CANON MD255 User Manual

Digital Video Camcorder

Instruction Manual

Please read also the Digital

Video Software instruction

manual (on PDF file).

PUB. DIE-294

PAL

Introduction

Cleaning the Video Heads

Digital video camcorders record video signals onto the tape in very thin lines (as thin as 1/8 the width of a hair). The following anomalies may appear if the video heads become dirty even a little.

• Mosaic or other blocky video artifacts (Fig. 1) or banding (Fig. 2) appear on the picture during playback.

• Sound becomes distorted, or there is no sound during playback.

• The message “HEADS DIRTY, USE CLEANING CASSETTE” appears.

If such symptoms appear, clean the video heads with the Canon DVM-CL Digital Video Head Cleaning Cassette* or a commercially available dry cleaning cassette. If the symptoms reappear shortly after the cleaning, the videocassette may be defective. Stop using it.

* Availability differs from area to area.

Video heads may become dirty under the following conditions:

• When using the camcorder in humid or hot places.

• When using cassettes with damaged or dirty tapes.

• When using the camcorder in dusty places.

• When using the video heads for a long time without cleaning them.

NOTES

• Before you make important recordings, clean the video heads and make a test recording first. We also recommend cleaning the video heads after use, before storing the camcorder.

• Do not use wet type cleaning cassettes as this may damage the camcorder.

• Even after cleaning the video heads you may not be able to play back correctly tapes that were recorded with dirty video heads.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Important Usage Instructions

WARNING!

CAUTION:

DISCONNECT THE MAINS PLUG FROM THE SUPPLY SOCKET WHEN NOT IN USE.

The Mains plug is used as the disconnect device. The Mains plug shall remain readily operable to disconnect the plug in case of an accident.

While using the compact power adapter, do not wrap it or cover it with a piece of cloth, and do not place it in confined narrow spaces. Heat may build up, the plastic case may deform and it could result in electric shock or fire.

CA-590E identification plate is located on the bottom.

European Union (and EEA) only.

health due to potentially hazardous substances that are generally associated with EEE. At the same time, your cooperation in the correct disposal of this product will contribute to the effective usage of natural resources. For more information about where you can drop off your waste equipment for recycling, please contact your local city office, waste authority, approved WEEE scheme or your household waste disposal service. For more information regarding return and recycling of WEEE products, please visit www.canon-europe.com/environment (EEA: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein)

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER (OR BACK). NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL.

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS PRODUCT TO RAIN OR MOISTURE.

TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK AND TO REDUCE ANNOYING INTERFERENCE, USE THE RECOMMENDED ACCESSORIES ONLY.

Using any device other than the Compact Power Adapter CA-590E may damage the camcorder.

This symbol indicates that this product is not to be disposed of with your household waste, according to the WEEE Directive (2002/96/EC) and your national law. This product should be handed over to a designated collection point, e.g., on an authorized one-for-one basis when you buy a new similar product or to an authorized collection site for recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Improper handling of this type of waste could have a possible negative impact on the environment and human

Introduction ______________________________

8 About this Manual

9 Getting to Know the Camcorder

9 Supplied Accessories 10 Components Guide 13 Screen Displays

Preparations _____________________________

16 Getting Started

16 Charging the Battery Pack 18 Installing the Backup Battery 18 Preparing the Wireless Controller and Accessories

20 Basic Operation of the Camcorder

20 Operating Modes 20 Joystick and Joystick Guide 21 Using the Menus

23 First Time Settings

23 Changing the Language 23 Changing the Time Zone 24 Setting the Date and Time

24 Getting Ready to Start Recording

24 Opening the Lens Cover and Adjusting the LCD Screen 26 Inserting and Removing a Tape 27 Inserting and Removing a Memory Card

Table of contents

Video ____________________________________

28 Basic Recording

28 Shooting Video 30 Zooming: Optical, Advanced and Digital Zoom 31 Quick Start Function 32 Reviewing the Last Scene Recorded

33 Basic Playback

33 Playing Back Video 34 Returning to a Pre-marked Position 35 Locating the Beginning of a Recording Date 35 Locating the End of the Last Scene 36 On-Screen Displays (Data Code)

