Say cheese !!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Ease of use, affordable, lots of fun effects

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: 
I recommend this camcorder for it's ease of use, solid features, picture effects, affordability, reputation and "funability".

Author's Review
Hubby and I had been wanting a new camcorder for sometime. Our old one, an RCA, worked great and never gave us a problem, but it was getting old and a friend had offered to buy it, so we decided to start thinking about a new one. (We had the RCA for 5 years).
We scanned epinions, researched electronics sites and compared prices and features on several different brands. We wanted to get the most bang for our buck and not go overboard. We decided on a SHARP VLAH50U. This is a HI-8 camcorder, a step above our previous regular 8mm. We purchased it at Circuit City for $349.99.
We absolutely love it ! It is small and convenient and very simple to operate. The on screen menu and displays are easy to understand. (Even for me....as I am not real big on having to read instructions first !) One simple press of a clearly labeled "Menu" button pops up your display. You are given multiple options for each setting or effect and to choose any certain option, you just hit one button that is clearly labeled.
It came packed with features that are both fun, convenient and easy to set up.

Dual PIP (Picture in Picture) Mode: This feature is great for group photos or items with great detail. You can be taping a group of people and then hit a button and in the bottom right hand corner, a little screen pops up and you can zoom in on a particular person. (While the main screen is still filming the group !) You can also set this to record a still picture snapshot as well.

Liquid Crystal Display: The screen (viewing area) is ample at 3" and is specially coated to resist fingerprints.

Picture Effects: With a simple click of a button you can record in color, black and white, sepa, stretch screen, slim screen, solarize your recordings or record them in a negative image. There is also a very interesting strobe effect similiar to what a person looks like if moving around in a regular strobe light (slow, exaggerated movements). All these are fun to play with and really spice up your home videos.



Titles: This camcorder features several titles to be superimposed onto your recordings. These include: Happy Birthday, Our Vacation,Holidays, New Baby and many more.


The above listed features are really allot of fun to play with, but this camcorder is backed with those important technological features as well. They include:

Built In Speaker

Gamma Brightness Compensation

Multilingual Displays (English, French and Spanish)

400 X Digital Zoom

16 X Optical Zoom

Digital Image Stabilization (DIS)

Multi-Light Recording Settings (Sport, Sun, Dusk, Party)

Built In Counter and Date and Time Stamps

Fade Features (3 Different Settings...regular white fade, holiday fade or Birthday fade)

Quick Playback Review

Wide Screen Recording

Macro Shots

Cat's Eye (Gain Up)

Remote Control

This camcorder came with a lens cap, carrying strap, backup memory battery, remote control. audio/video cables, battery pack, battery charger and even batteries for the remote control ! (2 AA type batteries).

We have been taping everything in sight, experimenting with the digital picture effects and using the camcorder as a VCR for playback. The picture is very clear and I really appreciate the large LCD display instead of squinting into a little eyehole. I am not a professional by any means so I do like the ease of use of this camcorder and all the added little goodies and features it contains. The fact that it is made by a reputable company like Sharp is a plus. It is backed by a 1 year warranty on all parts and a 3 month warranty on labor. The battery charges quickly and lasts just under an hour and a half. (It has internal battery charging as well !)

I highly recommend this camera for it's ease of use, features, added extras, reputation,price, and funability. (A new word I just made up because it is fun to use !) It is a great alternative for people who cannot afford the more pricey digital camcorders.