Customer Reviews

Sharp VE-CG30U 3.3MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this camera over the holidays after extensive research on 3 megapixel cameras. I was hesitant to buy it because of it's 'newness' and lack of reviews, but I purchased it from a place I could easily return it if I was not impressed. I must say, this camera totally blew away all of my expectations! I have had a number of digital cameras over the past few years, but this one is by far the best. I put it up against a friend's Olympus D-550, which got Great reviews in all the PC magazines, and the Sharp far surpassed it (so much so, my friend is contemplating selling his camera and getting this one). It takes great inside and outside pictures, with or without a flash, and where I have had problems in the past taking pictures of people, this one does an unbelievable job. I would HIGHLY recommend this camera to anyone. It even has a TON of features for the 'high end' serious photographer...

Evaluation of the camera continues. Big point here is that although camera documentation does not indicate Macintosh compatibility, and indeed the provided CD is PC platform only, in OS 10.2 if you simply connect the camera to a Mac USB port and push the green "connect" button on the camera, an icon appears on the Mac desktop that allows access to/download of the images stored on the SD card in the camera. Initial impression of features, performance, and ease of use are very high. Got the camera on sale for $$$ - a real value for the price.

...with this purchase. Even I was skeptical at first to buy this one bcoz of lack of reviews and few stores & web-sites selling them.

After doing a lot of research online, I had gone to Fry's to buy the Fuji's 3800 (PC World second best). And saw this Sharp one there. Played with it and I liked it. More bcoz of the price.

Since I have had a very good experience with Sharp electronics in the past, hence decided to trust this one..

Over the weekend at a friend's b'day party, compared it with a higher pricedSony 4MP cybershot and a 2MP Nikon and this one was just amazing. My friends were all "Ah" & "Wow" !!

- Far better, brighter and sharper LCD display (CG Silicon developed by Sharp which has 134000 pixels, double the conventional 66000 pixel LCDs on most cameras)

- Pictures were so sharp and bright. Even under their poorly lit room. The best pic quality amongst all the 3 cameras.

-Other features worth noting found only in high end cameras:
- Video Out PAL/NTSC
- Black & White Mode
- Manual Aperture and shutter speed controls
- Canon lens
- AC adapter bundled with the package. Most camera's you have to buy it separately.

- Very easy operation and upload to PC. Like a thumb drive, you will see that the camera takes an available drive (say e:\ or f:\) on your computer. You can then drag and drop files like you do it on your PC from drive C:\ to A:\ etc.

Fianlly I would really recommend this camera to every new user and one who is upgrading from 1 or 2MP.

Infact I would rather advice to go for VE-CG40U 4MegaPixel with audio recording and built in speaker and microphone. It was only 60 more at Frys that day. Now it is selling for over 288 at Frys' outpost.com and for 299 you get a Sakar AC/DC charger with 4 NiMH batteries along.

One thing I cannot comment for sure is the battery life. Maybe in my next review. And only thing I would have desired more from this camera is a Silver body !

Happy clicking !

You may struggle to find one of these since Sharp have discontinued it. Well worth the 2 c-notes from Outpost however.

The 16Mb card is OK for snaps, holding over 100 pictures at 1Meg resolution but only 12 at the highest setting so I'd suggest a 128Meg card (or even two - it only accepts up to 128Mb). Also, like most Digital Camera's it eats batteries (4xAA's) so you will have to purchase rechargeables. All in all with this camera it's possible to get great performans and an extra 128Megs of storage and rechargeables.charger for three hundred which is excellent considering the costs of competing camera's.

What I like most about the aesthetics is that it looks like a real camera and not a toy which even some of the better brands seem to do. This camera is heavier than most which again, I feel is a strong point. I had considered the Fuji 3800 until I picked it up in a store and found it to be rather 'plasticky'

I recently purchased the VE-CG30U as my first digital camera. Not knowing what to expect from digital photography, i opted for what had the most features for the least price. Well, i was pleasantly surprised by the performance of this camera. The image quality was better than my old film camera!

It has everything you would want, in a convienient package. The LCD screen is very good, but if you're more inclined toward the normal view finder, they have one that will zoom in conjunction with the zoom lens, which is a very cool feature.

Transferring your pics is also a breeze with the included software. You just plug in the included USB cable to your camera and computer, push the green transfer button on the camera, and a menu pops up on your computer that allows you to pick which pics you want to upload from the camera. In a few seconds, you're done. No problems.

There are many other features, but they're too numerous to mention. Suffice it to say that, if you want a good camera and are on a budget, this is the one for you. Pick it up.

