Hollyland VenusLiv Live-Streaming Camera Officially Announced

Camera News

by Jeff LochAugust 8^th, 2023

Hollyland has just officially announced its first live-streaming camera: the VenusLiv. This all-in-one camera has a built-in F/1.2-2.0 lens with a 3x optical and 2x digital zoom, phase and contrast autofocus, a 5-inch LCD screen, and a built-in USB-C 2.0 port, which allows you to connect a Hollyland Lark C1/Lark MAX wireless microphone directly to the camera. Regarding live streaming, the VenusLiv is RTMP compatible, and the USB-C 3.0 port supports UVC, so you can connect it to a computer and start streaming easily. So let’s take a closer look at Hollyland’s first video camera!

During NAB 2023, Hollyland showed us the prototypes of the Venuss Live cameras. We’re now a couple of months later, and the company took time to collect user feedback, refine the design, change the name, and merge the two cameras into the Hollyland VenusLiv.

Hollyland VenusLiv – features

The Hollyland VenusLiv is a compact box-style camera that measures 178 x 99.7 x 94.8mm / 7 x 3.9 x 3.7″ for a 900g/31.7oz weight. At the time of writing this article, there is little technical information about the camera. However, we know that the VenusLiv is powered by a Qualcomm processor, a Sony CMOS sensor, and runs under Hollyland’s own HollyOS.

The VenusLiv features a built-in lens with a maximum aperture of F/1.2-2.0 and a minimum focusing distance of 50cm/19.68in. The focal length is undisclosed, but according to Hollyland, the lens gives you an “80° horizontal and 46° vertical field of view,” which is close to a 20mm lens. The lens has a 72mm front filter thread to attach filters. Last, but not least, it has a three times optical and two times digital zoom.

The Hollyland VenusLiv features a hybrid autofocus system that uses phase and contrast technology. You can touch the 5-inch LCD to focus on products or people. Hollyland claims the LCD display has a maximum FullHD 1920 x 1080 resolution and features “CalMAN color calibration, so you can trust that the colors displayed on the screen accurately represent the scene in real-time.”

Talking about colors, the VenusLiv features built-in color tuning settings and a “Color Correction Magic” function that allows you to adjust the tone, saturation, and hue of the image directly on the LCD screen.

Input and output ports

The Hollyland VenusLiv is powered by Sony NP-F style batteries. Hollyland mentions that one Sony NP-F 970 battery can power the camera for four to six hours. Furthermore, if you use the camera indoors, there is a 12V DC input with a locking connector.

The VenusLiv has two 1/4″-20 mounting points: one at the bottom and one on the side, so you can easily mount the camera horizontally or vertically.

At the back of the camera, you’ll also find an HDMI 1.4 output port, a 1Gbps RJ45 Ethernet port, a USB-A port, a 3.5mm microphone input, an SD card slot to record footage, and a USB-C 3.1 output for UVC connectivity to a computer.

On the side – or top, depending on whether you use the camera horizontally or vertically – you’ll find a Record button and a USB-C 2.0 port that allows you to directly connect a Hollyland Lark C1/Lark MAX wireless audio receiver to the VenusLiv.

Hollyland VenusLiv live-streaming features

The VenusLiv was designed to live stream 24/7 without overheating, thanks to an “advanced aerospace-grade heat dissipation system.” The camera supports the RTMP protocol, meaning it can stream to most social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitch, TikTok, YouTube, etc. The VenusLiv has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, but you can also use an Ethernet cable via the RJ45 port.

As I already mentioned, the USB-C 3.1 port at the back of the camera supports UVC (USB Video Class), so you can connect it directly to any computer that can recognize it as a webcam camera. Then, you can start streaming without needing an extra video capture card.

Price and availability

The Hollyland VenusLiv is available now for $999.

For more information, please visit Hollyland’s website here.

What do you think about this live-streaming camera? Do you think it could be helpful for the kind of shooting you do? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments down below!