Sony POWER HD FX PDW-700 User Manual

PROFESSIONAL DISC CAMCORDER

PDW-700

OPERATION MANUAL [English]
1st Edition (Revised 2)

WARNING

This label is located
inside the outside
panel of the unit.

Denna etikett finns på
apparatens ovansida.

Denne mærkat sidder
på apparatets øverste
panel.

This Professional Disc Camcorder is
classified as a CLASS 1 LASER PRODUCT.

Laser diode properties

Wavelength: 400 to 410 nm
Emission duration: Continuous
Laser output power: 135 mW (max. of
pulse peak), 65 mW (max. of CW)
Standard: IEC60825-1 (2001)

Egenskaber for laserdiode

Bølgelængde: 400 til 410 nm
Strålingsvarighed: Kontinuerlig
Afgivet lasereffekt: 135 mW (maks
stråletoppunkt), 65 mW (maks ved
kontinuerlig stråling)
Standard: IEC60825-1 (2001)

Tekniska data för laserdiod

Våglängd: 400 till 410 nm
Emissionslängd: Kontinuerlig
Laseruteffekt: 135 mW (max. för
pulstopp), 65 mW (max. för kontinuerlig
våg)
Standard: IEC60825-1 (2001)

Egenskaper for laserdiode

Bølgelengde: 400 til 410 nm
Strålingsvarighet: Uavbrutt
Utgangseffekt for laser: 135 mW (maks av
pulshøyde), 65 mW (maks av CW)
Standard: IEC60825-1 (2001)

Tämä kyltti sijaitsee
laitteen yläpinnalla.

Dette merket er
plassert på oversiden
av produktet.

CAUTION

The use of optical instruments with this
product will increase eye hazard.

Use of controls or adjustments or
performance of procedures other than those
specified herein may result in hazardous
radiation exposure.

VAROITUS!

LAITTEEN KÄYTTÄMINEN MUULLA KUIN
TÄSSÄ KÄYTTÖOHJEESSA MAINITULLA
TAVALLA SAATTAA ALTISTAA
KÄYTTÄJÄN TURVALLISUUSLUOKAN 1
YLITTÄVÄLLE NÄKYMÄTTÖMÄLLE
LASERSÄTEILYLLE.

VARNING

OM APPARATEN ANVÄNDS PÅ ANNAT
SÄTT ÄN I DENNA BRUKSANVISNING
SPECIFICERATS, KAN ANVÄNDAREN
UTSÄTTAS FÖR OSYNLIG
LASERSTRÅLNING, SOM ÖVERSKRIDER
GRÄNSEN FÖR LASERKLASS 1.

For the customers in the U.S.A.

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

2

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.

You are cautioned that any changes or
modifications not expressly approved in this
manual could void your authority to operate
this equipment.

All interface cables used to connect
peripherals must be shielded in order to
comply with the limits for a digital device
pursuant to Subpart B of Part 15 of FCC
Rules.

If you have any questions about this product,
you may call;
Sony Customer Information Service Center
1-800-222-7669 or http://www.sony.com/

Declaration of Conformity

Trade Name: SONY
Model: PDW-700
Responsible party:

Sony Electronics Inc.

Address: 16530 Via Esprillo,

San Diego, CA 92127
U.S.A.

Telephone Number:

858-942-2230

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.

For the State of California, USA only

Perchlorate Material - special handling may
apply, See
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate
Perchlorate Material : Lithium battery
contains perchlorate.

For the customers in Europe

This product with the CE marking complies
with the EMC Directive issued by the
Commission of the European Community.
Compliance with this directive implies
conformity to the following European
standards:

• EN55103-1: Electromagnetic Interference
(Emission)

• EN55103-2: Electromagnetic Susceptibility
(Immunity)

This product is intended for use in the
following Electromagnetic Environments: E1
(residential), E2 (commercial and light
industrial), E3 (urban outdoors), E4
(controlled EMC environment, ex. TV studio).

The manufacturer of this product is Sony
Corporation, 1-7-1 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo,
Japan.
The Authorized Representative for EMC and
product safety is Sony Deutschland GmbH,
Hedelfinger Strasse 61, 70327 Stuttgart,
Germany. For any service or guarantee
matters please refer to the addresses given
in separate service or guarantee documents.

3

For the customers in Taiwan only

4

Table of Contents

Foreword .................................................................................................... 11

Before use........................................................................................ 11

Chapter 1 : Overview

Features ...................................................................................................... 12

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls...................................... 14

Power supply................................................................................... 14

Accessory attachments.................................................................... 15

Operating and connectors section ................................................... 17

HDVF-20A viewfinder (optional)................................................... 30

Status display on the viewfinder screen.......................................... 31

Chapter 2 : Preparations

Preparing a Power Supply ........................................................................ 35

Using a battery pack........................................................................ 35

Using AC power.............................................................................. 36

Attaching the Viewfinder .......................................................................... 36

Attaching the HDVF-20A/C35W ................................................... 36

Adjusting the viewfinder position................................................... 37

Moving the viewfinder shoe up....................................................... 37

Using the BKW-401 Viewfinder Rotation Bracket ........................ 38

Detaching the eyepiece ................................................................... 39

Adjusting the viewfinder focus and screen ..................................... 39

Setting the Area of Use .............................................................................. 40

Setting the Date/Time of the Internal Clock ........................................... 41

Mounting the Lens..................................................................................... 42

Adjusting the Flange Focal Length.......................................................... 43

Preparing the Audio Input System .......................................................... 44

Connecting a microphone to the MIC IN connector....................... 44

Connecting microphones to the AUDIO IN connectors ................. 45

Attaching a UHF portable tuner (for a UHF wireless microphone

system)...................................................................................... 46

Connecting line input audio equipment .......................................... 48

Tripod Mounting ....................................................................................... 49

Table of Contents

5

Connecting a Video Light ......................................................................... 50

Using the Shoulder Strap .......................................................................... 50

Adjusting the Shoulder Pad Position....................................................... 51

Connecting the Remote Control Unit ...................................................... 52

Chapter 3 : Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

Setting the Recording Format .................................................................. 54

Setting the system frequency .......................................................... 54

Setting the video recording format.................................................. 55

Adjusting the Black Balance and the White Balance............................. 55

Adjusting the black balance ............................................................ 55

Adjusting the white balance............................................................ 56

Setting the Electronic Shutter................................................................... 60

Shutter modes.................................................................................. 60

Selecting the shutter mode and shutter speed ................................. 61

Changing the Reference Value for Automatic Iris Adjustment............ 63

Adjusting the Audio Level ........................................................................ 65

Manually adjusting the audio levels of the audio inputs from the

AUDIO IN CH1/CH2 connectors............................................. 65

Manually adjusting the audio level of the MIC IN connector ........ 66

Recording audio on channels 3 and 4 ............................................. 66

Setting the Time Data ................................................................................ 68

Setting the timecode........................................................................ 68

Setting the user bits......................................................................... 68

Synchronizing the timecode............................................................ 69

Chapter 4 : Shooting

Table of Contents

6

Handling Discs ........................................................................................... 72

Discs used for recording and playback ........................................... 72

Notes on handling ........................................................................... 72

Write-protecting discs ..................................................................... 72

Loading and unloading a disc ......................................................... 73

Formatting a disc............................................................................. 74

Handling of discs when recording does not end normally (salvage

function).................................................................................... 74

Basic Procedure for Shooting ................................................................... 76

Playing back the recorded clip ........................................................ 78

Deleting the recorded clip............................................................... 79

Advanced Operations for Shooting.......................................................... 80

Recording essence marks ................................................................ 80

Setting clip flags with switches....................................................... 80

Setting the thumbnail image at recording time............................... 81

Starting a shoot with a few seconds of pre-stored picture data (Picture

Cache function)......................................................................... 81

Time-lapse video (Interval Rec function) ....................................... 82

To exchange discs while recording (Disc Exchange Cache function)

.................................................................................................. 86

Retaking the most recent clip.......................................................... 87

Assigning user-defined clip titles automatically............................. 87

Assigning user-defined names to clips and clip lists ...................... 90

Recording video from external devices........................................... 93

Chapter 5 : Operations in GUI Screens

Overview..................................................................................................... 95

Switching between GUI screens ..................................................... 95

Information and controls in thumbnail screens............................... 96

Displaying menus.......................................................................... 100

GUI screen operations................................................................... 103

Thumbnail Operations............................................................................ 104

Selecting thumbnails..................................................................... 104

Searching with thumbnails............................................................ 105

Playing the scene you have found................................................. 107

Selecting the information displayed on thumbnails...................... 107

Changing clip index pictures......................................................... 108

Checking clip properties ............................................................... 108

Setting clip flags............................................................................ 111

Locking (write-protecting) clips ................................................... 111

Deleting clips ................................................................................ 112

Scene Selection (Clip List Editing)......................................................... 113

What is scene selection?................................................................ 113

Creating and editing clip lists........................................................ 114

Managing clip lists........................................................................ 119

Disc Operations........................................................................................ 121

Checking disc properties............................................................... 121

Using planning metadata............................................................... 121

Formatting discs............................................................................ 123

Shortcut List............................................................................................. 124

Table of Contents

7

Chapter 6 : Menu Displays and Detailed Settings

Menu Organization.................................................................................. 125

TOP menu and top-level menus.................................................... 126

Menu List.................................................................................................. 128

OPERATION menu...................................................................... 128

PAINT menu................................................................................. 139

MAINTENANCE menu................................................................ 145

FILE menu .................................................................................... 157

DIAGNOSIS menu ....................................................................... 161

Menu Operations..................................................................................... 163

Displaying menus.......................................................................... 163

Basic menu operations .................................................................. 163

Using the USER menu (example menu operation) ....................... 166

Editing the USER menu................................................................ 167

Resetting USER menu settings to the standard settings................ 170

Setting the Status Display on the Viewfinder Screen and the LCD

Monitor............................................................................................... 171

Selecting the display items............................................................ 171

Change confirmation/adjustment progress messages.................... 172

Setting the marker display............................................................. 173

Setting the viewfinder ................................................................... 174

Recording shot data superimposed on the color bars.................... 174

Setting the shot ID......................................................................... 175

Displaying the status confirmation screens................................... 176

Adjustments and Settings From Menus ................................................ 177

Setting gain values for the GAIN selector positions..................... 177

Selecting the output signals........................................................... 178

Assigning functions to ASSIGN switches .................................... 178

Setting power saving functions..................................................... 181

Setting the color temperature manually ........................................ 181

Specifying an offset for the auto white balance setting ................ 182

Selecting the lens file .................................................................... 182

Setting the UMID data .................................................................. 183

Chapter 7 : Saving and Loading User Setting Data

Handling the “Memory Stick”................................................................ 185

Saving and Recalling User Files ............................................................. 186

Saving user menu data to the “Memory Stick”............................. 186

Loading saved data from a “Memory Stick”................................. 188

Returning the user file settings to the standard settings................ 189

Table of Contents

8

Saving and Loading Scene Files ............................................................. 189

Saving a scene file......................................................................... 189

Loading scene files........................................................................ 191

Returning the scene file settings to the standard settings.............. 192

Jumping to a File-Related Menu Page When Inserting a “Memory Stick”

............................................................................................................. 192

Chapter 8 : File Operations

Overview................................................................................................... 194

Directory structure ........................................................................ 194

File operation restrictions.............................................................. 195

File Operations in File Access Mode (for Windows)............................ 199

Making FAM connections............................................................. 199

Operating on files.......................................................................... 200

Exiting file operations................................................................... 200

File Operations in File Access Mode (for Macintosh) .......................... 201

Making FAM connections............................................................. 201

Operating on files.......................................................................... 202

Exiting file operations................................................................... 202

FTP File Operations................................................................................ 203

Making FTP connections .............................................................. 203

Command list................................................................................ 204

Recording Continuous Timecode With FAM and FTP Connections . 208

Chapter 9 : Maintenance

Testing the Camcorder Before Shooting ............................................... 209

Preparations for testing ................................................................. 209

Testing the camera ........................................................................ 209

Testing the VDR ........................................................................... 211

Maintenance............................................................................................. 213

Cleaning the viewfinder ................................................................ 213

Note about the battery terminal..................................................... 214

Operation Warnings ................................................................................ 215

Appendix

Important Notes on Operation ............................................................... 223

Specifications............................................................................................ 225

Table of Contents

9

General.......................................................................................... 225

Video camera section .................................................................... 225

Optical disc drive section.............................................................. 226

Supplied accessories...................................................................... 227

Recommended additional equipment............................................ 227

Chart of Optional Components and Accessories .................................. 229

Using PDZ-1 Proxy Browsing Software ................................................ 230

List of Supported USB Keyboards......................................................... 231

Trademarks and Licenses ....................................................................... 233

MPEG-4 Visual Patent Portfolio License ..................................... 233

MPEG-2 Video Patent Portfolio License...................................... 233

About IJG (Independent JPEG Group) ......................................... 233

Character display software “iType”.............................................. 233

About a “Memory Stick” ........................................................................ 234

Index.......................................................................................................... 236

Table of Contents

10

Foreword

Before use

After purchasing this unit, before operating, it is
necessary to set the region of use.
(Unless this setting is made, the unit will not
operate.)

For details of these settings, see “Setting the Area of
Use” on page 40.

Note

Before attaching/removing optional components or
accessories to/from the camcorder, be sure to turn the
power of the camcorder off.

Foreword

11

Chapter 1 Overview

Chapter1 Overview

Features

New 2/3-inch full-HD “PowerHAD FX”
CCDs

• IT (Interline Transfer) 2/3-inch progressive
image sensors with 2.2 million pixels, for full
HD resolution (1920 × 1080)

• Newly developed “PowerHAD FX” CCDs,
featuring a signal processing ASIC with 14-bit
A/D converters

These new image sensor technologies enable the
capture of very high-quality images, with F11
(59.94i) and F12 (50i) sensitivity and an SN ratio

1)

of 59 dB.

1) With noise suppression on (off value is 54 dB)

Noise suppression uses proprietary Sony signal
processing technology to suppress noise in high­frequency regions.

Mechanisms for high reliability

A new duct cooling system prevents overheating
inside the unit and on its surfaces, for greater
reliability in high-temperature environments.
Reliability is also enhanced by the drip-proof
design.
Recording can continue even when the unit is
subjected to jarring shocks, because data is stored
in shockproof memory before being recorded to
the media. Reliable recording is ensured by a
recording verification function, similar to the
confidence playback function of tape recorders,
qualifying the unit for use in demanding
broadcast applications.

Multi-format support

The unit supports six system frequencies (1080/

59.94i, 1080/29.97p, 1080/50i, 1080/25p, 720/

1)

, and 720/50p), offering the flexibility

59.94p

needed for worldwide HD recording. The
optional CBKZ-MD01 SD Record and Playback
Software

2)

can be installed to enable recording

and playback of SD signals (both NTSC and
PAL), allowing a stepwise transition from SD to
HD systems.
A multi-format conversion function enables up­and down-conversion between SD and HD, and
cross-conversion between 1080 and 720.
Squeeze, edge cropping, and letterbox are
selectable as the aspect pattern in up- and down­conversion between SD and HD.

1) When the current recording format is 720/59.94P, you
can shoot in 23.98P mode. However, as soon as it is
shot, the video undergoes 2-3 pulldown and is
recorded as 59.94P.

2) A verification key is required to use the CBKZ -MD01
software after installation. For details, conta ct a Sony

service representative.

Note

It is not possible to combine material recorded in
different system frequencies and recording formats on a
single disc (although 1080/50i and 1080/25P materials
can be combined).

Recording of more than 90 minutes of
high-quality video and audio data

• Signals captured by the full-HD (1920 × 1080)

image sensors are recorded in MPEG HD422

1)

format

• The unit supports recording of four audio

• Dual-layer Professional discs can record about

The generous recording times and the high­quality of the recorded video and audio allow this
unit to meet the most stringent requirements of
production teams in a wide range of genres, from
news gathering through digital cinema and
program production.
The unit supports a variety of HD formats,
including formats with 720 lines of resolution.

1) The MPEG-2 422P@HL codec performs 4:2:2

2) Image compression uses the MPEG-2 Long GOP

3) The PDW-HD1500 supports recording of up to eight

for consistently high image quality.

3)

channels

sampled at 24 bits for high quality.

95 minutes of high-quality video and audio
data.

sampling and records at a video bit rate of 50 Mbps.

system.

channels in MPEG HD422 format.

2)

12

Features

Format compatibility with earlier models

The unit is capable of recording in the MPEG-2
MP@HL 35/25 Mbps formats used by earlier
XDCAM HD devices. These formats offer longer
recording times than the MPEG-2 422P@HL 50
Mbps format.
The optional CBKZ-MD01 SD Record and
Playback Software
recording and playback in the MPEG IMX 50/40/
30 Mbps and DVCAM 25 Mbps formats.

1) A verification key is required to use th e CBKZ-MD01
software after installation. For details, contact a Sony

service representative.

1)

can be installed to enable

Rich selection of interfaces

• HDSDI and SDSDI output connectors: Allow

free combination of HDSDI and SDSDI signals.
Timecode and other text data can be
superimposed on signals from one of the two
interfaces.

• Composite signal output connector

• Selectable video input connectors: The unit is

designed to support recording in every type of
environment, including reporting by pool
coverage teams. The optional CBK-HD01 HD/
SD SDI Input Board or CBK-SC02 Analog
Composite Input Board can be installed to
enable selection of HD SDI/SD SDI or
composite signals. SD signals can be
upconverted and recorded as HD signals.

• Gen-lock input connector: Enables

synchronized operation of multiple units, with
synchronization possible to either VBS or HD­Y signals.

• Audio input connectors: Supports AES/EBU

signal input, in addition to microphone input,
+48 V microphone input, and line input.

• Timecode input and output connectors

• Network connector and i.LINK connector:

Enable transfer of MXF-format files. Material
recorded in the field can be transferred to a
computer for immediate cut editing with the
supplied PDZ-1 Proxy Browsing Software.

Features for improved performance
under various shooting conditions

Picture Cache function

The unit can utilize its internal memory to
continuously record the current video input,
allowing recording to commence a certain time (2

to 30 seconds) in advance of the time when the
recording button is pressed, and allowing discs to
be exchanged seamlessly without interrupting the
recording.

Color temperature filters

Color temperature filters are composed of
electronic circuits, allowing smooth and
instantaneous switching – an imp ortant advantage
in ENG (Electron ic News Ga thering) – and linked
operation with ND filters. Dedicated switches are
provided to enable rapid switching between color
temperature filters, and absolute color
temperature settings can be recalled instantly
without being effected by white balance settings.

Noise suppression circuits

New noise suppression circuits offer improved
performance under difficult evening or nighttime
shooting conditions.

Slow shutter function

A maximum of 16 frames can be accumulated
using the slow shutter function. In low light levels
this allows clear and noiseless video to be shot,
and provides a fantasy video effect with ghost
images.

Time lapse function (interval recording)

Using this function slow-moving subjects can be
shot with the movement compressed in time. This
is convenient for many applications, such as
monitoring plant growth, or the progress of a
construction site.

Freeze mix function

This allows a still image from previously
captured video to be aligned with the current
video output from the camera. Thus you can
adjust the camera position to get exactly the same
framing for new shots. For example, this function
makes it easy to frame summer and winter shots
of a landscape scene in exactly the same way.

Digital extender function

This magnifies the center section of the video. It
utilizes electronic processing, which prevents the
decrease in sensitivity (F-drop) that occurs when
the lens extender function is used.

Focus magnification function

This magnifies the center section of the
viewfinder by a factor of about two. It enables
highly precise focus adjustments in HD shooting.

Chapter 1 Overview

Features

13

Assignable switches

Frequently used function can be assigned to

Chapter 1 Overview

switches for quick and convenient operation.

