, it's better than the decade old A5100, but not by a lot. Sensor performance has largely stagnated over the past ten to fifteen years. Although you're literally getting half the quality from full frame due to sensor size, lens quality is [as always] still the most important factor. This fast and surprisingly sharp Sirui lens helps to bridge the gap between full frame systems, mostly when shooting wide open and available light is an issue. Sheer image quality takes a hit where highlights in bokeh are concerned, but only over the best full frame lenses, which will cost a fair bit more.
Greater Spotted Woodpeckers - Sweden | 1/500th, ISO 1000
It's worth noting that all of these images are taken in "silent" mode, which does negatively affect the dynamic range and motion on this camera. This is something I do not have to worry about on the Sony A1 (which provides double the resolution and image quality), but that system weighs more than double and can cost ten times as much! As technically impressive as the A1 and Sony 135GM are, this little gem of a combination does an even better job of exposing the value gap.
Body
The size of the ZV-E10 is only really comfortable with small and light lenses. This Sirui 75mm lens is about as far as I would like to go with size and weight (466g). Plus, there are some uncomfortable sharp angles that dig into your fingers at the back of this lens (see below). Although this is a slight criticism of Sirui's design, Sony are not giving them much room to work with on ZV-E10's grip.
The flip out screen is nice for shooting video of yourself when vlogging or using it as a webcam, but it's also great for shooting low angle portrait orientation images too. For this reason it's also useful for me when shooting bokeh panos since I'm much more used to shooting them in portrait orientation and usually can't see the screen when angled for the upper rows. It's not as convenient to just pull it up for quick low level shots, but it's still nice to have options and I love that you can have the screen facing inwards to protect it when putting the camera in a bag or just carrying it around. The size, resolution and brightness of the rear LCD is decent (not vastly different to most other modern Sony's).
The lack of a viewfinder will bother some photographers, but for me (shooting friendly wildlife at their level) this has not been a huge issue. An optional viewfinder would have been nice here, but the windshield unfortunately uses that to connect to the camera. The only other thing I don't like it how awkward the SD card is to remove. Coming out between the battery the door, there is little to get hold of and good luck doing that with gloves.
Red Squirrel - Sweden | 1/160th, ISO 400
Controls
Compared to the A5100 things are vastly improved. It's not just about the extra custom, FN buttons and top dial that you get here, but it's the vast amount of customization you can do with them and the modern menus. The menu options match almost all the functionality I was used to from the A9. As good as the A9 controls are, I don't use too many of them at the same time, so I can set this camera up to give me enough of the controls that I need during most scenarios.
Onto the downsides; I don't particularly like the power on button, it's awkward to use by feel and to me, seems like it goes the wrong way. If only Sony replaced that zoom rocker with a normal power button... OK, it's time to talk about the zoom rocker... When using a prime lens and knocking the rocker accidentally (which is extremely easy to do), it throws up a warning messages. This pointless message just tell you that the button has no function, but disables the camera for a few seconds and can't be disabled. I cannot convey the extent to which this idiotic UI choice annoys me without swearing profusely, **insert infinite profanity here**. Why it was ever thought that this was a good idea baffles me, but the fact that it was not patched in a firmware when people started using the camera is insane. This issue alone almost renders the camera unusable, which is just moronic!!
Auto Focus
The AF is surprisingly brilliant on the ZV-E10 for animals and general tracking. Despite having less PDAF sensor points, It feels surprisingly close to the system from the A9, just not as quick, of course. It seems to pick up birds faces (not the eyes), which the A9 does not. It also picks up animals eyes in video mode, which the Sony A1 does not do! The ZV-E10's focusing system is not as fast as the pro Sony cameras, but being a little more advanced in some areas is very impressive for something so small and cheap.
RANT MODE: As a Sony A1 user, I can't help but be annoyed that animal eye-AF in video was not added there, when it was here (and on the A7c). Both of these considerably cheaper cameras have older and slower processors.