37 Advanced Function

37 : Special Scene Recording Programs 39 Flexible Recording: Changing the Shutter Speed 40 LCD Video Light 40 Self Timer 41 Audio Recording Mode 41 Audio Playback Modes 42 Manual Focus Adjustment 43 Manual Exposure Adjustment 44 White Balance 45 Image Effects 45 Digital Effects

Photos __________________________________

47 Basic Recording

47 Taking Photos 48 Selecting Photo Size and Quality 49 Erasing or Protecting a Photo Right After Recording It

49 Basic Playback

49 Viewing Photos 50 Magnifying Photos during Playback 51 Erasing Photos

52 Additional Functions

52 Automatic Focus Priority 52 Protecting Photos 53 Initializing the Memory Card

54 Printing Photos

54 Printing Photos – Direct Print 54 Selecting the Print Settings 56 Print Orders

External Connections _______________________

58 Connecting to a TV or VCR

59 Connection Diagrams 60 Playback on a TV Screen 60 Copying your Recordings to an External Video Recorder 61 Digital Video Dubbing 63 Audio Dubbing

64 Connecting to a Computer

64 PC Connection Diagrams 65 Transferring Video Recordings 66 Transferring Photos – Direct Transfer 68 Transfer Orders

Table of contents

Additional Information ______________________

69 Appendix: Menu Options Lists

69 FUNC. Menu 70 Setup menus 70 Camera Setup (Advanced Zoom, Image Stabilizer, etc.) 71 VCR Setup (Recording Mode, TV Type, etc.) 72 Audio Setup (Audio Mode, Wind Screen, etc.) 73 Card Operations (Card Initialization, etc.) 73 Display Setup (LCD Brightness, Language, etc.) 74 System Setup (Beep, Power Save, etc.) 75 Date/Time Setup

76 Trouble?

76 Troubleshooting 79 List of Messages

83 Do’s and Don’ts

83 Handling Precautions 86 Maintenance/Others 87 Using the Camcorder Abroad

88 General Information

88 System Diagram 89 Optional Accessories 92 Specifications 95 Index

Introduction

About this Manual

Thank you for purchasing the Canon MD265/MD255. Please read this manual carefully before you use the camcorder and retain it for future reference. Should your camcorder fail to operate correctly, refer to Tro ub le sh oo ti ng ( 76).

Conventions Used in this Manual

• IMPORTANT: Precautions related to the camcorder’s operation.

• NOTES: Additional topics that complement the basic operating procedures.

• POINTS TO CHECK: Restrictions or requirements regarding the function described.

• : Reference page number.

• : Text that applies only to the model(s) shown in the icon.

• “Screen” refers to the LCD and the viewfinder screen.

• The photos included in the manual are simulated pictures taken with a still camera.

Buttons and switches to be operated

Brackets [ ] and capital letters are used to refer to menu options as they are displayed on screen. In tables in this manual the default value is shown in boldface. For example [ON], [OFF].

Names of buttons and switches other than the joystick are indicated within a “button” frame. For example .

FUNC.

Setting the Date and Time

FUNC.

( 30)

1 Open the date and time setup

screen.

FUNC.

[ MENU] [ DATE/TIME SETUP] [DATE/TIME] Blinking arrows will be displayed around the first field of the date.

2 Change each field of the date and

time with the joystick ( ) and move ( ) to the next field.

3 Press ( ) to start the clock.

FUNC.

4 Press to close the menu.

NOTES

You can also change the date format ( 93).

Getting to Know the Camcorder

Supplied Accessories

CA-590E Compact Power

(incl. power cord)

Adapter

BP-2L5 Battery Pack

Lithium Button Battery

(CR1616)

IFC-300PCU USB Cable

WL-D85 Wireless Controller

STV-250N Stereo Video

Cable

(incl. ferrite core)

Software CD-ROM*

DIGITAL VIDEO

Solution Disk

Lithium Button Battery

(CR2025) for Wireless

Controller

* Includes the electronic version of the Digital Video Software instruction manual on PDF file.

Introduction

Components Guide

Left side view

Right side view

Front view

Lens cover switch ( 28, 47) ( open, closed)

DV terminal ( 59, 64) USB terminal ( 64) AV te rm inal ( 59) CARD access indicator ( 47)/

CHARGE indicator ( 16) Speaker Mode switch ( 29)

Easy recording

Recording programs

(tape/card) switch ( 20) Grip belt ( 19) Strap mount Lock button

Stereo microphone

Names of buttons and switches other than the joystick are indicated within a (for example ).

