Sony ZV-E10 II Blurry Photos and Video: Causes and Fixes

When Sony ZV-E10 II video looks blurry, the usual cause is the camera's lack of in-body stabilization, combined with an electronic stabilization mode that throws irregular blurry frames at the common 24p, 1/48 shutter setup. Blurry photos usually come from a shutter speed that is too slow for your hands or your subject, or from autofocus landing on the wrong thing, and each of these has a settings fix.

First, read the blur

Before you change anything, look closely at what is soft. The pattern tells you which fix to try.

• The whole frame is soft, including the background: that points to camera movement, not focus.
• The background is sharp but your subject is soft: autofocus picked the wrong target.
• Your subject is smeared but still objects are sharp: the shutter speed was too slow for the motion.
• Only a few frames in a clip go soft: on this camera, that often comes from stabilization at slow shutter speeds.

PetaPixel points out that the stabilization blur on the ZV-E10 II can look like autofocus struggling, but the whole frame goes blurry, not just the subject. For a wider guide to diagnosing blur on any camera, see Why Are My Photos Blurry? How to Read the Blur and Fix It.

Cause 1: No IBIS, and how SteadyShot behaves

The ZV-E10 II has no IBIS, so it depends on electronic image stabilization. Videomaker describes two electronic modes, Standard and Active.

Setting	Crop	What reviewers found
SteadyShot Standard	No additional crop from stabilization; about 1.1x in 4K60	Videomaker found it did not significantly improve stabilization
SteadyShot Active	Adds a crop	Works well at faster shutter speeds or frame rates, but irregular blurry frames at 24p and 1/48 in PetaPixel's use
SteadyShot Off	About 1.1x in 4K60	No electronic correction
4K120 (free license upgrade)	About 1.6x	Unlocked through Sony Creators' Cloud, not a regular firmware update

The 24p, 1/48 blurry-frame problem

PetaPixel's standard YouTube settings are 24p with a 1/48 shutter, and at those settings Active SteadyShot gave irregular blurry frames. In a separate comparison, PetaPixel reported a lot of bounce in the footage even with stabilized lenses until Active SteadyShot was turned on, and then odd blurry frames at standard, slower shutter speeds. That combination is what makes walking shots look randomly soft.

If you use the Cinematic Vlog Setting, note that it locks the frame rate at 24p and uses a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. That puts you in the territory where PetaPixel saw the blurry frames, so the fixes below apply.

How to fix stabilization blur

• Raise the shutter speed. PetaPixel recommends increasing shutter speed to reduce the blurry frames. The trade-off is that with fast shutter speeds, motion starts to look jumpy. Go up in small steps and stop when the blurry frames disappear.
• Use a stabilized lens with Active SteadyShot. PetaPixel suggests stabilized lenses for this issue. The new 16-50mm kit lens has image stabilisation, according to Camera Jabber. PetaPixel notes that the lens's improved stability is designed around cameras with IBIS, which the ZV-E10 II lacks.
• Shoot a higher frame rate. Active SteadyShot works very well with faster frame rates, per PetaPixel. If your project does not need 24p, 30p or 60p gives the stabilization more to work with.
• Take shake out of the equation. For static talking-head shots, a tripod or a firm surface removes the problem entirely. For walking shots, a gimbal is the most reliable answer on a camera without IBIS.

Cause 2: Autofocus picks the wrong target

The ZV-E10 II uses Sony's Bionz XR processor but lacks the dedicated AI chip found in the a6700 and many recent Sony cameras. Camera Jabber lists 759 autofocus points covering 94% of the frame. PetaPixel found autofocus excellent in most situations, but the camera can occasionally second-guess itself and briefly snap to the background or foreground.

Subject type matters. Digital Camera World had no issue getting the camera to recognize faces and eyes, but found animal recognition less reliable, with a lower hit rate on domestic animals and poor results on exotic animals at the zoo. If you film pets, expect more misses than with people.

Settings that keep focus where you want it

• Tap to track. The ZV-E10 II supports touch tracking on its articulating touchscreen, and Videomaker found it quick for focusing on a subject. Tap your subject before you start recording so the camera knows what to follow.
• Use Product Showcase for reviews and demos. This mode focuses on the closest face unless something is held up to the camera, and PetaPixel found it works very well. It stops the camera from hunting between your face and the product.
• Switch to manual focus for fixed shots. The camera offers focus peaking to help you nail manual focus. For a seated talking-head setup, manual focus with peaking removes any chance of the camera jumping to the background.