Great Blue Heron - Canada | 1/11250th, ISO 100
Speed
The maximum shutter speed of 1/4,000th is common for mechanical shutters on budget cameras, but it's a shame to see it on the electronic shutter as well, when many Fuji models go up to 1/32,000th for about a decade. Thus, when using this lenses maximum aperture in direct lighting, you will unfortunately need an ND filter (2 stops is fine).
Burst and buffer speeds are a very respectable (for a vlogging camera) 11fps for 48 shots. Fun fact: That's better performance than my last professional DSLR - the $5000 Nikon D3 (which was a marvel in 2007). Actually the D3 could reach 11fps, but only if the autofocus was disabled, and holy hell did it make a ton of noise at that speed (no good for close up wildlife). The nearest lens option to this would have been the Nikkor 105mm f/1.8, combined with the camera that combo weighed more than double this (2Kg / 4.4lbs), despite it having a smaller entrance pupil (58.3mm vs 62.5mm on the Sirui) and no autofocus.
Red Squirrel - Sweden | 1/250th, ISO 1000
Bokeh Panos
The last thing I wanted to cover, before getting to the conclusion, is the Bokeh Panorama technique (A-K.A. The Brenizer Method). It involves stitching multiple images (with the same settings) to achieve a wider angle image with otherwise impossibly shallow depth of field. This is not only fun, but allowing you to capture shots as wide as you like drastically opens up the versatility of this lens.
I used to be convinced that full frame was the most efficient way to maximize this effect (where entrance pupil is the main metric) for the lowest weight. A sweet spot between APS-C and Medium Format. I even came up with an "Entrance Pupil per Kilogram" chart. A full frame 75mm entrance pupil setup is possible for as low as 1.28Kg (with Sony's compact A7C cameras and the Samyang 135mm f/1.8 lens), but this Sirui combo (weighing only 800g) easily bests that with a score of over 80:1, compared to just 60:1 for the full frame.
Final Thoughts
If your goal is to get the most capable, shallow depth of field for portrait style photography, with highly respectable image quality, all in the smallest, lightest and cheapest package possible, I don't think this combo can be easily beaten. If you're a Fuji user, the X-M1 or X-T30 with the same lens will get you close.
I was shocked that Sony's new photography focused APS-C cameras don't save you much weight over full frame options. APS-C lenses (that are truly equivalent) are also usually* no lighter either, so combining these two lightweight oddities provides the largest glass per gram of any camera / lens combo I can find. OK, technically there are lighter cameras (Sony NEX C3), but this would sacrifice too much performance and ergonomics to justify the 118g (4.16 ounces) weight savings. Similarly, the A5100's 60g (2.12 ounces) saving would lose too much focus, burst and screen performance.
* As good as the camera is, the star of the show here is really the lens .The Sirui AF 75mm f/1.2's high image quality, huge glass, good autofocus, great build, low weight and extremely affordable price is more impressive than any camera body could be. However, this camera and lens make a fantastic combination, especially for travelling.
If I could keep one camera and lens... OK, it would probably be the Sony A1 + 135GM, which is lighter than any other similarly capable camera and lens combo, but if money and/or weight were still an issue, I would be extremely happy with the ZV-E10 & Sirui lens. The weight savings are high, and yet the image quality sacrifices are relatively small.
Some might wonder if the answer to extreme weight reduction could be to use a smartphone, in "portrait mode" (for computational shallow DoF), but in my opinion that just doesn't compare to the optical quality of a lens like this.
A Few More...
I couldn't squeeze all the animal images that I've enjoyed shooting on this system into the review, so here are a few more...
Sirui Wide Angle
UPDATE: Here are a few images from the Sirui AF 16mm f/1.2 lens now that I have it. The full frame equivalency (field of view and effective depth of field) of this lens is 24mm f/1.8. This is a really nice lens and although it's still a bargain, I didn't feel like it was quite as unique as the 75mm. There are lighter 24mm f/1.8 lenses around, although to be fair I have not tested them. I am comparing it to the Sony 24GM, which is entirely unfair. This lens is the same price as the 75mm - €356 (new). It's a little lighter than the 75mm, so including the camera it weighs: 727g (1.6 lbs), or all three (16mm & 75mm) comes to: 1,169g (2.57 lbs), which is a nicely light versatile combo.
