Sanyo VPC-HD800GX Instruction Manual

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

VPC-HD800GX

Digital Movie Camera

Important note

This manual explains how to safely operate the VPC-HD800GX.

Please read these instructions carefully before using the camera. Make sure to read and understand the separate booklet “SAFETY MANUAL”. Keep this manual in a safe place for later reference. The separately sold VCP-HD700GX2KIT AV Connection Kit is required to use the Xacti Library.

Warning

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

FOR AMERICAN USERS

The following advisory is included in accordance with the laws of the State of California (USA):

WARNING:

This product contains chemicals, including lead, known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash

hands after handling.

i This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a

Class B digital device, 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:

h Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. h Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. h Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to

which the receiver is connected.

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

i Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible

for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Declaration of Conformity

Model number: VPC-HD800 Trade Name: SANYO Responsible party: SANYO FISHER COMPANY Address: 21605 Plummer Street, Chatsworth, California 91311 Telephone No.: (818) 998-7322 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.

i English

FOR CANADIAN USERS

i This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.

FOR EU USERS

The symbol mark and recycling systems described below apply to EU countries and do not apply to countries in other areas of the world. Your SANYO product is designed and manufactured with high quality materials and components which can be recycled and/or reused. The symbol mark means that electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators, at their end-of-life, should be disposed of separately from your household waste.

Note:

If a chemical symbol is printed beneath the symbol mark, this chemical symbol means that the battery or accumulator contains a heavy metal at a certain concentration. This will be indicated as follows: Hg: mercury, Cd: cadmium, Pb: lead In the European Union there are separate collection systems for used electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators. Please, dispose of them correctly at your local community waste collection/ recycling centre. Please, help us to conserve the environment we live in!

SANYO FISHER Sales (Europe) GmbH

Stahlgruberring 4, D-81829 München, Germany

SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.

1-1, Sanyo-cho, Daito City, Osaka 574-8534, Japan

FOR RUSSIAN USERS

This product certified by official certification company which is authorized by Russian Federation.

English ii

Symbols used in this manual

HINT Points giving some extended instructions or special points to pay

CAUTION Points that require special attention. (page xx) Refer to the page indicated for detailed information.

You may find the answers to questions or problems concerning camera operation in the sections “COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS” (page 178) and “TROUBLESHOOTING” (page 186).

attention to.

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SHOOT, PLAY BACK AND SAVE

Preparing the camera

1 Insert the battery pack.

Battery cover

2 Insert the SD Memory Card.

h An SD Memory Card is not included with your camera. Please

purchase a commercially sold card.

h In this manual, the SD Memory Card is referred to as the “card”.

Card slot cover

Card slot

SD Memory card

Battery pack

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362

00:13:52

Before capturing those important shots, be sure to first take a test shot to confirm that your camera is set up and ready to go

Sanyo declines any claim for compensation for recorded contents etc. in case of photographing or recording failure due to a chance camera or card flaw.

Shooting

1 Set the REC/PLAY switch

to REC.

2 Press the ON/OFF button

for at least 1 second to turn the camera on.

If the screen to set the date and time appears, press the MENU button 2 times to cancel it.

For how to set the date and time, see page 35.

3 Record.

To record a video clip:

Press the [ ] button to

begin recording a video clip.

Press the [ ] button again to end the recording.

To take a photo:

Press the [ ] button.

h h

A still image is captured.

v English

REC/PLAY switch

Set to REC

[] button [] button

Monitor

ON/OFF button

362

362 00:13:52

00:13:52

Playback

PLAY

SAVE

Set the REC/PLAY switch to PLAY.

The display changes to the Playback Screen and the image that was just captured is shown.

Toggle the SET button to the left or right to display the image you wish to see. <Video clip playback>

Video clips are indicated by a video clip pattern along the left and right sides of the screen.

Press the SET button to start video clip playback.

Set the REC/PLAY switch to REC.

