MiniDV Camcorder w/ 3" LCD and 1.3 MP Digital Still@BUY.com

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wshtb000

Member
Sep 21, 2002
106
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0
Originally posted by: JSFord
I thought the 1394 cable was included.
Click to expand...

The manual said the 1394 cable is "commercially available" and not provided.
It looks like they won't include anything that is "commercially available". But they do include all the necessary accessories that you cann't buy from you local store.
 
W

Wei2Cool

Senior member
Nov 30, 2000
938
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Originally posted by: wshtb000
Originally posted by: JSFord
I thought the 1394 cable was included.
Click to expand...

The manual said the 1394 cable is "commercially available" and not provided.
It looks like they won't include anything that is "commercially available". But they do include all the necessary accessories that you cann't buy from you local store.
Click to expand...

Yeah you are right the camcorder itself is COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE and I am wondering why they included it in the package. :)

 
L

LED

Diamond Member
Oct 12, 1999
6,127
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Got it an hour ago. THIS THING ROCKS!
Click to expand...
If you please...what type of battery does it use as I have a lot of Sharp compatibles...(BTL-L241, BTL-L441)...TIA and fingers crossed ;)
 
M

Morph

Banned
Oct 14, 1999
747
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It's a BT-L221U battery. Just got my camera today. But I have no tape or firewire card/cable.
 
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novon

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,711
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Got mine! just got done playing with it. The feel is kind of plasticy, but once I got into it I was very impressed with the amount of features. It has everything, lots of manual controls, remote control, zoom microphone, lots of onboard tuning options, the 23X optical is really cool. One thing it didn't have was nightshot, but I could live without it. I recorded a couple minutes while the batt was charging indoors, looked pretty good on TV. The LCD and menu setup is nice too. can't wait to take it out into the sunlight were the colors will really shine. Most DV cameras don't come with a firewire cable, I'm picking one up on ebay for about $7. The digital stills looked good too, but it doesn't replace a 3mp digital camera. OVerall - an awesome deal, I hope I'll get to use it a lot. I'm planning on getting into some PC editing soon.

Those who caught this deal, enjoy!
 
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LDegrelle

Member
Mar 28, 2001
140
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If you get a chance, please look in manual and tell us all the batteries it can take. No one at Sharp Customer Service has even seen the camcorder yet (no manula either) so cannot answer for me.

Also, what type of memory does the Sharp take? Is it Smart Media or Secure Digital (SD) Memory?

So do you people think this is a better camcorder than a Sony TRV25? I know it does not have Nightshoot but Sonyy has the 10x Zoom and the microphone is built into the camera. Apparently some people have had problems picking up noise from camera itself with Sony.

Thanks!
 
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novon

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,711
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If you take the zoom mirophone off I believe it can still use an onboard microphone.

Anyone know how long the included batteries last? Were is a cheap place to get bt-l441u batteries?
 
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wshtb000

Member
Sep 21, 2002
106
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Originally posted by: LDegrelle
If you get a chance, please look in manual and tell us all the batteries it can take. No one at Sharp Customer Service has even seen the camcorder yet (no manula either) so cannot answer for me.

Also, what type of memory does the Sharp take? Is it Smart Media or Secure Digital (SD) Memory?

So do you people think this is a better camcorder than a Sony TRV25? I know it does not have Nightshoot but Sonyy has the 10x Zoom and the microphone is built into the camera. Apparently some people have had problems picking up noise from camera itself with Sony.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

BT-L221U (Standard) and BT-L441U (Extended-life) are listed on the manual.

It will only take SD or MMC, the included one is 8MB SD card.

Don't know anything about Sony. This one is my first camcorder.

In the menu, you can choose still picture resolution : 1152x864 or 640x480

 
C

cdc2000

Junior Member
Jul 19, 2002
19
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Just an FYI, this camera was released over a year ago in Japan (June 2001). Not so sure you are getting the latest and greatest tech with this one. I could be mistaken.

Press Release
 
B

baokhoibui

Junior Member
Jun 18, 2001
14
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AAAAHHH!

I was one of the first to order this early Saturday AM and my order is still "processing".

Sorry, just had to vent. I am suffering with envy and it sucks.
 
B

baokhoibui

Junior Member
Jun 18, 2001
14
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BTW.

Can anyone confirm if it works with apple's IMovie. I have a PC and an ibook with firewires so I just wanted to check. Thanks in advance.
 
M

Morph

Banned
Oct 14, 1999
747
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I'm having a minor problem with this already. The door for the SD card slot doesn't seem to close properly. The right side snaps in nice and tight but the left side doesn't, it just hangs down a couple mm. If I try to push it closed the whole door opens up. Anyone else have this problem?

Edit: Just tried testing it out with the SD card to take some stills. I get the red blinking icon indicating the card is not inserted. I have to push in that left side of the door to get it to recognize the card. Looks like I may have to return this one, seems like this door is just broken.
 