Hyper gamma

This enables a wide dynamic range without using
the Knee function, by smoothly compressing the
high-luminance range.

Supports new digital wireless
microphone system

The new digital wireless microphone system
offers high-quality, superior resistance to noise,
and simultaneous multi-channel operation.
Installation of the DWR-S01D Digital Wireless

1)

Receiver
channels.

1) These products are not available in countries where

enables simultaneous reception of two

they are prohibited by radio frequency regulations.

3.5-inch color LCD monitor

The 3.5-inch color LCD monitor displays easy­to-read audio meters, menus, disc and battery
capacity indications, and thumbnails of clips
stored on disc.

Inherits unique features of XDCAM series

The unit inherits the workflow features of the
XDCAM series, including thumbnail display and
metadata management, and improves them by
introducing an improved man-machine interface.
Metadata includes new user-settable clip flags
(OK/NG/KEEP) in addition to the existing Rec
Start essence marks. The new metadata types
enable more efficient workflows when clips
recorded on this unit are edited on nonlinear
editing systems.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

Power supply

23154

a LIGHT switch

Determines how a video light connected to the
LIGHT connector (see page 16) is turned on and
off.
AUT O: When the POWER switch of the video

light is in the on position, the video light is
turned on automatically while the camcorder
is recording.

MANUAL: You can turn the video light on or off

manually, using its own switch.

Notes

• When this switch is set to AUTO, at the beginning of
the recording, the picture is recorded even though the
lighting may fluctuate until the video light comes on.
If the beginning of the recording is important, you
should set this switch to MANUAL.

• To ensure proper operation of the video light, Sony
recommends the use of the BP-GL95/L80S Battery
Pack with the camcorder.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

14

b POWER switch

Turns the main power supply on and off.

c DC IN (DC power input) connector

(XLR type, 4-pin, male)

To operate the camcorder from an AC power
supply, connect an optional DC power cord to this
terminal and then connect the cord to the DC
output terminal of the BC-L70, BC-M150, or
another battery charger.

d DC OUT 12V (DC power output)

connector (4-pin, female)

Supplies power for a WRR-860A/861/862 UHF
Synthesized Diversity Tuner (not supplied)
(maximum 0.5 A).
Do not connect any equipment other than the
UHF synthesized diversity tuner.

e Battery attachment shoe

Attach a BP-GL95/GL65/L60S/L80S Battery
Pack. Alternatively, you can attach an AC­DN2B/DN10 AC Adaptor to operate the
camcorder on AC power supply.

For details about how to attach the battery or AC
adaptor, see “Preparing a Power Supply” on page

35. For information about attaching a synthesized
tuner, see “Attaching a UHF portable tuner (for a
UHF wireless microphone system)” on page 46.

Note

For your safety, and to ensure proper operation of the
camcorder, Sony recommends the use of the following
battery packs: BP-GL95, BP-GL65, BP-L60S, and BP­L80S.

Accessory attachments

5674231

890qaqs qd qgqh qj

a Shoulder strap fitting

Attach the supplied shoulder strap (see page 50).

qf

qk

ql

Chapter 1 Overview

b Light fitting shoe

Attach an optional accessory such as a video light
(see page 50).

c Viewfinder front-to-back positioning

lever

To adjust the viewfinder position in the front-to­back direction, loosen this lever and the LOCK
knob. After adjustment, retighten this lever and
the LOCK knob.

d Viewfinder left-to-right positioning ring

Loosen this ring to adjust the left-to-right position
of the viewfinder (see page 37).

e Viewfinder fitting shoe

Attach an optional viewfinder.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

15

f VF (viewfinder) connector (20-pin)

Connect an optional viewfinder.

Chapter 1 Overview

Consult a Sony representative for information about
available viewfinders.

g Lens mount securing rubber

After locking the lens in position using the lens
locking lever, fit this rubber over the lower of the
two projections. This fixes the lens mount,
preventing it from coming loose.

h Viewfinder front-to-back positioning

knob (LOCK knob)

Loosen this knob to adjust the front-to-back
position of the viewfinder (see page 37).

i Fitting for optional microphone holder

Fit an optional CAC-12 Microphone Holder (see
page 45).

j Shoulder pad

Raise the shoulder pad fixing lever to adjust the
position in the front-to-rear direction. Adjust the
position for maximum convenience when
operating the unit on your shoulder.

For details of the adjustment, see “Adjusting the
Shoulder Pad Position” on page 51.

k LIGHT (video light) connector (2-pin,

female)

A video light with a maximum power
consumption of 50 W, such as the Anton Bauer
Ultralight 2 or equivalent can be connected (see
page 50).

o Tripod mount

When using the unit on a tripod, attach the tripod
adaptor (optional).

p Lens mount (special bayonet mount)

Attach the lens.

Consult a Sony representative for information about
available lenses.

q Lens locking lever

After inserting the lens in the lens mount, rotate
the lens mount ring with this lever to lock the lens
in position.
After locking the lens, be sure to use the lens
mount securing rubber to prevent the lens from
becoming detached.

r Lens mount cap

Remove by pushing up the lens locking lever.
When no lens is mounted, keep this cap fitted for
protection from dust.

s CA (camera adapter) connector (50-

pin)

Remove the connector cover, and connect the 50­pin connector of the HDCA-702 MPEG TS
Adaptor.

Refer to the operation manual of the HDCA-702 for
more information about how to mount it.

l Lens cable clamp

Clamp a lens cable.

m MIC IN (microphone input) (+48 V)

connector (XLR type, 5-pin, female)

Connect a stereo microphone to this connector.
The power (+48 V) is supplied via this connector.

n LENS connector (12-pin)

Connect a lens cable to this connector.

Note

When connecting the lens cable to this connector,
power off this unit first.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

16

Operating and connectors section

7

Front

3

4

1

2

a REC START (recording start) button

Press to start recording. Press it again to stop
recording. The effect is the same as that of the
REC button on the lens.

b SHUTTER selector

Set to ON to use the electronic shutter. Flick to
SELECT to switch the shutter speed or shutter
mode setting within the range previously set with
the menu. When this switch is operated, the new
setting appears on the setting change/adjustment
progress message display area for about three
seconds.

For details about the shutter speed and shutter mode
settings, see “Setting the Electronic Shutter” on
page 60.

c FILTER selector

Selects from the four neutral density (ND) filters
built into this unit.

5
6

Position number ND filter

1 CLEAR
2

3

4

1

/4 ND (attenuates light to

approximately

1

/16 ND (attenuates light to

approximately

1

/64 ND (attenuates light to

approximately

1

/4)

1

/16)

1

/64)

When this selector is used with the menu item for
filter selection display set to ON (see page 172),
the new setting appears on the viewfinder screen
for about three seconds.
You can change a MAINTENANCE menu
setting so that different white balance settings can
be stored for different FILTER selector positions.
This allows you to automatically obtain optimum
white balance for the current shooting conditions
in linkage with the filter selection.

For details, see “Adjusting the white balance” on
page 56.

d MENU knob

Changes the page selection or a setting within the
menu.

For details about how to use the MENU knob, see
“Menu Operations” on page 163.

e EARPHONE jack (monaural,

minijack)

You can monitor the E-E

1)

sound during
recording and playback sound during playback.
When an alarm is indicated, you can hear the
alarm sound through the earphone. You can use
this with the EARPHONE jack on the rear of the
unit at the same time. Plugging an earphone into
the jack automatically cuts off the built-in
speaker.

1) E-E: Abbreviation of “Electric-to-Electric”. In E-E

mode, video and audio signals input to the camcorder
are output after passing through internal electric
circuits only. This can be used to check input signals.

Chapter 1 Overview

f AUTO W/B BAL (automatic white/

black balance adjustment) switch

Activates the automatic white/black balance
adjustment functions.
WHT: Adjusts the white balance automatically.

If the WHITE BAL switch (see page 19) is
set to A or B, the white balance setting is

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

17

stored in the corresponding memory. If the

5

2341

Chapter 1 Overview

WHITE BAL switch is set to PRST, the
automatic white balance adjustment function
does not operate.

BLK: Adjusts the black set and black balance

automatically.

g MIC (microphone) LEVEL control

Adjusts the input level of audio channels 1, 2, 3
and 4.

For details, see “Adjusting the Audio Level” on page

65.

Right side (near the front)

b COLOR TEMP. (color temperature)

button

Press to light the button and change the color
temperature for shooting. You can use this as an
ASSIGN (assignable) switch

(see page 178).

c ALARM (alarm tone volume

adjustment) knob

Controls the volume of the warning tone that is
output via the built-in speaker or optional
earphones. When the knob is turned to the
minimum position, no sound can be heard.
However, if the MIN ALARM VOL item on the
AUDIO-1 page of the MAINTENANCE menu is
set to SET, the alarm tone is audible even when
this volume control is at the minimum position.

ALARM

Minimum Maximum

d MONITOR (monitor volume

adjustment) knob

Controls the volume of the sound other than the
warning tone that is output via the built-in speaker
or optional earphones. When the knob is turned to
the minimum position, no sound can be heard.

6789

qa qs0

MENU

CANCEL/PRST

STATUS

ON/
SEL

OFF

OFF

ESCAPEON

a ASSIGN (assignable) 1/2 switches

You can assign the desired functions to these
switches on the ASSIGNABLE SW page of the
OPERATION menu.
Nothing is assigned to these switches when the
camcorder is shipped from the factory (equivalent
to a selection of OFF in the menu).

For details, see “Assigning functions to ASSIGN
switches” on page 178.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

18

qd

qf

e MONITOR (audio monitor selection)

switches

By means of combinations of the two switches,
you can select audio that you want to hear through
the built-in speaker or optional earphones.

Position of down-side switch: CH-1/2

Position of up-side

Audio output

switch

CH-1/CH-3 Channel 1 audio
MIX Channels 1 and 2 mixed

audio (stereo)

a)

CH-2/CH-4 Channel 2 audio

Position of down-side switch: CH-3/4

Position of up-side

Audio output

switch

CH-1/CH-3 Channel 3 audio
MIX Channels 3 and 4 mixed

audio (stereo)

a)

CH-2/CH-4 Channel 4 audio

a) By connecting stereo headphones to the EARPHONE

jack on the rear of the unit, you can hear the audio in
stereo. (On the AUDIO-1 page of the
MAINTENANCE menu, HEADPHONE OUT must
be set to STEREO.)

f VDR SAVE/STBY (VDR save/standby)

switch

Switches the status of the power supply to the
VDR while recording is stopped (STOP) or
paused (REC PAUSE).
SAVE: The disc stops rotating and some

functions are disabled. Pow er consumption is
lower than when the camcorder is in STBY
mode. Battery life is extended.

STBY: Recording to the disc starts immediately

when the REC START button is pressed.

Note

An internal operating sound may be recorded at the start
of recording when the VDR SAVE/STB Y switch is set to
SAVE.

g GAIN selector

Switches the gain of the video amplifier to match
the lighting conditi ons during shooting. The gains
corresponding to the L, M, and H settings can be
selected in the menu. (The factory settings are
L=0 dB, M=6 dB, and H=12 dB.)
When this switch is adjusted, the new setting
appears on the setting change/adjustment
progress message display area of the viewfinder
screen for about three seconds.

For details, see “Setting gain values for the GAIN
selector positions” on page 177.

h OUTPUT/DCC (output signal/dynamic

contrast control) switch

Switches the video signal, which is output to the
video disc drive (referred to as “VDR”),
viewfinder, and video monitor from the camera
section, between the following two.

BARS: Outputs the color bar signal.
CAM: Outputs the video signal from the camera.

When this is selected, you can switch DCC

1)

on and off.

1) DCC (Dynamic Contrast Control): Against a very
bright background with the iris opening adjusted to the
subject, objects in the background will be lost in the
glare. The DCC function will suppress the high
intensity and restore much of the lost detail and is
particularly effective in the following cases.

• Shooting people in the shade on a sunny day

• Shooting a subject indoors, against a background
through a window

• Any high contrast scene

i WHITE BAL (white balance memory)

switch

Controls adjustment of the white balance.
PRST: Adjusts the color temperature to the preset

value (the factory default setting: 3200K).
Use this setting when you have no time to
adjust the white balance.

A or B: Recall the white balance adjustment

settings already stored in A or B. Flick the
AUTO W/B BAL switch (see page 17) on th e
WHT side, to automatically adjust the white
balance, and save the adjustment settings in
memory A or memory B.
You can use the AUTO W/B BAL switch
even when ATW

1)

is in use.

B (ATW): When this switch is set to B and

WHITE SWITCH <B> is set to ATW on the
WHITE SETTING page of the

OPERATION menu, ATW is activated.
When this switch is adjusted, the new setting
appears on the setting change/adjustment
progress message display area of the viewfinder
screen for about three seconds.

1) ATW (Auto Tracing White Balance): The white

balance of the picture being shot is adjusted
automatically for varying lighting conditions.

j STATUS ON/SEL/OFF (menu display

on/page selection/display off) switch

To enable this switch, set the MENU ON/OFF
switch to OFF.
Closing the cover automatically sets the MENU
ON/OFF switch to OFF.
ON/SEL: Each time this switch is pushed

upward, a window to confirm the menu

settings and status of the camcorder appears

on the viewfinder screen. The window

consists of four pages, which are switched

each time the switch is pushed upward. Each

page is displayed for about 10 seconds.
OFF: To clear the page immediately after

display, push this switch down to the OFF

position.
You can select the pages to be displayed on the
menu.

For details, see “Displaying the status confirmation
screens” on page 176.

Chapter 1 Overview

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

19

k MENU ON/OFF switch

To use this switch, open the cover.

Chapter 1 Overview

This switch is used to display the menu on the
viewfinder screen or the test signal screen.
Closing the cover automatically sets this switch to
OFF.
ON: Displays the menu on the viewfinder screen

or the test signal screen.

OFF: Removes the menu from the viewfinder

screen or the test signal screen.

For details about “Memory Stick”, see “Handling
the “Memory Stick”” on page 185.

n Cover

Right side (near the rear)

l CANCEL/PRST (preset)/ESCAPE

switch

To enable this switch, set the MENU ON/OFF
switch to ON.
Closing the cover automatically sets the MENU
ON/OFF switch to OFF.
CANCEL/PRST: Flicking this switch up to this

position displays the message to confirm
whether the previous sett ings are cancelled or
settings are reset to their initial values,
depending on the menu operating condition.
Flicking this switch up to this position again
cancels the previous settings or resets the
settings to their initial values.

ESCAPE: Use this switch when the menu page,

which has a hierarchical structure, is opened.
Each time the switch is flicked to this
position, the page returns to one stage higher
in the hierarchy.

m “Memory Stick” compartment

Label

“Memory Stick” Access indicator

Open the lid of the menu operating section, and
insert a “Memory Stick”, with the notch facing
downward, in the direction shown by the arrow,
so that it clicks into place.
To remove a “Memory Stick”, first press it in to
release the lock, then withdraw.
The “Memory Stick” access indicator lights in
green when a “Memory Stick” is loaded, and
lights in red when the “Memory Stick” is being
accessed for reading or writing.

8 9 q; qa

EJECT

Z

F REV

m.NX

PREV

F FWD

PLAY/PAUSE

M

STOP NEXT

x>

qs qd qf

1
2

3
4

5
6
7

qg qh qj qk ql

BRIGHTDISPLAYRESETHOLDDISP SEL

COUNTER TC U-BITEXPAND CHAPTER RETURN

a Built-in speaker

The speaker can be used to monitor E-E sound
during recording, and playback sound during
playback. The speaker also sounds alarms to
reinforce visual warnings.
If you connect earphones to the EARPHONE
jack, the speaker output is suppressed
automatically.

For details about alarm s, see “Operation Warnings”
on page 215.

b LCD monitor

Displays camera video, VDR-related warnings,
remaining battery capacity, remaining disc
capacity, audio levels, time data, and so on.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

20

For details, see “Status Display on the LCD monitor
and monochrome LCD” on page 22.

c WARNING indicator

Lights up or flashes when an abnormality occurs
in the VDR section.

For details about the meaning of the states of the
WARNING indicator, see “Operation Warnings” on
page 215.

d ACCESS indicator

This lights when data is written to or read from
the disc.

e Protection cover of the audio control

section

Open to access the audio control section (see page

26).

approximately four times normal playback speed,
press the F REV button or F FWD button during
playback.
At this time the PLAY indicator and F REV or F
FWD indicator light.

k F FWD (fast forward) button and

indicator

This plays back at high speed in the forward
direction. The indicator lights during high-speed
playback in the forward direction.

l PREV button

This jumps to the first frame of the current clip.
During the jump, the F REV indicator flashes.
If you press this together with the F REV button,
the jump is to the first frame of the first recorded
clip on the disc.

Chapter 1 Overview

f Protection cover of the GUI screen

operations section

Open to access the GUI screen operations section
(see page 26).

g Monochrome LCD

This shows the remaining battery capacity,
remaining disc capacity, time data, and so on.

For details, see “Status Display on the LCD monitor
and monochrome LCD” on page 22.

h EJECT button and indicator

Press this button to insert a disc or eject the disc.
The indicator flashes while the disc is being
ejected.

i F REV (fast reverse) button and

indicator

This plays back at high speed in the reverse
direction. The indicator lights during high-speed
playback in the reverse direction.

j PLAY/PAUSE button and indicator

Press this button to view play back video images
using the viewfinder screen or the LCD monitor.
The indicator lights during playback.
Press this button again during playback to pause,
outputting a still image. At this time the indicator
flashes.
This unit is equipped with an image search
function at approximately four times normal
playback speed, for easy checking of recorded
material. To use the image search function at

m STOP button

Press this button to stop disc playback.

n NEXT button

This jumps to the first frame of the next clip.
During the jump, the F FWD indicator flashes.
If you press this together with the F FWD button,
the jump is to the last frame of the last recorded
clip on the disc.

o DISP SEL (display selection) /EXPAND

(expand function) button

With each press of this button, the display in the
LCD monitor changes as follows.

Display indication Meaning

Video with
superimposed
information (CHAR)

Video without
superimposed
information (MONI)
Status display
(STATUS)

The LCD monitor displays
the same text information
as the viewfinder.

The video only appears.

Counter indications,
warnings, audio levels, and
similar information appear.
No video image appears.

If you press this button when the thumbnail
screen is displayed, the duration of the selected
clip is divided into 12, and the first frame of each
of the divisions is shown in a further thumbnail
display (expand function). Each time you press
this button, the division is repeated (to a
maximum of three times, with 1,728 divisions).

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

21

Hold down the SHIFT button and press this
button to step back through the division process.

Chapter 1 Overview

For details of the expand function, see page 105.

information for the user such as scene number,
shooting place, etc.

For details, see “Setting the Time Data” on page 68.

p HOLD (display hold)/CHAPTER

(chapter function) button

Pressing this button instantly freezes the time data
displayed in the counter display section. (The
timecode generator continues running.) Pressing
this button again releases the hold.
You can use this button, for example, to
determine the exact time of a particular shot.

For details of the counter display, see page 23.

If you press this button when the clip thumbnail
screen is displayed, those frames on which shot
marks are recorded appear in a list (chapter
function). Press the button once more to return to
the normal thumbnail display.
By displaying thumbnails with shot marks
attached in place of index frames, you can check
the contents of clips more easily and more
quickly. This is also useful for cueing up long
clips.

For details of the chapter function, see page 106

q RESET/RETURN button

Resets the value shown in the time counter
display. According to the settings of the PRESET/
REGEN/CLOCK switch (see page 26) and the F­RUN/SET/R-RUN switch (see page 26), this
button resets the display as follows.

