Sharp VLZ5U MiniDV Camcorder with 2.5" LCD, Memory Slot and 8MB Card

[Archived in $400 - $500, All Camcorders, All Digital Camcorders, Digital MiniDV, Products, Sharp, Sharp HE]

Manufacturer: Sharp
Price at amazon.com: $448.94
This item is not stocked or has been discontinued.

Product Features:

• 10x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD display, color viewfinder
• Memory card slot for digital stills
• Electric picture stabilization to keep your images smooth and steady
• 1/4-inch CCD with 680,000 pixels for sharp, clear imaging
• Includes a 8 MB Secure Digital memory card--but is also compatible with MultiMedia Cards

Product Description:

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.

Description from Manufacturer: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.Average Customer Rating:

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Comment: A Great Little Camera for the $$ Rating:
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!

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Comment: A nice camcorder, but a bit buggy at times... Rating:
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?

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Comment: Great Compact Camcorder with Useful features Rating:
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.

Posted at November 11, 2003 07:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)