Customer Reviews

Sharp VE-CG40U 4MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

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

 

 

This is my third digital camera.... Since there is virtually no user review on the web, I intended to find out for myself. I played with it for a week and had to return it ... The bottom line:

Great features and very affordable. Brilliant outdoor pictures. Dull, dark indoor/night pictures with flash (auto mode). Bare-bone software bundle. A battery drain.

Here is my personal experience:

Straight out of the box, I noticed the body of the camera is unlike some square-box cameras. The contour design let you get a good grip and make one-hand operation easy. Just want to be fair; square-box design produces a more compact camera, so this is a trade-off. The CGS LCD monitor is bright and crisp, revealing a lot of details (maybe too much). Since I got it at night, I started shooting around my house in auto mode. The pictures looked nice enough from the LCD. Then it's time to upload the picture.

I loaded up the CD and the installation was typical. The package includes an AC adaptor. Very nice, I thought. Hooked up the AC and USB cable and pressed the one-touch upload button at the back of the camera. Once I played with the software, I was shocked to find out that the software is the least useful of all digital cameras that I had ever seen. There was the USB driver and upload program, and then there was a movie creator. Where is the basic image editing/photo album tool?? I couldn't view the pictures I just uploaded (unless just use IE to view the jpg files)! And I certainly did not want to create a movie with the movie creator.

I ended up using the software came with my old 2 Meg-Pix camera. The images taken around the house were reasonable. But all the pictures I took for kids were very poor: the pictures appeared dark and the skin tone was very dull. That's not what I saw from the LCD! I compared the images on my computer screen to the same pictures on the LCD. The image on LCD looked fine. Maybe it's my monitor, I thought. I also tried the slide show by connecting to my TV. It's wonderful that you can share the pictures on TV with others.

Next day, I took kids to the park and did more shooting. I tried some Scene Mode: Portrait, Snap Shot, Landscape, in addition to the auto mode. The LCD looked bight and crisp even in the day light. That evening, I tried the Night View Scene. I uploaded the picture that night. The pictures all looked reasonable on the computer screen.

Next day, I bought some photo paper and printed out some of the pictures. In the same exact optimal setting (Canon i850 with Canon Photo Paper Pro) that was recommended by the printer vender, the pictures at the park (outdoor, day light) looked absolutely brilliant! But the pictures I took the night before were just like what I saw on the computer screen: dark and dull. I started wondering why the same images looked OK on the LCD screen.

A couple of days later, we went to a Christmas play in the evening. I used to have a SLR camera before. So I switched to Manual mode and took the picture without flash (flash does have the range to reach the stage and it would destroy the colorful light projected onto the stage). It's nice that the camera has good Lens range (F2.0-F2.5) for slow shot like this. I was surprised to see the pictures came out beautifully.

As to the battery usage, I took about 60 pictures, 2/3 with flash. The LCD was on 80% of the time when I took pictures. It ran through two batches of fully charged 4-AA Ni-MH (one batch 1750 mAh, another batch 1875 mAh) rechargeable batteries. This is far shorter than the listed figure on the manual: 200 images on Ni-MH (1600 mAh). Also the fact that some 4 Meg-Pix digital cameras only use two AA batteries makes this one feel like a battery drain.

At this point, I decided to return .... I did not investigate further for other advanced features.

For me, a family photo camera like this, I would like to use the auto mode at night for a lot of occasions. I probably could use some non-auto modes to compensate the images, or use photo software (e.g. Adobe PhotoShop) to touch up my pictures. But that defeats the purpose to have a good camera.

First, lets start with what you notice first, the physical body of the camera. It's fairly well made, although definitely not as solid as the Sony. It's a black plastic case, and the right-hand grip is very well place and makes it much easier to use this camera one-handed than other digital camera I've used. It's much larger than today's "mini" cameras, but the extra bulk makes it easier to handle and in my opinion is a plus, not a minus. However, it's most definitely not a camera you can just slip into a pocket or purse, if that's your thing :).

The camera runs on 4 AA batteries, and this might be the camera's biggest drawback. I've already run through one whole set of batteries and am close to killing the second set. I haven't gotten around to it yet, but I am definitely going to buy some NiMH rechargeable AA batteries - in the long run, it's going to save me a TON of money on batteries, I know that much.

The camera has an adjustable diopter (viewfinder) as well as a 1.8" CG Silicon LCD screen. The "CG Silicon" is supposedly a much sharper, less power-hungry LCD screen perfect for digicams. As for the former, I can definitely attest to that - it may be one of the sharpest looking LCD screen's I've ever seen. I of course can not compare power consumption, but it still seems to suck quite a bit of power out of the poor little AA batteries, but it is still a great screen.

The camera has a total of five buttons on the back, which is a very nice touch. Too many buttons begin to clutter the camera body up, and often times all of the functionality can be done in the menu system of the camera. The top of the camera has the power and shutter buttons, and a mode wheel that lets you select what function you want the camera in (Auto, Full Manual, Video, Playback, and a bunch of others).