( 90)

switch ( 20)

“button” frame

FUNC.

Back view

Top v i e w

Bottom view

Joystick ( 20) FUNC. button ( 21, 69) D.EFFECTS button ( 45) Remote sensor ( 19) Viewfinder ( 29) Dioptric adjustment lever ( 29) QUICK START button ( 31) Start/Stop button ( 28, 47) DC IN terminal ( 16) Backup battery compartment ( 18) Serial number/

Battery attachment unit ( 16) LCD screen ( 24) Cassette compartment Cassette compartment cover Zoom lever ( 30) OPEN/EJECT switch Tripod socket Memory card slot ( 27) BATT. (battery release) switch ( 16)

Names of buttons and switches other than the joystick are indicated within a (for example ).

FUNC.

( 26)

(26)

( 19)

“button” frame

Introduction

Wireless Controller WL-D85

START/

STOP

DATE SEARCH

REW

PAUSE

AUDIO DUB.

WIRELESS CONTROLLER WL-D85

CARD

PHOTO

PLAY

STOP

SLOW

ZERO SET

MEMORY

ZOOM

TV SCREEN

START/STOP button ( 28) CARD –/+ buttons ( 49) DATE SEARCH / buttons ( 35) REW button ( 33)

button ( 33) PAU SE bu tto n ( 33) SLOW button ( 33) AUDIO DUB. button ( 63) ZERO SET MEMORY button ( 34) PHOTO button ( 47) Zoom buttons ( 30) PLAY button ( 33) FF button ( 33) STOP button ( 33)

button ( 33)

TV SCREEN button ( 74)

Screen Displays

Recording Movies

Playing Movies

Zoom ( 30), Exposure ( 43)

Recording program ( 37) White balance ( 44) Image effect ( 45) LCD video light ( 40) Digital effects ( 45) Condensation warning ( 86) Shutter speed ( 39) Self timer ( 40) Exposure adjustment ( 43)

Manual focus ( 42) Image stabilizer ( 71) Recording mode ( 72) Tape operation ( 15) Time code (hours : minutes : seconds) Remaining tape ( 15) Remaining battery charge ( 15) Wind screen off ( 72) Audio recording mode ( 41) Remote sensor off ( 74) Backup battery warning ( 18)

Level marker ( 74) Recording reminder ( 15) Operating mode ( 20) Audio playback mode ( 42) Speaker volume ( 33) Search function display

END SEARCH ( 35)/ DATE SEARCH ( 35)

Playback time (hours : minutes : seconds : frames)

Joystick guide ( 20) Data code ( 36)

Introduction

Recording Still Images

Viewing Still Images

Zoom ( 30), Exposure ( 43) Recording program ( 37) White balance ( 44) Image effect ( 45) LCD video light ( 40) Digital effects ( 45) Still image quality/size ( 48) Self timer ( 40) Number of still images available on the

memory card ( 15) AF frame ( 52) Joystick guide ( 20) Camcorder shake warning ( 71) Slideshow ( 50)

Image protection mark ( 52) Image number ( 15, 75) Current image /Total number of images Still image size Data code ( 36)

Tape operation

Note that some playback and search modes are only available when using the wireless controller.

Record, Record pause, Stop, Eject,

Fast forward, Rewind,

Playback, Playback pause,

Reverse playback pause,

x1 Playback (normal speed),

x1 Reverse playback (normal speed),

x2 Playback (double speed),

x2 Reverse playback (double speed),

Fast forward playback,

Rewind playback, Slow playback, Slow reverse playback,

Frame advance, Frame reverse,

/ Date search ( 35),

/ Zero set memory ( 34)

Remaining tape

Indicates the remaining time of the tape in minutes.

moves during recording. When the tape

reaches its end, the display changes to “ END”.

• When the time left is less than 15 seconds, the remaining tape time may not appear.

• Depending on the type of tape, the remaining time displayed may not be correct. In any case, you will be able to record on the tape the number of minutes that appears on the cassette’s label (for example, 85 minutes).

Remaining battery charge

• Depending on the conditions under which the camcorder and the battery pack are used, the actual battery charge may not be indicated accurately.

Recording reminder

The camcorder counts from 1 to 10 seconds when you start recording. This is helpful to avoid scenes that are too short.

