Sharp Viewcam VL-Z7U Mini DV Digital Camcorder

Pros: Swivel body design makes recording at differing positions very easy to do
Cons: Shrill motor noise is recorded on the tape, dumb menu system and small battery

I really wanted to like this new Sharp digital camcorder. I’ve been using a Sharp 8mm camcorder for five years, but the battery life is so bad on my 8mm camcorder, I thought I’d upgrade to something newer, smaller, and something that could upload images ...

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

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 ...

Pros: It is small with a great display screen. Good price $400 on eBay.
Cons: The operation manual, 4 directional operation button for menu selection, still images not sharp.

I have had this camera for about 2 months. I am not a savvy digital camera buyer. I wish I could ...

Pros: Great form factor
Cons: Terrible support!! They do not support all the accessories that come with the camera!

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Just recently, I tried plugging my camcorder into my computer via fire wire to stream the video, and burn it onto a DVD. However, it didn't work. I know its not a computer problem as I have tested it on multiple Windows XP systems, which carry the drivers out of the box. I tested my fire wire cable and it is working fine. That leaves me with the Camcorder.

I have called Sharp support and all I get is that Sharp doesn't support their DV port.... which I find VERY odd as it is part of the camcorder!
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I finally got Sharp to admit that the camera does come with a dv slot and firewire cable. But they still will not support the product. DO NOT BUY THIS CAMERA! They will not support their video out for burning onto DVD!!! Here is Sharps response to my email.
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Thank you for contacting Sharp Electronics Corporation.

You are able to transfer video, but we do not support it. There isn't any other additional information besides what we have provided that we can give you.

We appreciate the opportunity to provide you with this information.