You noticed above that I said there is a "Full Manual" mode available - let me tell you that this is one of the best things about this camera. It has a bunch of different automatic modes (i.e.: full automatic, selectable shutter speed and everything else auto, selectable exposure and everything else auto, etc...), but then it gives you a mode that allows you control over everything: exposure (+-2.0ev), shutter speed (16s to 1/1000s), f-stop (from F-2.0 to F-8.0), and focus (kind of). Being an amateur photo geek, I love being able to play with all of these things, and this camera has exactly what I was looking for in that particular area.

Also of particular interest in the special modes you can put the camera into: auto-bracketing, gamma bracketing, continuos exposure. The first does exposure bracketing: i.e., it takes three images, over a range of exposures (for example, it could take images at -1.5ev, 0ev, and 1.5ev) to ensure that you get at least one image that looks good. The second works on the same principal, expect with gamma ranges; and the third takes three images in quick succession, so you can get great action sequences (something that is normally impossible with a digital camera because of the amount of time needed to store the image to the media).

Speaking of media, the Sharp uses standard SD (secure digital) memory cards, some of the smallest cards on the market. I'm somewhat ambivalent on this issue: it was good because SD are some of the smallest and least-expensive (relatively) flash memory on the market, but it's also pretty damn slow, and storing a 4-megapixel image takes some time.

The menu system that the camera uses isn't the best ever designed - it's kinda clunky, takes a bit of getting used to, and has a couple annoying bugs too it. However, there are a ton of things you can do in the menu system, and it works well enough that you can get to whatever feature you want in probably about 5 or 6 steps max - not that great, but not bad either.

All the other important info you can find of the spec sheet if you really want to know: it has a Canon lens, which is nice because without a good lens, the camera is basically worthless; 3X zoom, which is also very nice (3X digital as well, but who uses digital zoom); an AC power slot for when you're transferring images to the computer via USB or when you have a plug handy, which is pretty cool; a video and mono-audio out port and a cable so that the camera can be hooked up to a TV for quick viewing.

The software that comes with it, in my opinion, is great. I read somewhere (the one review I did find on the net about this camera in fact) that someone was complaining because it didn't come with a program to create photo albums or edit the photos or what not. Every time I've ever bought a camera, the software [ ] anyway, and I ended up using PSP or Photoshop or something similar. What does come on the CD is a really cool little program that sits in your taskbar, completely unobtrusive. It waits for you to press the "Quick Sync" button on the camera, and when you do, it automatically transfers the images on the camera to a folder you've specified. I actually think that this particular transfer software may be some of the best I've seen, so this is just another plus to the camera.

All in all, the Sharp VE-CG40U is actually such a good camera that I would even consider buying it at a four- or five-hundred dollar price tag. However, at only three hundred bucks on Outpost, you really can't go wrong. 4-megapixels, total control over the manual aspects of the camera, a great lens and CCD, easy-to-use software; it really is a steal, and if you can get one, I would absolutely recommend it!

I bought the camera because it had 4mp and was [reasonably priced].The sharpness of 4mp didn't disappoint as the photos were very sharp.I also liked having the option to manually overide most functions which does come in handy in poor lighting.The camera is great outdoors but does struggle at tmes when lighting is poor.Using NiMH batteries you will get pretty good battery life.Regular alkaline batteries is poor;about 1/4 the life of rechargeables.Also get 64mb or 128mb card.(the 64mb will have faster access times)

This is my first digital camera and I did a fair amount of research regarding price and features.This camera has the auto mode for beginners like myself that want to take pictures out of the box but also has a host of manual settings so one can learn and experiment with advanced photography techniques.As far as picture quality goes, it does take great pictures.In very low to poor lighting it helps having manual control over exposure etc.The software that is supplied is very basic but compliments Windows XP and its Picture Viewer sofware just fine.I do recommend it.Also,you should use NiMH batteries and they will last 3 times longer than regular alkalines.

This camera is causing my trusty 35mm SLR to stay in the closet. The Canon lens, identical to the one used on the Canon G2 and apparently the same in design and construction as 7-21mm f/2 zoom lenses used elsewhere under the names Carl Zeiss and Leica, is the best feature. There are plenty of exposure modes, including full manual; there's exposure bracketing and gamma bracketing, macro mode, etc. Image quality is quite good, and the regular "auto" mode handles most scenes well. The large maximum lens aperture makes this camera suitable for available-light use in most circumstances; that's good, because the built-in flash, like all built-in flashes, is best avoided except for fill with manual exposure. The bright, detailed color display is usable in daylight and very good in other conditions, and for people used to an SLR viewfinder, it's the only way to go--although those of us over age 40 will want to keep a pair of powerful reading glasses handy to see enough detail on the tiny screen.

