Customer Reviews

Sharp VLNZ100U MiniDV Compact Digital Viewcam w/3" Color LCD, MMC/SD Memory Card Slot & USB Interface

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

My fiancee and I were getting married in a week. I wanted to purchase a digital camera for the wedding. We looked at several models and decided on this one. Why? Because while the still resolution is not stellar, 640x720 or so, the video recording is top notch. And the use of both SD media cards and Mini-DV tapes is a great idea. Transferring the pictures to your PC is a breeze and all of the camera's controls are logically laid out and intuitive to use. If you don't need great still picture resolution, after all I still have a 35mm SLR for the serious stuff, and are looking for a good quality digital camcorder, don't pass this one up!

I bought this camera after seeing the reviews on amazon.com, in particular that it was durable. I enjoyed doing videos with it. But very soon after the warranty expired, the video stopped working. It still worked as a VCR, but not as a camera. When I sent it for repair at one of the Sharp partners, the bill to repair would have been higher than the cost of the camera!!! So be aware that this is not in fact a durable camera, and Sharp USA did nothing to help the confidence of this ex-customer.

We've had our Sharp VLNZ100U for about three months now and we love it. The reality is that this camera is a 1/2 megapixel camera whick makes it not the ablosute best quality picture, but for the cost is very good. The camera has plenty of great features including the 10x optical zoom, 300x digital zoom, 16:9 widescreen mode, Digital image stabilization, the 180 degree rotation of the LCD monitor, the still camera (saves to memory card), plus plenty of the other "standard" camcorder features. ... Never a problem w/ the camera, it's worked perfect from the very first time we used it. The real trick after getting the camera is finding good digital video editing software to make your movies. And remember this camera does not come w/ the firewire or a tape, be prepared to buy these when you get your camera.

Did I say cheap?
You get less than what you paid for this camcorder.
I bought it because it was going to cost $... after rebate. Now I know why it is so cheap.

This thing is nothing more than a fancy webcam with firewire and usb connections that records on DV tapes.

Believe me, all you get is webcam quality capture on DV tapes.
The native resolution of the capture I bet is 352 x 240 (which is the same as VCD). You will not get DVD quality capture (720 x 480) with this camcorder.

I have Adobe premiere 6.5 and used it to do live capture. This is how you see the full capability of the camcorder capture. If you record on tape, the manufacturer could say or you might believe that the issue is with the tape. So, doing live capture to your computer hard drive is the best way to test the camcorder.

I did a series of capture 4:3 and 16:9 (widescreen) at DV settings of 720 x 480. The movies were awful as if I was using a netcam. In fact, this camcorder only takes slightly better picture than my netcam.

This camcorder is meant for capturing movies for TV (since most TVs display at 320 x 240). It is not meant for high resolution capture. The movies looked barely OK on my TV, but just awful on my computers when viewed at full screen. The movies looked Ok if viewed in a small window on the computer just like they do on the TV. However, when you maximize the movies to full screen, you realize that they were captured at low resolutions.

I spend two hours going through the settings and manual thinking that the camera was set for low resolution movie capture and that I could change it. That was not the case. For one, you have no option to change the resolution at which movies are captured. Two, the resolution you get is the camcorder's native and maximum resolution.

The still picture of this camecorder as you might expect by now is just as awful. The maximum resolution for the pictures is 320 x 240 just about like the movie capture resolution.

Finally the camera is cheaply constructed.

My advice: skip this piece of ....

I gave it two stars because it was cheap otherwise that would have been a zero star.

I have read many comments, all that I could find online actually. For the ...price after the rebate this is a great digital camcorder. What I read online in all user comments are:

1) Sharp doesnt support data transfer to a PC via IEEE1394. It only supports data transfer to other devices via IEEE1394. From what I read it will only work on Windows XP because it will auto detect it. Be sure you install the INF file from the CD so Windows XP knows what it is.
2) Apparently TDK tapes have a film that can ruin or atleast dirty the tape heads. (I use Sony tapes and it is fine)
3) A video capture program is a must for optimal quality of video transferred to your PC.

First I tried Windows Movie Maker (Included with OS). The quality... I tried different modes of capturing. I then used Adobe Premier 6 or 6.5 and I was amazed! It looked great! Were not talking DVD quality here. (Read about MiniDV resolutions and quality online)

To sum up... This is a very cool digital camcorder if you have Windows XP(with an IEEE1394 port), a good digital capture program like Adobe Premier (not Windows movie maker), you dont use TDK MiniDV cassettes and you get the rebate BEFORE it expires! Read the rebate carefully!

For [more$$] bucks, I might be disspointed. But for only [$$], I would say it is a very good baby. The Video is good but absolutely better than my old Hi8. The Sound is super. I did transfer the video to my computer via the Fireware. You just plug it in the port on your pc. Windows(I am using WinXP Pro) will found the minidv and install it automatically, no driver needed. Then just open your video editing software and click Capture, and put your DV in VCR mode, then play the video using DV. You will see the video in your pc...

Although I think some of the unique features that this model has, like the VCR mode, are wonderful, I have had serious problems with it. I had to return it twice in 30 days because two different things had broken on it. The first time, the speaker had been damaged, and the second time it began eating my tapes (it destroyed 3 of them). On the second return, I traded for a different brand and I am now much happier.

I received this camera as a gift in early November to use for the holidays this year. But after returning twice I decided to go another direction. This camera seems to have a problem with noise (funny lines and shapes) on recordings. I spoke to Sharp the first time this happened, and the service person asked if I was using TDK tapes. I answered yes, and the Sharp service person told me that TDK tapes leave a residue on the heads wich cause major problems for the camera. I was only ever able to get five good minutes of recording on either of the two cameras I had.

Bought this camera, the reviews had good things to say about it. The very first time I used it, upon playback, the video was very badly pixelated even though it was a new camera and new tape. Not a good start at all. The Photo taking aspect of the camera is decent in good light and useless in medium light. I am now waiting on my replacement tocome to me, hoping that the issues will be gone....not betting on it since my buddy has the same camera with the same problem too right out of the box....hmm?? Maybe pass on this one.....

I'll say it again - this is a great camera, considering the price. The video quality far surpasses VHS-C, for a VHS-C price. I've owned this camera for about a month and it has worked as expected right out of the box.

In my opinion, the digital still camera feature is just an extra selling point for Sharp. The quality of the still photos is about the quality of an image capture from a video tape. It's not even as good as my 3 year old 1.3 megapixel camera I bought used for 50 bucks. So don't buy it thinking you're getting a quality digital still camera.

The camcorder is easy to operate and comfortable to hold (you almost have to use both hands, though.) I like not having to hold it up to my eye, and the large LCD display looks great indoors or out.

The "quick return" feature is nice - it fast-forwards the tape to the end of the last recording, so you don't accidentally tape over something.

I was initially concerned about the short warranty period (90 days), so I purchased it using my American Express card, which extends my warranty one year.

UPDATE: I've had the camera 5 months now and still no problems. I bought a Firewire cable and card for my computer and it works flawlessly transferring video to my computer, which is then recorded onto DVD. I've heard Sharp won't offer tech support for transferring video to computer, but it works great with my Dell computer running Windows XP Home.