Settings of switches To rese t
DISPLAY switch:

COUNTER
DISPLAY switch:

TC

PRESET/REGEN/
CLOCK switch:

PRESET

F-RUN/SET/R-RUN
switch: SET
DISPLAY switch:

U-BIT

PRESET/REGEN/
CLOCK switch:

PRESET

F-RUN/SET/R-RUN
switch: SET

a) Of the timecode bits for every frame recorded on the

disc, those bits which can be used to record useful

Counter to 0:00:00:00

Timecode to 00:00:00:00

User bits data
00

a)

to 00 00 00

This button returns to the previous screen when
pressed during thumbnail display.

For details, see “GUI screen operations” on page

103.

r DISPLAY switch

This cycles the data displayed in the counter
display through the sequence COUNTER, TC,
and U-BIT.
COUNTER: Display the elapsed recording/

playback time (hours, minutes, seconds,

frames).

TC: Display timecode.
U-BIT: Display user bit data.

For details, see “Status Display on the LCD monitor
and monochrome LCD” on page 22.

s BRIGHT (brightness) button

Switches the brightness of the LCD monitor
backlight, and turns the backlight of the
monochrome LCD on and off.
Each press of the button selects the next setting in
the order shown in the following table.

Setting LCD monitor

backlight

H High (select this to view

the LCD monitor
outdoors in the
daytime)

M Brightness between H

and L

L Low (select this to view

the LCD monitor
indoors or outdoors at
night)

OFF Off (the display is also

off)

Monochrome
LCD backlight

Lit

Lit

Lit

Off

Status Display on the LCD monitor and
monochrome LCD

The following display appears on the LCD
monitor display which is set to STATUS with the
DISP SEL/EXPAND button, and on the
monochrome LCD.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

22

422

2134 5

0

50

HD
1080

6

01

7

8

DISC E B

9

BATT E F

59.9i 24bit

PB NDF EXT-LK21HOLD

.....

23 45 15

H

MIN SEC FRM

WARNING:HUMID

0

LCD monitor

Indication Field or frame

rate

29.9P 29.97 frames per

OVER

0

10

.

20

30

40

dB

ST

PEAK

43

If PAL AREA is selected

Indication Field or frame

50i 50 fields per

50P 50 frames per

second

rate

second

Scan mode

Chapter 1 Overview

Progressive

1)

Scan mode

Interlace

Progressive

second

25P 25 frames per

Progressive

second

7

9

Monochrome LCD

a Resolution

Indicates the resolution of HD output video.

Indication Resolution (horizontal × vertical)

1080 1080 lines (1920 × 1080)
720 720 lines (1280 × 720)

b Video format

Indicates the format of video being currently
played back or recorded.

Indication Format Bit rate

HD422 50 MPEG HD422 50 Mbps
HD420 HQ/SP/

a)

LP

MPEG HD420 35/25/18 Mbps

IMX 50/40/30 MPEG IMX 50/40/30 Mbps
DVCAM DVCAM 25 Mbps

a) LP is playback only.

c System frequency

Indicates the system frequency of video being
currently played back or recorded.

If NTSC AREA is selected

Indication Field or frame

1)

Scan mode

rate

59.9i 59.94 fields per

Interlace

second

59.9P 59.94 frames per

Progressive

second

1) Selected by COUNTRY setting on the FORMAT page

of the OPERATION menu (see page 135).

Note

There may be no indication displayed when this unit
cannot identify the system frequency, for example, when
playing back a disc recorded with other equipment.

d Audio format

Indicates the format of audio being currently
played back or recorded.

Indication Quantization bit rate/sampling

frequency

24bit 24 bits/48 kHz
16bit 16 bits/48 kHz

e Audio level indicators

Indicates the audio recording or playback levels
of channels 1 to 4.

f Status display

PB: Appears during playback.
NDF: Appears when non-drop-frame timecode is

selected.
EXT-LK: Appears when the internal timecode

generator is locked to an external signal input

to the TC IN (timecode input) connector.
HOLD: Appears when the internal timecode

generator is stopped.

g Time counter display

Switches displays of time counter, timecode, and
user bits, depending on the position of the
DISPLAY switch.
When the HOLD/CHAPTER button is pressed to
hold the timecode value, the timecode is
displayed in the format shown below. When the
HOLD/CHAPTER button is pressed again to

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

23

release the hold, the timecode is displayed in the
normal format.

Chapter 1 Overview

Lights when the HOLD/CHAPTER button
is pressed.

h Warning indicator area

Displays warnings when trouble with recording
or moisture condensation occurs.

For details, see “Operation Warnings” on page 215.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

24

i Remaining disc capacity indicator

Indication Remaining recording time

DISC E [x x x x x x x] B More than 30 minutes
DISC E [x x x x x x x] B 25 to 30 minutes
DISC E [x x x x x x x] B 20 to 25 minutes
DISC E [x x x x x x x] B 15 to 20 minutes
DISC E [x x x x x x x] B 10 to 15 minutes
DISC E [x x x x x x x] B 5 to 10 minutes
DISC E [x x x x x
DISC E [x x x x x x x] B (flashing) 0 to 2 minutes
DISC E [x x x x x x x] B (flashing) 0 minutes

x x] B 2 to 5 minutes

j Remaining battery capacity indicator

Chapter 1 Overview

Indication Battery voltage

BP-L90A/L60S/L80S

BATT E [x x x x x x x] F 15.5 V or more 17.0 V or more
BATT E [x x x x x x x] F 15.1 to 15.5 V 16.0 to 17.0 V
BATT E [x x x x x x x] F 14.6 to 15.1 V 15.0 to 16.0 V
BATT E [x x x x x x x] F 13.8 to 14.6 V 14.0 to 15.0 V
BATT E [x x x x x x x] F 12.9 to 13.8 V 13.0 to 14.0 V
BATT E [x x x x x x x] F 12.0 to 12.9 V 12.0 to 13.0 V
BATT E [x x x x x
BATT E [x x x x x x x] F 10.8 V or less 11.0 V or less

a) You can change the threshold voltages on the

BATTERY 2 page of the MAINTENANCE menu
(see page 148).

Indication Battery voltage

BATT E [x x x x x x x] F 80 to 100%
BATT E [x x x x x x x] 70%
BATT E [x x x x x x x] 60%
BATT E [x x x x x x x ] 50%
BATT E [x x x x x x x] 40%
BATT E [x x x x x x x] 30%
BATT E [x x x x
BATT E [x x x x x x x] 10%
BATT E [x x x x x x x]0%

x x] F 10.8 to 12.0 V 11.0 to 12.0 V

BP-GL95/GL65/IL75/M100, Anton Bauer Battery
System

x x x] 20%

Other batteries

a)

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

25

GUI screen operations section and audio control

12345 6

section

Chapter 1 Overview

THUMBNAIL

ESSENCE

MARK

SUB CLIP

DISC MENU

MENU

SET

S.SEL

SHIFT

7 8 9 0 qa qs

a THUMBNAIL indicator

This lights when thumbnails are displayed.

b THUMBNAIL/ESSENCE MARK

button

Press this button to carry out a thumbnail search
or create a clip list (see page 105).
When pressed, the whole-screen display changes
to a thumbnail display. Press once more to return
to the whole-screen display.
For a thumbnail search using essence marks, hold
down the SHIFT button and press this button (see
page 106).

c SET/S.SEL (set/scene selection) button

and arrow buttons

Use these buttons to make timecode and user bit
settings, and for GUI screen operations.
The arrow buttons select items and change values,
and the SET/S.SEL button confirms settings.
Pressing this button with thumbnails displayed
and the SHIFT button held down adds a sub clip
to the current clip list (scene selection).

See page 103 for more informa tion about GUI screen
operations.

See page 113 for more information about scene
selection.

d MENU button

Displays a special menu for operations in GUI
screens (see page 100).
When the whole-screen is displayed, pressing this
button has no effect, and the operation is invalid.

010010

F-RUN

SET

R-RUN

CH-1

PRESET

REGEN
CLOCK

LEVEL

AUTO

MANUAL

AUDIO SELECT

AUDIO IN

FRONT
REAR

WIRELESS

e F-RUN/SET/R-RUN (free run/set/

recording run) switch

Selects the operating mode of the internal
timecode generator. The operating mode is set as
explained below, depending on the position of the
switch.
F-RUN: Timecode keeps advancing, regardless

CH-3

F
R

W

CH-2

CH-4

F
R

W

of the operating state of the VDR. Use this

setting when synchronizing the timecode

with an external timecode.

SET: Sets the timecode or user bits.
R-RUN: Timecode advances only during

recording. Use this setting to have a

consecutive timecode on the disc.

For details, see “Setting the timecode” on page 68
and “Setting the user bits” on page 68.

f AUDIO LEVEL CH-1/CH-2 (audio

channel 1/2 recording level) knobs

Adjusts the audio levels to be recorded on
channels 1 and 2 when the AUDIO SELECT CH­1/CH-2 switches are set to MANUAL.

g SUB CLIP indicator

This lights when using a clip list for playback.

h SUB CLIP/DISC MENU button

Press this to play back according to a clip list.
You can play back a particular clip or sequential
clips, or carry out a search of the selected clip list.
To display the Disc Menu which allows you to
carry out operations such as saving, recalling, or
deleting a clip list, hold down the SHIFT button
and press this button.

i SHIFT button

Use this in combination with other buttons.

j PRESET/REGEN (regeneration)/

CLOCK switch

Selects whether to set a new timecode or to utilize
the existing timecode.

PRESET: Records a new timecode.
REGEN: Records timecode continuous with the

existing timecode recorded on the disc.

Regardless of the setting of the F-RUN/SET/

R-RUN switch, the camcorder operates in R-

RUN mode.
CLOCK: Records timecode synchronized to the

internal clock. Regardless of the setting of

the F-RUN/SET/R-RUN switch, the

camcorder operates in F-RUN mode.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

26

k AUDIO SELECT CH-1/CH-2 (audio

1

channel 1/2 adjustment method
selection) switches

Select the audio level adjustment method for each
of audio channels 1 and 2.

AUTO : Automatic adjustment
MANUAL: Manual adjustment

Left side and upper section

Chapter 1 Overview

l AUDIO IN CH-1/CH-2/CH-3/CH-4

(audio channel 1/2/3/4 input selection)
switches

AUDIO IN CH-1/CH-2 switches

Select the audio input signals to be recorded on
audio channels 1 and 2.
FRONT: Audio input signals from the

microphone connected to the MIC IN
connector

REAR: Audio input signals from an audio device

connected to the AUDIO IN CH-1/CH-2
connectors

WIRELESS: Audio input signals from the UHF

portable tuner (not supplied) if it is installed

AUDIO IN CH-3/CH-4 switches

Select the audio input signals to be recorded on
audio channels 3 and 4.
F (FRONT): Audio input signals from a

microphone connected to the MIC IN
connector

R (REAR): Audio input signals from an audio

device connected to the AUDIO IN CH-1/
CH-2 connectors

W (WIRELESS): Audio input signals from the

UHF portable tuner (not supplied) if it is
installed

2

345

GENLOCK

SDI IN

(OPTION)

TEST

OUT

OUT

TC IN

IN

TC

67

a ASSIGNABLE 3/4 switches

You can assign the desired functions to these
switches on the ASSIGNABLE page of the
OPERATION menu.
Nothing is assigned to these switches when the
camcorder is shippe d from the factory (equivalent
to a selection of OFF in the menu).

For details, see “Assigning functions to ASSIGN
switches” on page 178.

b Lid of the disc compartment

This opens when the EJECT button on the top
panel is pressed. Press the side of the lid to close.

c SDI IN (OPTION) connector (BNC

type)

This is an input connector for the optional CBK­HD01 HD/SD SDI Input Board. When the CBK­HD01 is installed, the unit can record HD-SDI or
SD-SDI signals that are input to this connector.

d GENLOCK IN (genlock signal input)

connector (BNC type)

• This connector inputs a reference signal when

the camera is to be genlocked or when timecode
is to be synchronized with external equipment.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

27

Use the GENLOCK page of the
MAINTENANCE menu to adjust the genlock

Chapter 1 Overview

H-phase (phase of horizontal sync signal).

• This connector also inputs a return video signal.
You can display the HD-Y (1080i) signal in the
viewfinder screen whi le holding the RE T button
down with RETURN VIDEO set to ON on the
ASSIGNABLE SW page of the OPERATION
menu.

• Input an external video signal. When the
optional CBK-SC02 Analog Composite Input
Board is installed, the unit can record analog
composite video signals that are input to this
connector.

e TC IN (timecode input) connector

(BNC type)

To apply an external lock to the timecode of this
unit, input the reference timecode.

For details of timecode, see “Setting the timecode”
on page 68.

f TEST OUT connector (BNC type)

This connector outputs the video signal for a
video monitor. The output signal can be selected
from composite video, HD-Y, R, G, B, and a
composite video signal like that displayed in the
LCD monitor. To switch output signals, use the
TEST OUT SELECT item on the OUTPUT 1
page of the OPERATION menu.
If the output signal is set to one of R, G, or B, then
this setting changes to HD-Y when the camcorder
is powered off and on again.
Depending on menu settings, menus, timecode,
and shot data can be superimposed on the image
on the monitor. This connector can also be used to
synchronize the timecode of an external VTR
with the timecode of the camcorder.

g TC OUT (timecode output) connector

(BNC type)

To lock the timecode of an external VTR to the
timecode of this unit, connect this connector to
the external VTR’s timecode input connector.

Rear

1

2

3
4

567

AUDIO IN

AES/EBU

AES/EBU

LINE MIC

LINE

MIC

48V

48V

DC OUT

12V

DC

IN

0.5A

SUPER

CH1

1/2

SDI OUT

SDI OUT

89 0 qa qs qd

a TALLY (back tally) indicator (red)

Lights up during recording. It will not light if the
TALLY switch is set to OFF. This indicator also
flashes to indicate warnings (see page 21) in the
same manner as the REC/TALLY indicator in the
viewfinder.

For details, see “Operation Warnings” on page 215.

b TALLY switch

Set to ON to activate the TALLY indicator
function.

c USB connector

This is a USB 2.0 connector.
Connect a Windows USB keyboard or mouse (see
page 110), or a USB flash drive to access
planning metadata stored on the drive (see page

121).

OFF

OFF

AUDIO OUT

CH2

3/4

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

28

d (network) connector (RJ-45 type)

This is a 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX connector for
network connection.

CAUTION

When you connect the network cable of the unit to
peripheral device, use a shielded-type cable to prevent
malfunction due to radiation noise.

e EARPHONE jack (stereo, minijack)

You can monitor the E-E sound during recording
and playback sound during playback. When an
alarm is indicated, you can hear the alarm sound
through the earphone. You can use this with the
EARPHONE jack on the front of the unit at the
same time. Plugging an earphone into the jack
automatically cuts off the built-in speaker.
You can select monaural or stereo on the AUDIO­1 page of the MAINTENANCE menu.

f LINE /AES/EBU / MIC selectors

These select the audio source of the audio input
signals input to the AUDIO IN CH1/CH2
connectors.

LINE: Line input audio equipment
AES/EBU: AES/EBU format audio signal
MIC: Microphone input

Note

When these switches are in the MIC position, and the
+48V/OFF switch is set to +48V, if you inadvertently
connect any audio device other than a microphone to the
AUDIO IN CH1/CH2 connectors, the device may be
damaged.

g +48V/OFF switches

Select either of the following positions for the
microphones to be connected.
+48V: For a microphone to use an external power

supply

OFF: For a microphone to use an internal power

supply

h REMOTE connector (8-pin)

Connect an RM-B150/B750 Remote Control
Unit, which makes it possible to control the
camcorder remotely.

Note

Before connecting/disconnecting the Remote Control
Unit to/from the camcorder, be sure to turn off the
camcorder POWER switch.

i SDI OUT 1 connector (BNC type)

Outputs an HDSDI or SDSDI signal (with
embedded audio). To switch between HDSDI and
SDSDI output, use the SDI OUT 1 SELECT item

on the OUTPUT 1 page of the OPERATION
menu.

j SDI OUT 2 connector (BNC type)

Outputs an HDSDI or SDSDI signal (with
embedded audio). To switch between HDSDI and
SDSDI output, use the SDI OUT 2 SELECT item
on the OUTPUT 1 page of the OPERATION
menu.
Setting menus, timecode, or shot data can be
superimposed on the camera output video
depending on the menu settings, and you can
view them on the monitor screen.

k AUDIO IN CH1/CH2 (audio channel-1

and channel-2 input) connectors (XLR
type, 3-pin, female)

These are audio input connectors for channels 1
and 2 to which you can connect audio equipment
or a microphone.
When the LINE / AES/EBU / MIC selector is set
to AES/EBU, the CH1 connector is used for
channel-1 and -2 inputs, and the CH2 connector,
for channel-3 and -4 inputs.

l AUDIO OUT connector (XLR type, 5-

pin, male)

Outputs the audio signals recorded on audio
channels 1 and 2 or audio channels 3 and 4. The
audio signals are selected by the MONITOR
switch.

m (i.LINK) S400 connector (6-pin,

IEEE1394 compliant)

Use an i.LINK cable (DV cable) to connect the
camcorder to a computer for File Access Mode
file operations.

For details, see “File Operations in File Access
Mode (for Windows)” on page 199).

Note

When you connect the camcorder and other equipment,
such as a hard disk drive, with an i.LINK interface to a
computer with i.LINK connectors, turn off the power of
the computer, the other equipment, and the camcorder
before connecting them using the i.LINK cable (DV
cable). If a bus-powered type
equipment is connected while the computer is powered
on, electric current flows into the camcorder because of
the high voltage caused by the load shift of the computer
power, and this may cause a malfunction.

1) Equipment that can be powered through i.LINK cable
(DV cable)

1)

hard disk drive or similar

Chapter 1 Overview

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

29

HDVF-20A viewfinder (optional)

q

Chapter 1 Overview

This indica tor also flashes to indi cate warnings, in
the same manner as the camera operator tally
indicator and the REC indicator in the viewfinder.

1

qf
qg

2
3
4
5

6

7
8
9

PEAKING CONTRAST BRIGHT

DISPLAY

ASPECT

TALLY

ZEBRA

HIGH

ON

OFF

OFF

LOW

MOMENT

0
qa

qs

d

a Plug

Connect to the VF connector on the camcorder.

b Stopper

Prevents the viewfinder from coming off the
camcorder when it is slid from side to side.

c Camera operator tally indicator

Lights up while camcorder is recording. This
indicator can be covered when not in use.
This indicator also flashes to indicate warnings, in
the same manner as the tally indicator and the
REC indicator in the viewfinder.

d Eyecup

e Indicators and status display

For details, see “Status display on the viewfinder
screen” on page 31.

f Diopter adjustment ring

Allows for optimal focus adjustment.

g Tally indicator

Lights up while camcorder is recording. Set the
TALLY switch to OFF when not in use. The
brightness can also be adjusted with the TALLY
switch.

h PEAKING control

Turning this control clockwise adjusts the picture
sharpness, and makes focusing easier. This
control has no effect on the output signals of the
camcorder.

i CONTRAST control

Adjusts the contrast of the screen. This control
has no effect on the output signals of the
camcorder.

j BRIGHT control

Adjusts the brightness of the screen. This control
has no effect on the output signals of the
camcorder.

k TALLY switch

Controls the tally indicator located on the front of
the viewfinder.
HIGH: The tally indicator brightness is set to

high.

OFF: The tally indicator is disabled.
LOW: The tally indicator brightness is set to low.

l ZEBRA (zebra pattern) switch

Controls the zebra pattern display on the
viewfinder screen as follows.

ON: A zebra pattern appears and stays.
OFF: The zebra pattern disappears.
MOMENT: A zebra pattern appears and stays for

about five seconds.

m DISPLAY/ASPECT switch

Turns the marker indication on and off, and
switches between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios for
viewfinder screen display.
DISPLAY: When the marker indication is

enabled with the camcorder, the marker
indication on the viewfinder screen turns on
and off every time you push the switch up to
this position.

