Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: When I purchased this camcorder there were only a few customer reviews and for the most part they were good. Since that time there have been a number of just bad reviews for this item, but I decided to wait and see for myself. My first impression was that it looked and felt "cheap". It had the feel of one of those cheap 35mm cameras that are always being given away as a free gift with a subscription or order. Then I got it running. I started to record my kids bouncing around and I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. The video and sound were pretty good. I continued to record other things around our house and after about 1 hr of recording and playing back the video I started to experience problems. All of a sudden my video was completely pixilated and I couldn't here or see anything on the lcd or the viewfinder. I thought that maybe something happened to the tape so I put in a fresh tape and got the same results.(I did notice that the camcorder seemed a bit hot) Finally after another hour or so of dinking around with it I gave up. I woke up this morning for round two. I decided to try and playback last nights recordings (thinking that it needed to cool off) and it played just fine. Everything that was totally pixilated and un-viewable the night before was clear and sharp this morning. So if you want a camcorder that you can use for about an hour and then let it cool of for another hour then buy this camera. As for me I'm returning it and I'll spend a little more money and get a Sony. This is a case of you get what you pay for.
Rating: 
Summary: Good value starter DV camcorder
Review: I returned this camcorder in favor of a more compact model (Canon Elura 2mc). With that said, (this) is a great deal for a DV camcorder. If you are in the market for one of the Sony Digital-8's (e.g. TRV330) this is a great alternative. It is slightly smaller than the Sony's (and more ergonomic). If you are looking at ZR-10/ZR-20 or smaller. Forget this one as it is very much larger. I would choose the WD-255U over the WD-450U...the greatest difference that I found was that the 450U comes with an 8MB memory card (which are dirt cheap these days). The 255U comes with a card slot, just no card. The 255U also has "cat-eye", although it doesn't show up in the specs. Unless Amazon comes back with the (...) ZR-10 special, this is the way to go for a low cost DV camcorder.
Rating: 
Summary: Mine came to me already broken!!!
Review: Got it. Taped my daughter's dance recital. Play back was totally screwy. The picture half the time was just a bunch of pixelized blobs. At first I thought it might be the lighting conditions or the tape. But then I realized that the pixelization occured at time parts of the tape, when I watched the tape over and over. Yeah, this one's goin' straight back to Amazon.
Rating: 
Summary: GET IT BEFORE ITS TO LATE!!!
Review: This camera was a steal. I won't go into all the details because they were covered by the other reviews decently. Again this camera might not have as good picture quality as the more expensive ones (what it does have is still plenty) but for its ease of use and abilities for a novist its excellent. The price plus all the accessories is unbeatable. I like many others have put literally 30+ hours into researching a camera and this one best fit all my need especially the price! As far as using it on a computer the software and hardware included is great for getting your still pictures on the computer to e-mail and such. The only thing is I have not been able to make a movie on my PC, I am not sure but I think its because I don't have the 1394 cable which is not included.
Rating:
Summary: great digital camcorder for amateur use
Review: I bought the Sharp VL-WD255U more than a month ago. I chose it because I wanted a digital camcorder for a reasonable price.
Over the past month I have used this camcorder a lot to take movies of my newborn son. It serves the purpose PERFECTLY.