The background defocus button

The ZV-E10 II has a built-in background defocus button, which does what experienced shooters do by controlling the aperture manually. A blurrier background also means less of the scene stays sharp, so a small focus miss shows more. If your subject looks soft only when background defocus is on, turn it off and see if the problem goes away. The Sony ZV-E10 background defocus guide covers how the feature works and when to use it.

Cause 3: Shutter speed too slow for photos

For stills, the same lack of IBIS means your shutter speed does all the work against hand shake. If photos look soft across the whole frame, take control of shutter speed yourself in Shutter Priority or Manual mode and pick a faster setting.

To keep exposure correct at that faster shutter speed, let ISO rise. The ZV-E10 II's Auto ISO operates within ISO 100 to 6400 and has selectable upper and lower limits. The full standard range runs from ISO 100 to 32000, expandable down to ISO 50 and up to ISO 102400. Noise reduction for high ISO can be set to Normal or Low, or turned off.

For a sense of what works in good light, Digital Camera World's sample shots with the kit lens at 50mm were taken at shutter speeds from 1/80 to 1/500, at f/5.6 and ISO 125. Indoors, you will usually need to give up some ISO to stay in that kind of shutter speed range.

Watch your zoom position

The 16-50mm kit lens has an aperture range of f/3.5-5.6. Digital Camera World's 50mm samples were shot at f/5.6. In dim rooms, staying toward the wide end of the zoom lets in more light, which lets the camera use a faster shutter speed at the same ISO.

Cause 4: The lens itself

Reviewers disagree on the new kit lens. PetaPixel found that the optics do not appear to have been upgraded, said it will be sharp enough for 4K video, and suggested looking elsewhere if photography is a priority. Camera Jabber was impressed with the image quality when reviewing its images from the 16-50mm OSS II. The lens can also retain autofocus while zooming, according to PetaPixel.

Rule out shutter speed and focus before blaming the lens. If your photos are still soft in good light with a fast shutter and focus confirmed on the subject, a sharper lens is the next step.

Low light: trading blur for noise

In low light, every fix for blur costs something. A faster shutter speed needs more ISO, and more ISO brings more noise. Photography Blog found that at more sensible sensitivities the ZV-E10 II records excellent dynamic range. That suggests keeping ISO as low as the light allows, but a slightly noisy sharp photo is more usable than a clean blurry one. For a full walkthrough, see Sony ZV-E10 Low Light and Night Photography Settings.

Quick fix checklist

What you see	Likely cause	Setting to try
Random soft frames in handheld 24p video	Active SteadyShot at slow shutter	Raise shutter speed, add a stabilized lens, or shoot a higher frame rate
Bouncy handheld footage	No IBIS	Turn on Active SteadyShot, or use a gimbal or tripod
Focus jumps to the background mid-clip	AF second-guessing without an AI chip	Tap to track, or use manual focus with peaking
Focus jumps between face and product	Two subjects competing	Product Showcase mode
Whole photo soft indoors	Shutter too slow	Shutter Priority with a faster shutter and a higher Auto ISO limit
Pet or animal out of focus	Weaker animal recognition	Tap to track the animal, or focus manually

If you have the original ZV-E10

The first model had its own stabilization weakness: Videomaker's tests showed incredibly lackluster image stabilization on the original ZV-E10. It also needed a crop to record 4K/30p, according to PetaPixel. Many of the same fixes apply, but the details differ. See Sony ZV-E10 Blurry Photos and Video: Common Problems and Fixes for that camera, and Sony ZV-E10 vs ZV-E10 II: What Changed and Which to Buy if you are weighing an upgrade.

Body only or kit

At launch, PetaPixel listed the ZV-E10 II at $999 body only or $1,099 with the new 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS II power zoom lens. If you already own a stabilized lens you like, the body makes sense. If you are starting out, the kit gives you a stabilized lens that can keep autofocus while zooming.

Once the blur is under control, set up the rest of the camera with Best Sony ZV-E10 Photo Settings for Beginners and Best Sony ZV-E10 Video Settings for Beginners.