ASPECT: Each push of the switch down to this

position toggles the mask display on and off.
(Make mask display settings on the
MARKER 1 page of the OPERATION menu
(see page 132).)

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

30

n Viewfinder cable

1

6

o Microphone holder

Status display on the viewfinder screen

and stays lit when the battery is completely
exhausted.
To prevent interruption during operation, replace
the battery as soon as this indicator starts flashing.

The battery power level at which the indicator starts
flashing can be set on the BATTERY 1 page of the
MAINTENANCE menu. For details, see page 147.

Chapter 1 Overview

Indicators

The following indicators are arranged above and
below the viewfinder screen to show the current
state and adjustments of the camcorder.

TALLY/REC

a TALLY (green tally) indicator

Lights when the camcorder is the following
states.

• Picture Cache mode enabled

• Disc Exchange Cache mode enabled

• Recording with HDSDI REMOTE I/F on the
CAM CONFIG 1 page of the MAINTENANCE
menu set to G-TLY

Flashes when the camcorder is the following
states.

• Set to Auto Interval Rec mode or the
consecutive mode of Manual Interval Rec mod e
(1 flash per second)

• Recording in Auto Interval Rec mode or
recording in the consecutive mode of Manual
Interval Rec mode (4 flashes per second)

• Set to the single-shot mode of Manual Interval
Rec mode, or recording in that mode (2 flashes
per second)

b BATT (battery) indicator

This indicator starts flashing when the battery
connected to the camcorder is nearly exhausted,

BATT

VTR

SAVE

2

3

4

5

c REC (recording, red tally) indicator

Lights up while camcorder is recording.
This indica tor also flashes to indi cate warnings, in
the same manner as the tally indicator and the
camera operator tally indicator.

d Viewfinder screen

e VTR SAVE indicator

This indicator lights when the VDR SAVE/STBY
switch is set to SAVE, putting the VDR into
power save mode.

f ! (warning) indicator

This indicator lights when any of the following
conditions occurs with the corresponding item set
to ON on the ‘!’ LED page of the OPERATION
menu.

• The gain is set to other than 0 dB.

• The SHUTTER selector is set to ON.

• The WHITE BAL switch is set to PRST.

• ATW is enabled.

• The lens extender is used.

• The FILTER selector is set to other than ND:1.

• The reference value of auto iris adjustment is
not the standard value.

Layout of the status display on the
viewfinder screen

The viewfinder screen displays not only the video
picture but also characters and messages
indicating the camcorder settings and operating
status, a center marker, a safety zone marker, etc.
When the menu screen is not displayed and the
DISPLAY of the DISPLAY/ASPECT switch is
set to ON, the items for which an ON setting was
made on the VF DISP 1, VF DISP 2, or VF DISP
3 page of the OPERATION menu or with related
switches are displayed at the top and bottom of
the screen.
The messages that give details of the settings and
adjustment progress and results can also be made
to appear for about three seconds while settings

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

31

are being changed, during adjustment, and after

90qaqsqdqfqgqhq

w;qlq

wsw

adjustment.

Chapter 1 Overview

For details about the display item selection, see
“Selecting the display items” on page 171.

For details about setting change and adjustment
progress messages, see “Change confirmation/
adjustment progress messages” on page 172.

For details about marker display, see “Setting the
marker display” on page 173.

All items that can be displayed on the viewfinder
screen are shown below.

123 4 5 6 7 8

EX Z W

99 1 2

HD422 50 E0001:004/004 DC IN

13.9

K+

WHITE:NG
LEVEL TOO HIGH EXT
REC2 TCG 01:23:45:15 HDSDI
5600

LOW LIGHT

W:A

1 -

1
2

j

k

a Color temperature

Displays a color temperature calculated from the
gain of R and B, in the range 0.0 K to 99.9 K (in
steps of 0.1 K). The +/– signs may be displayed
depending on the OFFSET WHT setting (see
page 182).

No display: OFFSET WHT is OFF
+: The value of OFFSET WHT is greater than

3200K.

–: The value of OFFSET WHT is less than

3200K.

b Video format

Indicates the format of video being currently
played back or recorded (see page 54).
The video aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3) can also be
displayed when the recording format is set to
IMX 50, IMX 40, IMX 30, or DVCAM.

c Extender

Displays the extender settings of this unit and the
lens.

EX: The lens extender is on.
08: The lens shrinker is on.
x2D: This unit’s extender function is on.

125

13.4

C

Ex2D: The lens extender and the digital extender

function of this unit are both on.

d Zoom position

Indicates the zoom position of the zoom lens in
the range from 0 to 99.

e Clip information

Displays clip information during playback.

During clip playback and search (when title

display is off): Displays the clip number and

total number of clips.

During clip playback and search (when title

display is on): Displays the title specified in

planning metadata as the clip name,
according to the setting of Planning Clip

V

Name in Clip Info. Area in the Disc Menu
(see page 123).

During clip list playback: Displays the name of

the clip list, the sub clip number , and the total
number of sub clips.

F1.718 35 30dB 1/ 2000

a

f Wireless microphone reception level

When a UHF portable tuner is installed in the
camcorder, “W” appears together with four­segment reception level indicators for each of the
channels (1 or 2 channels) that can be used by the
tuner. The indications are as follows.
Normal use: The number of white segments

indicates the strength of the signal level.

Muted: The number of gray segments indicates

the strength of the signal level.

Reception level over peak: “P” is displayed

instead of the indicators.

1)

Tuner battery is low: The channel number and

indicator of the corresponding channel

1)

flash.

1) DWR-S01D only

g Power source voltage/battery

remaining capacity

When the unit is powered from a battery pack,
indicates the remaining capacity of the power
source voltage. When the unit is powered from a
battery connected to the DC IN connector or AC
adaptor attached to the battery attachment shoe,
indicates the power source voltage.

h External battery

Appears if the power is supplied from an AC
adaptor connected to the DC IN connector.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

32

i Controlling external device

3

Appears when HDSDI REMOTE I/F in the CAM
CONFIG 1 page of the MAINTENANCE menu
is set to CHARA, and this unit is controlling
recoding by an external device connected to the
SDI OUT 1/2 connectors (HDSDI output).

1) SDI OUT 1 SELECT or SDI OUT 2 SELECT on the
OUTPUT 1 page of the OPERATION menu must be
set to HDSDI.

1)

j Electric color temperature filter

Appears when the CC 5600K function is set to
ON.

k Filter

Indicates the currently selected filter type (see
page 17).

When the function that switches between
electrical CC filters has been assigned to an
ASSIGN switch (see page 59), and when a
remote control unit has been connected, the
electrical CC filter position (A, B, C, or D)
appears to the right side of the ND filter display
(1 to 4).

l White balance memory

Indicates the currently selected white balance
automatic adjustment memory.
A: Displayed when the WHITE BAL switch is set

to A.

B: Displayed whe n the WHITE BAL switch is set

to B.

P: Displayed when the WHITE BAL switch is set

to PRST or when the preset button on an RM­B150 has been pushed.

T: Displayed when ATW is being used.
3200: Displayed when the COLOR TEMP SW

3200K function is set to ON.

4300: Displayed when the COLOR TEMP SW

4300K function is set to ON.

5600: Displayed when the COLOR TEMP SW

5600K function is set to ON.

6300: Displayed when the COLOR TEMP SW

6300K function is set to ON.

o Shutter speed

Indicates the shutter speed or the shutter mode.
However, if the SHUTTER selector (see page 17)
is set to OFF, nothing is displayed.

For details of the displayed shutter speed, see
“Setting the Electronic Shutter” on page 60.

p Operation/alarm message display area

For details, see “Operation/alarm messages” on
page 218.

q Audio level

Indicates the level of audio channel 1 and channel

2. The peak indication of the VDR level meter is
related as follows to the audio level.

1
2

-52 -28 -20 -12 -8(dB)

1 Audio channel 1 level indicator
2 Audio channel 2 level indicator
3 VDR level meter indicator

The segment colors change from gray to white at
or above the AU REF LEVEL set on the AUDIO­2 page of the MAINTENANCE menu. This
setting does not affect the relationship between
the number of lit segments and the audio levels.
The example in the above figure shows the colors
when AU REF LEVEL is set to –20 dB.

r Remaining disc capacity

Indicates the remaining recording time (in
minutes) of the disc.

Chapter 1 Overview

m Timecode

Indicates the elapsed recording/playback time,
timecode, user bits or other information selected
by the DISPLAY switch (see page 22).

n Gain value

Indicates the gain value (in dB) of the video
amplifier, as set by the GAIN selector.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

33

Examples of remain ing recording time indication

Chapter 1 Overview

Indication Remaining recording

.
.
.

110 < 120 to 110 minutes
100 < 110 to 100 minutes
90 < 100 to 90 minutes
90 - 85 90 to 85 minutes
85 - 80 85 to 80 minutes
.

.
.

20 - 15 20 to 15 minutes
15 - 10 15 to 10 minutes
10 - 5 10 to 5 minutes
5MIN (flash) 5 minutes
4MIN (flash) 4 minutes
3MIN (flash) 3 minutes
2MIN (flash) 2 minutes
1MIN (flash) 1 minutes
0MIN (flash) 0 minutes

time

.
.
.

.
.
.

s Remaining clips display

Displays the remaining number of clips that can
be recorded. The display flashes once per second
when the number of remaining clips is less than

10.

t Iris setting/auto iris override

Indicates the F value (iris setting) of the lens.
Auto iris override is shown by an indicator made
up of two segments each on the upper and lower
sides.

For details, see “Changing the Reference Value for
Automatic Iris Adjustment” on page 63.

u External input status

When the REC VIDEO SOURCE item on the
SOURCE SEL page of the OPERATION menu
has been set to EXT, then “EXT” and the signal
type (HDSDI, SDSDI, or VBS) flashes when a
valid signal is input to this unit.

For details, see “Recording video from external
devices” on page 93.

v Setting change and adjustment

progress message display area

For details, see “Change confirmation/adjustment
progress messages” on page 172.

Locations and Functions of Parts and Controls

34

Chapter2 Preparations

Preparing a Power Supply

For safety, use only the Sony battery packs and
AC adaptors listed below.

• BP-GL95/GL65/L60S/L80S Lithium-ion

Battery Pack

• AC power using the AC-DN2B/DN10 AC

adaptor

Using a battery pack

When a BP-GL95/GL65/L60S/L80S Battery
Pack is used, the camcorder will operate
continuously for the time shown below.

Model name Operating time

BP-GL95 Approx. 120 minutes
BP-GL65 Approx. 75 minutes
BP-L60S Approx. 75 minutes
BP-L80S Approx. 100 minutes

Note

The battery pack operating time depends on the
frequency of use of the battery pack, and the ambient
temperature when used.

Before use, charge the battery pack with a charger
suitable for each battery.

For details on the battery charging procedure, refer
to the battery charger operation manual.

Note on using the battery pack

A warm battery pack may not be able to be fully
recharged.

To attach the battery pack

1 Press the battery pack against the back

of the camcorder, aligning the line on
the side of the battery pack with the
matching line on the camcorder.

Chapter 2 Preparations

1

2

1 BP-GL95/GL65/L60S/L80S
2 Align these lines.

2 Slide the battery pack down until its

“LOCK” arrow points at the matching
line on the camcorder.

1

2

1 “LOCK” arrow
2 Matching line on the camcorder

Note

If the battery pack is not attached correctly, the terminal
may be damaged.

To detach the battery pack

Holding the release button in, pull the battery
pack up.

Preparing a Power Supply

35

Attaching the Viewfinder

Chapter 2 Preparations

Release button

Notes

• During recording and playback (while the ACCESS

indicator is lit), be careful never to remove the battery
pack.

• Make sure to power the camcorder off before replacing

the battery pack.

Using AC power

When using the AC-DN10 AC adaptor

Mount an AC-DN10 on the camcorder in the
same way as a battery pack, then connect to the
AC power supply.
The AC-DN10 can supply up to 100 W of power.

To an AC outlet

CAUTION

When the viewfinder is attached, do not leave the
camcorder with the eyepiece facing the sun. Direct
sunlight can enter through the eyepiece, be focused in the
viewfinder and cause fire.

Note

The viewfinder is supplied separately.

Attaching the HDVF-20A/C35W

Note

When attaching the viewfinder, make notes of the
following points.

• Be sure to the power off the camcorder before coupling
the viewfinder connector to the camcorder’s VF
connector. If you make this connection when the
camcorder power is on, the viewfinder may not
function properly.

• Couple the viewfinder connector firmly to the
camcorder’s VF connector. If the coupling is loose,
noise may appear on the video or the tally light may not
operate properly.

For more information about the connection of the
viewfinder and camcorder, contact a Sony service
representative.

1 1 Loosen the viewfinder left-to-right

positioning ring, 2 attach the
viewfinder to the viewfinder fitting
shoe, and 3 tighten the viewfinder left­to-right positioning ring.

Attaching the Viewfinder

36

Viewfinder left-to-right positioning ring

Stopper

31

2

Viewfinder left-to-right positioning ring

Chapter 2 Preparations

Viewfinder front-to-back positioning knob

2 Couple the viewfinder connector to the

VF connector.

VF connector

Detaching the viewfinder

You can carry out this by following the attaching
procedure in reverse order, but there is an
additional action to take: when detaching the
viewfinder from the fitting shoe, pull up the
stopper.

Adjusting the viewfinder position

To adjust the viewfinder left-right position,
loosen the left-right positioni ng ring, and to adjust
the front-back position, loosen the front-to-back
positioning knob.

Moving the viewfinder shoe up

1 Loosen the front-to-back viewfinder

positioning levers and the front-to-back
viewfinder positioning knobs, and then
pull the viewfinder slide assembly
forward.

2 Using a 2.5 mm diameter hexagonal

wrench, detach the viewfinder slide
assembly and handle front cover.

Attaching the Viewfinder

37

Chapter 2 Preparations

Handle front cover

Viewfinder slide assembly

Bolt with
hexagonal hole

Using the BKW-401 Viewfinder Rotation Bracket

By fitting a BKW-401 Viewfinder Rotation
Bracket (not supplied), you can rotate the
viewfinder out of the way so that your right leg
does not hit the viewfinder while you are carrying
the camcorder.

3 Attach the handle front cover with the

bottom edge up.

To attach the viewfinder
at the top

To attach the viewfinder
at the bottom (factory
default)

4 Attach the viewfinder slide assembly,

reversing the steps of the removal
procedure.

1 Carry out steps 1 and 2 of the previous

section “Moving the viewfinder shoe
up” to detach the viewfinder slide
assembly.

2 Attach the BKW-401 with the supplied

bolts.

Bolts supplied
with the BKW-401

3 Adjust the front-to-back position so

that the arm of the BKW-401 does not
touch the handle when it is raised.

Attaching the Viewfinder

38

Adjust position so that arm

1

does not touch handle

Detaching the eyepiece

Removing the eyepiece gives a clearer view of the
screen from further away. It is also easy to
remove dust from the viewfinder screen and
mirror when the eyepiece is detached.

1 Turn the eyepiece locking ring fully

counterclockwise, to align the red
marks on the locking ring and the
viewfinder barrel.

To reattaching the eyepiece

1 Align the red marks on the eyepiece

locking ring and the viewfinder barrel.

2 Align the red mark on the end of the

eyepiece end with the red marks on the
eyepiece locking ring and the
viewfinder barrel. Then insert the
eyepiece into the viewfinder barrel.

3 Turn the eyepiece locking ring

clockwise until its “LOCK” arrow
points at the red mark on the viewfinder
barrel.

When the eyecup is worn out, replace it with a
new one.

For details of a replacement eyecup, contact a Sony
service representative.

Adjusting the viewfinder focus and screen

To adjust the viewfinder focus

Turn the diopter adjustment ring until the
viewfinder image is sharpest.

Diopter adjustment ring

Chapter 2 Preparations

1 Locking ring
2 Locking ring match mark
3 Match mark on the viewfinder barrel

2 Detach the eyepiece.

23

Match mark on end of eyepiece

To adjust the viewfinder screen

Adjust the brightness, cont rast, and peaking of the
viewfinder screen with the controls shown below.

Attaching the Viewfinder

39

1 2 3

PEAKING CONTRAST BRIGHT

Setting the Area of Use

Chapter 2 Preparations

DISPLAY

ASPECT

MOMENT

OFF

ZEBRA

ON

1 PEAKING control
2 CONTRAST control
3 BRIGHT control

TALLY

HIGH

OFF

LOW

When using the unit for the first time

The area of use is not factory preset. Before using
this unit, you need to set this item. (You cannot
use the unit without setting this item.)

To set the area of use

POWER switch

MENU knob

1 Set the POWER switch to the ON

position.

The screen for setting the area of use appears
in the viewfinder.

FORMAT SETTING

COUNTRY : NOT SELECTED
SYSTEM LINE : 1080

Setting the Area of Use

40

SET FORMAT
AND TURN OFF ONCE.

2 Press the MENU knob.

z on the left of NOT SELECTED changes to

?, and you can now select the area of use.

FORMAT SETTING

COUNTRY :?NOT SELECTED
SYSTEM LINE : 1080

SET FORMAT
AND TURN OFF ONCE.

3 Turn the MENU knob to display the

desired area of use.

Setting Area of use

NTSC (J) AREA

NTSC AREA NTSC area (for areas other

PAL A REA

a) The composite signal output from this unit is an

NTSC signal with no black setup. The system
frequency is 59.94i.

b) The composite signal output from this unit is an

NTSC signal with a black setup (7.5 IRE). The
system frequency is 59.94i.

c) The composite signal output from this unit is a

PAL signal. The system frequency is 50i.

NTSC area (Japan)

than Japan)

PAL a r e a

a)

b)

c)

4 Change the SYSTEM LINE (video

resolution) setting as required.

Setting Resolution (horizontal × vertical)

1080 1080 lines (1920 × 1080)
720 720 lines (1280 × 720)

5 Set the POWER switch to OFF, then

once again to ON.

The unit is now ready for use.

Setting the Date/Time of the Internal Clock

You can set or change the date and time of the
internal clock. The date and time set are reflected
in the timecode.
(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Display the TIME/DATE page of the

DIAGNOSIS menu, and press the
MENU knob.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

D02 TIME/DATE TOP

ADJUST : EXEC

HOUR : 12
MIN : 55
SEC : 58

YEAR : 08
MONTH : 03
DAY : 31

2 Press the MENU knob.

The TIME ADJUST setting window appears.

TIME ADJUST ESC

HOUR : 12
MIN : 55
SEC : 58

YEAR : 08
MONTH : 03
DAY : 31

OK

Chapter 2 Preparations

• HOUR: Sets the hour value.

• MIN: Sets the minutes value.

• SEC: Sets the seconds value.

• YEAR: Sets the year.

• MONTH: Sets the month.

• DAY: Sets the day.

3 Turn the MENU knob to move b to the

item you want to set, and press the
MENU knob.

b on the left of the selected item changes to

z and z on the left of the setting changes to

?.

Setting the Date/Time of the Internal Clock

41

4 Turn the MENU knob to display the

desired value, and press the MENU
knob.

z changes to b and ? changes to z.

5 To continue the remaining settings,

repeat steps 3 and 4.

Chapter 2 Preparations

6 When you finish settings, turn the

MENU knob to move b to “OK”, then
press the MENU knob.

The internal clock is set with the date and
time set in steps 3 to 5. The TIME/DATE
page of the DIAGNOSIS menu appears
again. The time set on the TIME ADJUST
setting window is displayed.

To cancel the setting

Before executing step 6, move b to “ESC” at the
top right of the window and press the MENU
knob.
Alternatively, flick the CANCEL/PRST /
ESCAPE switch down to the ESCAPE side.
All settings or changes are discarded and the
TIME/DATE page of the DIAGNOSIS menu
appears.