In the past I had a chance to use for some days a Sony DCR-TRV6, which costs more than twice the Sharp VL-WD255U. I must admit that the price difference is, in my opinion, justified: the Sony camcorder is smaller, lighter, sturdier, it has 680000 pixel CCD (instead of 460000), it has nightshot (it actually emits an IR beam that allows you to take movies in TOTAL darkness, whereas the Sharp 255U only works by integrating the signal on the CCD: it works ok in poorly illuminated conditions but not in the dark; but in the end not many people need this option very often!). After some use I started getting a "dirty heads" error message on the LCD screen. At the time I kept the miniDV tape in the camcorder even when I did not use it for a few days. The manual suggests to remove the tape when you do not use the camcorder. Since I started doing that the error message did not appear again. This is a little annoying and I am sure that a 1000$ model is not so delicate, but if you can't afford to spend so much, this will do just fine! I bought a firewire PCI card (came with cable and software for 29$) and had no problem to get all my movies on computer and send them to family and friends in just a few minutes. The quality of stills is acceptable, just fine for email and web, not seriously feasible for printing; the option of saving pictures on Smartmedia is a great plus. Zoom is great. I like a lot the White Balance option, that helps you optimize color realism indoor under artificial light. The picture quality, though, suffers from low light. But in bright natural light you really get great quality.
In conclusion: if you have much more than 350$ to invest on a camcorder you can sure buy something better, otherwise, this will give you plenty of satisfaction and good quality movies and pictures to keep for yourself and send to family and friends, with all the advantages of digital photography (editing, preservation of quality in copying, ....).
Rating: 
Summary: Am I the only (un)lucky one ?
Review: Has anyone else observed the sound (Crrrrrrrrr) it makes when you use the zoom ? I am wondering if this is normal and part of the package. This is the first Cam I have held that makes any noises when zooming ? Have you heard it make any other noises when the camera is in operation. Even without a cassette. I would hate to do it, but do I need a replacement ???????
Rating:
Summary: PLEASE DON'T BE SUCKERED IN BY THE (...) REBATE!
Review: I,too, was suckered into buying this camcorder by the (...) rebate. I mean, how can you resist owning a brand new digital camcorder for less than ($$$), right? Well, maybe after my review, you will realize that it is not such a great deal after all. First of all, the picture quality is AWFUL-it is more grainy than the desert! Maybe it's because it only has 460,00 pixels. A S-VHS has 400,000 pixels so it is BARELY better than a good VHS camcorder. I actually compared it to footage shot with my 7+ year-old Panasonic Palmcorder and I could not tell the difference! Why own a digital camera if no one can tell it has digital picture? Second of all, I experienced technical problems within 2 hours of using it!!! It kept jamming my brand new Sony miniDV tapes. Obviously, there is something inherently wrong about their tape mechanism as MANY people have reported similar problems. I became utterly terrified to rewind the tape, afraid, it would eat another $10 tape. Luckily for me, I can still return it to Amazon and not have to deal with Sharp (whose customer service seems awful, judging by other people's comments). I am upgrading to the Panasonic PVDV-51. Sure, it's (...) more but with the (...) rebate, it still comes in at under ($$$). More importantly, it boasts 680,000 pixels! Plus, Panasonic makes great, RELIABLE camcorders. This is the one I should have bought in the first place if I had not been sidetracked by the (...) rebate from Sharp. I realize now that it's well worth the extra $100 for a MUCH higher quality picture, and proven reliability. This sure beats being terrified to use your camcorder in fear of breaking it with one touch of a button. Sharp-You can take your (...) rebate, I'm sticking with Panasonic.
Rating:
Summary: JUST GET A miniDV rewinder and you're all set !!!!
Review: I have one and LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!! Hey, everyone who is so worried about tapes jamming-just invest (...)in a miniDV rewinder (sold on web). Even with a (price) digital camcorder, it's never a good idea to rewind your tapes on your camcorder=lots of wear and tear. That seems to be the main complaint people have with "my" camcorder. I figure I saved enough money to buy the Sharp camcorder, invest in a (...)rewinder, and save the rest of my money for the digital tapes! Actually, you can buy those online too (...). I bought an extended battery (...)too. (...)
Rating:
Summary: SO EASY
Review: I ordered this camcorder on a whim. I just wanted something to record my 7 mo old's "firsts". Within 15 minutes of opening the box, I was recording away. The controls are not the easiest in the world to use, but they are not unworkable. For the price, you can't beat this camcorder. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Try it for Yourself but FIRST, read the manual !
