Which camera for filming yoga indoors - ZV-E10 or Gopro Hero 11?

[JEM5]

Hi,
I'm in the process of setting up a small studio for filming youtube videos and have found a good black friday deal for the Sony ZV-E10 camera with the 16-50mm lens, so I'm considering purchasing it. I currently have a Gopro hero 11 black, which I'm using for filming outdoors. I've understood that the ZV-E10 would provide a better image quality when filming indoors because of its larger sensor, but I would often film me doing yoga - sometimes standing on my head - so I'm wondering if the ZV-E10 standing on a tripod only 100-150 centimeters away from me and with nothing but the kit lens "16-50mm f3.5-5.6" would capture my whole body in the frame (without turning the camera vertically)?

Thanks for all the help!

Best regards, Jonas

[mikemorrellNL]

I don't do any filming and I know neither camera (apart from what I've picked up from a few reviews and YouTube video's). From what I've seen, the the Sony ZV-E10 does indeed perform better under 'low light' conditions. How much better than the GoPro depends of course on how much (or how little) índoor light is available.

A shooting distance of 1 - 1.5 metres is very short to get your whole body into a shot. Another factor is that the ZV-E10 has a 'crop sensor' which means that the effective focal lengths of the lens are going to be about 1.5 times what they would be on a 'full-frame' sensor. So the effective focal lengths of the kit lens on the APS-C sensor are going to be 'less wide angle' at 24mm-75mm.

Whether you can fit your whole body into a video depends on the 'field of view'' (FOV). The FOV depends on the shooting distance, the focal length of the lens and also on the size of the camera sensor. The least complicated FOV calculator I've found is at https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/camera-field-of-view.

I'm too inexperienced to give you a definite answer and I hope others will. But if (perhaps incorrectly!) I type in the ZV-E10 + kit lens data and the shooting range you indicate, then IMHO the ZV-E10 is unlikely to work for you At a shooting distance of 1.5 m, I get a FOV of 1.5 m width and 1 m height.  You could flip the camera to vertical but 1.5m is still very limited. So I would advise against snapping up the camera + kit lens now just because you've found a good deal.

Rather, I suggest perhaps finding someone who has an APC (crop) camera with a similar wide-angle lens that you can try out.; it doesn't matter too much whether it's a video or stills camera, it'll just give you an idea of what's in the frame (and what's not) in the studio situation you have in mind

From what I read, the GoPro has a much smaller sensor and a smaller focal length (19mm). So unless you've already done so, I'd give the GoPro a try in a studio setting that you have in mind. With enough (extra) lighting, it might be fine.

If you have alternative (larger) studio space, the ZV-E10 would probably work fine there too.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Mike

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by mikemorrellNL

[JEM5]

On 11/24/2022 at 1:12 PM, mikemorrellNL said:

I don't do any filming and I know neither camera (apart from what I've picked up from a few reviews and YouTube video's). From what I've seen, the the Sony ZV-E10 does indeed perform better under 'low light' conditions. How much better than the GoPro depends of course on how much (or how little) índoor light is available.

A shooting distance of 1 - 1.5 metres is very short to get your whole body into a shot. Another factor is that the ZV-E10 has a 'crop sensor' which means that the effective focal lengths of the lens are going to be about 1.5 times what they would be on a 'full-frame' sensor. So the effective focal lengths of the kit lens on the APS-C sensor are going to be 'less wide angle' at 24mm-75mm.

Whether you can fit your whole body into a video depends on the 'field of view'' (FOV). The FOV depends on the shooting distance, the focal length of the lens and also on the size of the camera sensor. The least complicated FOV calculator I've found is at https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/camera-field-of-view.

I'm too inexperienced to give you a definite answer and I hope others will. But if (perhaps incorrectly!) I type in the ZV-E10 + kit lens data and the shooting range you indicate, then IMHO the ZV-E10 is unlikely to work for you At a shooting distance of 1.5 m, I get a FOV of 1.5 m width and 1 m height.  You could flip the camera to vertical but 1.5m is still very limited. So I would advise against snapping up the camera + kit lens now just because you've found a good deal.

Rather, I suggest perhaps finding someone who has an APC (crop) camera with a similar wide-angle lens that you can try out.; it doesn't matter too much whether it's a video or stills camera, it'll just give you an idea of what's in the frame (and what's not) in the studio situation you have in mind

From what I read, the GoPro has a much smaller sensor and a smaller focal length (19mm). So unless you've already done so, I'd give the GoPro a try in a studio setting that you have in mind. With enough (extra) lighting, it might be fine.

If you have alternative (larger) studio space, the ZV-E10 would probably work fine there too.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Mike

 

Mike, thank you so much for the in-depth reply and for the calculation. I've played around with the calculator and tried out some different options. Based on it I've actually done some redecoration in the room used as a studio space, involving moving a rather large bookshelf, meaning that I would get a little more of the needed distance to the camera. So with this new setup I believe it should work with the ZV-E10 even though it has crop and I've decided to purchase it to try it out. Thanks once again for the help, I appreciate it.

[mikemorrellNL]

15 hours ago, JEM5 said:

Mike, thank you so much for the in-depth reply and for the calculation. I've played around with the calculator and tried out some different options. Based on it I've actually done some redecoration in the room used as a studio space, involving moving a rather large bookshelf, meaning that I would get a little more of the needed distance to the camera. So with this new setup I believe it should work with the ZV-E10 even though it has crop and I've decided to purchase it to try it out. Thanks once again for the help, I appreciate it.

You're very welcome!, @JEM5, I'm delighted to read that you've played around with the calculator yourself, made some adjustments to your studio space and made a well-considered choice!

There will of course always be better and wider angle lenses available for the ZV-E10 than the kit lens. But if this lens can can do what you want to do, that would be great.  I'm a great believer in (creatively) 'using what you have' until you discover real imitations or new opportunities that really justify an 'upgrade'. From what I've read, the ZV-10  seems like a great choice, Not only for what you want to do now but also (via other lenses) for what you might want to do in the future.

Mike

[JEM5]

On 11/27/2022 at 3:06 PM, mikemorrellNL said:

You're very welcome!, @JEM5, I'm delighted to read that you've played around with the calculator yourself, made some adjustments to your studio space and made a well-considered choice!

There will of course always be better and wider angle lenses available for the ZV-E10 than the kit lens. But if this lens can can do what you want to do, that would be great.  I'm a great believer in (creatively) 'using what you have' until you discover real imitations or new opportunities that really justify an 'upgrade'. From what I've read, the ZV-10  seems like a great choice, Not only for what you want to do now but also (via other lenses) for what you might want to do in the future.

Mike

I've now received the ZV-E10 and so far it works great for my needs after the adjustments I've made to my studio space. Thanks again for the help!