Rating: 
Summary: Fun toy but bad first experience
Review: I bought this camcorder and it right out of the box it worked with the ac adapter. However, the battery was missing! (It stated in the manual and on the box that it should be included). This camcorder does ... include a/v cables, battery, battery charger, ac adapter, serial cable, remote, lens cap, software, 2aa batteries (For remote), lithium (watch) battery. ... My camcorder ran fine off of the ac adapter but sometimes blinked a red x which means it needs a head cleaning. The manual says to contact my local sharp repair/dealer guy. Quality was bad and there were these wierd horizontal lines whenever you played it back, however each time you played it back they were different. I think I might try this model again because I like the features. I might also consider some other models. By the way, this model DOES come with the "Cat Eye" night vision feature. Digital still pictures are about 640 by 480. Not good enough for a quality print, but good for the web at least. This is no replacement for you quality digicam though. It's about as good as one of those portable webcam things. I'd buy this model for the features. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Broke in less than 2 hours!!!
Review: Purchased this Sharp as my first video camera. I was primarily interested in this model because of the good price and the 26x optical zoom. My main use is for sports recording such as my wife's first marathon and video taping surfing.After less than 2 hours the tapes and tape eject mechanism began jamming. The camera had not been bumped or dropped, we are not in hot weather, it just quit working. I contacted Sharp regarding local repairs in Seattle and was referred to a facility in California. Fortunately I was still within my 30 days of purchase and returned the camera to Amazon. Still awaiting a refund and trying to decide what camera to buy.
Rating: 
Summary: Buy the Next Level Up
Review: I do not own the product, but with the excellent rebate offered on this and 2 other digital camcorders from Sharp I wanted to own one! I own the Sharp VL-WD450U. In short, do not buy this, buy the next level up cam, the WD450U. It is like this cam except it is slightly better technically, (slightly better zoom, boom that syncs with your zoom, etc.) It produces stills similar to what this one will produce. With the rebate this is 350 and mine is 500. While being a signifigant difference, it is still pittance for a digital camcorder. The 255 is a bare bones package with not much included. Hardly any cables, no smartmedia card for stills, no mic, no charger and battery... That is why I went with the 450, it includes all of the above mentioned. The only thing both packages lack is a firewire cable. It comes with an 8mb smartmedia card, software, more cables, RCA, S-video, serial and firewire outputs. The only area they both lack is the fact they are a little bit bulky compared to some others. (but I do not mind, remember how bulky a camcorder was 10 years ago? after using those for years I say no one has a right to complain!) The controls are ok once you learn them. Bottom line, if you buy this you will spend about 100 more on cables, charger, mic, etc... why dont you just save yourself some time and get a better camera and get the 450!
Rating: 
Summary: This camcorder supports FireWire 1394
Review: One of the reviewers mistakenly said that the Sharp VL-WD255U does not support 1394. It does. It uses Sony's name for Firewire - iLink. Most camcorders have the iLink name for the Apple Computer invented FireWire IEEE-1394 standard. thanks...
Rating:
Summary: Not worth it even with the rebate
Review: First of all let me say that I have owned two camcorders in my life. This one and the Canon ZR10. The Sharp has more features and some nice bells and whistles but the Cannon in almost every way to this Sharp. First the highlights of the Sharp:
1. The 26x zoom is a nice feature. Compared to the 10x of the Canon there is a noticeable difference. But unless you plan on shooting closeups of distant vistas it might not make a huge difference, especially in everyday use.
2. The Smartmedia card for ditigal picture capture is nice. Its convenient but the quality of the pictures isnt too great. If you are intent on using this as a digital camera, buy a decent digital camera instead.
3. The nightvision on this is pretty good for the price. It works tolerably well to 1.0 Lux but doesnt work in the dark. But who takes a camcorder in the pitch dark that often! Lowlights:
1. The size. The camcorder is big. About the same size as a the old Hi8 models. Comparing it to my cannon it is big and bulky weighing a noticeable 50% more. This is discouraging if you are planning to take it out and about
2. Sesign: This thing is uncomfortable to use. The handgrip is awkward at best. Even worse, the controls are just horribly placed. It makes it very difficult for even an experienced person to operated on the go. Also I must say this model is just pretty ugly to look at. Compare this to the cannon and you can see the difference in a second.
