With a free angle range of 225 degrees, you can easily swivel the Sharp VL-Z5U to shoot from a high angle, low angle, or even back at yourself without straining your wrist. The VL-Z5U is also a well-equipped digital camcorder that features a 10x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD display, color viewfinder, and a memory card slot for digital stills.
Image Stabilization
Sharp uses electric picture stabilization that keeps your images smooth and steady. Natural jerks and shaky holding will be smoothed over with this function turned on.
Optics
The 1/4-inch CCD has 680,000 pixels for sharp and clear imaging. The 10x optical zoom is effective for most purposes, but if you need extra close shots the camcorder can zoom up to 500x digitally. For low-light situations, the camcorder can operate in slow shutter mode for slow-moving or stable objects and night lumi mode for bright objects at night.
More Features
The VL-Z5U features a 2.5-inch color LCD and a color viewfinder. The LCD monitor incorporates new CG silicon technology to achieve high luminance and definition, making viewing easy even in broad daylight. The rechargeable battery snugly clips inside the frame of the camcorder, rather than outside like most other camcorders. This makes the camera less bulky and easier to carry.
The camcorder comes with an 8 MB Secure Digital memory card, but is also compatible with MultiMedia Cards. You can easily take digital stills and import them onto a computer via the USB port. The standard IEEE1394 (Firewire) connection can be used for digital video editing, while the standard AV output terminal is used for viewing on TV or dubbing.
MiniDV Format
MiniDV is the new preferred format for personal and broadcast-quality video, highly regarded for its high audio and image quality. With up to 540 lines of horizontal resolution and minimum color noise, MiniDV delivers a 20 percent clearer picture than analog camcorder formats. This is all delivered on a cassette that's 1/12th the size of a standard VHS tape. A MiniDV tape offers digital recording time of 2 full hours--20 times the capacity of a CD.
Contents
This package includes the VL-Z5U camcorder, AC adapter, lithium-ion battery pack, infrared remote control, A/V-S cable, lens cap, USB cable, USB driver software, and 8 MB SD card.
1 Broke after 13 months of light use
Now it has started giving me E007 error. Google does not give any answers to this error code.
In the past it had also given me intermittant dew error.
I had it with Sharp Electronics. My first TV broke. Sharp VCR, broke. Now Sharp Camdorder, broke.
Amazon also stiffed me with the $100 promised rebate on this camcorder.
All in all, a very expensive $350 mistake :-(
I am not going to buy any more tape based camcorders.
- Vikas
2 Buyer Beware! Error on camcorder renders it useless!
After owning the viewcam for about a year, I started to get a dew error that renders the camera useless...and there's nothing you can do. Sharp says to leave the camera door open for 2 hours and then try again. You can leave it open for 100 hours in the desert sun and you'll still get a dew error. EVERYONE that I speak to that has purchased this camera has the same problem. DON'T BUY IT.
3 Never buy this item!
i purchased this item 1 year ago. Basically as soon as the 1 year warranty was up my camera began turning on, but shutting right back off. My camera like the others on this page also, came on with a "DEW" warning. I have made several attempts to have Sharp try and fix this problem to which they have basically told me they won't/can't do anything to help me. Trust me when I say I will NEVER buy another Sharp camcorder/camera after the way i was treated on this one. PS. I had only used the camera approx. 5 times...this was clearly a poor choice on my behalf that I will be sure not to make again!
4 Sharp camcorders
DO NOT BUY ANY SHARP PRODUCTS.
I unfortunately own a Sharp VL-Z3U camcorder which has been rendered useless by an ongoing DEW error (I store the camcorder in my family room and live in Michigan - not humid enough to justify this problem).
After speaking with Sharp's customer relations, they informed me they no longer make camcorders and can do NOTHING for me. They obviously stopped making camcorders because they were not good at it. The cust rep was also VERY RUDE to me and sealed my decision to NEVER BUY ANOTHER SHARP PRODUCT AGAIN.
My Sony camcorder still works after several years - I just bought the Sharp to upgrade to digital tapes (it died in only 16 months).
5 Warning : Dew Error
If you buy a Sharp camcorder warranty is for 1 year parts but 90 days for labor. Most likely 90 days nothing will break.This camcorder has a hidden problem that surfaces after the 90 days of course. 10 months after its Christmas 2003 purchase a Dew error has occurred. The screen says dew
and shuts down in 10 seconds. It will not take a tape either, justs ejects them right away. The problem is a sensor in the camera that goes bad.It has nothing to do with dew or moisture as this occurs on sunny dry days in warm weather with no temperature changes. My unit is stuck in this mode and many others if you search http://www.digital-world.info. No support from Sharp.