Mounting the Lens

First power off the cam corder, and then mount the
lens using the following procedure.

For information about using the lens, refer to the
operation manual for the lens.

3

Lens mount
securing rubber

Mounting the Lens

42

5

4

2

1

1 Push the lens locking lever up and

remove the lens mount cap from the
lens mount.

2 Align the center pin on the lens with the

center slot in the lens mount, and insert
the lens into the mount.

3 Holding the lens in place, push the lens

locking lever down to lock the lens.

Caution

If the lens is not firmly locked, it may come off
while the camcorder is being used. This could cause
a serious accident. Make sure the lens is firmly
locked. It is recommended that the lens mount

securing rubber be put on the lens locking lever as
illustrated above.

4 Connect the lens cable to the LENS

connector.

5 Secure the lens cable with the cable

clamps.

Adjusting the Flange Focal Length

If the lens does not stay in focus properly as you
zoom from telephoto to wide angle, adjust the
flange focal length (the distance from the plane of
the lens mounting flange to the imaging plane).
Make this adjustment after mounting or changing
the lens.

The position of the controls for adjusting the flange
focal length vary somewhat from lens to lens. Check
the identification of the various controls in the lens
manual.

About 3 m

1 Set the iris to manual.

Chapter 2 Preparations

2 Open the iris. Place the flange focal

length adjustment chart about 3 m (10
ft) away from the camera, lit well
enough to provide a satisfactory video
output level.

3 Loosen the fixing screws on the F.f or

F.B ring (flange focal length adjustment
ring).

4 Use manual or power zoom to set the

lens to telephoto.

5 Point the camera at the chart by turning

the focus ring and focus on it.

6 Set the zoom ring to wide angle.

7 Turn the F.f or F.B ring until the chart

is in focus, being careful not to disturb
the focus ring.

Adjusting the Flange Focal Length

43

8 Repeat steps 4 to 7 until the chart stays

in focus all the way from wide angle to
telephoto.

9 Tighten the F.f or F.B ring fixing

screws.

Chapter 2 Preparations

Preparing the Audio Input System

Connecting a microphone to the MIC IN connector

You can attach the ECM-680S stereo microphone
(not supplied) to the microphone holder of the
HDVF-20A viewfinder (not supplied).

1 Loosen the screw and open the

microphone holder clamp.

Microphone holder clamp

1

2

Preparing the Audio Input System

44

2 Place the microphone in the

microphone holder.

1 Place the microphone in the holder so

that “UP” is at the top.

2 Close the microphone holder.
3 Tighten the screw.

1

23

On how to perform this operation, refer to the
operation manual for the microphone.

3 Plug the microphone cable into the MIC

IN connector, then set the AUDIO IN
switch for the channel on which you
want to record the audio from this
microphone to FRONT (for CH-1/
CH-2) or F (for CH-3/CH-4).

4 Secure the microphone cable with the

cable clamps.

Connecting microphones to the AUDIO IN connectors

You can connect up to two monaural
microphones to the AUDIO IN CH-1/CH-2
connectors, using a CAC-12 Microphone Holder
(not supplied).
The following is the procedure for attaching an
electret condenser microphone such as the ECM­674/678.

On how to attach the CAC-12, refer to the operation
manual for the CAC-12.

1 Attach the electret condenser

microphone.

1 Loosen the ball joint lock lever.
2 Place the microphone in the holder so

that “UP” is at the top.

3 Close the microphone holder.
4 Tighten the screw.
5 Position so that the microphone does

not interfere with the viewfinder and
tighten the ball joint lock lever.

When attaching the ECM-674/678, use the
microphone adaptor supplied with the CAC­12 Microphone Holder.

Chapter 2 Preparations

Microphone

2 Connect the microphone cable to the

AUDIO IN CH-1 or CH-2 connector.

3 Set the switches as follows.

Set the LINE/AES/EBU/MIC switch to MIC.

• Set the +48V/OFF switch as indicated
below, depending on the power supply type
of the microphone.
Internal power supply: Set the +48V/OFF
switch to OFF.
External power supply: Set the +48V/
OFF switch to +48V (ON).

• Set the AUDIO IN (CH-1/CH-2/CH-3/CH-

4) switch for the channel to which the
microphone is connected to REAR (for
CH-1/CH-2) or R (for CH-3/CH-4).

Preparing the Audio Input System

45

12

Chapter 2 Preparations

43

1 +48V/OFF switch
2 Monaural microphone
3 AUDIO IN CH-1/CH-2 switches
4 To AUDIO IN CH1 or CH2 connector

4 Switch the input level to match the

sensitivity of the microphone used.

Switch the input level by changing the REAR
MIC REF setting on the AUDIO-1 page of the
MAINTENANCE menu (factory default setting
is –60 dB). For details, see page 149.

XLR connection automatic detection function

With the XLR connection automatic detection
function being on, when a cable is connected to
the AUDIO IN CH1 or CH2 connector, the input
from that connector is automatically selected for
audio recording, regardless of the setting of the
AUDIO IN CH-1 or CH-2 switch.
The XLR connection automatic detection
function can be switched on or off on the
AUDIO-1 page of the MAINTENANCE menu,
with the REAR XLR AUTO item.

Notes

• If the input level on this unit is not at an appropriate
setting for the microphone sensitivity, loud sounds
may be distorted, and the signal-to-noise ratio may be
affected.

• In order for the AUDIO IN CH-1 and CH-2 connectors
on the camcorder to be able to provide a phantom 48 V
power supply, female XLR connectors (3-pin) are
fitted. If the microphone cable has a female connector,
use an adaptor.

• When you detach a CAC-12 Microphone Holder once
you have attached to the camcorder, be careful not to
lose the two screws fixing the CAC-12 (in step 1).
After detaching the CAC-12, be sure to put the two
screws back into their original places.

Attaching a UHF portable tuner (for a UHF wireless microphone system)

To use a Sony UHF wireless microphone system,
fit one of the following UHF portable tuners.

• DWR-S01D Digital Wireless Receiver

• WRR-855S UHF Synthesized Tuner Unit

• WRR-860A/861/862 UHF Synthesized
Diversity Tuner

For details of these units, refer to the operation
manuals for them.

To fit the DWR-S01D or WRR-855S

1 Remove the four fixing screws holding

the cover of the portable tuner/receiver
housing slot located in the rear of this
unit, to remove the cover.

2 Insert the DWR-S01D or WRR-855S

into the housing slot, and fasten the four
fixing screws.

DWR-S01D or WRR-855S

3 Set the AUDIO IN switch for the

channel to which you want to input
audio signal to WIRELESS (see page

27).

Notes

• When the XLR connection automatic detection
function is on, even if the AUDIO IN CH-1 or CH-2
switch is set to WIRELESS, the signal input to the

Preparing the Audio Input System

46

AUDIO IN CH1 or CH2 connector is automatically
selected when an audio cable is connected to the
AUDIO IN CH1 or CH2 connector. In such a case, set
REAR XLR AUTO to OFF on the AUDIO-1 page of
the MAINTENANCE menu. (The factory default
setting is OFF.)

• When the LINE/AES/EBU/MIC switch is set to LINE
or MIC, the audio signals recorded on audio channels
3 and 4 are not affected by the XLR automatic
detection function. They are determined by the settings
of the AUDIO IN CH-3 and CH-4 switches.

BP-GL65/GL95/L60S/L80S

Adjustment
screws

Mount plate
(supplied with
WRR-862)

Chapter 2 Preparations

To fit the WRR-862 (when using a BP­GL65/GL95/L60S/L80S Battery Pack)

1 Attach the WRR tuner fitting (not

supplied; service part number: A-8278­057-B) to the back of the camcorder.

1 Use a Phillips type screwdriver to

tighten the four screws placed in the
tuner fitting. For three of these screws,
insert the screwdriver through the
corresponding hole and tighten the
screw.

Note

Make sure that all four screws are fully tightened.

2 Loosen the adjustment screws on the

tuner fitting.

3 Adjust the tuner fitting position for a

BP-GL65/GL95/L60S/L80S Battery
Pack to be attached, and tighten the
adjustment screws to fix its position.

4 Attach the mount plate supplied with

the WRR-862.

About the WRR tuner fitting (service part
number: A-8278-057-B), contact a Sony service
or sales representative.

Phillips type
screwdriver

2 Attach the battery pack.

On how to attach the battery pack, see “To
attach the battery pack” on page 35.

3 Mount the tuner on the WRR tuner

fitting.

WRR-862

4 Connect the tuner power cord to the DC

OUT connector of the camcorder, and
the audio output cable to the AUDIO IN
CH1 or CH2 connector.

5 Set the switches as follows.

• Set the LINE/AES/EBU/MIC switch for
the channel to which the audio output cable
is attached to MIC.

• Set the AUDIO IN (CH-1/CH-2/CH-3/CH-

4) switch for the channel to which the audio
output cable is connected to REAR (for
CH-1/CH-2) or R (for CH-3/CH-4).

If the XLR connection automatic detection
function is on, the input signal for audio
recording is selected automatically, and
therefore this setting is not required.

Preparing the Audio Input System

47

Chapter 2 Preparations

21 3

123

1 AUDIO IN CH-1/CH-2 switches
2 To DC OUT connector
3 To AUDIO IN CH1 or CH2 connector
4 LINE/AES/EBU/MIC switch

Connecting line input audio equipment

Connect the audio output connector of the audio
equipment that supplies t he line input signal to the
AUDIO IN CH1 or CH2 connector.

Switch settings

Set the LINE/AES/EBU/MIC switch for the
channel to which the audio signal source is
connected to “LINE”.

Selecting the audio inputs to be recorded

• With the XLR connection automatic detection
function being off (the factory default setting):
A signal must be selec ted for audio recording by
setting the AUDIO IN CH-1 or CH-2 switch to
“REAR” depending on which of the AUDIO IN
CH1 and CH2 conn ectors is used for connecting
the external audio equipment.

• With the XLR connection automatic detection
function being on: When a cable is connected to
the AUDIO IN CH1 or CH2 connector, the
input from that connector is automatically
selected for audio recording, regardless of the
setting of the AUDIO IN CH-1 or CH-2 switch.

The XLR connection automatic detection
function can be switched on or off on the
AUDIO-1 page of the MAINTENANCE menu,
with the REAR XLR AUTO item.

4

4

1 AUDIO IN CH-1/CH-2 switches
2 To AUDIO IN CH1 or CH2 connector
3 Audio equipment
4 LINE/AES/EBU/MIC switch

Preparing the Audio Input System

48

Tripod Mounting

1 Attach the VCT-14 tripod adaptor (not

supplied) to the tripod.

Tripod adaptor

Camera mount

2 Mount the camcorder on the tripod

adaptor.

Red button

Lever

Note

The tripod adaptor pin may remain in the engaged
position even after the camcorder is removed. If this
happens, press the red button against the lever a second
time and move the lever as shown above until the pin
returns to the stowed position. If the pin remains in the
engaged position, you will not be able to mount the
camcorder on the tripod adaptor.

Chapter 2 Preparations

Slide the camcorder forward along the
groove in the adaptor until it clicks

To remove the camcorder from the tripod
adaptor

Hold down the red button and pull the lever in the
direction of the arrow.

Tripod Mounting

49

Connecting a Video Light

Chapter 2 Preparations

With this camcorder, you can use the Anton
Bauer Ultralight 2 or equivalent video light
(powered by 12 V with maximum power
consumption of 50 W).

• If you connect the video light to the LIGHT
connector on the camcorder and set the LIGHT
switch to AUTO, you can turn the light on and
off automatically as you start and stop the VDR
operation.

• The output of the LIGHT connector on the
camcorder is controlled to 12 V even when the
camcorder is supplied with over 12 V power
(through the DC IN connector or battery pack).
The brightness or color temperature of the light
will not change according to voltage increase.

Notes

• Do not use a video light with power consumption of
over 50 W.

• The brightness or color temperature of the light will
change when the voltage (supplied through the DC IN
connector or from the battery pack) is under 12 V.

To attach the video light

Fit the video light to the accessory fitting shoe on
the camcorder grip, and connect the video light
cable to the LIGHT connector.

Note

The accessory fitting shoe on this unit is of the 1/4-inch
tapped hole type. If you want to replace this with a slide­type shoe, contact a Sony service representative.

Using the Shoulder Strap

To attach the shoulder strap

1 Fit one of the clips to a shoulder strap

fitting.

Pull up the strap to lock the fitting

g

Clip

2 Fit the other clip to the shoulder strap

fitting on the other side of the grip in the
same way as in step 1.

Connecting a Video Light / Using the Shoulder Strap

50

To remove the shoulder strap

Press here and pull in the direction
shown by the arrow to release

Adjusting the Shoulder Pad Position

g

You can shift the shoulder pad from its center
position (the factory default setting) backward by
up to 10 mm (3/8 inch) or fo rward by up to 25 mm
(1 inch). This adjustment helps you get the best
balance for shooting with the camcorder on your
shoulder.

1,3

2

Shoulder pad

1 Raise the lever in the center of the

shoulder pad to unlock the shoulder
pad.

2 Slide the shoulder pad backward or

forward until it is in the most
convenient position.

Chapter 2 Preparations

3 Bring down the lever to lock the

shoulder pad in the selected position.

Adjusting the Shoulder Pad Position

51

Connecting the Remote Control Unit

Chapter 2 Preparations

Note

Before connecting/disconnecting a remote control unit
to/from the camcorder, be sure to turn the power of the
camcorder off.

Connecting the RM-B150/B750 Remote Control
Unit enables remote control of the principal
camera functions.
Connecting the remote control unit to the
REMOTE connector (8-pin) automatically puts
the camcorder into remote control mode. If you
disconnect the remote control unit, the remote
control mode is cancelled.

1

2

3

1 RM-B150/B750
2 Remote control cable
3 REMOTE connector

Camcorder switch functions when the
remote control unit is connected

The following switches on the camcorder do not
function.

•GAIN selector

•OUTPUT/DCC switch

•WHITE BAL switch

•AUTO W/B BAL switch

• SHUTTER selector

• Button to which the TURBO SWITCH function
has been assigned (ASSIGN 1/3/4 switch,
COLOR TEMP. button, or RET button on the
lens)

• REC START but ton (and the VTR button on the
lens, and the button to which the recording start/

stop function has been assigned (ASSIGN 1/3/4
switch, COLOR TEMP. button, or RET button
on the lens)) (when the RM REC START item
on the CAM CONFIG 2 page of the
MAINTENANCE menu is set to RM)

• Buttons to which the COLOR TEMP SW
3200K/4300K/5600K/ 6300K functions have
been assigned (ASSIGN 1/3/4 switches,
COLOR TEMP. button, and RET button on the
lens)

Paint adjustment when the remote
control unit is connected

The settings of the paint adjustment that were in
effect the last time the remote control unit was
used are recalled.

Function of the recording start/stop
buttons when the remote control unit is
connected

When the remote control unit is connected, you
can make a setting to determine which of the
recording start/stop buttons you will use. This
setting is made using the RM REC START item
on the CAM CONFIG 2 page of the
MAINTENANCE menu.

Relationship between the setting of the RM REC
START item and the function of recording start/
stop buttons

Recording start/
stop button

Camcorder’s REC
START button
Lens VTR button Disabled Enabled Enabled

Button to which
the recording
start/stop function
has been assigned
(camcorder
ASSIGN 1/3/4
switch or COLOR
TEMP. button, or
RET button on
the lens)

Remote control
unit’s VTR button

Settings of RM REC START

RM CAM PARA

Disabled Enabled Enabled

Disabled Enabled Enabled

Enabled Disabled Enabled

Connecting the Remote Control Unit

52

When the monitor is connected to the
MONITOR OUT connector of the remote
control unit

The MONITOR connector (BNC type) of the
RM-B150/B750 outputs the same signal as that
from the TEST OUT connector on the camcorder.
Use the black cable supplied with the RM-B150/
B750 to connect the monitor to the MONITOR
connector on the RM-B150/B750.

When the remote control unit is
disconnected from the camcorder

The camcorder settings return to the settings in
effect before the remote control unit was
connected.

Structure of the paint adjustment data

The non-volatile memory of the camcorder used
for storing paint adjustment data consists of two
regions as shown below: one is the “independent
data region” that is used when a remote control
unit is not connected, and the other is the “remote
control data region” that is used when a remote
control unit is connected. Paint adjustment data is
automatically selected and output to the camera
section depending on whether or not a remote
control unit such as the RM-B150 is connected.

Setup menu of the
camcorder

Independent
data region

MASTER BLACK
MASTER GAMMA
KNEE POINT
DETAIL LEVEL
R/B GAIN
R/B BLACK

Non-volatile memory

Hardware of the
camera section

RM-B150 connected
RM-B150 not connected

RM-B150

Remote control
data region

MASTER BLACK
MASTER GAMMA
KNEE POINT
DETAIL LEVEL
R/B GAIN
R/B BLACK

Thus, when a remote control unit is connected to
the camcorder, the effective data region is
switched to the “remote control data region” and
the settings of the paint adjustment that were in
effect the last time the remote control unit was
used are recalled.
The settings of the absolute value rotational
controls

1)

and absolute value switches

2)

are
overwritten by those on the remote control unit
after the remote control unit is connected.
When the remote control unit is disconnected
from the camcorder, the “independent data
region” becomes effective. Thus the camcorder
will return to the settings that were in effect
before the remote control unit was connected.

1) Absolute value rotational controls: The data

corresponding to the angular position of controls is
output. Rotational controls for which the data
corresponding to the amount of their rotation is output
are called relative value controls.

2) Absolute value switches: Like toggle switches or

slide switches (except momentary switches), the
switches (or knobs) whose positions must coincide
with their functions are calle d absolute value switches.

When RM COMMON MEMORY is set to “ON”
on the CAM CONFIG 2 page of the
MAINTENANCE menu, you can use settings of
the paint adjustment data stored in the
independent data region even if you connect the
remote control unit. In this case, the settings
stored in the independent data region will be
renewed when you change the settings on the
remote control unit. Thus, the settings of the paint
data made with the remote control unit can be
retained even if the remote control unit is
removed. However, if the switch position on the
remote control unit differs from the one on the
camcorder, the switch position on the camcorder
takes precedence over that on the remote control
unit.
Also, it is possible to keep the settings that are in
effect before you connect the remote control unit.
In this case, you should set the control knob to the
relative value mode on the remote control unit.

For details, refer to the operation manual supplied
with the remote control unit.

Chapter 2 Preparations

Connecting the Remote Control Unit

53

Chapter3

Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

Setting the Recording Format

The recording formats supported by this

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

camcorder are as follows.

Video

Recording format Resolution System

frequency

MPEG HD422 50
(Bit rate: 50 Mbps)

MPEG HD420 HQ/
SP
(Bit rate: 35/25
Mbps)
MPEG IMX 50/40/

b)

30
(Bit rate: 50/40/30
Mbps)

b)

DVCAM
(Bit rate: 25 Mbps)

a) 59.94i/29.97P/59.94P: When the area of use is set to

b) When the optional CBKZ-MD01 SD Record and

NTSC (J) AREA/NTSC AREA.
50i/25P/50P: When the area of use is set to PAL
AREA.

Playback Software is installed.

Audio

Recording format Number of channels

24bit/48kHz

16bit/48kHz

a) When the video recording format is set to MPEG

HD422 50.

b) When the video recording format is set to MPEG IMX

50/40/30.

c) When the video recording format is set to MPEG

HD420 HQ/SP or DVCAM.

1080 59.94i/29.97P/

720 59.94P/50P
1080 59.94i/50i
720 59.94P/50P

525 59.94i
625 50i

525 59.94i
625 50i

8 channels

4 channels

8 channels

4 channels

50i/25P

a)

b)

b)

c)

Notes

• It is not possible to combine material recorded in

different system frequencies and recording formats on
a single disc (although 1080/50i and 1080/25P
materials can be combined).

