Lasted less than two years and performed poorly
Written: Mar 05 '05
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Pros: Sleek styling, compact, built-in fill flash, SD card availability
Cons: Terrible film quality, horrible still image capture, tape noise, died after less than two years
The Bottom Line: Died after less than two years of ownership. Terrible video and still image quality. A waste of money.
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| sgtwyatt's Full Review: Sharp Viewcam VL-Z7U Mini DV Digital Camcorder |
General Filming
When my old Sony 8mm Handycam Pro finally gave out on me about two years ago (after owning it for nearly 10) I decided to purchase the Sharp VL-Z7U miniDV digital camcorder.
At first I was somewhat satisfied with the performance of this camcorder as the video quality was superior to the 8mm which I had been used to for years. However, as time went by and I had the opportunity to compare the Sharp to other brands of camcorder I grew very much disappointed with my purchasing decision.
Even in daylight conditions the film quality was mediocre at best. Colors were off balance and washed out and images even appeared grainy at times. If it was an overcast day or lighting conditions were less-than-perfect, the film quality degraded even further and began to take the shape of poorly compressed streaming video on the Internet.
Tape noise was louder than expected and some tape noise can be heard in quiet scene, but this was a relatively minor issue to me in light of other performance drawbacks.
Still Image Capture
Even though this camera touts 1MP still image capture, it produced some of the worse quality still images I have ever seen. Granted, I wasn't expecting the same performance out of a camcorder as I would from a dedicated single-function digital camera, but I was still very much disappointed with still performance. Still images were washed out just like in filming mode and in lower light scenarios (standard indoors lighting) even using the built-in fill flash, colors were way off.
Not a single still image I ever took with this camera was of printable quality.
As noted in previous reviews, the battery must be inserted into the camera to be charged as there is no included external battery charger. Coupled with relatively short battery life, this can become frustrated quickly as the camera is rendered useless until the battery recharges itself.
Death of the Sharp VL-Z7U
After under two years of ownership the camera began to exhibit an intermittent problem where it would display the word "Dew" on the LCD display and render itself unusable for several hours. Apparently the camera has an internal humidity sensor which disables recording in the event that it thinks it has gotten went. Unfortunately, the sensor was malfunctioning and my warranty had already expired.
At first this problem was occasional, but it soon came to render the camera completely unusable. Sometimes "Dew" would remain on the LCD display for several days--during which time you couldn't even use the camcorder for playback.
During the period of time that I owned this camcorder I never once dropped it and always kept it in a "cool, dry place" inside a protective case. For this camera to fail after less than two years was absolutely pathetic.
Fortunately, I had purchased this camera new using my American Express Blue card which automatically offers a one-year extension to all manufacturer's warranties. As a result, American Express issued a credit to my car for the original purchase price of this camera and I went out an purchased a Canon Optura 30 which I have reviewed separately. So far I am very happy with the replacement as it blows the Sharp way out of the water.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 489
Recommended for: Budget Buyers - Best Values to Fit the Budget
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Epinions.com ID:
sgtwyatt
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Reviews written: 7
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