Number of still images available on the memory

card

flashing in red: No card

in green: 6 or more images in yellow: 1 to 5 images in red: No more images can be recorded

• When viewing the still images, the display will always be in green.

• Depending on the recording conditions, the number of available still images displayed may not decrease even after a recording has been made, or may decrease by 2 still images at once.

Card Access Display

is displayed next to the number of images available while the camcorder is writing on the memory card.

Image number

The image number indicates the name and location of the file on the memory card. For example, the file name of image 101-0107 is “IMG_0107.JPG”, stored under the folder “DCIM\101CANON”.

• When starts flashing in red replace the battery pack with a fully charged one.

• When you attach an empty battery pack, the power may turn off without displaying the icon.

Preparations

This chapter describes basic operations, such as navigating the menus, and first time settings to help you learn more about your camcorder.

Getting Started

Charging the Battery Pack

The camcorder can be powered with a battery pack or directly using the compact power adapter. Charge the battery pack before use. For approximate charging times and recording/playback times with a full battery pack, refer to the tables on page 90.

Remove the battery terminal cover before attaching the battery

BATT. switch

1 Turn off the camcorder. 2 Attach the battery pack to the

camcorder.

Press the battery pack lightly and slide it up until it clicks.

CHARGE indicator

DC IN terminal

3 Connect the power cord to the

compact power adapter.

4 Plug the power cord into a power

outlet.

5 Connect the compact power

adapter to the camcorder’s DC IN terminal.

• The CHARGE indicator starts flashing. The indicator will stay on when the charging is completed.

• You can also use the compact power adapter without attaching a battery pack.

• When the compact power adapter is connected, even if a battery is attached its power will not be consumed.

ONCE THE BATTERY IS FULLY CHARGED

1 Disconnect the compact power

adapter from the camcorder.

2 Unplug the power cord from the

power outlet and the compact power adapter.

TO REMOVE THE BATTERY PACK

Press to release the battery

BATT.

pack. Slide the battery pack down and then pull it out.

IMPORTANT

• You may hear some noise from the compact power adapter during use. This is not a malfunction.

• We recommend charging the battery pack in temperatures between 10 °C and 30 °C. Outside the temperature range of 0 °C to 40 °C, charging will not start.

• Do not connect to the camcorder’s DC IN terminal or to the compact power adapter any electrical equipment that is not expressly recommended for use with this camcorder.

• To prevent equipment breakdowns and excessive heating, do not connect the supplied compact power adapter to voltage converters for overseas travels or special power sources such as those

on aircraft and ships, DC-AC inverters, etc.

NOTES

• The CHARGE indicator also serves as a rough estimate of the battery charge status. Continuously on: Battery pack fully charged. Two quick flashes at 1-second intervals: Battery pack at least 50% charged. If the indicator flashes quickly but not exactly in this pattern, refer to Troubleshooting (76). One flash at 1-second intervals: Battery pack less than 50% charged.

• We recommend that you prepare battery packs 2 to 3 times longer than you think you might need.

Preparations

Installing the Backup Battery

The backup battery (lithium button battery CR1616) allows the camcorder to retain the date, time ( 24) and other camcorder settings while the power source is disconnected. Connect a power source to the camcorder when replacing the backup battery to retain the settings.

1 If a battery pack is attached,

remove it first.

2 Open the backup battery cover. 3 Insert the backup battery with the

+ side facing out.

NOTES

The battery life of the backup battery is about one year. flashes in red when the lithium button battery is not installed, or when it needs to be replaced.

Preparing the Wireless Controller and Accessories

First, insert the supplied lithium button battery (CR2025) into the wireless controller.

Ta b

1 Press the tab in the direction of

the arrow and pull out the battery holder.

2 Place the lithium button battery

with the + side facing up.

3 Insert the battery holder.

4 Close the cover.

TO USE THE WIRELESS CONTROLLER

Accessories

Point the controller at the camcorder’s remote sensor when you press the buttons.

You can rotate the LCD panel 180 degrees to use the wireless controller from the front of the camcorder.

NOTES

• The wireless controller may not work properly when the remote sensor is situated under strong light sources or direct sunlight.

• If the wireless controller does not work, check that [WL.REMOTE] is not set to [OFF ] ( 74). Otherwise, replace the battery.

Fasten the grip belt.

