Sharp Viewcam VL-Z5U Mini DV Camcorder

Pros: Moderate price. Small size. Ample features. Excellent quality recordings. Large, bright LCD screen.
Cons: No night light. No accessory hot shoe. Proprietary battery. No IEEE1394 (firewire) cable included.

I bought this SHARP VL-Z5U camcorder two weeks ago because I wanted to replace my ten year old Sony 8mm camcorder. I saw this camcorder on display as a closeout item. The first thing that got may attention was the size and ergonomics of this ...

Pros: Easy to read LCD, battery life, size, auto settings, video quality in and outdoors, price
Cons: nothing worth noting

So many Mini DV's out there priced in the $1000.00 plus range with conflicting reviews forced me to ...

Pros: Size, swivel design great audio, clear video picture, simple operation. Pre set scene menus
Cons: No external mic input, hot shoe or lanc input. Poor still image quality.

I have only had this camera 1 week, but already I love it! I use a full featured Semi Pro Camera for work (Cost over $5000.) so I do have a high level of expectation. The video and audio quality are great, and the single handed operation, with the ability ...

Pros: Great camcorder that is very affordable. Nice features and decent picture quality. Easy to use.
Cons: Tape gets stuck in machine and won't eject. Tiny buttons. No flash or night light.

This camcorder is a great buy, there is no doubt about it. All of the things stated in the previous reviews are right on the money. The experience I would like to share is that the tape gets stuck in the camera and sometimes won't pop out like it ...

Pros: NONE. Known hardware failure makes it utterly USELESS, at any price.
Cons: Camcorder is easily rendered USELESS, until professionally and somewhat expensively repaired.

Well, where do I start? I originally bought this camcorder through Amazon.com, which also had a $50 rebate. I was traveling when I received it and bought a camera bag and other accessories. I threw away the original box, which had the UPS symbol. ...

Pros: Very small.
Cons: Utterly unreliable because of the dew problem. Zoom button quite hard to use (too sensitive)

I had had this camera for about 6 months when it became harder and harder to use because the dew indicator would come on all the time (and prevent me from using it). After putting up with this for a while, I contacted Sharp, got them to pay for the ...

Pros: Competitively priced, sleek design, Great camera for recording under poor lighting conditions(gain-up feature).
Cons: Lacks features

The camera speaks for it self. Competitively priced with its sleek design makes for a worthy opponent for the higher priced units. Great camera for recording under poor lighting conditions (gain-up feature). I originally purchased the Canon ZR65MC Mini DV convinced that the more you pay the better the camera. Shortly after performing test recording under low lighting conditions, shots of my wife cooking and my children playing I honestly concluded the cannon sucked. I have purchased several camcorders and experimented with them all. I love this Sharp for its performance under low lighting conditions and the sound quality is truly superior.

Pros: Stylish, compact, quality videos, clear LCD, clear audio.
Cons: Relatively short battery life.

I bought VL-Z5U model, and I am very pleased with its performance so far. It has crystal clear LCD. Even in very low light conditions, it produces very quality videos. However, do not try to capture an image in total darkness because the camcorder does not have a nightshot feature for recording in total darkness. The gain-up feature for low light conditions works very well to brighten the objects. In very quiet environments, the camcorder does not record any disturbing motor noise. There is no need to say anything about the compact and stylish design. Comparing with other brands with the similar class such as sony, panasonic etc., the price is cheaper. The only drawback I found is its relatively shorter battery life. Since the battery snaps under the LCD, which makes the camcorder more compact, there is no possibility to use a bigger size battery with a higher capacity. However, an additional battery solves the problem easily. If you are searching for an camcorder with this price range, do not hesitate to go with Sharp.

Pros: price, flexibility, ergonomics
Cons: menu toggle switch too small

I've only had it a few days, but I believe I picked the right camera for the price. It has more features than I realized, and it is easy (with a little patience) to edit on a Mac.