Rating: 
Summary: Better than I expected!
Review: I purchased this camcorder with the intention of using it on my Macintosh computer. I was very surprised at how easy it was to transfer my video on to VHS tapes and on to my computer to be edited and saved. I was also pleased to learn that I could save my video as a Quicktime movie so that I could give copies to friends and family. I have not played with the still photo aspect yet, but even without that feature I think this camcorder is a great buy. This is my first camcorder and I am very pleased with it. I highly reccomend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfortunately, got two lemons in a row.
Review: I have appreciated having access to reviews about this and other camcorders so I decided it is my duty to write a review in this case. We very much wanted this camcorder to work out for us, being so relatively inexpensive for a digital machine. We had seen some of the negative reviews, but also saw many reviews where people were perfectly happy with the camcorder, so we thought we'd take a chance on not getting a lemon. Unfortunately, despite Amazon's excellent and speedy response to our email, the quickly sent replacement camera was worse than the first. Both camcorders play back with alternating lines of pixelation at seemingly random intervals, but probably related to the movement of videoed objects (at least that is the only pattern I could pin down, though I'm not really confident that I have truly isolated a pattern in the odd playback behavior), and then sometimes won't play back at all. Oddly, sometimes the playback will work perfectly, and we began to hope that it just needed to be "broken in." But alas, the behavior would return at the most inopportune moments of playback, very frustrating experiences indeed. We began to postulate that perhaps there were two batches of camcorders at work here, some that worked perfectly, and some that were flawed. Hence our hope that if we got another machine, all would be well. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on how one looks at it), as I stated, the replacement was worse than the first. Thinking it might be the tapes, I took the tapes into a local Best Buy, where they allowed me to use the floor models to test playback and recording on the tapes. Playback of the tape made with the replacement camcorder was very problematic on all models used while the other two tapes seemed to work ok for a time, then had a few problems. An interesting side note: at one point I had the Best Buy sales people quite baffled when playback yielded every other line alternating between the currently playing video and the video I had had in just before. I suppose that can only happen with this new-fangled digital technology. Maybe sometimes it's better not to be among the first to use new technologies, like when our hospital was so excited to get only the second produced multislice CT scanner of a certain type ... but I digress. The bottom line is that when I used the floor model miniDV camcorders (I used a Sharp VL-WD450U which I would have thought would basically have been the same machine with some perks, a Panasonic PV-DV51 of which they only had the floor model left, and some fancy high money machine which may have been a JVC but I'm not sure) to record, they recorded and played back without a hitch, and interestingly enough, the taped footage seemed to play back well on both the "lemon" Sharp machines, suggesting that maybe the problem was in fact in the recording rather than the playback as I had originally surmised from the random nature of the playback problems. Well, if you're still with me after this long tale, the bottom line for us is that in our price range, we needed to either go back to the proven Sony Hi-8 machines or consider the Panasonic PV-DV51 for fifty dollars more... Assuming the Panasonic works well (and I haven't seen any truly worrisome reviews, though there are only four), this has the advantage of a higher pixel CCD than the Sharp and of course, the digital format. I actually kind of liked that the cassette loading mechanism for the Panasonic is the old spring-type open and close as I hope this may have less ways to break compared to the fancy load mechanism of the other mini DV's. The only serious disadvantage (for me) of the Panasonic vs a Sony Hi-8 is that Sony's motion sensor based image stabilization truly does appear superior by my own comparison. (The Panasonic's stabilization takes a minute to kick in after zooming or panning.) Despite this, I think we're going to give the Panasonic a try, a small added advantage being that we may not have to return the free Vivitar kit as this is now offered with the Panasonic as well as the Sharp. Well, I hope my rambling may be of use to one or two people. I do want to applaud Amazon.com for their great return policy. Though it is initially annoying to have to email rather than complain to a live person, their fast, helpful response was truly amazing and prevented me from looking elsewhere to shop. (Sharp, on the contrary, wanted me to take the machine to a service center despite only being a few days old, and stated explicitly that they do not send out new replacements. One wonders if they should consider the long term effects of their policies.)