SAVE

REC/PLAY switch

Set to PLAY

SET button

PLAY

Video clip pattern

<Example: After recording a

video clip>

When you are finished using the camera...

Press the ON/OFF button for at least 1 second to turn the camera off.

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Burn your recorded video clips onto a DVD (Windows XP)

Introduced here is the procedure to use the supplied DVD-ROM (Xacti Software DVD) to burn movies captured with your camera to a DVD, creating your original DVD.

Install the application programs

Install the following program from the Xacti Software DVD to your computer: Adobe Premiere Elements 4.0 (in this manual, referred to as Premiere Elements) for creating DVDs.

1 Set the supplied DVD-ROM (Xacti Software DVD) in your computer’s

DVD drive.

h The installation window opens.

2 Click on the application program you wish to install.

Install Premiere Elements.

h After clicking on an application program, follow the instructions shown

on the monitor to install the program.

h When installing Premiere Elements, input the serial number found on

the DVD-ROM envelope. It looks similar to the following: SERIAL NUMBER: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

h When the installation is complete, the product registration window will

appear, but click on the Exit button to close the window.

( ↑ input this number)

vii English

3 In the installation window, click on [Finish].

h The installation window closes. h Remove the DVD-ROM from your computer’s DVD drive.

h When the installation window closes, a dialog box to connect to the

website introducing Kodak’s online service appears. Check the [No thanks !] option button, and then click on the [OK] button.

h For handling video clips, please install QuickTime (page 16 in the

Xacti Software DVD INSTRUCTION MANUAL).

Copy data from your camera to the computer

Connect your camera to a computer, and copy the desired data to the computer.

1 Turn on the computer, and use the supplied dedicated USB interface

cable to connect your camera to the computer.

h Connect the cable between the camera’s USB/AV terminal and the

computer’s USB connector.

2 Turn on the camera (page 32).

h The USB Connection Screen appears on the camera’s monitor.

USB CONNECTION

COMPUTER

PRINTER

CANCEL

Supplied cable adaptor

To power outlet

Supplied dedicated USB interface cable

i Connect to the [USB]

terminal of the cable adaptor.

To USB connector on the computer

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3 Select “COMPUTER”, and press the SET button.

h The screen to select the computer

connection mode appears.

USB CONNECTION

CARD READER

SCREEN CAPTURE

PC CAMERA

CANCEL

4 Select “CARD READER”, and press the SET button.

5 Copy data from your camera to a computer.

MTP

ix English

Burn video clips onto a DVD

CAUTION Before writing data to a DVD

i Please note that in the case of a large amount of data it can take a long

time to burn it to DVD.

1 Insert a blank DVD in your computer’s DVD drive.

2 Double-click on your desktop’s Premiere Elements icon to run the

Premiere Elements program.

h The Premiere Elements welcome screen appears.

[New Project] icon

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3 Click on the [New Project] icon.

h The [New Project] dialog box appears.

“Name” field

[OK] button

4 Type a project name in the “Name” field.

h Use any name that is easy to understand.

5 Click the [OK] button.

h The screen to enter the data to the project appears.

[Get Media] tab

[Files and Folders]

[Project] tab

6 Click on [Files and Folders].

h The screen to select the data appears. h Specify the folder that contains the files.

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7 Specify the data.

h Select the data by clicking on it.

8 Click the [Open] button.

h The selected data appears in the [Organizer] window. h If selecting additional data, click on the [Get Media] tab, and repeat

Steps 6 through 8.

h When you have finished selecting data, proceed to step 9.

9 Click on the [Project] tab.

h The list of your selected data is shown.

[SHARE] tab

Drag

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10 Drag and drop the data you wish to burn to the DVD to the

“Timeline/Sceneline” field.

h The data to burn to the DVD appears in the “Timeline/Sceneline” field. h To include multiple files, repeat step 10 as necessary.

Click the [SHARE] tab.

h “How would you like to share?” appears.

