Hitachi HDC-1296E, HDC-1296ER Instruction Manual

FCC STATEMENT

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

(1)This device may not cause harmful interference, and

(2)This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Note:

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class B digital devices, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Use of shielded cable is required to comply with Class B limits in Subpart B of Part 15 of the FCC rules.

Do not make any changes or modifications to the equipment unless otherwise specified in the manual. If such changes or modifications should be made, you could be required to stop operation of the equipment.

Notice

If static electricity or electromagnetism causes data transfer to discontinue midway (fail), restart the application or disconnect and connect the communication cable (USB, etc.) again.

EN-1

READ THIS FIRST

Trademark Information

Microsoft® and Windows® are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Pentium® is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.

Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Inc.

SD™ is a trademark.

SDHC™ is a trademark.

Other names and products may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Product Information

Product design and specifications are subject to change without notice. This includes primary product specifications, software, software drivers, and user’s manual. This User Manual is a general reference guide for the product.

The product and accessories that come with your camera may be different from those described in this manual. This is due to the fact that different retailers often specify slightly different product inclusions and accessories to suit their market requirements, customer demographics, and geographical preferences. Products very often vary between retailers especially with accessories such as batteries, chargers, AC adapters, memory cards, cables, pouches, and language support. Occasionally a retailer will specify a unique product colour, appearance, and internal memory capacity. Contact your dealer for precise product definition and included accessories.

The illustrations in this manual are for the purpose of explanation and may differ from the actual design of your camera.

The manufacturer assumes no liability for any errors or discrepancies in this user manual.

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SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

Read and understand all Warnings and Cautions before using this product.

Warnings

If foreign objects or water have entered the camera, turn the power off and remove the battery.

Continued use might cause fire or electric shock. Consult the store of purchase.

If the camera has fallen or its case has been damaged, turn the power off and remove the battery.

Continued use might cause fire or electric shock. Consult the store of purchase.

Do not disassemble, change or repair the camera.

This might cause fire or electric shock. For repair or internal inspection, ask the store of purchase.

Do not use the camera in areas near water.

This might cause fire or electric shock. Take special care during rain, snow, on the beach, or near the shore.

Do not place the camera on inclined or unstable surfaces.

This might cause the camera to fall or tilt over, causing damage.

Keep the battery out of the reach of children.

Swallowing the battery might cause poisoning. If the battery is accidentally swallowed, immediately consult a physician.

Do not use the camera while you are walking, driving or riding a motorcycle.

This might cause you to fall over or result in traffic accident.

Please use battery with complete external seals.

Do not use battery from which the seals have been damaged or removed. This may cause leakage, explosion, or injury.

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Cautions

Insert the battery paying careful attention to the polarity (+ or –) of the terminals.

Inserting the battery with its polarities inverted might cause fire and injury, or damage to the surrounding areas due to the battery rupturing or leaking.

Do not fire the flash close to anyone’s eyes.

This might cause damage to the person’s eyesight.

Do not subject the LCD monitor to impact.

This might damage the glass on the screen or cause the internal fluid to leak. If the internal fluid enters your eyes or comes into contact with your body or clothes, rinse with fresh water. If the internal fluid has entered your eyes, consult a physician to receive treatment.

A camera is a precision instrument. Do not drop it, strike it or use excessive force when handling the camera.

This might cause damage to the camera.

Do not use the camera in humid, steamy, smoky, or dusty places.

This might cause fire or electric shock.

Do not remove the battery immediately after long period of continuous use.

The battery becomes hot during use. Touching a hot battery might cause burns.

Do not wrap the camera or place it in cloth or blankets.

This might cause heat to build up and deform the case, resulting in fire. Use the camera in a well-ventilated place.

Do not leave the camera in places where the temperature may rise significantly, such as inside a car.

This might adversely affect the case or the parts inside, resulting in fire.

Before you move the camera, disconnect cords and cables.

Failure to do this might damage cords and cables, resulting in fire and electric shock.

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Notes on Battery Usage

When you use the battery, carefully read and strictly observe the Safety Instructions and the notes described below:

Use only the specified battery (3.7V).

Avoid extremely cold environments as low temperatures can shorten the battery life and reduce camera performance.

When you are using a new rechargeable battery or a rechargeable battery that has not been used for an extended period of time (the battery that passed the expiry date is an exception), it may affect the number of images that can be captured. Therefore, to maximize its performance and lifetime, we recommend that you fully charge the battery and discharge it for at least one complete cycle before use.