Rating: 
Summary: Not all I hoped for...
Review: Wanted to get a camcorder for my wife for Xmas so we could tape video of our new baby. Ordered this digital camcorder to tape those videos and to take digital pictures. (Already own the HP 315, and was hoping to use the camecorder as aa all in one package.) The video's came out fine. But the pictures themselves were a big let down. The pictures print off grainy and blurry. I do NOT recommend this camecorder if you plan to also use the digital camera functions. I've just sent the whole package back for a refund. I'll just go with a cheaper camecorder, and stick with my HP camera for stills.
Rating:
Summary: Price went up plus no bag/tripods in stock
Review: Amazon had this camcorder [at a lower price] on Saturday and before. Plus when I called they were (and continue to be) out of the "free" tripod and bag kit. Not nearly as good of buy as before. That along with Sharp's poor customer service reputation and the spotty quality I keep reading about sent me hunting for a Panasonic. Good Luck
Rating:
Summary: Very Poor Picture Quality - DO NOT BUY
Review: I bought it when it was (...) and (...)rebate, but I returned it right away. The picture quality was very grainy, especially on skin and plain surfaces such as walls. I tried it both with and without the image stabilization with little visual difference. I compared it back-to-back with my JVC VHS-C camcorder and it was worse! Not what I expected from digital recording! I am not a hard-core camera buff, just a very casual user, bought my JVC as my first video cam 5 months ago to film my new baby. The picture quality problem is very obvious, and not acceptable. I assume that better digicams are not this way. (...)
The still picture function has even worse resolution when displayed on a TV and is completely unacceptable for this use (didn't try it on PC).
Rating:
Summary: Good camcorder, Great price and certainly worth it !!!
Review: I bought this camcorder after a lot of deliberations. I wasn't sure if I wanted a camcorder with only 460K pixel ccd. The Sony's and others boasted a lot more pixels(in some cases 3 times). But I figured, that they cost 3 times as much too. I wanted a camcorder with average performance at a good price. My budget was around $500. The Sharp unit beat that price, gave me a miniDV unit, with a still camera, a lot of possibilities(i1394, Video in/out etc). I read some bad experiences in here which scared me, but a lot more positive experiences boosted my morale and I decided to take the plunge. I am very happy I did. This unit is great for a beginer and If you don't care too much for the technical specifications and don't end up comparing this product with those >$1200, you will be very happy with your purchase. I know I am. The zoom is fantastic, I was tracking a police chopper and I was able to track it for quite a distance. If the chopper had hovered, I would have been able to see the occupants too. The menu is fairly easy to use. There seems to be too much information to digest before using this unit, but that seems to be the case with any unit these days. The great thing about this unit is the color viewfinder (not found on many units costlier than this). Finally, couple of the things I dislike about this unit..size and inability to have both the eye piece and lcd screen on at the same time. You can choose to either view through the eye piece or lcd, not both. Cumbersome if you want to switch between the two. The stills are certainly only 640x480. Enough to email around. But if you want great stills, look for a good still camera (2 Meg or higher). This unit is not convenient to carry around for stills. My conclusion: Buy it, if you want a good digital camcorder. Don't, if you want a great all-in-one unit. Few things you should buy along with this unit:
1) Smart media card
2) miniDV Tapes
3) i1394 card and software (I tried the cheaper Orangelink, and it works just great - Got money to spend, go for the higher end Dazzel or Pinnacle or install Windows XP which has it built-in)
4) Smart media reader (don't bother dinking around with the serial interface, it is too slow and the software is not at all worth the effort - it is a lite version anyway)
Rating:
Summary: SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER
Review: Of course I was also suckered into buying this camcorder by the great price, features and rebate!
After only one day of use, I noticed a green dot almost in the center of the LCD screen. I read on someone else's review that had the same problem. That person contacted Sharp and was told it's not covered under warrenty unless there are 3 of them. Evidently something or another is "blown".
Also I'm not satisfied with the placement of buttons, in particular the main buttons to turn on the screen. It's very awkward.
The 26x optical 780x digital zoom sounded great too, but who's going to use it knowing your picture quality will be poor?