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novon

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,711
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sounds like an isolated incident.

I don't see the BT-L441U listed anywhere, I do see a BT-L441 on ebay, do you guys think that's compatible? How long does "Standard Life" last?
 
3

340mopar

Member
Oct 11, 1999
178
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0
Ya can find the camera here under Consumer Video and get info on
accessories once ya select the model. I've been using them for the past
week (thanks to this hot deal). There kinda the newegg for video
Geo.
Doh...... the link here
 
W

wshtb000

Member
Sep 21, 2002
106
0
0
Anyone know if non-Sony brand camcorder will work with Sony minidv Tape?

I remember sometime ago people was saying sony's minidv tape has a layer of oil or something that damage reading/writing head on non-sony camcorder...
 
L

LDegrelle

Member
Mar 28, 2001
140
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0
FYI - the "U" on the model number for the batteries and for the Camcorder itself jsut signifies it is for the USA market. If you will notice, all the Sharp camcroders end in "U." The regular batteries without the "U" ending should work fine, but I wil call up Sharp and ask.

Also, these camcorders are brand new for the USA. You probably know already, but the Japanese release technology over there a bit before it gets here. ALL kinds of nifty stuff such as super-tiny laptops and midget digital cameras. This kind of stuff is no exception. They have to test the waters just like everyone else and see how well it sells in places like Europe and Australia before they release it here.

By the way, the reason we dont see the cool mini laptops is that Americans apparently won't put up with small keyboards. Damn ham-handed Americans :)

Thnaks by the way for th battery info! Hope the camera is working out well for you!
 
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novon

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,711
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can someone check to see if they here a humming noise when a tape is inserted and the comcorder is set to "camera" mode? It doesn't seem to be there in VCR mode, but there is a noticable hum sound in camera mode.
 
H

HarryK

Senior member
Jul 27, 2001
583
0
71
Originally posted by: wshtb000
Anyone know if non-Sony brand camcorder will work with Sony minidv Tape?
Click to expand...

You can use any brind of tape that you want. HOWEVER, once you choose your brand of tape, you need to stick with it. Changing tape brands can lead to head-clogging.

I thought it was an urban myth but it seems to be true. A buddy of mine has used Sony's, then he put in a Panazonic and BOOM! head-clog.

Even if it might not happen to you personally, I think it's better to be safe than sorry. There are a lot of people who have reported this problem. So choose a tape-brand and stick with it.
I remember sometime ago people was saying sony's minidv tape has a layer of oil or something that damage reading/writing head on non-sony camcorder...
Click to expand...
The hypothicized issues is that Sony uses a different formulation that is more liquidy. That in itself isn't a problem, but apparantly the combination of the different formulations will cause problems.


Here is a basic FAQ that touches on the topic of mixing tape brands.
And if you're really daring Adam Wilt has a very comprehensive site that deals with a lot of techinical DV stuff
 
A

asianraver

Junior Member
Dec 6, 2002
6
0
0
I just ordered this from the guy on ebay today...

it won't ship till tuesday next week...

for everyone that already has their's, are you still happy with it?

Have you found anything that you're not happy about (i read on another forum that some people didn't like
the mic and you couldn't hook up an external mic to it)

Has anyone found a good source for replacement/extra batteries?

any info is appreciated =)
 
H

HarryK

Senior member
Jul 27, 2001
583
0
71
Originally posted by: asianraver
I read on another forum that some people didn't like
the mic and you couldn't hook up an external mic to it
Click to expand...

That was me. The mic is as good as or better than most consumer camcorder mics. So unless you own (or were already planning on buying) a additional shotgun mic, wireless setup, lavalier mic or whatever, this probably isn't an issue for you.

The microphone does pick up camera noise as do almost ALL camcorder mics. The issue is that there are a number of moving parts inside the camcorder including the zoom mechanism and a video head that spins at a high rate of speed. When you place a sensitive microphone (like the one in the zoom-mic) within an inch of a moving object, it's going to hear it. I don't think that the audio on this camera will be any worse than 99% of consumer cams

As for batteries. http://www.sabahoceanic.com has always treated me well. They sell non-name-brand camera batteries but the prices can't be beat. For my Canon I got TWO batteries for less than the price of ONE Canon battery. And the mAh rating was higher although for the Sharp it seems a little lower.

EDIT Here is a link for the Sharp batteries http://www.sabahoceanic.com/vsharp.html They have TWO Sharp BT-L441 Li-ion, 7.2V. 2400mAh for $77.36 with free shipping.
 
J

JSFord

Senior member
Sep 15, 2000
439
0
0
Im very happy, it has a built in mic and the zoom mic. See 340mopar
post for ggod deals on batteries, etc. GREAT DEAL in my opinion.
 
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