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ReviewSharp VE-CG40U
Introduction Usually when you think of digital cameras, you think first of the actual camera makers such as Olympus, Nikon, Canon, Kodak, and so on. Then, a few who don't really specialize in cameras come out such as Sony, H.P., and so on. "Sharp" doesn't come to mind... until now. Rumors of a 4 megapixel Sharp camera for UNDER $300.00 were circulating, and I had to check it out, being the nosey booger I am.In my own area (metro Atlanta, Georgia USA), I've not found a single retail store that sells this camera. There are however a small handful of web sites that do. Only ONE I've found so far, sells it for under $300.00, and that is Outpost.com. Now, according to resellersratings.com, Outpost customers rate it widely from "hate it", to "love it". I'm one of the few who probably fall into the middle, but more on that transaction later. On with the camera - is it worth the trouble?
Specs and Build Upon receiving the 40U, I had mixed feelings about the build. It's a little on the thick side which may intimidate female users, but at the same time, it gives the camera a solid feel to it unlike the increasingly shrinking minicams you see out there today. In the box was of course the camera, a set of off-brand alkaline AA batteries (the 40U uses 4 to power it), a wrist strap, lens cap, software, transfer cables, and very well-written instruction book (bravo). The lens cap was very disappointing, being the cheesy "push on" type seen on very cheap digital cameras. You simply push it on the front, and have to pry it off when you're ready to use the camera. A clip-on variety would have impressed me much more. The camera is plastic, but feels solid enough at least on the main body, however the battery compartment (on the bottom) and memory card (tiny SD card type - 16 meg card included) slot on the side do feel like cheaper plastic, and something you'd want to take care with when releasing to change batteries or take out the card. The hand grip is large and thick, however, if you have medium to large hands, your finders will rub against the lens barrel on the camera body - the designer must have had very dainty hands to miss this. It doesn't have any effect on the operation of the camera, but does feel a bit awkward when holding it.The main event on the front of the camera is a Canon 3X zoom lens (33 - 90 mm film zoom equal) which does impress me. The lens (for the more photo savy) is a F2.0 to F8.0 lens which gathers light well, and I found to capture pretty detailed images, though the camera itself does not have any adjustable settings for in-camera sharpening. On top of the camera you have the shutter button and a somewhat flimsy feeling mode dial (use with care). On the back you have the zoom control where your thumb rests (good), jog dial for navigating the menu system, buttons for menu, delete, flash controls and macro settings (good), and an optical viewfinder. The LCD is a 1.5 inch sized "Silicon" display which Sharp boasts is clearer, and uses less power than traditional LCD displays. During my use so far, I've found it to be bright and clear, though no clearer than those found on many Sony cameras. There is a certain sluggishness to it so that when you snap a photo, the LCD blacks out and it takes a full second or so before the screen is showing you a live view again. Power use on alkaline batteries seems to be the same as most digital cameras (not long), so it doesn't seem to live up to the "less power" boast there, but giving some credit, even in bright sunlight I could still make out the scenes on the screen - something you can't always do on some other cameras.
Big hands? Might be a bit cramped around the lens!
Features In terms of features, the U40 is pretty loaded. You can use it in full "auto" as a simple snapshot camera, but you do have full manual controls over such things as aperture, shutter speed (.5 seconds to 1/500 - only soso range in shutter priority mode - more extensive in full manual mode), and white balance. There are various scene modes you can pick from where the camera will pre-select settings for the best shot, and you can choose center or spot metering as well for shots in varied lighting situations. Want to add a 10 second sound clip to an image? No problem. Take a 30 second movie clip? Sure thing. Want to add an effect like Sepia tones, star crosses on candles, or a soft edge for a dream like effect after you take a photo? The U40 can do it. If you're not the best at aiming, there are five cross-hair patterns you can have the LCD display to help you center your scene (as long as you can see them clearing on the small 1.5 inch display that is). ISP (film speed equals) of auto, 100, 200, and 400 can be chosen in the menu, and you have four image sizes to pick from: 2448x1632, 1824x1216, 1200x800, and 720x480. Note that there is NO "RAW" or ".tiff" mode on this camera, as all images are stored in the standard .jpg format, with the exception of the movie clips which are in "motion .jpg". Quality can be set for "fine" or "normal" and though no specifics are listed in the manual, there seems to be a medium amount of compression in the fine mode. More than I like on close inspection, but not horrible. I'm missing a feature or two I'm sure here and there, but I think you get the idea - the U40 can be used to take snapshots, or you can use the manual