3. Extras: This baby comes with next to nothing. You want a a firewire cord or flashcard? Go and get it yourself. This is totally barebones.
4. Picture quality: As I said before it works ok at night, even better than my canon. But during the day, when i would use it most, the quality is noticeable weaker than the cannon. The pictures just arent as sharp as i would hope.
5. Reliability: My first sharp's tape mechanism broke in 2 months and service was horrible. Pray you never have to deal with their customer service. Overall, it has some nice features but for the same price or a little more you can get a better designed, more reliable and higher quality camcorder. Try the Cannon ZR10 or any Sony.
Rating:
Summary: best bang for the buck
Review: Whenever I buy any piece of electronics, I typically do quite a bit of research. This camcorder is new on the market. If you look for other reviews, Amazon has the most ratings for it. Consumer reports recently rated this as the lowest of the digital camcorders but better than any other analog camcorder. This is fairly obvious as picture quality is based on CCD units and more expensive digital start at 660K, analog is below 300K. I believe sharp is the only one with 460K, hence the middle of the road rating. Anyway, when I was looking for a camcorder for my newborn son, I did not want to spend a lot of money. I was intent on buying a Canon or Sony analog, until I found this Sharp on Amazon. For the price of an analog, I have a digital camera! In other words, I do not even need to upgrade later if I want to store images on my computer. While the picture may not be on par with other digital camcorders, it is substantially improved over any other typical camcorder. Of note, price comparison is based on Sharp's current (dollar amount) rebate.
Now the unit itself is manageable with one hand. Image Stabilization is noticeable and effective. Its zoom range, both optical and digital, is the most powerful of any digital cam. Of note, the lens is made by Canon. While such magnification suffers at the high end, it's still there and usable with a tripod. It's packed with features similar to high end cams and not present on high end analog cams: smartmedia slot, image stabilization, cat eye illumination. Misgivings: PCMIA connection to computer to download smart media (doesn't matter to me), cumbersome menus and dial, lack of S-Video and IEEE1394 cables.
All in all, as I mentioned, the best bang for the buck...so long as the rebate exists.
Rating:
Summary: Great Toy
Review: This is my first camcorder, so I really have no basis for comparison. I can say that it's quite easy to use. The zoom capabilities are pretty awesome. The picture quality is very good. I really like the feature of taking stills and saving to a memory card (not included, bummer) or video-recording and freezing a frame for a pic too. The included software is easy to use for downloading your pics to a PC. Battery life is pretty good. All in all, a very good buy. It's great fun to play with.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but very heat effects playback.
Review: It was summer when I bought this camera. I soon found out that the tapes won't play good when the temp get above 80 or so. They say in the manual its only for lp mode, but mine refuse to playback sp or lp mode video when it is hot. The heat doesn't seem to do much to the recording mode.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Camera for new Videophiles
Review: To be honest, I knew nothing about digital video cameras... I'd done the research, and knew what features I wanted, but that was about it. The VLWD255U camera was a shot in the dark, but I've been very pleasantly suprised. The feature-to-price ratio was very impressive. This camera takes MiniDV video and stills on SmartMedia flash memory cards. It has gamma adjustment for low light condition, and a "cat's eye" mode for night shots. There are RCA, serial, and iLink outs and several included effects/transitions. The quality was very good and the ease of use surprised me. The only shortcomings was no attached light and no flash memory included. Other than that, it has proven to be an excellent choice and will be well used!
Rating: 
Summary: Please don't buy this piece of Junk...
Review: I bought this in summer of 2001, it worked fine for a year and then it started giving garbled play back, Eject tape and eating tape.
I wish I had these reviews before I bought this junk. This is my first and last Sharp product and sharp was not helpful at all when I explained what was happening. Please don't waste your money on this piece of Junk. Thanks
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