Review: Let me start out by saying that I,too, had reservations about this camera after reading some of the criticisms of it on this board. But I decided to take a chance, and boy, am I glad I did! Let me also admit that my first, brand new Sony miniDV was also ruined. I got the now infamous "Eject the Cassette" Error Message. BUT I DO NOT BLAME THE CAMCORDER!!!! I blame it on user error. That first day, I must have re-recorded segments AT LEAST a dozen times! You see, I mistakeningly thought that miniDV tapes were indestructible. A 15-minute web search revealed otherwise! Due to its tiny size, it is in fact, the most fragile form of tape out there. Most users recommend you do not record over it more than 2-3 times. Again, due to its tiny size, the tape mechanism is fragile too-you do need a "gentle touch" putting in the cassette. I would strongly advise that everyone read their manual very carefully! With the Sharp camcorder, you have to be careful not to push down on the tape mechanism while it is automatically retracting. But I have a feeling that again, has more to do with the nature of miniDV than Sharp. Check out this post on a popular camcorder forum: "Wonder if anyone had trouble rewinding miniDV tapes with the *FAMOUS NAME BRAND* camcorder? The problem I'm having is that my camcorder eats the tape during rewind. During the start of the rewind, it ran quietly for a few seconds and then it started making a little racket as if a high spinning wheel vibrating off of a shaft if you know what I mean. It ate the first one few months ago and recently ate 2 in a row. Anyone know anything about this and what caused it and is it a common recurring problem among miniDV camcorders?" The way I see it, if you are serious about owning a digital camcorder, then you have to take extra care of your camera. But for me, it's well worth it for the added features. By the way, if you do get that error message, just mail your tape back to the tape manufacturer BUT DO NOT insist on putting it back in-you will most likely void your warranty. Simply remove the "destroyed" tape, and put in another (new) miniDV tape. I have since recorded/viewed 3 additional tapes without any problems! While I am sure that most of the complaints posted here are totally legitimate, I do think a lot of it has to do with the delicate nature of digital camcorders in general. Now, let me tell you what I LOVE about this camera:
1. It's the most affordable DIGITAL camcorder available-I want to be able to edit my videos on my computer and also preserve the initial high quality of the tape when I make copies for my family and friends. The more copies you make with other kinds of tapes, the quality diminishes with each subsequent taping. NOT with digital recording!
2. While I admit, the layout of the buttons could have been better, it suits me just fine. How often do you really want to use the fade button anyway? The button that IS conveniently placed however are the White Balance Button, and the Auto Focus On/off. There was one shot with my daughter where the picture quality was very grainy. After reading the manual, I realized it was because I was taping her lying on a rug that had a lot of small, repititive patterns. As soon as I switched to manual focus (as suggested), it was 100x better!
3. My favorite feature is the zoom. I had a shot where my baby's face was a mere 2 inches from the camera and it was crystal clear!!!
4. I also love having a LCD monitor and a remote! I was able to put the camera on the side rail of the crib (it's very wide), point the LCD towards us, and use the remote to shoot my baby playing in her crib with the mobile, with my beaming face next to her!
5. I appreciate the AC Adaptor that you can easily use to view your home movie on the tv without draining the precious battery.
6. The menu is LOADED with features-for an opening shot, I did a cool MOSAIC panning of the nursery. In conclusion, I am very pleased, and impressed with my camcorder. Once again, please read the manual before you use this or any digital camcorder-it is a very different beast. The Sharp camcorder is loaded with features found in high-end digital camcorders 3x its price-I honestly think if you took advantage of half of the feautures, you'd have an amazing home video. Finally, as to why it is so cheap, it's mainly due to the fact that as picture quality goes, it is not nearly as good as $1000+ digital cameras. But for someone like me, who's upgrading from a VHS-C that felt like a hundred pounds, it's a much welcomed improvement all around. I wholeheartedly recommend it!
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