HOT DEAL on Sharp Digital Camcorder VL-WD450U - $399.00

[MISMan]

Greetings,

I ran across this deal, and did some research, and it sounds like an awesome deal. If found the Digital Camcorder at Costco. I did some research, and it appears to be a fairly awesome camera except for the software menu system. It has a boom mic in addition to the one built on to the camera. The item number if the Link does not work is Item # 448628. You can see some reviews at CNET.

The price: $399 Plus Shipping. This is a great deal as the next best is $499 at Etronics.com.

 

[Stradlin]

I have this camera and am fairly happy with it, with a few caveats:

1) This camera is being clearanced all over the place due to frequent mechanical failure rates in playback. This occurs exclusively with Sony or any other liquid-based lubricated miniDV tape. After awhile (as in 2 hours), the lubrication dirties the heads in such a way that makes playback impossible. If you know this going in, it becomes a non-issue.

2) As this camera is being widely clearanced, I got mine at Amazon last month using the old 10% off Amazonniversary coupon and at he time there was a $100 rebate, so my final cost was closer to $300. One may want to wait before buying any higher than that, as stores appear to be dumping these.

Otherwise, the camera is absolutely terrific. Read the reviews on Amazon and you'll be filled in on the tape issues. Just don't use Sony. I am currently on a batch of Panasonics that work fine. The Canon lens is absolutely terrific with a 26x zoom, the sound is better than most consumer-grade camcorders thanks to the included external microphone (which you could replace with a higher-quality version if you so desired, as the plug is standard,) and the price for the features is unbeatable. Even at $400, it's not a bad deal at all, if you know what and what not to do with it.

Hope this is helpful to you all.

[EDIT] Damn typos... [/EDIT}

 

[curlykicker]

The only reason I didn't jump on this is because of the terrible review Consumer Reports gave this camera. They ranked it dead last out of 27 tested, mostly because of the poor image stablization and picture quality. But I have yet to read elsewhere about these problems. Maybe Stradlin can shed some light on these concerns?

Thanks,

Curly

 

[S13SilviaK]

I've stopped trusting Consumer Reports ever since I noticed that HP printers never get a bad rating even though of the three HP's I've bought from their reccomendation none have had decent quality whatsoever. On the flipside the 2 epsons I now own had poor ratings according to CR and yet they print just as beautifully now as they did when I bought them this after 2 years of heavy use and using generic ink cartridges that only cost me $3 a piece.

Also I bought a 27" Sony Trinitron TV (poorly rated by CR) and my dad bought a toshiba which CR said was the best money could buy, well after 2 returns, horrible picture quality and lousy sound my dad now has the same tv I bought a year ago.

These are just two examples and my dad has been following CR's reccomendations for years and he's never satisfied with the products he buys, but if you tell him to buy something different he instantly shoots back with "but CR said it was a lousy product." Hey there's no changing some people 🙂

Bottom line don't listen to CR for anything (your much better off reading multiple online reviews) although it is good for leveling a table.

 

[curlykicker]

Good thoughtfull advice. Thanks.

 

[chjode]

Nice deal on the camera.

Only Sony tapes cause problems? Interesting.

And on Consumer Reports, yeah, they're a good place to get basic info and start your research, but it's always best to check around and read multiple sources.

 

[czyz]

Those Cnet user reviews are pretty sobering. Almost all of them (5 or 6) cite problems with playback, and one of them says that switching from Panasonic to Fuji tapes fixed it, so maybe Panasonic tapes aren't safe either? The features and price make this one tempting, but it'd be nice if it worked reliably for a greater percentage of customers.

 

[acura]

I own one. but I wonder if there is a way to transfer video to computer.
From the manual, it seems that I can transfer still image in smartmedia
to computer. but no way to transfer video to computer??

 

[amgine]

I have the 225u version without the boom. Works great, but still resolution is only 350k. Still download via serial and video via firewire( I think a standard with Minidv) Unfortunately I have been using the Sony tapes and I heard the biggest problem with dv cameras is when you mix the liquid based and the others...creates some nasty gummin issues. Other than that its great....we can get like 300 pics on a 64 MB card due to the low still res.

 

[look30]

I used this camera for a month before I took it back to Costco.
1. This camera has the worst colours reproduction I ever seen in a digital camcorder.
2. Image stabilisation is close to innexistent.If you go to a zoom >10X everything is blurry.
3. After two weeks some weird noises where comming from the mechanism.
4. The Zoom is LOUD and I mean LOUD. It even covers a conversation if used.
5 as you can see from points 1-4 this is a worthless POS and you're better off looking for a Panasonic , Canon or even Sony.

Good luck.

 

[look30]

I saw a good deal on www.dell.com for a Panasonic DV camcorder... you might want to look ito that one

 

[kermalou]

not available any more?