Rating: 
Summary: Good little starter model for the family
Review: This item was purchased for a couple of family special events. We wanted a dv camcorder that was packable--the whole thing, case, accessories, and all, had to fit in a small airline carry-on and still leave room for other stuff. We also needed USB and firewire capability, for use on both PC and MAC computers, and AV output capability for television display. And we wanted something that was cheap enough that it wouldn't break our hearts if we lost it on our travels, or destroyed it somehow. (With this family, anything is possible!)The Viewcam configuration doesn't use an eyepiece viewfinder--everything is displayed on the LCD screen. It has two-hand operation with a light nylon wrist strap, like a standard digital camera. All this decreases the weight and increases the "point and shoot" ability. Resolution on the LCD viewscreen is low, but finished tapes and stills are good to average for this price range. No noticeable color degradation on inside shots. No motor noise on film. Microphone picked up average conversation easily. Battery life lasted just about long enough for a 45 minute church service. As advised by other customer reviews, we use only Sony tapes on this machine. We are also aware that repair service from Sharp is hard to get. This is a good, serviceable machine, especially if you find it at a low enough price to be almost considered "disposable"--as we did on Amazon.
Rating: 
Summary: My First CamCorder purchase
Review: This was my first actual purchase for a camcorder. I have experience with other units because of my job in computer technology. My main reason for buying this camcorder was the price. It had all of the features I needed as well. It has Firewire (IEEE 1394) to download the video to a PC, and it has USB to download the still shots to a PC. The quality is very nice. We took it on vacation to the Gulf of Mexico and were pleased with the convenient size and weight. I would definitely recommend this unit for someone to purchase. (By the way, at the time of our purchase, we received a $100 rebate from Sharp since it was purchased on Amazon.com but I don't believe that is currently available).
Rating:
Summary: My First CamCorder purchase
Review: This was my first actual purchase for a camcorder. I have experience with other units because of my job in computer technology. My main reason for buying this camcorder was the price. It had all of the features I needed as well. It has Firewire (IEEE 1394) to download the video to a PC, and it has USB to download the still shots to a PC. The quality is very nice. We took it on vacation to the Gulf of Mexico and were pleased with the convenient size and weight. I would definitely recommend this unit for someone to purchase. (By the way, at the time of our purchase, we received a $100 rebate from Sharp since it was purchased on Amazon.com but I don't believe that is currently available).
Rating:
Summary: vbegs your a ninny
Review: Vbegs the reason you don't see your review you ninny is you bought the VLNZ100U not the VLNZ105U. I have THIS camera and have no problem using the firewire connection to transfer. Is it surprising that you can't get it to work if you can't even figure out what camera you bought? Wonder why they make instruction manuals? Read one once! Is it surprising that with the 10K different combinations of hardware folks have that problems may arise. And as for support you gotta feel bad for the guys at Sharp that are taking calls from folks like vbegs. Probably wants to know what end of his firewire he should light with a match.
Rating:
Summary: Read the contents list more carefully than I did
Review: You need a tape cassette to operate the viewcamera, right? But don't expect to begin to use it until you have made a separate purchase of tapes somewhere. Wouldn't most novice users expect to find at least a "starter" tape to learn it's use? I did. As it is about the size of a regular camera you will need nimble fingers to work the controls. Also, shopping for a spare battery at Best Buy & Circuit City came up blank. Will parts be hard to find?
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