Rating: 
Summary: Best Bargin out.. only if it last's
Review: So after reading and re-reading all the reviews, I sprung for the cam. Arrived fast, pop it open and tape away. Within 30 minutes I had the dreaded pixel problem and the dirty head indicator. So I did what another user suggested, just recorded and played it back for about an hour. I used Panasonic tape in LP format. Today it works like a charm. The pic and camera are excellent. Pic is so much better then the price, you can do some many things it will take awhile to figure it all out. The memory card is great, bam pictures right into my PC. Holds like 250 pics in econmy mode. What more can you possible ask for!... and all for 400$ give or take. I can go on and on, but I will definatly let you all know if it starts messing up again, if not this might be one of the best bargins out there, wipes Sony, JVC and the rest away.
Rating: 
Summary: What's the deal with the playback problems?
Review: Yeah, just like everyone else, I'm getting the pixelated playback problems on my FIRST tape. If it weren't for that, this camera would be awesome. The nightvision recording is fantastic. I'm using TDK tapes. I'm going to return this camera like everyone else has. It's COMPLETELY USELESS without being able to use the playback!
Rating:
Summary: Verry inconsisted performace
Review: The first camera I got started flashing the icon to clean the heads right the first time I used it. After cleaning the head I recorder about 55 minutes and when I tried to play back the video all I got was noise and a blue screen. I turned it off and after 20 minutes I tried to play the tape again and it played fine. I did another test again recording about 5o minutes and when I played back noise and blue screen again. I returned it for an exchange. The second camera suffered from the same symptoms, noise and blue screen after about 45-55 minutes of recording. Strange that after letting it off for about 15 minutes the tape played fine. This is not what I was expecting. I returned it also and will buy another brand
Rating:
Summary: Great camera at a very reasonable price!
Review: Some of the users reviews have been rather harsh, which I thought was odd considering the glowing professional reviews of this camera. I took a chance and I am impressed! It is lighter and somewhat smaller than my old SVHS-C compact camcorder, but it has great features and the picture quality is excellent. Battery life is great, the weight is very reasonable and the controls are easy to navigate. If you can't figure out the controls on this camera, you should stick with super-8. Editing is a dream with this unit and the firewire interface is flawless. I give it 2 thumbs up!... You can't even buy a decent 8mm or VHS-C camera for that price! For those of you that lissed out on that deal, Amazon's price still beats everyone that I have found.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Use Sony tape with this!!!
Review: I've used Panasonic LP Tapes
with my Sharp VL-WD650U and had no problems, And it seems like everybody who's complained
about this camcorder seems to be using SONY tapes,
so don't use that brand. So Just don't use Sony tapes!!! This is much more durable than the JVC's,
that cost so much more.
Rating: 
Summary: Good one for underbudget..., fellas
Review: I bought this MDV last month and shot it around my place. My first impression of this cam is very good especially if your are new to camcorder. For under 400 grand you get all the features what the sony fellas gives like night shot, Canon optical zoom lens, Digital image stabilization and resonable resolution.Well there were some problems for some people like playback but i think this is related to the tapes people are using. For me so far things are working well. I used Panasonice linear plus tapes all the while.
Rating:
Summary: So far so good....
Review: One week, a trip to the zoo, and only a little pixelation right when I push play - sometimes. Was very afraid after I read the reviews (post purchase). I also have been using TDK tapes. It is more cumbersome to hold than our old Hi8 Hitachi - espescially for my wife with smaller hands. The recording quality has been fine though (knock on wood) and definately a good price compared to the other digitals...
Rating:
Summary: As a pro still photographer...
Review: As a professional still photographer just entering the digital camcorder field (I own a digital camera), I viewed this camera with the same eye that I use to shoot publication quality photographs. I really like it's qualities - highly recommend it to my peers and serious amatuers. It's Canon optical 26x zoom is truly awesome and the ability to record in total darkness amazes me. The 'image stabaliztion' really works and the fact that it is a little larger than some digital camcorders is a plus. Size and heft helps stabalize it in hand held situations.
Rating:
Summary: Great Starter Camera
Review: I too had the display trouble but I found it was due to the tapes.
I used a TDK and it was terrible.
The Sony and the Panansonic work great.
Rating:
Summary: I own the VL-WD650U and it works great!
Review: Maybe I got lucky, but I find it weird
that everybody is complaining about the VL-WD450U, I own the VL-WD650U, and it works perfectly,
of course it costs a little more(since the LCD screen is 3"). I have only used Panasonic LD tapes, and haven't had any problems. It's funny because the problem everybody is decribing sure sounds like dirty recording heads to me,
I had that problem with the JVC I used to own, I was constantly having to clean the heads,
Then I realized that if I just removed the tape
when it wasn't in use, the heads didn't get dirty all the time,
with SHARP I haven't even had that problem
I can leave the tapes in the camcorder all the time. As far as quality is concerned,
I find it excellent, the only thing I don't like is the size, it's a little too big,
especially compared to the tiny JVC's,
on the other hand I've found it much more durable. The Feature are great, I love the 26X Zoom,
and the Zoom Mic, I've even recorded VHS tape
onto DV Tapes, it has Digital Zoom in playback,
it has real RCA jacks,
GAMMA Compensation, and just about everything else! I have noticed the picture is a little too dark sometimes,
so I use the manual exposure to make the
picture brighter, other than that I have no complaints about it. The still pictures are about average for one of these things. The menu could be a little easier to use,
but it wasn't really that hard to figure out. I love mine! I would suggest anyone buying one
to use only Panasonic LD tapes,
Ive had great success with those!
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