So, what would make the VE-CG40U better? (1) manual focus mode (autofocus is unreliable in low light), (2) a hot shoe for an external flash unit, (3) better battery life (NiMH rechargables are a "must," as Alkalines are drained very quickly), and (4) an eyepiece adapter for the LCD screen (easier than those reading glasses).

For [$] or less, this is probably as good as it's going to get for a little while. It's not quite in the SLR class, but it isn't far from it, either. I've used mine for scenery, people, flower close-ups at near-macro range, and commercial images for the web. You can get crisp (in 35mm terms) 8x10 prints, even with some cropping, provided that your printer is up to the task.

Great little camera in all respects - except one ..... it has difficulty focusing in poor light. Other than that, it works like a charm. True 4 mpix clarity. Fast processing. Easy to use.

I had no problem with the software provided .... because I did not need to use it. I enjoyed USB plug and play connectivity with my three different computers with three different operating systems: Mac OS X, Widows XP professional and Windows 2000.

Ok, the other reviews go into detail after detail so I won't repeat it all. Here's the points:

First, no where will you find a 4 megapixel camera for under $ that has ALL features on it. For under $, yes, you will get a cheesey lens cap. You will get a lower grade of plastic in the camera body, and no, you will not get a camera that compares with a $ camera.

More basics: ALMOST ALL digital cameras eat alkaline batteries like candy, so stop complaining! Buy a set (or two) of NiMh rechargeable batteres and a charger and you don't have to worry anymore. Also, if you are one of these "I've used an SLR film camera and am switching to digital" people, then yes, you will be disappointed; buy a "digital SLR" for five times more, and you'll have your match.

The lens on this camera is a Canon lens - which is good. Images capture a good amount of detail. Sometimes odd lighting will cause a blue-ish cast to the images. The tiny 1.5 inch silicon screen is small, but is viewable outdoors in sun. Focusing indoors in low light is not the best - it has no auto focus assist light that comes on to help the focus work, so if it's dim, you may get a blurry photo. Those with larger hands may have a cramped time of it - the hand grip is a bit too close to the lens barrel so larger fingers will rub against it (no harm in it though).

I'm giving it a "three star" because of the odd colors under some conditions, the tight hand grip, and the fact it has no auto focus assist light. But for the price, it's hard to beat.

I think this camera is great and for the price you can not beat it. I think it got a few bad raps by people who don't understand how to upload the pictures to their computer. If you are a little computer literate it works fine. Also, I took the digital card to sams and put it in their computer and uploaded the pictures I wanted printed at just 20 cents each. They came out beautiful including an 8 x 10. The clarity and color was great. I recommend this camera highly and at the price ... you can't beat it...

This is my first digital camera and I did a fair amount of research regarding price and features.This camera has the auto mode for beginners like myself that want to take pictures out of the box but also has a host of manual settings so one can learn and experiment with advanced photography techniques.As far as picture quality goes, it does take great pictures.In very low to poor lighting it helps having manual control over exposure etc.The software that is supplied is very basic but compliments Windows XP and its Picture Viewer sofware just fine.I do recomend it.

I'm an SLR user looking for a comfortable transition into the digital world. When I saw the Sharp camera in the store, I was attracted to its manual capabilities (aperture, shutter priority) and price. I paid three hundred dollars for this 4.2 Mega pixel camera. When compared to its 4.0 megapixels highly priced peers, I thought I was getting the steal of a century. Boy was i wrong!

On opening the box I saw that the camera came with an extremely thin wrist strap, which did not make me feel secure. The lens cap material was cheap plastic. And was a major problem when it dangled from the camera and sometimes got in the way of the shot. If you turned on the camera without removing the cap, you would get an error message and then would have to turn the camera off and on again, which was time consuming. I went through a set batteries within an hour setting up the camera. Whenever the camera was not attached to the a/c adapter, the camera consumed batteries. Be sure to buy rechargable batteries if you intend to keep this camera.

When I got around to shooting pictures, i did hit some positive notes. I found that the LCD screen was extremely clear. The macro feature worked well in close shots. And the white balancing option was useful in getting accurate lighting indoors. Outdoor pictures were fine, but when I took pictures indoors, the focusing was way too slow. Indoor picture quality wasn't the greatest. In Video mode, I was annoyed that I couldn't zoom in or out. And during play back of videos, I never did figured out how or if I could pause. The volume is non adjustable, so its either on or off. Sometimes when switching from playback to shooting mode, there were menu glitches.

When I wanted to load the pictures onto the computer I found that the software was not impressive and the manuals were not clear. Between the fidgeting with the camera and software, I had a hard time figuring out how to get my pictures onto the PC. When I finally figured out how see my pictures, I was disappointed in the quality of them. The quality of pictures on the LCD screen were superior to the ones that were on my computer. I found this deceiving.

When I returned this camera to the store, the customer service lady was not surprised and simply said, "Oh another one of those." I had no trouble returning it.I bought a Fuji Finepix 3800 which was more expensive and with less megapixels (3.2), but still tons better than the Sharp VE.