Rating: 
Summary: Something is wrong with this camcorder
Review: I have it a few days. Features are great but picture qualitu is
like mu 5 year old Panasonic analog camcorder. What can be the reason? If there is.
Rating: 
Summary: Great value and features for a first camera
Review: We got this for the birth of our first baby in a couple days... Amazon had the best deal... Great features especially night vision and the fade in and out. I can actually do quite a bit of editing using the camera before turning to software. The camera has worked perfectly so far, menu system takes a bit of getting used to as does remembering all the many features available. The switch locations are a bit uncomfortable for some hands. Get a card reader and a longer lasting battery, or at least an extra one when you buy this camera and remember to clean the heads before switching tape brands as recommended by some tape suppliers. If you plan to do any digital editing on a computer you will need the fire wire DV cable which Sharp does not provide with the camera or the S video cable depending on your computer's capture card otherwise the rca cables supplied will work for your tv, vcr and some capture cards.
Zoom microphone is great as is remote control. Very good value for all the features which the product desription doesn't fully justify. Remember its a video camera so dont expect great still pictures from it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the quality I expected
Review: The camera is a nice size and has many features, none of which nelp you to take great photos or video. You can not tell if the camera is on or off in sunlight and doesn't take photos well in low light. This camera is for outdoor cloudy day photos.
You can't see the screen in sunlight and found myself taping the inside of the camera bag for hours, and missed the photos and video I thought I was taking because the camera was not taping.
There is no way to see if it is on record in bright light.
The digital photos are grainy and don't print in high quality.
Indoor shots are gray and grainy. Very dissapointed
Rating: 
Summary: If you need this camera for anything important -forget it
Review: My daughter sent me this camera as a gift for Christmas. The card said it was so I could keep in touch with my new grandson Noah. I was thrilled. It arrived the day before christmas and I ran out to get a memory card as the stores were closing Christmas eve. I ended up getting half of my pictures the next day-literally- a line of picture, a blank line, then a line of picture and then another blank line all down the picture. The problem, according to my computer savy son-in-law was that one of the heads wasn't recording and that was also the head with the sound. I sent the camera back to Amazon and received a new one. Good service from Amazon. I didn't get to use it again until February and I brought it to Florida where I learned some of the complicated menu selections.
I came home pretty pleased with myself for having learned so much that I had some decent pictures from Disney. I took the camera to a Jimmy Fund ski race fundraiser and the camera jammed up. I could not get it out of video mode to camera mode so I could record. I tried everything. I called Sharp who told me to send it for repair to a company in the midwest. They've had it since March and the parts are backordered until May so only God knows when the camera will be fixed and operable. I will NEVER by a Sharp product again. Very dissatisfied with this service. I am on my way to the Bahamas next week without my camera. I am not a happy photographer!
Rating:
Summary: Great camera....excellent price.
Review: .......However, I think the pixelated picture problem may have been an older model problem.....Not sure about the quality issues though...my first unit had 2 burnt out LCD pixels...amazon easily and painlessly replaced it quickly with another unit....both cameras take excellent picture in good light...the picture is sharp and colors are bright....but you have to be careful with indoor/night shots....you need decent lighting to avoid a grainy picture. Quality wise the unit is very well built & sturdy...the zoom mic works great...the cat's eye with IR light is awesome with a sleeping baby....the still shots are just that, not really that great (but i use a digital camera for my pics)...start up time is fast...26x zoom is great...color viewfinder is great (several vid cams in this price range have b/w viewfinders)...i guess it's not as small as some DV cams, but it is still sleek and definitely not bulky...fits well in my hand...remote is great....plenty of options for input & output...oh yeah...the Canon lens is excellent too......great value per dollar....
Rating:
Summary: All the features without the price
Review: I was looking for a recorder specifically for doing two things:1. Easily convert old VHS tapes to Digital format. If you have ever tried capturing analog video direct to a computer, you know it's not that easy. I wanted to let the camcorder do the hard work of converting and then just copy the video down digitally over a firewire cable. 2. Capture higher quality video for the new home movies I was making on DVD playable CD-Rs. This unit did it all for me and I didn't have to break the bank. In particular I was happy that the unit had:
- RCA style Video In/Out so I can play from it to another source, or record to it from sometime like a VHS player.
- widescreen recording option
- remote control
- Digital still option. Though it's only 640X480, it's a nice option for when I don't have my regular digital camera with me. Now I've converted a good portion of my old VHS home movies to Digital and to DVD (you need additional software and a CD Burner to create the DVD playable CD-Rs) and the new video I capture is of higher quality than the 8mm I had used for the last 10 years. It didn't even take me long to get use to the unit because much of the layout (recording button, zoom) are in the same spot as my old 8mm Sony. I spent about an hour hooking everything up, reading the manual and setting all the menus. After that it was smooth sailing.
Rating:
Summary: Value for Money
Review: Sharp VL WD450U is really value for money for just [price] (after mailin rebates) getting a Minidv camera with still digital photo option is great.
I have used both Sony and TDK tapes in my camera without any problems it really gives excellent output. The only thing missing is a built in light but I guess none of the MiniDv cameras have a built in light.
So don't look at the bad reviews it is an excellent piece just get it when it is cheap.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be swayed by bad reviews, the camera works great!
Review: I was a little nervous after reading some of the reviews, having already ordered the camera, but not receiving it yet. But once I got it, I was able to charge it up and get it working very quickly and easily! I haven't had any tape problems (using TDK tapes) and all of my recordings and pictures are perfect! I gave it four stars instead of five because the menu is a little hard to navigate, and I had a little trouble with the power switch, but once I got used to it, it works great. Great price right now too.
Rating:
Summary: Zoom Mic Great for school programs
Review: I have not seen any of the issues others complain about - I use Panasonic tapes and am very pleased. I got the camera to make family videos. I was amazed that when videoing my son and daughter in a concert the zone mic. allowed me to single them out of the crowd. It is a little big but it helps me keep it steady. Great camera for the price
Rating:
Summary: Great little camera
Review: This is a great little camera. It is easy to use and the controls are self-explanatory. The picture and sound are fine. Stills are quite easy to take. It is so light and easy to carry. We are delighted.
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