My relatively new camera suddenly shut off (with lens still extended) while I was shooting, and won't turn back on even with new batteries or adapter. Still covered under parts warranty (but not labor). The service center said this is a fairly common problem with this camera. I have to pay like $30 to have shipped back and forth from service center and fixed under an additional $80 flat rate--over $100 to fix!

Secondly, the software is not fully compatible with Windows 2000 or 98. The software is missing a USB driver: usbntmap.sys for Win 2000. According to on-line groups and Microsoft, this is also a common problem, and I found that it's not worth the hassle to try to fix. Sharp's software glitches can necessitate use of a (fortunately cheap) card reader to transfer photos to your computer. Sharp customer service claims that it's Microsoft's fault; however, the problem is unique to this camera model and appears to be Sharp's deficiency.

Thirdly, the camera is very slow, it takes awhile to power it up and take photo. I had to get used to removing the lens cap before powering up, and, press the shutter button well before target enters the moment I want captured due to shutter lag. Subject often moved on or blurred by time of actual image capture. Viewfinder is not aligned very well with lens. Also sucks up battery juice really quickly. I have to remember to always carry 4 AA (rechargeable) battery spares when using this camera.

I thought I was getting a good deal at first, with its nice Canon zoom lens, 3.2 MP, lovely LCD, many accessories, and pro-features. But after it stopped working and all the hassle I go thru hauling around the spare batteries and camera (no neck strap), and investing in a memory card and rechargable battery kit, I am thinking about calling it a loss of $200. I feel that it may better to invest in a more recognized manufacturer of digital still cameras (i.e., Canon, HP)-- apparently this is only 1 of 2 models that Sharp produced before giving up on the digital still camera market (but maintaining its devotion to camcorders).

I bought this camera back a few months ago. Ididn't want to spend a lot so I took a chance on SHARP. I'm glad I did! Friends spent twice the $$$ on so called top of the line cameras. This SHARP camera takes great photos and looks like it will hold up mechanically as good as anything I've seen. You will be pleased if you buy.

I was at Frys just looking at the digital cameras when the salesman shows me the Sharp, I did not like it at first and when I saw it was Windows download I nearly walked, but the salesman said that I could get a card reader ... and it would also save on battery life. I bought it to try for the 15 days Frys give you and it works like a charm, I also found out that I don't need the reader for Mac OSX! the camera just gets recognized by the OS and downloading is a breeze! The quality of the photos is fantastic, even in low rez!... and the ease of use is just perfect. I need Macro for my work and I am impressed with the detail and color of the shots.
I love this camera and it will be my main unit for a long time to come. I still use the reader for OS9.2 (SanDisk) and I upgraded to the 128mb card also SanDisk.

...with this purchase. Even I was skeptical at first to buy this one bcoz of lack of reviews and few stores & web-sites selling them.

After doing a lot of research online, I had gone to [my local electronics store] to buy the Fuji's 3800 (PC World second best). And saw this Sharp one there. Played with it and I liked it. More bcoz of the price.

Since I have had a very good experience with Sharp electronics in the past, hence decided to trust this one. And boy oh boy, I now feel it was a steal for [money] at [my local electronics store]. And hence I was obliged to write this review.

Over the weekend at a friend's b'day party, compared it with a ... Sony 4MP cybershot and a 2MP Nikon and this one was just amazing. My friends were all "Ah" & "Wow" !!

- Far better, brighter and sharper LCD display (CG Silicon developed by Sharp which has 134000 pixels, double the conventional 66000 pixel LCDs on most cameras)

- Pictures were so sharp and bright. Even under their poorly lit room. The best pic quality amongst all the 3 cameras.

-Other features worth noting found only in high end cameras:
- Video Out PAL/NTSC
- Black & White Mode
- Manual Aperture and shutter speed controls
- Canon lens
- AC adapter bundled with the package. Most camera's you have to buy it separately.

- Very easy operation and upload to PC. Like a thumb drive, you will see that the camera takes an available drive (say e:\ or f:\) on your computer. You can then drag and drop files like you do it on your PC from drive C:\ to A:\ etc.

Fianlly I would really recommend this camera to every new user and one who is upgrading from 1 or 2MP.

Infact I would rather advice to go for VE-CG40U 4MegaPixel with audio recording and built in speaker and microphone. It was only [money] more at [my local electronics store] that day. Now it is selling for over [money] at [my local electronics store] and for [money] you get a Sakar AC/DC charger with 4 NiMH batteries along.

One thing I cannot comment for sure is the battery life. Maybe in my next review. And only thing I would have desired more from this camera is a Silver body !

Happy clicking !