The battery may feel warm after a long period of continuous use of the camera or the flash. This is normal and not a malfunction.

The camera may feel warm after a long period of continuous use. This is normal and not a malfunction.

If the battery is not to be used for a long period of time, remove it from the camera to prevent leakage or corrosion and store it after no battery power is left. Stored for a long time in a fully charged condition, its performance may be impaired.

Always keep the battery terminals clean.

There is a risk of explosion if the battery is replaced by an incorrect type.

Dispose of used battery according to the recycle instructions.

Charge the rechargeable!battery fully before using for the first time.

To prevent short-circuiting or fire, keep the battery away from other metal objects when carrying or storing.

This symbol mark [crossed-out wheeled bin] indicates separate collection of waste batteries in the EU countries. The batteries provided with this product shall not be treated as household waste. Please use the return and collection systems available in your country for the

disposal of the waste batteries.

If a chemical symbol is printed beneath the symbol mark, this chemical symbol means that the batteries contains a heavy metal at a certain concentration. It is indicated as follows:

Hg: mercury, Cd: cadmium, Pb: lead.

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CONTENTS

7INTRODUCTION

7Overview

7Package Contents

8GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAMERA

8Front View

9Rear View

10 LCD Monitor Display

12GETTING STARTED

12Preparation

13Charging the Battery

14Initial Settings

16CAPTURE MODE

16Capturing Images

17Setting the Scene Mode

19Setting the Panorama Mode

20Taking Images When the Smile Feature Is On

21Recording Shots into Multiple Image Layout

21Recording Shots using Face Detection Technology

22VIDEO MODE

22Recording Video Clips

22Playing Back Video Clips

23PLAYBACK MODE

23Playing Back Still Images

24Playback Display

24Removing Red-eye

25Attaching Voice Memos

26Protecting Images

27DPOF Settings

28Erasing Images

29MENU OPTIONS

29 Capture Menu

32Video Menu

33Playback Menu

35Setup Menu

37 TRANSFERRING FILES TO YOUR COMPUTER

37Downloading Your Files

38USING THE CAMERA AS A PC

CAMERA

38Install the PC camera driver

39EDITING SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

40SPECIFICATIONS

41APPENDIX

41Possible Number of Shots

42Troubleshooting

43Connecting to a PictBridge Compliant Printer

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INTRODUCTION

Overview

Congratulations on your purchase of the new digital camera.

Capturing high-quality digital images is fast and easy with this state-of-the-art smart camera. Equipped with a 12.0-megapixel CCD, this camera is capable of capturing images with a resolution of up to 3968 x 2976 pixels.

Package Contents

Carefully unpack your camera and ensure that you have the following items:

Common Product Components:

Digital Camera

Instruction manual

Software CD-ROM

USB cable

AV cable

Camera strap

Camera pouch

Rechargeable lithium-ion battery

Battery charger

AC adapter for battery charger

Common (Optional) Accessories:

SD/SDHC memory card

Accessories and components may vary by retailer.

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GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAMERA

Front View

5

8

6

7

1.Status LED

2.Flash

3.ON/OFF Power button

4.Self-timer LED

5.Mode switch

6.Lens

7.Microphone

8.Zoom lever

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	Rear View
	1
	2	a
	3
	4
	5
	6	b
	7
		c
	8
	9

f

e

d

	Item		Function
		Capture Mode	Video Mode	Playback Mode
	1.	Shutter button	Record button	Still image: to capture mode
				Video clip: to video mode
	2.	Playback mode	Playback mode	Still image: to capture mode
				Video clip: to video mode
	3.	Capture menu	Video menu	Playback menu
	4.	Focus	Focus	Next 10th image
	5.	Flash	--	Next Image
	6.	Self-timer	Self-timer	Previous 10th image
	7.	Compensation	--	Previous Image
		>
	8.			Still image: to display image
		--	--	Records voice memo ( if
				“Voice Memo” is “On”).
				Video clip: to play video clip
	9.	--	--	Delete