[Disk]

Drop

[SHARE] tab

[Share]

xiii English

Click the [Disk].

Click the [Share] button.

h Burning to DVD begins.

When writing is complete, press the [Done] button.

Click the close button.

h The dialog box to confirm whether to save the project appears. h If you wish to use the settings for the current project in subsequent

projects, you should save them. If you will not use the settings in subsequent projects, it is not necessary to save then.

Click the [YES] or [NO] button.

h Premiere Elements closes.

For more information about Premiere Elements <How to use>

h Refer to online help for Premiere Elements.

h If you don’t see the answer to your question on the online help, please

click on the Adobe website’s “Contact” link to send a message. http://www.adobe.com/

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How was that? The convenient accessories not only let you immediately view images captured with the camera, but you can also upload images to your computer and create your original DVDs. Read the following explanations to find out how you can fully enjoy your camera’s digital movie feature.

xv English

CONTENTS

QUICK SEARCH BY OPERATION ........................................................ 6

CHECKING THE INCLUDED ACCESSORIES .................................... 11

How to use the accessories .......................................................... 13

Media cards that can be used with this camera ............................ 15

What “card” means in this manual ................................................ 15

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR CAMERA ............................... 16

High-quality images with “High Definition” .................................... 16

Includes SIMPLE mode for quick-and-easy operation ..................17

Image stabilizer for sharp pictures ................................................ 17

Sharp face shots ........................................................................... 18

Xacti Library feature ...................................................................... 18

Lots of accessories for optimal use of your captured images ....... 19

SYSTEM MAP ..................................................................................... 20

 SETUP

PARTS NAMES ................................................................................... 21

INSTALLING THE CARD ..................................................................... 23

PREPARING THE POWER ................................................................. 25

Charging the battery pack ............................................................. 25

When using a power outlet ...........................................................30

About recharging .......................................................................... 31

Warning concerning battery pack temperature ............................. 31

TURNING THE CAMERA ON AND OFF ............................................. 32

Turning on the camera .................................................................. 32

Turning on the camera when the power save (sleep) mode is

active ........................................................................................ 33

Turning off the camera .................................................................. 33

DATE AND TIME SETTING ................................................................. 35

SWITCHING BETWEEN THE SHOOTING MODE AND

PLAYBACK MODE .......................................................................... 38

SIMPLE MODE/NORMAL MODE ........................................................ 39

About the SIMPLE mode and NORMAL mode ............................. 39

Switching between the SIMPLE and NORMAL modes ................ 40

Accessing/exiting the SIMPLE/NORMAL Mode Menu Screen ..... 41

Overview of the SIMPLE Mode Setting Screen ............................ 47

Overview of the NORMAL Mode Setting Screen .......................... 51

FIELD OF VIEW ................................................................................... 59

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 SIMPLE

SHOOTING

BEFORE TAKING PICTURES .............................................................60

For best results ..............................................................................60

Using the autofocus .......................................................................61

Select the recording size ...............................................................63

Select the focus setting .................................................................64

Hints for taking pictures .................................................................65

VIDEO CLIP RECORDING ...................................................................66

SHOOTING SINGLE SHOTS ...............................................................67

Using the flash ...............................................................................69

SHOOT A STILL IMAGE WHILE RECORDING A VIDEO CLIP ..........71

MACRO-PHOTOGRAPHY (ZOOM) .....................................................73

PLAYBACK

PLAYING BACK VIDEO CLIPS AND STILL IMAGES ..........................74

How to save one frame from a video clip as a still image .............76

SLIDESHOW PLAYBACK ....................................................................77

PLAYBACK VOLUME ...........................................................................78

DELETING FILES .................................................................................79

PLAYBACK MODES .............................................................................81

9-image display playback ..............................................................81

Selecting the playback folder ........................................................82

Magnifying (zooming in) the image ...............................................83

