The ZV-E10 is a great camera for live streaming as the functionality is built into the camera rather than needing to use a capture card.

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Unfortunately, it isn’t completely plug-and-play and comes with a few downsides. In this post, we’ll go through the setup and a few tips you can use to streamline the process.

The ZV-E10 has built-in streaming using USB-C, which a cable comes with the camera (albeit a bit short) This will process the signal and power the camera, so won’t be relying on battery power or require a dummy battery to power the camera.

So to get started you need to activate streaming mode on the camera, this isn’t automatic.

Menu > Custom Operation 1 > USB Streaming, which you need to press before each time you use your camera as a webcam. Then connect the USB-C cable. So this is definitely not ideal, especially if you want to leave your camera in place.

The best thing you can do to get around this is to set USB Streaming to a custom button. This means you’re not fiddling around in the menu each time you want to activate the streaming mode and can just set it to a single button.

Custom Operation 1 > page 8 > Then chose Custom Key video

Then you can choose which button you want to change, I’d recommend one on the top of the body as it’s easier to reach. Then select USB streaming, which would be on the 10th page of options.

Then you can press this before streaming, though you’ll still need to only insert the USB cable after starting USB streaming. If there’s a way around this I’ve not found it yet!

And that’s essentially it pretty straightforward, and streaming in this method gets you this quality-

• Video format: MJPEG
• Resolution: HD720 (1280×720)
• Frame rate: 30 fps / 25 fps
• Audio format: PCM, 48 kHz, 16 bit, 2 ch

Now you’ll be able to find your ZV-E10 as a source in your streaming/ conference call software, for both a camera source and audio source.

But if 720p recording doesn’t cut it for you you’ll need a capture card cable of streaming wither 1080p or 4k depending on your preference. Big brands such as Elgato cost around $100, though there are much cheaper options available, which I’ve showcased in this video. Some are even as cheap as $10 which while the quality will vary, they’re worth giving a go.

And that video will show you the setup and what you need to buy for streaming via a capture card, but I feel if you’re buying this camera, using its built-in streaming options makes the process a whole lot simpler.

Other things you’ll need to bear in mind is that the camera CAN overheat using USB streaming, for me that took around 5 hours of continuous streaming to get the overheat warning, but even then it didn’t shut down. Worth bearing in mind.

Also, the USB cable covers most of the screen when flipped forward, very annoying when monitoring yourself, and if this is the main way you want to monitor your footage, it’s really worth knowing before you get this camera.

Also if you don’t want to use, or like the sound of the onboard mic, any mic connected to the mic port will automatically be used as the camera’s audio when streaming, there’s nothing to change in the settings which is a good feature.

But that’s just a quick guide from me, if you found it useful please drop on a like on it, and for more consider subscribing to my YouTube channel.

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