• This unit can record up to four channels of audio. If

you select a format with eight channels of audio,
silence is recorded in channels 5 to 8.

Setting the system frequency

a)

1 Display the FORMAT page of the

OPERATION menu.

024 FORMAT TOP

SYSTEM LINE : 1080
SYSTEM FREQUENCY: 59.9i

REC FORMAT : HD422 50

COUNTRY : NTSC(J)AREA

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select SYSTEM FREQUENCY, and

turn the MENU knob to select the
desired system frequency.

You can select the frequency shown below
depending on the combination of the
COUNTRY and SYSTEM LINE settings.

COUNTRY SYSTEM

NTSC(J)AREA
NTSC AREA

PAL AREA 1080 50i/25P

LINE

1080 59.9i/29.9P
720 59.9P

720 50P

• Change the COUNTRY or SYSTEM LINE
setting as required.

• When SYSTEM LINE is set to 720 and
SYSTEM FREQUENCY is set to 59.9P,
you can set the camera shooting frequency
(SCAN MODE) to either 59.9 Hz or 23.9
Hz. Set SCAN MODE to either as required.

SYSTEM
FREQUENCY

Setting the Recording Format

54

Note

When you set SCAN MODE to 23.9P, the video
output signals and video recording signals of this
unit are 59.9 Hz signals after 2-3 pulldown.

Setting the video recording format

1 Display the FORMAT page of the

OPERATION menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select REC FORMAT, and turn the

MENU knob to select the desired
recording format.

As you turn the MENU knob, the recording
format changes as follows: HD422 50 y
HD420 HQ y HD420 SP y IMX 50
y IMX 40
DVCAM

1) When the optional CBKZ-MD01 SD Record and
Playback Software is installed.

To set the aspect ratio (when IMX 50, IMX 40,
IMX 30, or DVCAM is selected)

Select ASPECT RATIO(SD) on the FORMAT
page, and turn the MENU knob to select the
desired aspect ratio.
As you turn the MENU knob, the aspect ratio
changes as follows: 16:9 y 4:3.

024 FORMAT TOP

SYSTEM LINE : 1080
SYSTEM FREQUENCY: 59.9i

REC FORMAT : IMX 50
ASPECT RATIO(SD): 16:9
AU DATA LEN(IMX): 16bit

COUNTRY : NTSC(J)AREA

Note

The unit ignores this setting when it records video from
external devices (see page 93).

To set the audio recording format (when IMX 50,
IMX 40, or IMX 30 is selected)

Select AU DATA LEN(IMX) on the FORMAT
page or AUDIO-2 page of the MAINTENANCE
menu, and turn the MENU knob to select the
desired audio recording format.
As you turn the MENU knob, the audio recording
format changes as follows: 16bit y 24bit.

1)

y IMX 301) y

1)

.

1)

Adjusting the Black Balance and the White Balance

To ensure ex cellent image quali ty when using this
camcorder, conditions may require that both the
black balance and the white balance be adjusted.

Black balance adjustment

The black balance will require adjustment in the
following cases.

• When the camcorder is used for the first time

• When the camcorder has not been used for a
long time

• When the camcorder is used under conditions in
which the surroundin g temperature has changed
greatly

• When the GAIN selector (L/M/H) values have
been changed by using the USER menu

It is not usually necessary to adjust the black
balance when using the camcorder after it has
been off.

White balance adjustment

Always readjust the white balance when the
lighting conditions change.

Viewfinder screen displays

If the black balance or white balance adjustment
is started, messages that report on the progress
and results are displayed on the viewfinder screen
when the VF DISP MODE item is set to “2” or
“3” on the VF DISP 1 page of the USER menu.

Note

Black balance and white balance adjustment values that
are automatically set by the camcorder and the various
settings are stored in the camcorder memory and retained
even when the power is turned off.

Adjusting the black balance

In automatic black balance mode, adjustments are
performed in the following order: black set and
black balance. Manual black balance adjustment
can be selected from the setup menu.

For details of manual black balance adjustment,
refer to the Maintenance Manual.

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

Adjusting the Black Balance and the White Balance

55

21

1 OUTPUT/DCC switch

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

2 AUTO W/B BAL switch

1 Set the OUTPUT/DCC switch to CAM.

2 Flick the AUTO W/B BAL switch to

BLK and release the switch.

The switch returns to the center position, and
the adjustment is executed.

During adjustment, the following message is
displayed on the viewfinder screen.

ABB:EXECUTING
BLACK SET

The messages change in the following
sequence :

BLACK SET

r

BLACK BALANCE

The black balance adjustment ends in a few
seconds with the message “ABB:OK” and
the adjustment value is automatically stored
in memory.

Notes

• During the black balance adjustment, the iris is
automatically closed.

• During the black balance adjustment, the gain
selection circuit is automatically activated so you may
see flickering on the viewfinder screen, but this is not
a fault.

Possible messages are listed below.

Error message Meaning

ABB : NG
IRIS NOT CLOSE

ABB : NG
TIME LIMIT

ABB : NG
R (or G or B) :
OVERFLOW

The lens iris did not close;
adjustment was
impossible.
Adjustment could not be
completed within the
standard number of
attempts.
The difference between the
reference value and the
current value is so great
that it exceeds the range.
Adjustment was
impossible.

If any of the above error messages is displayed,
retry the black balance adjustment.
Keep pushing the AUTO W/B BAL switch to
BLK until “-BLACK SET-” appears after “­BLACK BALANCE-” appears. If the error
message occurs again, an internal check is
necessary.

For information about this internal check, refer to
the Maintenance Manual.

Note

If the lens cable is not firmly connected to the LENS
connector, it may not be possible to adjust the lens iris.
If this happens, the black balance will be incorrect.

Black balance memory

Values stored in memory are held until the black
balance is next adjusted.

If a memory error occurs

If the error message “: STORED DATA : NG”
flashes on the viewfinder screen when the
camcorder is turned on, the black balance and
white balance memory contents have been lost.
Adjust the black balance and white balance again.
Contact a Sony representative if this message
continues to appear even after the black balance
and white balance have been adjusted again.

For details, refer to the Maintenance Manual.

If automatic black balance adjustment
cannot be made

If the black balance adjustment cannot be
completed normally, an error message will appear
for about 3 seconds on the viewfinder screen.

Adjusting the Black Balance and the White Balance

56

Adjusting the white balance

1 Set the switches and selectors as shown

in the figure below.

2341

1 FILTER selector
2 GAIN selector: Set as low as possible.
3 OUTPUT/DCC switch: CAM
4 WHITE BAL switch: A or B

a)White balance setting values are stored in

memory B only when the WHIT E SWITCH <B>
item is set to “MEM” on the WHITE SETTING
page of the OPERATION menu.

a)

3 Place a white test card under the same

lighting conditions as for the subject to
be shot and zoom up to it.

Alternatively, any white object such as a
cloth or a wall can be used.
The absolute minimum white area is as
follows.

Rectangle centered on the screen. The
lengths of the sides are 70% of the length
and width of the screen.

The white object must be within the
rectangle and have an area of at least 10%
of the screen.

Note

Make sure there are not bright spots in the
rectangle.

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

If the setting of the GAIN selector or WHITE
BAL switch is changed, a message reporting
the new setting position appears for about 3
seconds in the setting change and adjustment
progress message display area of the
viewfinder screen.

2 Set the FILTER selector to suit the

lighting conditions as follows.

The possible settings of the FILTER selector
and their corresponding filters to be selected
are listed below.

FILTER selector (inner knob)
setting

1 CLEAR
2
3
4

If the setting of the FILTER selector is
changed, a message reporting the setting
appears for about 3 seconds in the setting
change and adjustment progress message
display area of the viewfinder screen (in
display mode 3).

ND filter

1

/4 ND

1

/16 ND

1

/64 ND

4 Adjust the lens iris.

Manually adjusted lens: set the iris to an

appropriate setting.

Lens with automatic iris: set the automatic/

manual switch on the lens to automatic.

5 Flick the AUTO W/B BAL switch to

WHT and then release the switch.

AUTO W/B BAL switch

The switch returns to the center position, and
the adjustment is executed.

During adjustment, the message “WHITE :
OP” is displayed on the viewfinder screen (in
display mode 2 or 3).

The white balance adjustment ends in about
one second with the message shown in the

Adjusting the Black Balance and the White Balance

57

following figure, and the adjustment setting
is automatically stored in the memory (A or
B) that was selected in step 1.

AWB:OK
. K

Approximate color temperature

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

of the subject

Note

If the camera has a zoom lens with an a utomatic iris,
the iris may hunt
prevent this, adjust the iris gain knob (indicated as
IG, IS, or S) on the lens.

For details, refer to the lens operation manual.

1) Hunting: Repeated brightening and darkening of
the image, resulting from repeated response to
automatic iris control.

1)

during the adjustment. To

If the automatic white balance adjustment
cannot be made

If the white balance adjustment cannot be
completed normally, an error message will appear
for about 3 seconds on the viewfinder screen.
Possible messages are listed below.

Error message Meaning

WHITE : NG
LOW LEVEL

WHITE : NG
COLOR TEMP
HIGH

WHITE : NG
COLOR TEMP LOW

WHITE : NG
TIME LIMIT

WHITE : NG
POOR WHITE
AREA
WHITE : NG
OVER LEVEL

The white video level is
too low. Either open the
lens iris or increase the
gain.
The color temperature is
too high.

The color temperature is
too low.

Adjustment could not be
completed within the
standard number of
attempts.

The white area could not
be checked.

The white video level is
too high. Either stop down
the lens iris or change the
ND filter.

If any of the above error messages is displayed,
retry the white balance adjustment. If the error
message occurs again, an internal check is
necessary.

For information about this internal check, refer to
the Maintenance Manual.

If you have no time to adjust the white
balance

Set the WHITE BAL switch to PRST.

Adjusting the Black Balance and the White Balance

58

This makes it possible to automatically set the
white balance to 5600 K (factory default value) by
pressing the COLOR TEMP. button.
The color temperature to which the white balance
is set when the COLOR TEMP. button is pressed
can be selected from among 3200K, 4300K,
5600K, and 6300K on the ASSIGNABLE SW
page of the OPERATION menu. You can also
assign color temperatures to the ASSIGN 1/3/4
switches and the RET button on the lens.

For details of automatic white balance adjustment,
see page 56.

To change the color temperature when
the ND filter is switched

You can assign electrical CC (color correction)
filters to ND filters (see page 17). This allows you

to change the color temperature automatically
when the ND filter is switched.

1 Display the WHITE FILTER page of

the MAINTENANCE menu.

M15 WHITE FILTER TOP

ND FILTER CTEMP : OFF
ND FLT CTEMP <1>: 3200K
ND FLT CTEMP 2-4: 5600K

ELECTRICAL CC<A>: 3200K
ELECTRICAL CC<B>: 4300K
ELECTRICAL CC<C>: 5600K
ELECTRICAL CC<D>: 6300K

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163

2 Select ND FILTER CTEMP, and turn

the MENU knob to display “ON”.

3 To assign an electrical CC filter to

FILTER selector position number 1,
select “ND FLT CTEMP <1>”. To
assign it to positions 2 to 4, select “ND
FLT CTEMP 2-4”.

4 Turn the MENU knob to display the

desired color temperature.

As you turn the MENU knob, the color
temperature changes as follows: 3200K y
4300K y 5600K y 6300K.

5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 as required.

To switch between electrical CC filters
with an ASSIGN switch

You can assign the function that switches
between electrical CC filters to an ASSIGN
switch. This allows you to switch between color
temperatures (3200K/4300K/5600K/6300K) that
have been assigned to up to four positions (A to
D) with each press of the ASSIGN switch.
Regardless of assignments to ASSIGN switches,
you can also switch between the color
temperatures assigned to each position from a
remote control unit.

1) When the RM-B150/B750, MSU-900/950, or RCP­750/751/920/921 is connected.

1)

1 Display the WHITE FILTER page of

the MAINTENANCE menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select the position to which to assign a

CC filter by selecting one of
“ELECTRICAL CC<A>” to
“ELECTRICAL CC <D>”, and then
turn the MENU knob to select the
desired color temperature.

As you turn the MENU knob, the color
temperature changes as follows: 3200K y
4300K y 5600K y 6300K.

To set no color temperature

Select “-----” with ELECTRICAL CC<C> or
<D> selected.
When the ASSIGN switch is pressed, the
setting for that position is not displayed. For
example, if “-----” is set for one position, then
switching between the remaining three
positions is carried out.

3 Repeat step 2 as required.

4 Assign the electrical CC filter switching

function (ELECTRICAL CC) to an
ASSIGN 1/3/4 switch, the COLOR
TEMP button, or the RET button on the
lens (see page 178).

White balance memory

Values stored in memory are held until the white
balance is next adjusted.
There are two sets of white balance memories, A
and B, and adjustments for each of the ND filters
can be automatically stored in the memory
corresponding to the setting (A or B) of the
WHITE BAL switch. The camcorder has four
built-in ND filters, so a total of eight (4 × 2)
adjustments can be stored. However, the memory
contents are not linked to the ND filter settings in
the following cases.

• When the number of memories allocated to
each of A and B is limited to one by setting the
FILTER WHT MEM item on the WHITE
SETTING page of the OPERATION menu to
OFF.

• When the electrical CC filter switching function
has been assigned to an ASSIGN switch, or
when a remote control unit has been connected.
(In these cases, the contents of white balance
memory are linked to electrical CC filter
positions (A to D).)

If the WHITE BAL switch is set to B, and on the
WHITE SETTING page of the OPERATION

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

Adjusting the Black Balance and the White Balance

59

menu, the WHITE SWITCH <B> item is set to
“ATW”, the ATW function is activated to
automatically adjust the white balance of the
picture being shot for varying lighting conditions.

If a memory error occurs

If the error message “: STORED DATA : NG”
flashes on the viewfinder screen when the
camcorder is turned on, the white balance and
black balance memory contents have been lost.
Adjust the white balance and black balance again.
Contact a Sony representative if this message
continues to appear even after the white balance

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

and black balance have been adjusted again.

For details, refer to the Maintenance Manual.

Setting the Electronic Shutter

Shutter modes

The shutter modes that can be used with the
electronic shutter and the shutter speeds that can
be selected are listed below.

Standard mode

Select this mode for shooting fast-moving
subjects with little blurring.

SYSTEM
LINE setting

1080 59.94i

720 59.94P

ECS (Extended Clear Scan) mode

Select this mode for obtaining images with no
horizontal bands of noise when shooting subjects
such as monitor screens.

System
frequency

50i

29.97P

25P

(SCAN
MODE:

59.9P)

59.94P
(SCAN
MODE:

23.9P)
50P

Shutter speed
(unit: seconds)

1

/

, 1/

, 1/

100

125

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

125

125

125

1000

1000

500

500

125

1000

1000

1000

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

120

100

, 1/

, 1/

, 1/

250

2000

250

2000

, 1/

1000

, 1/

1000

250

2000

250

2000

250

2000

1

/

500

1

/60, 1/

1

/

500

1

/40, 1/60, 1/

1

/

250

1

/

2000

1

/33, 1/50, 1/

1

/

250

1

/

2000

1

/

100

1

/

500

1

/32, 1/48, 1/50, 1/60,

1

/96, 1/

1

/

500

1

/60, 1/

1

/

500

,

,

125

,

125

,

,

,

,

,

,

Setting the Electronic Shutter

60

SYSTEM
LINE setting

1080 59.94i 60.00 to 4300

720 59.94P

SLS (slow speed shutter) mode

Select this mode for shooting subjects in low level
lighting conditions.

SYSTEM LINE
setting

1080 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16
720 2, 4, 6, 8, 16

Notes

• SLS mode cannot be selected when SCAN
MODE is set to 23.9P.

• Whatever the operating mode of the electronic
shutter, the sensitivity of the CCD decreases
with increasing shutter speed.

• When the automatic iris is used, the iris opens
wider as the shutter speed increases, thus
reducing the depth of field.

• Under artificial light, particularly fluorescent or
mercury lamps, the light intensity may appear to
be constant, but the red, green, and blue
intensities are actually changing in
synchronization with the frequency of the
power supply causing flicker. Using an
electronic shutter under such lighting could
make the flicker even worse. Color flicker is
particularly likely to happen when the power
supply frequency is 60 Hz. However, if the
power frequency is 50 Hz, setting the shutter
speed to 1/100 can reduce this flicker.

• When a bright object is shot in ECS mode in
such a manner that it fills the screen, the upper
edge of the picture may have poor quality
because of an inherent characteristic of CCDs.
Before using ECS mode, check the shooting
conditions.

System
frequency

50i 50.00 to 4700

29.97P 30.00 to 2700
25P 25.00 to 2300

(SCAN
MODE:

59.9P)

59.94P
(SCAN
MODE:

23.9P)
50P 50.00 to 4700

Shutter speed
(unit: Hz)

60.00 to 4300

24.00 to 2200

Shutter speed (unit:
frames)

• The selectable shutter speeds var y depending on
the current system frequency.

Selecting the shutter mode and shutter speed

Switching the shutter mode, and the shutter

speed in standard mode: Repeatedly flick

the SHUTTER selector to the SELECT side
(see the next section).

Switching the shutter speed in ECS mode and

SLS mode: Select ECS mode or SLS mode

with the SHUTTER selector, and then turn
the MENU knob (see page 62).

MENU knob

SHUTTER selector

You can use the SHT ENABLE page of the
OPERATION menu to narrow the range of
choice in advance, or to select in advance whether
or not you use ECS or SLS.

To set the shutter mode and standard­mode shutter speed

Once the shutter speed is selected, it is retained
even when the camcorder power is turned off.

1 Follow the procedure described in

“Selecting the display items” on page
171 to set the VF DISPLAY MODE
item to “2” or “3” on the VF DISP 1
page of the USER menu.

2 Flick the SHUTTER selector from ON

to SELECT.

The current shutter setting indication appears
for about 3 seconds in the setting change and
adjustment progress message display area of
the viewfinder screen.
Examples: “: SS : 1/250”, “: ECS : 60.0 Hz”

3 Before the shutter setting indication

disappears, flick the SHUTTER
selector down to SELECT again and

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

Setting the Electronic Shutter

61

repeat this until the desired mode or
speed appears.

When all modes and speeds are displayed,
the display changes in the following order.

Standard mode (with system frequency: 59.94i)

SLS mode

If you have changed the configuration, only
the selected modes and speeds appear.

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

• When the unit is shipped from the factory, it is
configured to display all of the modes and
speeds in “Shutter modes” on page 60, except
SLS mode. You can change this configuration
by selecting only the required modes and
speeds on the SHT ENABLE page of the
OPERATION menu (see page 134).

• Shutter speeds in standard mode can also be
switched to angle display by using SHT DISP
MODE in the CAM CONFIG 2 page of the
MAINTENANCE menu (see page 154).

ECS mode

To set the shutter speed in ECS or SLS
mode

1 Set the shutter speed mode to ECS or

SLS (see the previous item).

2 Turn the MENU knob to select the

desired frequency or number of frames.

When the RM-B150 Remote Control Unit is
connected

You can set the shutter speed of ECS or SLS with
the rotary encoder of the RM-B150.

To change the range of choice of shutter
mode and speed settings

You can reduce the time required to select the
shutter mode and speed by narrowing the choice
of settings in advance. This can be done by using
the SHT ENABLE page of the OPERATION
menu.

Note

The settings selected on the SHT ENABLE page of the
OPERATION menu become invalid when the RM-B150
or another remote control unit is connected to the
camcorder.