Adjust the grip belt so that you can reach the zoom lever with your index finger, and the button with

Start/Stop

your thumb.

WHEN YOU MOUNT THE CAMCORDER ON A

TRIPOD

Do not leave the viewfinder exposed to direct sunlight as it may melt (due to concentration of the light by the lens). Do not use tripods with fastening screws longer than 5.5 mm. Doing so may damage the camcorder.

Preparations

Basic Operation of the Camcorder

Operating Modes

The camcorder’s operating mode is determined by the positions of the switch and the / switch. In the manual, indicates that a function is available in the operating mode shown and indicates that the function is not available. When no operating mode icons are given, the function is available in all operating modes.

Joystick and Joystick Guide

Use the joystick to operate the camcorder's menus.

Push the joystick up, down, left or right ( , ) to select an item or change settings.

Press the joystick itself ( ) to save the settings or confirm an action. On menu screens, this is indicated by the icon

The joystick can also be used in combination with the joystick guide to operate additional functions. Press ( ) to display/hide the joystick guide (when recording, the joystick guide will appear only when the mode switch is set to

). The functions that appear on the joystick guide will change depending on the operating mode.

Operating

mode

switch / switch Icon display Operation

(Tape)

(Card)

(Tape)

(Card)

Recording movies on a tape

Recording still images on a memory card

Playing movies from a tape

Playing back still images from a memory card

Using the Menus

Many of the camcorder’s functions can be adjusted from the menus that open after pressing the FUNC. button

FUNC.

(). For details about the available menu

options and settings, refer to the appendix Menu Options Lists ( 69).

Selecting a FUNC. Menu Option

3 Select ( ) the desired setting

from the available options at the

bottom bar.

• The selected option will be highlighted in light blue. Menu items not available will appear grayed out.

• With some settings you will need to make further selections and/or press ( ). Follow the additional operation guides that will appear on the screen (such as the joystick icon , small arrows, etc.).

4 Press to save the settings

Selecting an Option from the Setup Menus

FUNC.

and close the menu.

You can press to close the menu at any time.

FUNC.

1 Press .

FUNC.

2 Select ( ) the icon of the

function you want to change from the left side column.

Menu items not available will appear grayed out.

Preparations

1 Press .

FUNC.

In the still image index screen, the setup menus will open. Skip to step 3.

2 Select ( ) the icon and press

( ) to open the setup menus.

3 Select ( ) the desired menu from

the left side column and press ().

The title of the selected menu appears on top of the screen and under it the list of settings.

4 Select ( ) the setting you want

to change and press ( ).

• An orange frame will indicate the menu item currently selected. Menu items not available will appear grayed out.

• To return to the menu selection screen, select ( ) [ RETURN] and press

( ).

5 Select ( ) the desired option and

press ( ) to save the setting.

6 Press .

Instead of steps 1 and 2, you can also keep pressed down for more than 1 second to open the setup menus screen directly.

FUNC.

You can press to close the

FUNC.

menu at any time.

NOTES

FUNC.

Abbreviation of Menu Selections in this Manual

In this manual, the arrow is used to abbreviate menu selections. Below is an example of changing a setting using the setup menus.

FUNC.

[ MENU] [ DISPLAY SETUP/ ] [LANGUAGE] Desired language

FUNC.

For selections in the FUNC. menu, the abbreviated form will always show the initial default value. In recording mode, its icon will appear on the left side column when you first open the menu. If the setting was changed, the icon of the currently selected option will appear instead.

FUNC.

[ IMAGE EFFECT OFF] Desired image effect

FUNC.

First Time Settings

Changing the Language

The language for on-screen and menu displays can be changed. The list of available languages depends on the region where you purchased the camcorder.

Language Set A

Czech, German, Greek, English French, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic and Persian.

Language Set B



, Malay, Simplified Chinese, Traditional

English Chinese and Thai.

FUNC.

( 21)

FUNC.

[ MENU] [ DISPLAY SETUP/ ] [LANGUAGE] Desired language

FUNC.



Default value



, Spanish,

Changing the Time Zone

Change the time zone to match your location. The default setting is Paris or Singapore, depending on the region of purchase.

FUNC.

(21)

FUNC.

[ MENU] [ DATE/TIME SETUP] [T.ZONE/DST] Desired time zone*

FUNC.

* To adjust for daylight saving time, select the

time zone with the mark next to the area.