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LCD Monitor Display
Capture mode								1			2
1.	Zoom status						18				3
2.	Battery condition						17
											4
	[l]		Full battery power				16				5
	[o]		Medium battery power				15				6
	[n]		Low battery power				14				7
	[m]		No battery power				13				8
3.	Flash mode
	[Blank]		Auto					12	11	10	9
	[a]		Flash On
						[	]	Cont.flash
	[d]		Flash Off
						[	]	Pre-shot
	[c]		Red-eye
						[	]	Coupl.shot
	[`]		Slow Sync			15. Slow shutter warning
	[_]		Pre-flash			16. White balance
4.	Storage media					[Blank]		Auto
	[	]	Internal memory (no card)			[	]	Incand.
	[	]	SD/SDHC memory card			[	]	Fluoresc.1
5.	[	]	Histogram			[	]	Fluoresc.2
6.	Main focus area					[	]	Daylight
7.	Image quality					[	]	Cloudy
	[	]	Fine			[	]	Manual WB
	[	]	Standard			17. Focus setting
	[	]	Economy			[Blank] Auto
8.	Image size resolution					[	]	Face Detect
	[	]	3968 x 2976			[	]	Macro
	[	]	3264 x 2448			[	]	Infinity
	[	]	2304 x 1728			18. Mode icon / Scene mode
	[	]	1600 x 1200			[	]	Auto
	[	]	640 x 480			[	]	Smile Detection
9.	Available number of shots
						[	]	Anti-shake
10.	ISO					[	]	Panorama
	[Blank]		Auto			[	]	Portrait Man
	[	]	ISO 100
						[	]	Portrait Lady
	[	]	ISO 200			[	]	Landscape
	[	]	ISO 400			[	]	Sports
	[	]	ISO 800
						[	]	Night Portrait
	[	]	ISO 1600			[	]	Night Scene
11.	Self-timer icon					[	]	Candlelight
	[f]		2 sec.
						[	]	Fireworks
	[g]		10 sec.
						[	]	Text
	[h]		10+2 sec.
						[	]	Sunset
12.	Date and time
						[	]	Sunrise
13.	[	]	Exposure compensation			[	]	Splash Water
	[	]	Backlight correction			[	]	Flow Water
	(Adjust		exposure value with the	e /	f	[	]	Snow
	buttons)					[	]	Beach
14.	Capture mode icon					[	]	Pets
	[Blank]		Single			[	]	Natural Green
	[	]	Continuous			[	P ]	Program AE
	[	]	AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing)
	[	]	Album Shot
	[	]	Burst

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Video mode		1					2 3
1.	Zoom status
2.	Flash mode	12
3.	Battery condition	11
							4
4.	Storage media
5.	Main focus area											5
6.	Video quality
7.	Video resolution										6
8.	Available recording time/Elapsed time						7
9.	Self-timer icon						00 : 00 : 08

10.Date and time

10 9 8

11. Focus setting

12.Mode icon

13.Sound off icon

Playback mode!-!Still image playback			1		2
1.	Voice memo
2.	Battery condition	16		:Play
3.	Storage media	15				3
4.	Histogram
		14	1			4
5.	Image quality
6.	ISO	13				5
7.	Image size resolution	12
8.	File number	11				6
9.	Folder number			E1000001		7
10.Date and time			10	9	8
11. Exposure value

12.Aperture value

13.Shutter speed value

14.DPOF icon

15.Protect icon

16.Mode icon

Playback mode!-!Video playback

1.Video status bar

2.Elapsed time

3.File number

4.Folder number

5.Sound off icon (When the c button is pressed during video playback)

6.Play mode

7.Mode icon

8.Total recorded time

1

8			Total					Play
			00 : 00 : 08				00 : 00 : 01				2

5q

R E100 - 0001

7

6

4

3

EN-11

GETTING STARTED

Preparation

1. Attach the camera strap.

2.	Open the battery/memory card cover.
3.	Insert the supplied battery with correct orientation as
	shown. (label side back)

4.Insert an SD/SDHC memory card (Optional).

The camera has 32MB internal memory (26MB available for image storage), but you can load an SD/SDHC memory card to expand the camera’s memory capacity.

Be sure to format the memory card with this camera before its initial usage.

5.Close the battery/memory card cover and make sure it is

locked securely.

To prevent valuable data from being accidentally erased from an SD/SDHC memory card, you can slide the write protect tab (on the side of the SD/SDHC memory card) to “LOCK”.

To save, edit, or erase data on an SD/SDHC memory card, you must unlock the card/

To prevent damaging of an SD/SDHC memory card, be sure

to turn off the power when inserting or removing the SD/ SDHC memory card. If inserting or removing the SD/SDHC

memory card with the power on, the camera will automatically turn off.