settings and get a good bit more creative with your shots than you can some other cameras out there. Note - For those on a tight budget, Sharp has a model VE-CG30U which is nearly the same camera (no sound or movie mode however), only in a 3 megapixel version.Image Quality Let's not forget the most important thing - image quality. As I hinted at earlier, the images from the Canon lens are pretty dang good on the U40. Colors are accurate, and sharpness overall is good. Everyone has different preferences on how sharp they like their images to be, and the U40 picks a lower level of in-camera sharpening than some other models out there. It would be nice if they could have tossed in the ability to change this in the menu selections, but you cannot. Still, images are not "too soft" in most lighting conditions. Compression seems to be a bit higher than I like, as when viewing images at 100% you can see "artifacts" here and there due to it. An uncompressed mode too, would have been nice. The camera does a good job in most situations of white balance. There is NOT an auto focus assist light however, so indoors in lower lit conditions, the camera may have some trouble focusing; I've seen worse, but much better in this category. The lens barrel is not threaded, so you cannot use filters with or without an adapter.I'll have to admit, before I started using the camera, the cheesy lens cap and some plasticy parts on the unit made me think I was in for a disappointing venture when it came to the camera images, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good many of them turned out. No, they will not compete closely against a more expensive camera such as the Canon G2 (though I do think it's the same lens), but they are not at all bad compared with other cameras I've tested out.
Final Words, Shipping, and Image Samples
With a mixed bag between things I really like about the U40, and things I don't like, I think my recommendation will come with a condition; if you can find this camera for the discount price of $350.00 or less, I'd say that it's a good deal for what you get. If however, the price offered is in the $450 to $499 price range as I've seen on some web sites, then no, I'd say you can do better for your money at that price. I purchased this unit from Outpost.com for $288 + shipping, and for that price, it's an excellent bargain. Outpost has mixed customer reviews. Their packing has a bit to be desired, as my unit came in a box that was too small where the packer simply used a lot of tape on the top to try to bring it together. Had I not chosen overnight delivery, it may not have survived a long shipping trek. On the plus side, Outpost offered overnight shipping for only a little over $10. So, it's your call as to whether you'd want to order from them or not, but if you do, I'd suggest the overnight option, as it will be handled by fewer people along the way, and have fewer stops than a ground package would, lessening the chances for damage to you. I'd also suggest calling their number on their site to order and confirm stock too, as opposed to just placing the order via their web site. My rep was courteous and helpful, but he was my third attempt... the first two spoke such broken English I had to hang up and try again (and once again). As mentioned earlier, If you're on a budget, they are offering a 3 megapixel version of this camera (model U30 on the end instead of U40) for less than $250 (note, the 30U does not have an audio or movie mode). Same camera - just a smaller resolution.
So that's out of the way - FOR THE RIGHT PRICE it's a good deal. Below are some image samples taken from the U40 between bad weather periods here. Clicking a thumbnail will open the FULL SIZE version of that image, in various resolutions. I do this so that you can download the image directly into whatever image editing program you use, tweak them yourself, and see what you think on your own, as opinions will vary per person. ** NOTE ** if you are on a regular dialup connection and not DSL or Cable, you're in for a long wait to download these images - fair warning. Descriptions of each photo are below (all taken in "fine" quality mode:
Photo 1 (left) is a FULL resolution 2448 x 1632 image of the inside of a local Mail Boxes, Etc. Clarity is good and the camera did a good job in the fluorescent lighting. A tiny amount of purple fringe can be seen on the light fixtures. Full size inspection of the items on the shelves will show the jpg compression, but it's not the worst I've seen.Photo 2 is a MACRO test shot, taken approximately five inches from the fungus and tree. Good sharpness. White fungus is a challenge in direct sunlight. ( Cropped for space - original image 2448 x 1632 ).Photo 3 is a lower resolution image taken at the U40s lowest setting of 720 x 480 pixels. The very mixed lighting here was handled well by the camera, though the shaded areas are a little dark. Colors are fine for the time of day. There are some "jaggies" seen on angles however (roofline, picnic table, etc.), but this would be fine for use in emails.
My "Grade" for this camera on a scale of 1 - 10? 7.5( Good marks for images - losing some points for build design, build quality, and lens cap design - grade based on price of under $350 retail)
Want to see another review of this camera? Steves-digicams has a very extensive review - click HERE.
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