Review from
http://pcvideomaker.com/zsd20u.html
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Sharp vl-sd20u dv camcorder
This camcorder has a great price (street @$750), nice compact size, killer batter life (well over an hour), large good looking lcd (3 inches), external mic jack, and firewire port.
Unfortunately the picture quality is pretty mediocre for dv. There is noticeable tape hiss on the video you record (a bit worse then average as most mini dv cams have this problem to varying degrees). The firewire connection worked on both boards I tested it with, the Pinnacle dv200 and ADS Pyro card, but it was very buggy with both and it was far less then ideal. I also am not a big fan of side handle camcorders.
I could only recommend this as an alternative to 8mm or HI8 for some one who is looking for an all purpose home video camera, that is very compact, with good picture quality compared to 8mm, the chance of firewire capability, and great battery life at a fair price. *This camera has the same optics as the Sharp PD3U so you can infer similar picture quality on that unit.
(updated Friday, 06-Jul-2001 14:19:39 MDT ) price >>> 4.0 performance >>> 2.5 design >>> 3.0
3.0 pcs out of five