I'm definately returning this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice features per dollar
Review: If you want a video camera for a low price, this one has lots of nice features per dollar. Certainly the only one worth buying in the Sharp line (255-450-650U). The Viewscreen and remote are good. The Zoom is terrific, and the CatsEye feature is pretty amazing in dusk lighting, but the daylight picture quality is only comparable to 8mm in my estimation and 12 years experience with two previous Canon 8mm camcorders. I expected better, but even with 460k pixels it is grainy, and only marginally better than my old Canon 8mm cameras with 270k pixels. The Still capture is again very grainy, and painfully slow browsing thru the thumbnails (now shopping for a still camera). I hope the camera is more durable than indicated by some other reviewers.
All in all - it is a good cheap replacement for my broken Canon 8mm, but it is not a step up in video quality that a more expensive Canon ZR30 might be. 4~5 stars for value, but 2~3 stars for "digital" quality.
Rating:
Summary: Great value for so many features!
Review: I have to say the best thing by far about this camcorder is the low price - (...) I would say this is the ideal starter kit for someone who wants to get into digital filming, but is not interested in making a huge investment. FORMAT:
The miniDV format is by far the most superior format - from both a tape/camcorder size perspective and a resolution perspective (vs. Digital 8mm, 8mm, or VHS). Similarly featured camcorders from Panasonic, Sony, Canon, and JVC in this format go from $500 to $750. OPTICS/ZOOM:
The optical zoom of 26x is excellent. Coupled with 300x digital zoom, the total zoom capability is 780x! While image stabilization suffers a bit at higher magnification, it is still possible to film a great image from hundreds of yards away. EDITING/EFFECTS:
I am told that multiple digital effects can be added within the camera, but I prefer to do digital editing on my PC. Scrolling through the menus to edit/add effects is impractical. I use a firewire IEE1394 cable (firewire - NOT supplied with camera) and a digital video editing program to do my editing. From there, I can download back to the camera, burn a DVD, or burn a VideoCD. The camera can also feed into your TV or VCR via S-video link, giving you the ability to play videos straight from the camera to the TV, and record VHS tapes for later viewing. NIGHT RECORDING:
The camcorder also features a very effective cat's eye night recording feature that brightens the video without a need for illumination. This tends to reduce the colors, so I have yet to use it regularly. STILL PICTURES:
The camera has the capability to take still 480,000 pixel image shots and store them on a Smartmedia card, though the resolution is not as good as a cheap digital camera. CONTROLS/STYLING:
Controls and styling aren't as comfortable or attractive as the competition - check out JVC and Canon, specifically. It is very difficult to turn the camera on or off with one hand, and it is a thumb-numbing exercise to repeatedly press the record /pause button. Zoom is a bit of a stretch for the smaller hand, and the grooves for your hand are not comfortable at all. Contrast this with Canon and Sony and you will see the difference. DIS DIGITAL IMAGE STABILIZATION:
This reduces the amount of "jerkiness" of the film, which becomes more necessary the higher the magnification. Works well, though a well known consumer reporting mag rated this camcorder the worst of 10 competing cameras in image stabilization. I have been very happy with it; and with longer distances I end up using a tripod anyway. REMOTE:
Remote control allows playback/filming from a fixed location. Cute, and it works, but very small.
Rating: 
Summary: So far so good and well worth the $$$
Review: After reading the other positive and negative reviews I decided to pay my money and take my chances. So far so good. I don't know why some are expecting a HDTV quality picture from this unit, but the picture is superior to my 8mm Sony camcorder and better the pre-recorded VHS tapes. I have not had any trouble with tapes jamming but may get a rewinder as another reviewer suggested. Moreover, the apparent construction quality of the unit appears very solid, excellent "fit and finish", good Canon optical lense, excellent 26X zoom (forget the digital zoom). Plenty of options for input and output to other devices... now I just need to get a firewire card working on my PC so I can grab the digital video! The analog video out is very good quality for the price. The microphone has excellent sound pick-up without the optional boom mike. As long as you don't get one of the malfunctioning units as some apparently have, you can't go wrong for the price!
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