Just a warning.
6 DEW problem
I bought one of these cameras and it worked great at first. But a week or 2 after the warranty expried, I started getting a DEW detection error. It would go away occasionally but always comes back. Sharp wanted $140 to try to fix it. After a serach of the web I found others who were having the same type of problem. I would certainly steer away from this product.
7 Problematic, poor warranty, poor warranty service
I purchased a new Sharp VLZ-5U in January. The camera is very ergonomically designed and relatively easy to use. Auto-focus is consistent, playback and record controls are well layed out, and overall image quality is reasonable. Low light image quality is very grainy, but this is common in many comparably cameras. Camera fades to white instead of black, which I can't stand, and you can't turn off.
My biggest gripe is that the camera developed a mechanical ticking sound during playback and record after about 4 months that is loud enough to record on the tape at an annoyingly high level. The sound depends strongly on what position the camera is held, but is unfortunately worst when held in the normal video shooting position. I tried different tapes, retensioning the tapes, and checked online for solutions, all to no avail.
I finally sent the camera to one of Sharp's recommended warranty centers (Sharp does not accept the cameras back directly, so you MUST use one of thier 3rd-party providers for warranty service) including a detailed description of the problem, only to find that Sharp's warranty is one year on parts but only 90 days on labor. They wanted $172.50 flat rate before even looking at the camera (even if the repair took only 5 minutes!), and they only warranty the repair for 90 days.
I also have reservations about servicing these cameras in non-factory conditions; I have this nagging feeling that once a camera like this needs major work it will never be the same...
Given the problem that this camera developed early on, the high and inflexible service costs, and unacceptably short warranty perion on both the original camera and rework, I am going to junk the VLZ-5U, give a vote of no confidence to Sharp camcorders, and buy a Canon or Sony.
8 A Great Little Camera for the $$
I had a sharp viewcam before, the vlnz100 and it was the worst piece of electronics I have ever owned. After a year I couldnt take it anymore and called sharp corporate who helped me by sending me this new camera the VLZ5u. So far this camera has been great. Super small design which I love, takes good video, decent still pics. I use it along with my Apple iMac computer and the iMovie program to create great professional style movies. As one of the other reviews says, the camera is not on the official Apple list of supported cameras, but I have had no problem yet with it. All and all, a good buy!
9 A nice camcorder, but a bit buggy at times...
This camcorder seems to work fairly well doing its main task (recording video), but mine seems to have a few bugs. I'm not sure if something is wrong with it or that's just the way it is. When trying to set options in the menu, the menu will sometimes disappear without warning. I've checked to make sure I'm not accidently hitting any button to make it disappear and so far it looks like it does it on its own. I've also had the unit say the memory card is full when trying to take a still image and the card has maybe 1MB of 8MB used when I plug it into the computer to download (also it says on the screen I have about 48 or so images worth of space left).
One thing that really annoys me right now is trying to get the DV (IEEE1394) port to work with my PC. When I plug the unit into my PC it doesn't detect the device in any way (doesn't show up under connected hardware). It also does the same thing on my Powerbook G4.
I called Sharp's tech support and the person I talked to said they don't support that port and wouldn't offer any other advice on it. I don't understand how you put a port on a device and don't support it. I later find out that this camcorder isn't on the list of supported camcorders for iMovies (the Mac software) right now and I can't find any support under Ulead's software either. So is there support for this port on this camcorder anywhere?
10 Great Compact Camcorder with Useful features
After searching for a digital camcorder for the past month I decided that the Sharp VLZ5U was the best value for my money. While alot of the other camcorders focused on adding features such as nightshot or speacial effects I found the benefits of sharp's swivel grip and high clarity screen to be the most useful. I originally went to the electronics stores looking for the camcorder with the most features for the least price. I was happy that the saleman convienced me otherwise. Now that I have it I can't put it down, which makes happier that I bought one of the smaller units on the market. I would recomend this product to anyone who is looking for a mid-range camcorder.
11 great camcorder within its class
I bought VL-Z5U model, and I am very pleased with its performance so far. It has cyristal 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.