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CONTENTS

 NORMAL

SHOOTING

RECORDING SIZE .............................................................................. 84

Movies .......................................................................................... 84

Still images ...................................................................................85

Sequential shots ........................................................................... 86

Audio recording ............................................................................. 87

SCENE SELECT .................................................................................. 90

FILTERS .............................................................................................. 92

FLASH OPERATION ........................................................................... 93

SELF-TIMER ........................................................................................ 94

MOTION COMPENSATION (IMAGE STABILIZER) ............................ 96

Compensate for camera shake when recording movies ............... 96

Compensate for camera shake when shooting still images .......... 96

FOCUS RANGE ................................................................................... 98

How to use the manual focus ....................................................... 99

FOCUS MODE ................................................................................... 100

LIGHT-MEASURING MODE SETTING ............................................. 101

ISO SENSITIVITY .............................................................................. 102

WHITE BALANCE .............................................................................. 103

EXPOSURE SETTING ...................................................................... 104

FACE CHASER .................................................................................106

HIGH SENSITIVITY MODE ............................................................... 107

DIGITAL ZOOM SETTING ................................................................. 108

EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ......................................................... 109

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PLAYBACK

SLIDESHOW PLAYBACK ..................................................................110

FILE PROTECT ..................................................................................112

PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS ...............................................................113

Display the Printing Instructions Screen ......................................113

Specifying date imprinting and print quantities ............................115

Index print ....................................................................................117

Clearing all the printing instructions ............................................118

ROTATE STILL IMAGE ......................................................................119

REDUCE STILL IMAGE SIZE (RESIZE) ............................................120

CORRECTING THE RED-EYE EFFECT AND IMAGE BLUR ............121

EDITING VIDEO CLIPS ......................................................................123

Procedure to cut (extract) a portion of a video clip ......................123

Procedure to join video clips .......................................................124

Video clip cutting (extracting) ......................................................125

Joining video clips .......................................................................128

DISPLAYING FILE PROPERTIES (INFORMATION SCREEN) .........131

 OPTION SETTINGS

DISPLAY THE OPTION SETTING MENU .........................................132

SCREEN DISPLAY .............................................................................133

SELECT THE STARTUP DISPLAY ....................................................134

OPERATION SOUNDS ......................................................................135

POST-VIEW DISPLAY SETTING .......................................................137

SPECIFY A FOLDER TO SAVE FILES ..............................................138

ASSIGN SET BUTTON FUNCTIONS ................................................139

NOISE-REDUCTION FUNCTION ......................................................141

ADJUST THE IMAGE QUALITY .........................................................143

FLICKER-REDUCTION ......................................................................144

MONITOR BRIGHTNESS ..................................................................145

SCREEN LANGUAGE ........................................................................146

TV OUTPUT SETTING .......................................................................147

POWER SAVE FUNCTION ................................................................151

FILE NO. MEMORY ............................................................................153

FORMATTING A CARD .....................................................................156

RESETTING THE CAMERA SETTINGS ............................................158

CHECKING THE REMAINING CARD MEMORY ...............................159

Checking the remaining number of images and

video recording time ................................................................159

For audio recordings ...................................................................159

CHECKING THE REMAINING BATTERY PACK CHARGE ..............161

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CONTENTS

 OTHER DEVICES AND CONNECTIONS

CONNECTING TO A TV

CONNECTING TO A STANDARD VIDEO INPUT TERMINAL .......... 163

ENJOY HIGHER IMAGE QUALITY ................................................... 164

Connect to the S-VIDEO terminal ............................................... 164

Connect to the 480p/720p/1080i terminal ................................... 165

PLAYING BACK ON A TV ................................................................. 166

Xacti Library ....................................................................................... 167

CONNECTING TO A PRINTER

PictBridge MODE ............................................................................... 168

PRINTING .......................................................................................... 170

Printing selected images ............................................................. 170

Printing all images ...................................................................... 172

