1 Great features for the price, but poor durability
I actually got this camcorder 2 1/2 years ago as my first camcorder in anticipation of the coming birth of our first child. It offered a lot of great features for the price, and I thought the 3" viewscreen right on the camcorder was a big improvement over viewfinders and pop-out screens.
And lo and behold, when we got it, it worked exactly as we thought and we got some great memories.
But then the lens cap broke. And it started to jam tapes regularly. And put dots and speckles into some recordings. And after 3 months of use my battery wouldn't recharge anymore. I brought it in for a repair and a replacement lens cap/battery, but 9 months later all 3 problems happened again.
The first repair was under warranty, I paid for the 2nd one. But last month was really it. My sister, who lives 400 miles away from me, had twins around the same time our son was born and we went up to visit them for their 2nd birthday. My wife took (or I should say tried to take) an hour of video of me playing with all 3 boys and another 2 hours of video of all of us going to the zoo together. Well, you know what, nothing came out, because THE TAPE WAS JAMMED AGAIN! Only this time, the camcorder did not give me any message warning me of this during her attempted recording, so we thought all was fine.
So today, 2 weeks before our 2nd child is due, I threw in the towel and bought a Samsung DV camcorder. Cest la vie....I have 2 Sharp TV's that work great (one is almost 20 years old!) so I don't know if I simply got a "lemon" or if their camcorder standards are just lax compared to their other electronics.
2 VL-Ah150U
Brand new camcorder has 3 large dots on the screen. Sharp authorized service centers in New York are taking forever to fix it. I am fed up.
3 Great camera
This is a great camera especially for a teen. It is easy to use, compact and great fun for the price.
4 Very Good Buy
I am very pleased with my Sharp VLAH50U camcorder. It had many more features than advertised and the price was the best I could find anywhere with the free shipping. It shipped the next day and arrived in good condition. This is my first camcorder and I am looking forward to using it this Christmas.
5 Great Buy
This camera is a great buy, I love it!!! It's easy to use and the picture quality is awesome.
6 Great camera!!
This really is a quality camcorder. I used one to film a photographic documentary for school, and it came out great.
The camera comes with lots of great features, too. I am definetaly thinking about buying one.
7 It's Great!
This is my first camcorder. At this price I had no choice but to finally break down and buy one. The camcorder is small and lightweight. Instructions are simple. After charging the battery I was shooting right away. The picture quality is outstanding, the auto focus works great. The zoom is great too, providing you don't zoom in too fast...it takes a second or two to catch up to you. I love how easily it connects to my TV set for easy viewing on a big screen. I'm getting ready to go on vacation and looking forward to taking some great footage without lugging around something big and heavy.
8 Great picture quality, great price!
I just got my new Sharp VL-AH50U camcorder. I'm excited by the picture quality and the great 400x digital zoom. The camcorder is absolutely worth the money. I would recommend this product if...
Well ... if you don't care about stereo recording/playback, and if you don't mind that the camcorder has no external input recording, then go ahead!
This camcorder includes amazing features like : great digital effects, picture-in-picture mode, easy navigation with on-screen menu and (as I said before), an astonishing 400x digital zoom (16x optical) to spy at your neighbors.
Combine this camcorder with a USB video input (like the affordable Dazzle Photo/Video Maker) and you can make digital pictures and videos out of your recordings.
If you are not considering buying a digital camcorder, then this one is for you!
9 exposed screen
Because of the styling of this camcorder, the view screen has no cover and is subject to being damaged. You can't with confidence use the shoulder strap to carry it because if you have the view screen side facing inward it will hit against your side and damage it. If you turn it so that the screen is facing away from you, you have to make sure that no one near you gets close enough to bump into it, thus damaging the screen.
When putting it in the carrying case I feel the need to wrap it in a cloth so that it will not rub agains the inside of the case and be damaged.
The color and sound are acceptable but the design problem overshadows those merits.
10 great and fun to use camcorder
I recieved this as a gift and I am totally suprised how good the picture and the quality of the sound is. I use the camcorder all the time. It is great for birthday parties and other fun things. I would guarantee that if you bought this camcorder you would not be wasting your money.
11 Pretty Bad
I received this camera last night and am returning it this morning. Very disappointing. The picture on my 5 year old VHS-C camera is a lot better. In low light it is grainy and colors are washed out. The speaker on the camera is barely audible. Could be just a defective unit but it is going back. Expected much more from Sharp.
12 Value and Power for under $400
A few weeks ago I was shopping around for a a new camcorder to replace my sony video recorder from 1985. Since it had been so long since I had done any shopping I carefully weighed my options. Hi8 creates an almost 40% clearer and sharper image than regular 8mm. I don't have the equipment to connect my pc to a dv camcorder.After careful consideration and a few visits to my closest electronics shop I realized that this product was the easiest, most affordable Hi8 and I love using it. I would recommend this to anyone on a budget that has a desire to create quality video with ease and precision.