World Time Zones

Once you have set the time zone, date and time, you do not need to reset the clock every time you travel to another time zone. Select the time zone to match the local time at your destination, referring to the date and time displayed on the screen.

NOTES

• If you changed the language by mistake, follow the mark next to the menu item to change the setting.

• The display that appears in some menu screens refers to the name of the button on the camcorder and will not change, regardless of the language selected.

Preparations

Setting the Date and Time

Getting Ready to Start Recording

FUNC.

( 21)

1 Open the date and time setup

screen.

FUNC.

[ MENU] [ DATE/TIME SETUP] [DATE/TIME] Blinking arrows will be displayed around the first field of the date.

2 Change each field of the date and

time with the joystick ( ) and move ( ) to the next field.

3 Press ( ) to start the clock. 4 Press to close the menu.

You can also change the date format (75).

FUNC.

NOTES

Opening the Lens Cover and Adjusting the LCD Screen

Before you start recording, open the lens cover.

Move the lens cover switch down to

to open the lens cover.

Rotating the LCD Panel

Open the LCD panel 90 degrees.

You can rotate the panel 90 degrees downward.

180°

90°

You can rotate the panel 180 degrees toward the lens (allowing the subject to monitor the LCD screen while you use the viewfinder). This is the only case where you can use the viewfinder and

the LCD screen simultaneously. Rotating the LCD panel 180 degrees can be useful in the following cases:

• When you wish to include yourself in the picture when recording with the self timer.

• To allow the camcorder to be operated with the wireless controller from the front.

Subject can monitor the LCD screen

NOTES

About the LCD and viewfinder screen: The

screens are produced using extremely high-precision manufacturing techniques, with more than 99.99% of the pixels operating to specification. Less than

0.01% of the pixels may occasionally

misfire or appear as black, red, blue or green dots. This has no effect on the recorded image and does not constitute a malfunction.

LCD Backlight

You can set the brightness of the LCD screen to normal or bright.

FUNC.

(21)

FUNC.

[ MENU] [ DISPLAY SETUP/ ] [BACKLIGHT] Desired option

FUNC.

NOTES

• This setting does not affect the brightness of the recording or the viewfinder screen.

• Using the [BRIGHT] setting will shorten the effective usage time of the battery pack.

Preparations

Inserting and Removing a Tape

Use only videocassettes marked with the logo.

1 Slide fully in the

OPEN/EJECT

direction of the arrow and open the cassette compartment cover.

The cassette compartment opens automatically.

2 Insert the cassette.

• Insert the cassette with the window facing the grip belt.

• To remove a cassette pull it straight out.

3 Press the mark on the

cassette compartment until it clicks.

4 Wait for the cassette compartment

to retract automatically and close the cassette compartment cover.

IMPORTANT

• Do not interfere with the cassette compartment while it is opening or closing automatically, or attempt to close the cover before the cassette compartment has fully retracted.

• Be careful not to get your fingers caught in the cassette compartment cover.

NOTES

If the camcorder is connected to a power source, cassettes can be inserted/ removed even if the switch is set to .

Inserting and Removing a Memory Card

You can use commercially available

cards, SD memory cards or MultiMedia cards (MMC) with this camcorder.

(SD High Capacity) memory

SDHC

1 Turn off the camcorder. 2 Open the memory card slot cover. 3 Insert the memory card straight all

the way into the memory card slot.

4 Close the cover.

Do not force the cover closed if the memory card is not correctly inserted.

IMPORTANT

• Make sure to initialize all memory cards

before using them with this camcorder (53).

• Memory cards have front and back

sides that are not interchangeable. Inserting a memory card facing the wrong direction can cause a malfunction of the camcorder.

NOTES

• Compatibility with all SD, SDHC or

MMC memory cards cannot be guaranteed.

• About SDHC Memory Cards: SDHC is the

new type of SD memory card with capacities over 2 GB. Please note that the specifications of SDHC memory cards are different from those of regular SD memory cards and you will not be able to use memory cards of over 2 GB with devices that do not support SDHC. However, SDHC devices (including this camcorder) are backward compatible and support regular SD memory cards.

TO REMOVE THE MEMORY CARD

First push the memory card once to release it, and then pull the card out.

Video

This chapter covers functions related to shooting and playing back movies – from basic recording and zooming to more advanced manual picture adjustments.