Making an index print .................................................................. 173

Printing images according to printing instructions

(requested images) ................................................................174

Changing the printer settings ...................................................... 175

OTHER CONNECTIONS

CONNECTING HEADPHONES ......................................................... 177

 APPENDICES

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ................................................... 178

TROUBLESHOOTING ....................................................................... 186

Camera ....................................................................................... 186

Notes regarding the Scene Select feature and filters ................. 196

SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................. 198

Camera ....................................................................................... 198

Camera connectors .................................................................... 202

Battery life ................................................................................... 202

Possible No. of Images/Possible Shooting Time/

Possible Recording Time ....................................................... 203

Concerning the multi-indicator .................................................... 204

Supplied AC adaptor ................................................................... 205

Supplied Li-ion battery pack ....................................................... 205

Others ......................................................................................... 206

Before capturing those important shots, be sure to first take

a test shot to comfirm that your camera is set up and

ready to go ............................................................................. 207

HINTS FOR TAKING PICTURES ...................................................... 208

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QUICK SEARCH BY OPERATION

Your camera has an abundance of convenient features and functions. From creating precisely the photo you want, to viewing images using various techniques, you can locate the exact operation for your purposes in the following table.

Shooting/recording

Basic operation Convenient functions Additional functions

Getting started shooting/recording

• “VIDEO CLIP RECORDING” on page 66

• “SHOOTING SINGLE SHOTS” on page 67

• “Sequential shots” on page 86

• “Audio recording” on page 87

Optimize the photo quality

• “Select the recording size” on page 63

• “RECORDING SIZE” on page 84

Capture fast-moving subjects

• “SCENE SELECT” (spor ts mode) on page 90

Suppress camera shake effect

• “Compensate for camera shake when recording movies” on page 96

• “Compensate for camera shake when shooting still images” on page 96

Shoot in dark conditions

• “EXPOSURE COMPENSATION” on page 109

• “Using the flash” on page 69

• “FLASH OPERATION” on page 93

• “SCENE SELECT” (night view por trait mode/fireworks mode/lamp mode) on page 90

Log the date and time of your photos

• “DATE AND TIME SETTING” on page 35

Zoom in on the subject

• “MACROPHOTOGRAPHY (ZOOM)” on page 73

Close-up photography

• “Select the focus setting” (super macro mode) on page 64

• “FOCUS RANGE” (super macro mode) on page 98

Reduce video clip flicker

• “FLICKER-REDUCTION” on page 144

Set the camera’s color/contrast characteristics

• “ADJUST THE IMAGE QUALITY” on page 143

Increase the camera’s sensitivity

• “ISO SENSITIVITY” on page 102

• “HIGH SENSITIVITY MODE” on page 107

For more accurate focus

• “How to use the manual focus” (manual focus) on page 99

Set the focus to a narrow range

• “FOCUS MODE” on page 100

Reduce noise when recording

• “NOISE-REDUCTION FUNCTION” on page 141

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QUICK SEARCH BY OPERATION

Shooting/recording

Basic operation Convenient functions Additional functions

Photographing people

• “SCENE SELECT” (portrait mode/night view portrait mode) on page 90

• “FILTERS” (cosmetic filter) on page 92

Sharp face shots

• “FACE CHASER” on page 106

Simplified operation for shooting/playback

• “SIMPLE MODE/NORMAL MODE” on page 39

Photographing landscapes

• “SCENE SELECT” (landscape mode) on page 90

Take a self-photo

• “SELF-TIMER” on page 94