1 Display the SHT ENABLE page of the

OPERATION menu, and press the
MENU knob.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

022 SHT ENABLE

SHUTTER ECS : ON
SHUTTER SLS : OFF
SHUTTER 1/100 : ON
SHUTTER 1/125 : ON
SHUTTER 1/250 : ON
SHUTTER 1/500 : ON
SHUTTER 1/1000 : ON
SHUTTER 1/2000 : ON

2 Turn the MENU knob to move b to the

shutter mode or shutter speed you want,
then press the MENU knob.

b on the left of the selected item changes to

z and z on the left of the setting changes to

?.

3 Turn the MENU knob until “ON”

appears, then press the MENU knob.

z on the left of the selected item changes to

b and ? on the left of the setting changes to

z.
To set another mode or speed, return to step

2.

Note that only the shutter speeds set to “ON”
can be selected with the SHUTTER selector.

4 To end the menu operation, set the

MENU ON/OFF switch to OFF or close
the cover of the menu operating section.

The menu disappears from the screen and the
display indicating the current status of the
camcorder appears along the top and bottom
of the screen.

Setting the Electronic Shutter

62

Changing the Reference Value for Automatic Iris Adjustment

The reference value for automatic iris adjustment
can be changed to aid the shooting of clear
pictures of back-lit subjects, or to prevent blown­out highlights. The reference value for the lens
iris can be set within the following range with
respect to the standard value.

• 0.25 to 1 (increasing by increments of 0.25):
About 0.25 to 1 stop further open

• –0.25 to –1 (decreasing by increments of 0.25):
About 0.25 to 1 stop further close

Also you can set the area where light detection
occurs.

To change the reference value

(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Display the AUTO IRIS page of the

OPERATION menu, and press the
MENU knob.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

016 AUTO IRIS

2 Check that the b mark is at the IRIS

OVERRIDE position, and then press
the MENU knob.

b on the left of the selected item changes to

z and z on the left of the setting changes to

?.

4 Set the MENU ON/OFF switch to OFF.

The AUTO IRIS page disappears from the
screen.

5 Turn the MENU knob to change the

reference value.

Note

Be sure to confirm that the current shutter mode is
not ECS.

The changed reference value is retained until
the power of the camcorder is turned off.
Even if the reference value is changed, it
reverts to the standard value every time the
power is turned on.

To make the iris more open

Turn the MENU knob counterclockwise as
seen from the front of the camera.
The iris stop indicators as shown in the
following table appear in the upper part to the
left of the F number in the iris indication.

Iris stop Indicator

0.25

0.5

0.75

1

To stop down the iris

Turn the MENU knob clockwise as seen
from the front of the camera.
The iris stop indicators as shown in the
following table appear in the lower part to the
left of the F number in the iris indication.

Iris stop Indicator

–0.25

–0.5

–0.75

–1

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

3 Turn the MENU knob until “ON”

appears, then press the MENU knob.

z on the left of the selected item changes to

b and ? on the left of the setting changes to

z.
The IRIS OVERRIDE item is set to “ON”.

Changing the Reference Value for Automatic Iris Adjustment

63

Opening the lens iris

Iris opened by 1
stop (two
segments)

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

Stopping down the lens iris

When the RM-B150 Remote Control Unit is
connected

The IRIS control knob of the RM-B150 can be
used for lens iris setting. In this case, the indicator
is not displayed.

Iris opened by 0.5
stop (one segment)

Iris stopped down
by 1 stop (two
segments)

Iris stopped down
by 0.5 stop (one
segment)

To set the automatic iris window

1 Follow the procedure of steps 1 and 2

described in the previous item to
display the AUTO IRIS page.

2 Turn the MENU knob to move b to

IRIS WINDOW IND, then press the
MENU knob.

b on the left of IRIS WINDOW IND.
changes to z and z on the left of the setting
changes to ?.

3 Turn the MENU knob until “ON”

appears, then press the MENU knob.

z changes to b and ? changes to z
The currently selected auto iris window
appears on the screen.
If it is not necessary to display the auto iris
window on the screen, set to “OFF”.

4 Turn the MENU knob to move b to

IRIS WINDOW, then press the MENU
knob.

b changes to z and z changes to ?.

5 Turn the MENU knob until the desired

auto iris window appea rs, then press the
MENU knob.

The shaded parts indicate the
area where light detection

z changes to b and ? changes to z.

If you select “VARIABLE”, the following
items become effective and you can set the
window of the desired size. Set each item to
the desired size.

Item Setting

IRIS VAR WIDTH The width of the

window

IRIS VAR HEIGHT The height of the

window

IRIS VAR H POS. The position of the

window in the
horizontal direction

IRIS VAR V POS. The position of the

window in the vertical
direction.

6 Set the MENU ON/OFF switch to OFF.

The menu disappears from the screen and the
display indicating the current status of the
camcorder appears along the top and bottom
of the screen.

To counter problems with very bright
highlights

If the subject is too bright, the iris may close too
much, leaving the overall image dark, or the
highlights may be blown out. In such cases,
setting the highlight clip function on reduces the
luminance range, avoiding problems from the
automatic iris correction.
In the AUTO IRIS page of the USER menu, set
the CLIP HIGH LIGHT item to “ON”.

Changing the Reference Value for Automatic Iris Adjustment

64

Adjusting the Audio Level

Setting the AUDIO SELECT CH-1/CH-2
switches to AUTO automatically adjusts the input
levels of the audio signal to be recorded in audio
channels 1 and 2. You can also adjust the audio
level manually.
For audio channels 3 and 4, menu settings allow
you to select automatic adjustment, manual
adjustment, or fixed.

Target audio level for automatic audio level
adjustment

Make adjustment using –20 dB as the target level.
If the audio level meter shows a maximum level
of 0 dB, then it indicates that the input audio level
is excessive.

Excessive

Target input

level

input level

Manually adjusting the audio levels of the audio inputs from the AUDIO IN CH1/CH2 connectors

With the XLR connection automatic detection
function being on, when a cable is connected to
the AUDIO IN CH1 or CH2 connector, the input
from these connectors is automatically selected
for audio recording. In this case, start the
operation from step 2.

You can turn on and off the XLR connection
automatic detection function on the AUDIO-1 page
of the MAINTENANCE menu.

3

CH-3

F
R
W

2

CH-4

F
R
W

1

MIC LEVEL
control

010010

F-RUN

SET

R-RUN

CH-1

PRESET

REGEN
CLOCK

LEVEL

AUTO

MANUAL

AUDIO SELECT

AUDIO IN

FRONT
REAR

WIRELESS

CH-2

1 To adjust the signal input to the AUDIO

IN CH1 or AUDIO IN CH2 connector,
set the AUDIO IN CH-1 or AUDIO IN
CH-2 switch to REAR.

To adjust both input signals, set both
switches to REAR.

2 Set the AUDIO SELECT switch(es)

corresponding to the channel(s) selected
in step 1 to MANUAL.

3 With the LEVEL control(s) for the

channel(s) selected in step 1, adjust so
that the audio level meter shows up to
–20 dB for a normal input volume.

Correspondence between recording level
adjustments and audio level controls

On the AUDIO-3 page of the MAINTENANCE
menu, you can select which audio level control
controls the audio recording level of the input to
each of the AUDIO IN CH1/CH2 connectors. The
correspondence s between the settings of the m enu
items and the controls are as follows.
REAR1/WRR LEVEL: Audio recording level

of channel 1

Setting Control

SIDE1 LEVEL (CH-1) control (on the left)
FRONT MIC LEVEL control
F+S1 LEVEL (CH-1) control linked with

MIC LEVEL control.

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

Adjusting the Audio Level

65

REAR2/WRR LEVEL: Audio recording level

of channel 2

Setting Control

SIDE2 LEVEL (CH-2) control (on the right)
FRONT MIC LEVEL control
F+S2 LEVEL (CH-2) control linked with

MIC LEVEL control.

Note

When you have operation of the LEVEL (CH-1/CH-2)
controls and MIC LEVEL control linked together, if the
MIC LEVEL control is set to 0, the audio signals on
channels 1 and 2 cannot be recorded. Check the position

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

of the MIC LEVEL control before adjusting the LEVEL
(CH-1/CH-2) controls.

Manually adjusting the audio level of the MIC IN connector

Note

If the XLR connection automatic detection mode is on,
when the cables are connected to the AUDIO IN CH1/
CH2 connectors, the camcorder detects the connection to
the AUDIO IN CH1/CH2 connectors. Thus, the AUDIO
IN switches are internally reset to REAR and the audio
signals input to the AUDIO IN CH1/CH2 connectors are
automatically selected.
Before adjusting the audio level of the front microphone,
confirm that no cables are connected to the AUDIO IN
CH1/CH2 connectors. Alternatively, set the REAR XLR
AUTO item to “OFF” on the AUDIO-1 page of the
MAINTENANCE menu.

2 Set the AUDIO SELECT switch(es) for

the desired channel(s) selected in step 1
to MANUAL.

3 Turn the MIC LEVEL control, and

adjust so that the audio level meter
shows up to –20 dB for a normal input
volume.

Correspondence between recording level
adjustments and audio level controls

On the AUDIO-3 page of the MAINTENANCE
menu, you can select which audio level control
controls the audio recording level of the front
microphone input. The correspondences between
the settings of the menu items and the controls are
as follows.
MIC CH1 LEVEL: Audio recording level of

channel 1

Setting Control

SIDE1 LEVEL (CH-1) control (on the left)
FRONT MIC LEVEL control
F+S1 LEVEL (CH-1) control linked with

MIC LEVEL control.

MIC CH2 LEVEL: Audio recording level of

channel 2

Setting Control

SIDE2 LEVEL (CH-2) control (on the

right)
FRONT MIC LEVEL control
F+S2 LEVEL (CH-2) control linked with

MIC LEVEL control.

LEVEL

010010

F-RUN

AUTO

SET

R-RUN

MANUAL

AUDIO SELECT

CH-1

CH-2

AUDIO IN

PRESET

REGEN
CLOCK

FRONT

REAR

WIRELESS

3

1 Set either or both of the AUDIO IN

switch(es) to FRONT.

Adjusting the Audio Level

66

Note

When you have operation of the MIC LEVEL control
and LEVEL (CH-1/CH-2) controls linked toget her, if the
LEVEL (CH-1/CH-2) controls are set to 0, the audio
signals on channels 1 and 2 cannot be recorded. Check
the position of the LEVEL (CH-1/CH-2) controls before
adjusting the MIC LEVEL control.

CH-3

F
R
W

2

CH-4

F
R
W

Recording audio on channels 3 and 4

1

Selecting the recorded audio

You can select the audio recorded on audio
channels 3 and 4 with the AUDIO IN CH-3/CH­4 switches, or you can have the selection made
automatically, as follows.

To automatically select the same audio as on
channels 1 and 2

On the AUDIO-1 page of the MAINTENANCE
menu, set the AUDIO CH3/4 MODE item to “CH
1/2”.

1

2

page of the MAINTENANCE menu to
FRONT.

The levels of audio channels 3 and 4 can now
be adjusted with the MIC LEVEL control.

To set to a fixed value

In step 2 of the previous procedure “To adjust
manually”, set the menu items to FIX.

3

4

5

6

CH-3 switch

1 F: The audio signal from the front

microphone is recorded.

2 R: The audio signa l input to the AUDIO IN

CH1 connector is recorded.

3 W: The audio signal of the wireless

microphone is recorded.

CH-4 switch

4 F: Same as with the CH3 switch.
5 R: The audio signa l input to the AUDIO IN

CH2 connector is recorded.

6 W: Same as with the CH3 switch.

Note

When the LINE/AES/EBU/MIC swi tch is set to LINE or
MIC, the audio signals recorded on aud io channels 3 and
4 are not affected by the XLR automatic detection
function. They are determined by the settings of the
AUDIO IN CH-3 and CH-4 switches.

Adjusting the audio recording levels

To adjust automatically

Set AU CH34 AGC MODE on the AUDIO-2 page of the
MAINTENANCE menu to STREO or MONO.

To adjust manually

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

1 Set AU CH34 AGC MODE on the

AUDIO-2 page of the MAINTENANCE
menu to OFF.

2 Set AUDIO CH3 LEVEL (for audio

channel 3) and AUDIO CH4 LEVEL
(for audio channel 4) on the AUDIO-3

Adjusting the Audio Level

67

Setting the Time Data

S

E

N

E

Setting the timecode

The timecode setting range is from 00 : 00 : 00 :
00 to 23 : 59 : 59 : 29 (hours : minutes : seconds :
frames) for the PDW-700.

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

1

RESET/RETURN
button

3,5

4

THUMBNAIL

ESSENCE

MARK

SUB CLIP

SET

S.SEL

COUNTER RC U-BITEXPAND CHAPTER

CLIP MENU

SHIFT

BRIGHTDISPLAYRESETHOLDDISP SEL

R-RUN

REGEN
CLOCK

F-RUN

2

1 Set the DISPLAY switch to TC.

2 Set the PRESET/REGEN/CLOCK

switch to PRESET.

SET

PRESET

LEV

010

AUTO

MANUAL

AUDIO SEL

CH-1

AUDIO I

FRONT

REAR

WIRELES

F-RUN: Free run. The timecode generator

keeps running.

R-RUN: Recording run. The timecode

generator runs only while recording.

To set the drop frame mode/non-drop frame
mode

You can select the drop frame (DF) mode or non­drop frame (NDF) mo de on the TIMECODE page
of the MAINTENANCE menu.

To make the timecode consecutive

When the F-RUN/SET/R-RUN switch is set to
R-RUN, recording a number of scenes on the disc
normally produces consecutive timecode.
However, once you r emove the disc and record on
another disc, the timecode will no longer be
consecutive when you use the original disc again
for recording. In this case, to make the timecode
consecutive, set the PRESET/REGEN/CLOCK
switch to REGEN.

Saving the real Time in the Timecode

Setting the PRESET/REGEN/CLOCK switch to
CLOCK saves the real time in the timecode.
When it is necessary to set the actual time, use the
TIME/DATE page of the DIAGNOSIS menu.

For details, see “Setting the Date/Time of the
Internal Clock” on page 41.

Setting the user bits

By setting the user bits (up to 8 hexadecimal
digits), you can record user information such as
the date, time, or scene number on the timecode
track.

3 Set the F-RUN/SET/R-RUN switch to

SET.

The first (leftmost) digit of timecode flashes.

4 Use the up and down arrow buttons to

change values, and use the left and right
arrow buttons to move the flashing
digit. Repeat until all digits are set.

To reset the timecode value to 00 00 00 00

Press the RESET/RETURN button.

5 Set the F-RUN/SET/R-RUN switch to

F-RUN or R-RUN.

Setting the Time Data

68

S

E

N

E

1

RESET/RETURN button

BRIGHTDISPLAYRESETHOLDDISP SEL

COUNTER RC U-BITEXPAND CHAPTER

2,4

3

THUMBNAIL

ESSENCE

MARK

SUB CLIP

CLIP MENU

SET

S.SEL

F-RUN

R-RUN

REGEN

SHIFT

CLOCK

1 Set the DISPLAY switch to U-BIT.

2 Set the F-RUN/SET/R-RUN switch to

SET.

The first (leftmost) digit flashes.

3 Use the up and down arrow buttons to

change values, and use the left and right
arrow buttons to move the flashing
digit. Repeat until all digits are set.

To reset the user bit data to 00 00 00 00

Press the RESET/RETURN button.

SET

PRESET

LEV

010

AUTO

MANUAL

AUDIO SEL

CH-1

AUDIO I

FRONT
REAR

WIRELES

generators of other camcorders/VTRs with the
internal generator of this camcorder.

Connections for timecode
synchronization

Connect both the reference video signal and the
external timecode as illustrated below.

Example 1: Synchronizing with an external
timecode

2

1

1 GENLOCK IN
2 TC IN

a) Set GENLOCK to ON on the GENLOCK page of the

MAINTENANCE menu, if GENLOCK is set to OFF.

External timecode

Reference video signal

a)

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

4 Set the F-RUN/SET/R-RUN switch to

F-RUN or R-RUN, corresponding to the
desired operating mode for the
timecode generator.

The set user bit data will be recorded for both
LTC and VITC.

To store the user bit setting in memory

The user bit setting (apart from the real time) is
automatically retained in memory even when the
power is turned off.

Synchronizing the timecode

You can synchronize the internal timecode
generator of this camcorder with an external
generator for the regeneration of an external
timecode. You can also synchronize the timecode

Setting the Time Data

69

Example 2: Interconnecting a number of
camcorders or timecode synchronization

1

2

Reference camcorder

To lock the timecode to an external
source

3

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

4

1

2

3

4

1

2

To another camcorder to be synchronized

1 TEST OUT
2 TC OUT
3 TC IN
4 GENLOCK IN

a) Set GENLOCK to ON on the GENLOCK page of the

MAINTENANCE menu, if GENLOCK is set to OFF.

a)

1

4
3

THUMBNAIL

ESSENCE

MARK

SUB CLIP

SET

S.SEL

BRIGHTDISPLAYRESETHOLDDISP SEL

COUNTER RC U-BITEXPAND CHAPTER

CLIP MENU

F-RUN

R-RUN

REGEN

SHIFT

CLOCK

SET

PRESET

LEVEL

0100

AUTO

MANUAL

AUDIO SELECT

CH-1

AUDIO IN

FRONT
REAR

WIRELESS

2

GENLOCK

SDI IN

(OPTION)

TEST
OUT

TC IN

IN

TC
OUT

5

1 Turn on the POWER switch.

2 Set the PRESET/REGEN/CLOCK

switch to PRESET.

CH-2

Setting the Time Data

70

3 Set the F-RUN/SET/R-RUN switch to

F-RUN.

4 Set the DISPLAY switch to TC.

5 Supply a timecode signal and a

reference video signal complying with
the SMPTE standard and in proper
phase relationship, to the TC IN
connector and to the GENLOCK IN
connector, respectively.

This operation synchronizes the internal
timecode generator with the external
timecode. After about 10 seconds, you can
disconnect the external timecode without
losing the synchronization. However, there
will be noise on the recorded image if you
connect or disconnect the timecode signal
during recording.

Notes

• When you finish the above procedure, the internal
timecode is immediately synchronized with the
external timecode and the counter display will show
the value of the external timecode. However, wait for
a few seconds until the sync generator stabilizes before
recording.

• If the frequency of the reference video signal is not the
same as the system frequency of the camcorder, the
camera cannot be correctly genlocked. In such a case,
the internal timecode is not correctly synchronized
with the external timecode.

• When the GENLOCK ON/OFF item is set to OFF on
the GENLOCK page of the MAINTENANCE menu,
the timecode cannot be synchronized with the
reference video signal. In this case, set the GENLOCK
item to ON on the GENLOCK page of the
MAINTENANCE menu.

User bit settings during timecode
synchronization

When the timecode is synchronized, only the time
data is synchronized with the external timecode
value. Therefore, each camcorder can have its
own user bit settings.
You can lock the users bits of this camcorder to
the user bits of external timecode by setting EXT­LK UBIT in the TIMECODE page of the
MAINTENANCE menu to EXT.

To release the timecode synchronization

First disconnect the external timecode, then set
the F-RUN/SET/R-RUN switch to R-RUN.

To change the power supply from the battery
pack to an external power supply during
timecode synchronization

To maintain a continuous power supply, connect
the external power supply to the DC IN connector
before removing the battery pack. You may lose
timecode synchronization if you remove the
battery pack first.

Camera synchronization during timecode
synchronization

During timecode synchronization, the camera is
genlocked to the reference video signal input
from the GENLOCK IN connector.

Chapter 3 Adjustments and Settings for Shooting

Setting the Time Data

71

Chapter4 Shooting

Handling Discs

Discs used for recording and playback

The following Professional Discs1) can be used
for recording and playback on this unit:

Chapter 4 Shooting

• PFD23A (capacity 23.3 GB)

• PFD50DLA (capacity 50.0 GB)

1) Professional Disc is a trademark of Sony Corporation.