Basic Recording

Shooting Video

Before You Begin Recording

Make a test recording first to check if the camcorder operates correctly. If necessary, clean the video heads ( 2).

( 20)

3 Holding the lock button pressed

down, set the switch to CAMERA.

4 Press to begin

WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED RECORDING

2 Turn off the camcorder. 3 Remove the tape. 4 Disconnect the power source and

When recording movies, try to get a calm, stable picture.

Excessive camcorder movement while shooting and extensive use of fast zooms and panning can result in jittery scenes. In extreme cases, the playback of such scenes may result in visually induced motion sickness. If you experience such a reaction, immediately stop the playback and take a rest break as necessary.

Start/Stop

recording.

Press again to pause the

Start/Stop

recording.

Close th

e lens cover and the

panel

remove the battery pack.

IMPORTANT

LCD

1 Move the lens cover switch down

to to open the lens cover.

2 Move the / switch to

(tape).

NOTES

• About the recording time: By changing the recording mode you can change the video quality and as a result, also the available recording time ( 72).

• Previous recordings overwritten by a new recording cannot be recovered. Before you start recording, search for the end of the last recording ( 35).

• To protect the tape and video heads, the camcorder will enter the stop mode ( ) if left in record pause ( ) mode for 4 minutes 30 seconds. To resume recording press .

• About the Power Save mode: To save power when the camcorder is powered by a battery pack, the camcorder will automatically shut off if left without any operations for 5 minutes ( 75). To restore the power, turn the camcorder off and then on again.

• When recording in very loud places (such as fireworks shows or concerts), sound may become distorted or it may not be recorded at the actual levels. This is not a malfunction.

Start/Stop

About the Mode Switch and Recording Programs

Set the mode switch to to let the camcorder adjust all the settings for you, allowing you to just point the camcorder and start shooting.

Using the Viewfinder

When recording in bright places it may be difficult to use the LCD screen. In such case, change the brightness of the LCD screen ( 25, 74) or use the viewfinder instead. To use the viewfinder, keep the LCD panel closed*.

Adjust the viewfinder as necessary with the dioptric adjustment lever.

* The LCD screen and the viewfinder

can be used simultaneously only when the LCD panel is turned 180 degrees to face the subject ( 24).

Set the mode switch to to select one of the recording programs. The Special Scene recording programs ( 37) offer a convenient

way to select the optimal settings to match special recording conditions. The [ PROGRAM AE] recording program ( 39), on the other hand, allows you to set the shutter speed you want, or enjoy the flexibility to change other settings.

Video

Zooming: Optical, Advanced and Digital Zoom

The camcorder offers three types of zoom: optical, advanced and digital zoom when recording movies. (In

mode only the optical zoom is available.) You can also change the zoom speed.

Selecting the Zoom Type

(20)

Options

[OPTICAL] (37x)

The zoom range is limited to the optical magnification ratio of the lens.

[ADVANCED] (Advanced Zoom)

In addition to the optical zoom range, the camcorder processes the image digitally to obtain a larger zoom range without any deterioration in image quality. When recording movies with a 16:9 aspect ratio, the field of view (picture angle) will change. Refer to the table in the NOTES section.

[DIGITAL] (2000x)

When this option is selected, the camcorder will switch to digital zoom (light blue area on the zoom indicator) when you zoom in beyond the optical zoom range (white area on the zoom indicator). With the digital zoom the image is processed digitally so image quality will deteriorate the more you zoom in.



Default value

FUNC.

[ MENU] [ CAMERA SETUP] [ZOOM TYPE] Desired option

FUNC.

NOTES

The zoom range of the advanced zoom will change depending on the aspect ratio of the scene ( 71).

[WIDESCREEN] set to [ ON] (16:9)

* The picture angle will be wider at both full

telephoto and full wide-angle.

[WIDESCREEN] set to [ OFF] (4:3)

45x*

46x

Selecting the Zoom Speed

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Options

[ VARIABLE]

The variable zoom speed depends on how you operate the zoom lever: Press gently for slower zooms; press harder for faster zooms. With this option, the zoom speed will be faster in record pause mode.

[ SPEED 1], [ SPEED 2], [ SPEED 3]

Constant zoom speeds. [ SPEED 3] is the fastest, and [ SPEED 1] is the slowest.

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Default value

FUNC.

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