Make images lighter or darker

• “EXPOSURE COMPENSATION” on page 109

• “HIGH SENSITIVITY MODE” on page 107

Change the color of the images

• “FILTERS” (monochrome filter/sepia filter) on page 92

Measure the brightness of a specific area

• “LIGHT-MEASURING MODE SETTING” on page 101

Adjust the camera’s sensitivity

• “ISO SENSITIVITY” on page 102

For a more precise exposure setting

• “EXPOSURE SETTING” (manual exposure control) on page 104

Make white appear natural

• “WHITE BALANCE” on page 103

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Playback

Basic operation Convenient functions Additional functions

Getting started viewing images

• “PLAYING BACK VIDEO CLIPS AND STILL IMAGES” on page 74

• “Audio playback” on page 88

Continuous playback

• “SLIDESHOW PLAYBACK” on page 77 and 110

Adjust the monitor brightness

• “MONITOR BRIGHTNESS” on page 145

Adjust the speaker volume

• “PLAYBACK VOLUME” on page 78

Search for image/ audio files

• “9-image display playback” on page 81

• “Selecting the playback folder” on page 82

Magnify an image

• “Magnifying (zooming in) the image” on page 83

Adjust the speaker volume

• “PLAYBACK VOLUME” on page 78

Change the angle of view

• “ROTATE STILL IMAGE” on page 119

Playback on a TV

“PLAYING BACK ON A TV” on page 166

Set the TV system

• “TV OUTPUT SETTING” on page 147

How to use Xacti Library

• “Xacti Library feature” on page 18

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QUICK SEARCH BY OPERATION

File managing/processing

Basic operation Convenient functions Additional functions

Search for image/audio files

• “9-image display playback” on page 81

• “Selecting the playback folder” on page 82

Delete files

• “DELETING FILES” on page 79

Delete a part of a video clip and join video clips

• “EDITING VIDEO CLIPS” on page 123

Specify the number of prints, index print, and date imprint

• “PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS” on page 113

View the settings that were in effect when the image/audio files were recorded

• “DISPLAYING FILE PROPERTIES (INFORMATION SCREEN)” on page 131

Protect files from accidental erasure

• “FILE PROTECT” on page 112

Format a card

• “FORMATTING A CARD” on page 156

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Using with a computer

Basic operation Convenient functions Additional functions

Use the camera as a card reader

• “USING AS A CARD READER” on page 8 in the Xacti Software DVD INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Copy files from your camera to a computer

• “Copy data from your camera to the computer” on page viii

Burn files copied to the computer onto a DVD

• “Burn your recorded video clips onto a DVD (Windows XP)” on page vii

Playback

• “About video clip files recorded with this camera” on page 13 in the Xacti Software DVD INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Using as a webcam

• “Using as a PC camera” on page 14 in the Xacti Software DVD INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Record an image of the computer screen

• “SCREEN CAPTURE” on page 20 in the Xacti Software DVD INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Using with Windows Vista

• “CONNECTING IN THE MTP MODE” on page 15 in the Xacti Software DVD INSTRUCTION MANUAL

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CHECKING THE INCLUDED ACCESSORIES

i Soft case (page 14): 1 i Handstrap (page 13): 1

i Xacti Software DVD

(DVD-ROM) (page 4 in the Xacti Software DVD INSTRUCTION MANUAL): 1

i Dedicated USB interface

cable (page 6 in the Xacti Software DVD INSTRUCTION MANUAL): 1

i AC adaptor and power cord

(pages 26and 30): 1

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i Li-ion battery pack (page 25):

i Dedicated S-AV interface

cable (pages 163 and 164): 1

i Dedicated component cable

(page 165): 1

i Cable adaptor (pages viii, 168

and 6 in the Xacti Software DVD INSTRUCTION MANUAL): 1

i Lens cap (page 14): 1

i “SAFETY MANUAL”

(safety precautions booklet) Please read this booklet carefully before using the camera.

i VCP-HD700GX2KIT

instructions Please read these instructions when using the separately sold AV Connection Kit (VCPHD700GX2KIT). Newly added features for use with the VPC-HD800GX are explained.

i Quick Guide

English 12

CHECKING THE INCLUDED ACCESSORIES

How to use the accessories

13 English

k Soft case

English 14

+ 198 hidden pages