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Charging the Battery

Charge the battery fully with the supplied battery charger before use.

1.Insert the battery into the battery charger. (Battery label side up)

2.Connect the power cord to the charger and

insert the plug into a wall outlet.	1
The status LED on the charger lights red
when charging has started and lights	2
green when charging is completed. The
LED also lights green if no battery is
inserted into the charger.

Charging time varies according to the ambient temperature and the status of battery.

Remove the battery after charging is completed.

The battery may feel warm after it has been charged or immediately after being used. This is normal and not a malfunction.

When using the camera in cold areas, keep the camera and battery warm by holding them inside your outer clothes.

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Initial Settings

Setting the Date and Time

The date/time needs to be set if and when:

The camera is turned on for the first time.

The camera is turned on after leaving the camera without the battery for an

extended period of time.

When the date and time information is not displayed on the LCD monitor, follow these steps to set the correct date and time.

1.

Slide the mode switch to [ ] or [ ]; or press

the

button.

2.

Press the

button.

3.

Select [Setup] with the f button.

4.

Select [Date/Time] with the c / d buttons, and

press the

button.

5.

Select the date format with the c / d buttons,

and press the

button.

Select the item’s field with the e / f buttons

and adjust the value for the date and time

with the c / d buttons.

The time is displayed in 24-hour format.

After confirming all settings are correct, press

the

button.

6.

To exit from the [Setup] menu, press the

button.

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Choosing the Language

Specify in which language menus and messages are to be displayed on the LCD monitor.

1.Slide the mode switch to [ ] or []; or press the button.

2.Press the button.

3. Select [Setup] menu with the f button.

4.	Select [Language] with the c / d buttons and press
	the	button.
5.	Select the displayed language with the c / d
	buttons and press the		button.
	The setting will be stored.

6.To exit from the [Setup] menu, press the button.

Formatting the Memory Card or Internal Memory

This utility formats the memory card (or internal memory) and erases all stored images and data.

1.	Slide the mode switch to [ ] or [ ]; or press
	the		button.
2.	Press the				button.
3.	Select [Setup] menu with f button.
4.	Select [Format] with the c / d buttons, then
	press the				button.
5.	Select [Execute] with the c / d buttons, and
	press the				button.

To cancel formatting, select [Cancel] and press the button.

6.To exit from the [Setup] menu, press the

button.

EN-15

CAPTURE MODE

Capturing Images

Your camera is equipped with a 3.0" full colour TFT LCD monitor to help you compose images, playback recorded images/video clips or adjust menu settings.

1.Press the ON/OFF button to turn the power on.

The status LED lights green and the camera is initiated.

2.Slide the mode switch to [ ].

3.Compose your image in the LCD monitor.

Turn the zoom lever to side to zoom in on the subject, and enlarges the subject on the LCD monitor.

Turn the zoom lever to side to zoom out on the subject, and provides a wider angle image.

4.Press the shutter button.

Pressing the shutter button down halfway automatically focuses and adjusts the exposure, and pressing the shutter button down fully captures the image.

The focus area frame turns green when the camera is in focus and the exposure is calculated.

When the focus is not suitable, the frame of the focus area turns red.

EN-16

Setting the Scene Mode

By simply selecting one of the available 21 scene modes, you can capture the image with the most appropriate settings.

1. Slide the mode switch to [SCN].

2.	Select the desired scene mode with the e / f
	buttons, and press the	button.
3.	Compose the image and press the shutter		!
	button.

The table below will help you choose the appropriate scene mode:

Scene mode

Description

Smile Detection Select this mode to automatically capture an image when a smiling face is detected.

			Anti-shake	This mode minimizes the influences of hand shaking when you want
				to capture an image.
			Panorama	Select this mode when you want to capture a series of shots then
				stitch them together with software to make a single photo on the
				computer.
			Portrait Man	Select this mode when you want to capture an image that makes a
				man stand out against a blurred background.
			Portrait Lady	Select this mode when you want to capture an image that makes a
				lady stand out against a blurred background.
			Landscape	Select this mode when you want to capture an image with infinity
				focus, hard sharpness and high saturation.
			Sports	Select this mode when you want to capture fast-moving subjects.
			Night Portrait	Select this mode when you want to capture people with an evening
				or night scene background.

EN-17