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The Sharp Viewcam VL-AH131H was at the time not the newest kid on the block, nor the smallest, but it has done more than I wanted and for the price (a little over £150), it was a bargain.
My camcorder mostly sits on my desk, attached via the video out to my WinPC card within my PC, making ... Read review
Camcorder - Optical Zoom: 10 - Digital Zoom: 700x - Weight: 0.5 kg - Flash memory: SD Memory Card - Supported Media Type: Mini DV - Viewfinder: without Viewfinder
Advantages: Relatively cheap, Hi-8, budget video camera Disadvantages: Only 16X zoom, now out of date hardware
...camcorders.
The Sharp Viewcam VL-AH131H was at the time not the newest kid on the block, nor the smallest, but it has done more than I wanted and for the price (a little over £150), it was a bargain.
My camcorder mostly sits on my desk, attached via the video out to my WinPC card within my PC, making it into a Webcam. Fantastic for showing all my imperfections in glorious detail or very very close up! Before spending ... ...your camcorder to your PC, as even the worst camcorder is better than most webcams picture quality!
The Hi8 recording format is not the best recording format, and has been superceded by digital recording formats, but for anyone who just wants to capture the moment on a budget, and isn't woried by the odd bit of analogue interference on tapes which have already been used and re-used again, then this is the camera for you!
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At the begining of 2003, I thought that I would buy myself a camcorder. I didn't want a brand spanking new one which would go the same way as my new PC (i.e. out of date before I took the wrapper off), so I went to my good old trusted friend, ebay, and looked for refurbished, cheap yet functional camcorders.
The Sharp Viewcam VL-AH131H was at the time not the newest kid on the block, nor the smallest, but it has done more than I wanted and for the price (a little over £150), it was a bargain.
My camcorder mostly sits on my desk, attached via the video out to my WinPC card within my PC, making it into a Webcam. Fantastic for showing all my imperfections in glorious detail or very very close up! Before spending hundreds of quid on an OK webcam, I'd suggest attaching your camcorder to your PC, as even the worst camcorder is better than most webcams picture quality!
The Hi8 recording format is not the best recording format, and has been superceded by digital recording formats, but for anyone who just wants to capture the moment on a budget, and isn't woried by the odd bit of analogue interference on tapes which have already been used and re-used again, then this is the camera for you!
The camera has a 3 inch viewing screen, rather than a view finder, and a rotating film arm which allows you to film from angles which conventional camcorders wouldn't allow (i.e. twist the thing and stick your hands in the air and you can film above the man who invariably sits in front of you with an unfeasibly large hat on).
The sound recording is mono, and is adequate, but would have been nice to have stereo!!
Overall, its exactly what you would expect, a budget camera, with budget features. Hi8 is better than video8, but next time I'll be going for a digital camera!
Product Information for "Sharp Viewcam VL-AH131H" »
Manufacturer's product description
Find your perfect family camcorder in the complete family of Hi8 and 8mm ViewCam models. Each and every one delivers the unique ViewCam benefits of instant playback with sound, eyes free filming, free angle shooting and even self shooting.