Notes

• It is not possible to use the following discs for
recording or playback on this unit:

-Blu-ray Disc

- Professional Disc for Data

• PFD50DLA discs can be used only by XDCAM
devices with the DL mark (see the following
illustration). They cannot be used by XDCAM devices
without this mark.

• Do not disassemble the cartridge.

• The supplied adhesive labels are recommended
for indexing discs. Apply the label in the correct
position.

Storage

• Do not store discs where they may be subjected
to direct sunlight, or in other places where the
temperature or humidity is high.

• Do not leave cartridges where dust may be able
to gain ingress.

• Store cartridges in their cases.

Care of the discs

• Remove dust and dirt on the outside of a
cartridge using a soft dry cloth.

• If condensation forms, allow ample time to dry
before use.

Write-protecting discs

To protect the content recorded on the disc from
accidental erasure, move the Write Inhibit tab on
the lower surface of the disc in the direction o f the
arrow, as shown in the following figure.

Lower surface of the disc

Write Inhibit tab

DL mark

Notes on handling

Handling

The Professional Disc is housed in a cartridge,
and is designed to allow handling free of risk
from dust or fingerprints. However, if the
cartridge is subjected to a severe shock, for
example by dropping it, this can result in damage
or scratching of the disc. If the disc is scratched,
it may be impossible to record video/audio, or to
play back the content recorded on the disc. The
discs should be handled and stored carefully.

• Do not touch the surface of the disc itself within
the cartridge.

• Deliberately opening the shutter may cause
damage.

Handling Discs

72

E

V

A

S

Slide in the direction of the arrow

Write Inhibit tab settings

SAVE SAVE

Recording enabled Recording disabled

You can also write protect-individual clips. For
details, see “Locking (write-protecting) clips” on
page 111.

Loading and unloading a disc

1

To load a disc

1 Turn on the POWER switch.

LCD monitor

POWER switch

Note

If there is condensation inside the VDR section, the
message “HUMID” appears in the status display on
the color LCD . If this happens, wait until the
indicator goes off before going on to step 2.

2 Press the EJECT button.

This opens the lid of the disc compartment.

EJECT button

2

V indication on the outside

The disc is loaded.

Note

To insert the disc correctly, make sure that the
camcorder is in the upright position (the grip
upside, the bottom downside).

To unload a disc

With the power supply on, press the EJECT
button to open the disc compartment lid and eject
the disc, then remove the disc. If you are not
going to insert another disc, close the disc
compartment lid.

To unload a disc when the power supply is off

If the battery is exhausted, it is not possible to
remove the disc by pressing the EJECT button. In
such cases, use the following emergency
procedure to remove the disc manually.

1 Turn off the POWER switch.

2 Carry out the operation shown in the

following figure.

Chapter 4 Shooting

3 1 Insert the disc in the V direction, and

2 close the disc compartment lid
manually.

1 Open this rubber cover.
2 Using a screwdriver or similar

implement, slide the black metal plate
visible inside, in the direction of the
rear of the camcorder.
The disc compartment lid opens. A red
Phillips screw is visible inside the
rubber cap.

3 Use a Phillips screwdriver to turn the

screw counterclockwise (the direction
shown on the rubber cap).
This ejects the disc.

4 Close the rubber cover firmly.

Handling Discs

73

Chapter 4 Shooting

You need not return the screw to its original
position after taking out the disc. Turning on the
power makes the disc compartment mechanism
operable again.

Note

Do not touch the disc or try to forcibly remove it until it
has been completely ejected.

Formatting a disc

When using a new disc

An unused disc requires no formatting operation.
The disc is automatically formatted so that it is
ready to use when loaded into this unit.

To format a disc on which material is
recorded

See page 123 for details of formatting a disc.

Note

When a recorded disc is formatted, all the data on the
disc is erased. (Even locked clips (see page 111) are also
erased.)

Handling of discs when recording does not end normally (salvage function)

Recording processing does not end normally if,
for example, the battery pack is removed during
recording, or if the power cord is disconnected
during recording. Because the file system is not
updated, video and audio data recorded in real
time is not recognized as files and clip contents
recorded up to that point are lost.
However, this unit has a salvage function which
can hold losses to the minimum by reconstructing
clips on such discs.
Note that no recorded clip contents are lost when
the POWER switch is set to OFF and when
battery exhaustion is detected, because the unit
does not become powered off until after the end
of recording processing.

Notes

• Do not disconnect the battery pack or power cord until
recording processing has finished and the ACCESS
indicator has gone out.

• This function salvages as much recorded material as
possible after an unforeseen accident, but 100%
restoration cannot be guaranteed.

• Even when this function is used, it is not possible to
recover data from immediately before the interruption
of recording. The amount of data lost is as follows.

- Quick salvage: From 2 to 4 seconds of data before

the interruption of recording.

- Full salvage: From 4 to 6 seconds of data before the

interruption of recording.
(More data may be lost when the unit is subject to
vibrations, when you switch frequently between
recording and paused, and when you use functions
such as Picture Cash.)

Quick salvage

When the unit is powered on again after a
recording interruption due to a power
interruption, with the disc still loaded in the unit,
clips are reconstructed on the basis of backup data
stored in nonvolatile memory and markers
recorded on the disc. Processing time is about 5
seconds.

Full salvage

When recording on an XDCAM device is
interrupted because of a power interruption, and a
disc is manually ejected from that device with the

74

Handling Discs

power off, clips are reconstructed on the basis of
markers recorded on the disc when the disc is
loaded in this unit. Therefore, processing takes
longer than for a quick salvage (about 30 seconds,
although it depends on the state of the disc).
Proceed as follows to perform a full salvage.

1 Insert the disc on which recording did

not end normally.

The following salvage message appears.

SALVAGE

TO RECORD ON THE
DISC, IT IS NECESSARY
TO EXECUTE SALVAGE.

SALVAGE OK?

YES NO

2 Turn the MENU knob to move b to

“YES”, and press the MENU knob.

Salvage processing starts, and the message
“EXECUTING” appears.

A results message appears when the
processing finishes.

• If the salvage succeeded, the message
“COMPLETED” appears.

• If the salvage failed, the message
“INCOMPLETED”appears. Clips for
which recording did not end normally are
lost.

To exit without salvaging

Select NO in step 1 to exit without performing
salvage processing.
However, the status of the disc does not change.
Salvage is still required to recover the clips for
which recording did not end normally. The
salvage message will appear again when that disc
is inserted again, or when the camcorder is
powered on again.

Notes

• If salvage processing is not done, sections
which were recorded normally can be played
back, but no new recording can be done on the
disc.

• Full salvage of discs recorded by this camcorder
can be performed with the PDW-HD1500 or
PDW-700. Full salvage cannot be performed
with any other XDCAM device. The following
message may appear when you insert a disc that

was not recorded normally. The “XXXX” in the
message is a code for XDCAM devices that can
salvage the disc. Refer to the table below and
use one of the indicated devices to salvage the
disc.

SALVAGE

DISC CANNOT BE
RECORDED.

FORMAT DISC OR CONTACT
SERVICE TO RUN CLIP
SALVAGE PROGRAM.
(XXXX)

PUSH ESCAPE SWITCH
OR ROTARY ENCODER.

Code (XXXX) Model name

0002 PDW-1500/530/510/R1

PDW-F70/F350/F330

0200 PDW-F75/F355/F335

a)

0300

a) Does not appear on this unit.

PDW-HD1500/700

To cancel the message and return to normal
operation, exchange the disc for a usable disc
and flick the CANCEL/PRST/ESCAPE switch
to the ESCAPE side, or press the MENU knob.

Chapter 4 Shooting

Handling Discs

75

Basic Procedure for

162

345

Shooting

This section describes the basic procedures for
shooting and recording.
Before a shooting session, ensure that the
camcorder is functioning properly.

For details, see “Testing the Camcorder Before
Shooting” on page 209.

4 Check that there are no obstructions

such as cables near the disc
compartment lid. Then press the
EJECT button to open the disc
compartment lid.

5 After checking that the disc is not write-

protected (see page 72), load it and close
the disc compartment lid.

Basic procedure for shooting: from
adjusting the black balance and white
balance to stopping recording

Basic procedure for shooting: from power
supply to disc loading

Chapter 4 Shooting

45 1

2

3

1 Attach a fully charged battery pack.

For details, see “ Preparing a Power Supply” on
page 35.

Switch settings

After turning on the power and loading a disc, set
the switches and selectors as shown below and
begin operation.

1 DISPLAY: ON
2 Iris: Automatic
3 Zoom: Automatic
4 OUTPUT/DCC: CAM, DCC: ON
5 F-RUN/SET/R-RUN: F-RUN or R-RUN

(set as needed)

6 AUDIO SELECT CH-1/CH-2: AUTO

2 Set the POWER switch to ON.

3 Press the D ISP SEL/EXPAND button to

switch the LCD monitor to status
display, and check that the following
conditions are met.

• The HUMID indicator is not showing.
If it is, wait until it disappears.

• The battery status indicator shows at least
five segments (x).
If it does not, replace the battery pack with
a fully charged one.

Basic Procedure for Shooting

76

Shooting

5,6 4312

1 Flick the AUTO W/B BAL switch to

BLK to adjust the black balance.

For details of black balance adjustment, see
page 55.

2 Select the CC filter and ND filter to

match the lighting conditions, and
adjust the white balance.

For details, see “Adjusting the white balance”
on page 56.

3 Aim the camera at the subject and

adjust the focus and zoom.

4 If necessary, set the electronic shutter

for an appropriate mode and speed.

For details, see “Setti ng the Electronic Shutter”
on page 60.

5 To start recording, press the REC

START button or the VTR button on
the lens.

If the recording start/stop function is
assigned to one of the ASSIGN 1/3/4
switches, COLOR TEMP. button, or RET
button on the lens, you can also use this
switch.

On how to assign functions to the ASSIGN
switches, see page 178.

During recording, the REC indicator lights in
the viewfinder. Perform zooming and focus
control, if necessary.

Note

During recording (while the ACCESS indicator is
lit) do not remove the battery pack. If you do, the
internal processing for recording may not finish
properly, which may cause the last few seconds of
recording to be lost.

For details, see “Handling of discs when
recording does not end normally (salvage
function)” on page 74.

6 To stop recording, press the REC

START button or the VTR button on
the lens again.

The REC indicator in the viewfinder goes
off.
The material recorded from step 5 to step 6 is
saved as a single clip.

To check the last two seconds of the
recording (recording review)

If you press the RET button on the lens while
recording is paused, the last two seconds of
the recording is played back. If you hold
down the RET button, a low-speed reverse
search begins at a position two seconds
before the recording end position. When you
release the RET button, the reverse search
stops and playback in the forward direction
begins. After playback, the camcorder is
ready to start recording again.
By assigning the the same function as that of
the RET button on the lens to the ASSIGN 1/
3/4 switch or COLOR TEMP. button, you
can use the switch in the same way as the lens
RET button.

On how to assign functions to the ASSIGN
switches, see page 178.

7 Repeat steps 5 and 6 as required for

shooting.

Each time you repeat steps 5 and 6, successive
clips are recorded on the disc.

REC

START

Clip 1

REC

STOP

REC
START

Clip 2

REC

STOP

Clip 3

REC
START

REC

STOP

Chapter 4 Shooting

Basic Procedure for Shooting

77

Notes

• It is not possible to record a clip shorter than 2 seconds.
If you stop recording within 2 seconds of starting, this
results in a 2-second clip.
If you stop recording and restart within 2 seconds of
the original start, this creates a single continuous clip
from the original start time.

• The maximum num ber of clips that can be recorded on
a single disc is 300. If an attempt is made to record
more than 300 clips, the error message “MAX # Clips”
appears, even if there is free capacity on the disc.

Playback control buttons

During recording, the playback control buttons
(EJECT, F REV, F FWD, NEXT, PREV, PLAY/
PAUSE, STOP) have no effect.

Playing back the recorded clip

Chapter 4 Shooting

Normal playback

By pressing the PLAY/PAUSE button, you can
review any length of recording on the viewfinder
screen in black and white or in color on the LCD
monitor. There are two other ways to review the
recording.
Recording review: You can view the last two

seconds of the recording on the viewfinder
screen in black and white or in color on the
LCD monitor.

Viewing color playback on a video monitor:

You can view the recording in color on a
color video monitor without the need for any
external adaptor.

You can also view palyback video during a fast
forward or reverse search.

For details about the switches and controls used to
select the audio output signal and to adjust the audio
level, see page 18 and page 26.

To freeze a picture during playback

The following operation can also be done from
the RM-B150/B750 Remote Control Unit.

1 Press the PLAY/PAUSE button to start

playback.

2 Press the PLAY/PAUSE button again at

the instant when you want to freeze the
picture.

The playback pauses and a frozen picture
appears.

The timecode of the frozen frame is
displayed in the counter display and the
PLAY/PAUSE indicator now flashes (one
flash/second).

To restart playback

Press the PLAY/PAUSE button once again.

To display camera video in the
viewfinder during playback (Live & Play
function)

During playback, the viewfinder normally
displays the playback video. But you can enable
this function to view live camera video instead.
This is a convenient way to frame the next shot
and adjust the focus and exposure while viewing
recorded video on the LCD monitor or an external
monitor.
(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move the b mark to the
desired item.)

1 Display the OUTPUT 2 page of the

OPERATION menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select LIVE & PLAY, and then turn the

MENU knob to display “ON”.

The camera video appears in the viewfinder,
even during playback.
You can still check the playback video on the
LCD monitor. Playback signals are output
from the video output connectors.

Disc playback start position

Although this unit uses optical discs, it is
designed to offer the most convenient features of
tape playback by VTRs. One of these is the
playback start position, which works in the same
way as with tape, as described below.

After playback stop

The unit stops at the position where the STOP
button was pressed.
Press the PLAY/PAUSE button to resume
playback at the stop position.

After recording

The unit stops at the position where recording
ended.

Basic Procedure for Shooting

78

To play back a clip, press the PREV button to
move to the start frame of any clip, or press the
F REV button to move to any position.

After disc insertion

The unit stops at the position of the disc when it
was most recently ejected.
Press the PLAY/PAUSE button to resume
playback at the most recent position.
The playback position is saved to the disc when
the disc is ejected, which allows playback to start
at that position whenever it is loaded into any
XDCAM player.

Note

The playback position is not recorded to the disc if the
disc is write-protected.

Deteriorating playback conditions

Deteriorating playback may be due to the
following causes.

• Scratches and dust on the disc surface
This includes fingerprints, dust from the air, tar
from cigarette smoke, and so on.
Scratches and soiling which occur before
recording are not a problem because they are
registered in advance as defects, and recording
avoids them. However, scratches and soiling
which occur after recording can lead to
deteriorating playback conditions.

• Aging of disc recording layers
Over several decades, the recording layers of
optical discs can age and cause deteriorating
playback conditions.

• Deteriorating laser diodes performance
The performance of the laser diodes used in
optical heads can worsen with age, leading to
deteriorating playback conditions.

Refer to the Maintenance Manual for an
approximate guide to when it is time to replace
optical heads.

To prevent playback conditions from
deteriorating

Pay attention to the following points when
handling discs.

• Do not open disc cartridges and touch discs
directly with your hands.

• Do not store for long periods in locations which
are dusty or exposed to air circulated by fans.

• Do not store for long periods under high
temperatures or in locations exposed to direct
sunlight.

If playback conditions have deteriorated

Read errors occur when playback conditions
continue to deteriorate.
When a read error occurs, the message “DISC
ERROR!” appears, the video freezes, and the
audio output is suppressed.
If this happens, check the following points.

Whether the disc displays the same playback

condition on other XDCAM devices: If so,

the surface of the disc may be dirty or
scratched, or the performance of the
recording layers on the disc may have
worsened due to age. Do not use discs with
these symptoms.

Whether every disc inserted into an XDCAM

device displays the same playback
conditions: If so, the performance of the

laser diodes may have deteriorated. Check
the total optical output time.

Deleting the recorded clip

For details, see “Deleting clips” on page 112.

Chapter 4 Shooting

Basic Procedure for Shooting

79

Advanced Operations for Shooting

Recording essence marks

Shot marks and other essence marks can be
recorded on the disc.
Recording essence marks for scenes containing
important images and sounds enables quick
access to the marked points. This increases
editing efficiency.

To record a shot mark using the RET
button on the lens

Chapter 4 Shooting

To make it possible to record shot marks using the
RET button on the lens, carry out the following
procedure.
(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Display the ESSENCE MARK page of

the MAINTENANCE menu.

?M11 ESSENCE MARK TOP

RET SHOT MARK 1 : ON
RET SHOT MARK 2 : ON

INDEX PIC. POS : 0SEC

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select the essence mark to be recorded,

and press the MENU knob to display
“ON”.

3 Repeat the step 2, as necessary.

To record shot mark 1/2

When the camcorder is in recording or playback
mode, operate the lens RET button as follows.

Shot mark 1: Press the RET button once.
Shot mark 2: Press the RET button twice in rapid

succession.

“ShotMark1” or “ShotMark2” appears in the
viewfinder screen for about one second near the
timecode display.
If the SHOT MARK 1 or SHOT MARK 2
recording function has been assigned to one of the
ASSIGN 1/3/4 switches and COLOR TEMP.
button, you can also use that switch to record a
SHOT MARK 1 or SHOT MARK 2 essence
mark.

On how to assign functions to the ASSIGN switches,
see page 178.

Setting clip flags with switches

You can set three types of clip flags (OK/NG/
KEEP) during recording, immediately after
recording, or during playback. Setting these flags
in each clip that you record makes it easy for
editors and other colleagues to find and select the
clips they need.
You can use switches on the unit to set these
flags. But before you can do so, you need to
assign the corresponding flag functions to the
ASSIGN 1/3/4 switches, the COLOR TEMP
button, or the RET button on the lens (see page

178).

To set a clip flag

During recording, im mediately after recording, or
during playback (including search and still
picture playback), press the button to which the
flag function has been assigned. Press the button
once at the position where you want to set the
flag.
The specified flag is set, and “*** ClpFlg” (***:
OK, NG, or KEEP) appears near the timecode
display in the viewfinder for about three seconds.

To clear a clip flag

During recording or playback, press the button to
which the flag function has been assigned. Press
the button twice in rapid succession.
The flag is cleared, and “ClpFlg DEL.” appears
for about three seconds.

You can also set and clear clip flags from a GUI
screen. For details, see “Setting clip flags”
(page 111).

Advanced Operations for Shooting

80

Setting the thumbnail image at recording time

When you record a clip, you can specify which
frame to use as the clip thumbnail image (see
page 95).
(The factory default setting is to use the first
frame in the clip as the thumbnail.)
For example, if all clips have the same image in
their first frames, you can specify a frame a few
seconds after the start of the clip, so that all
thumbnails will not show the same image.
(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Display the ESSENCE MARK page of

the MAINTENANCE menu, and press
the MENU knob.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select INDEX PIC. POS, and press the

MENU knob.

3 Turn the MENU knob to select the

desired time.

lens to start recording. However, the number of
seconds actually recorded from the Picture Cache
may be shorter immediately after the setting of
the VDR SAVE/STBY switch is changed, and in
the special situations explained in the following
notes.

Notes

• Storage of images to memory begins after you select
Picture Cache mode. If you begin recoding
immediately after selecting Picture Cache mode,
images from before the selection will not be recorded.

• During playback, recording review or GUI screen
operations, no data is saved to the Picture Cache
memory. Thus it is not possible to use this function to
rerecord the last few seconds of material from
playback or recording review.

To set the Picture Cache mode/Picture Cache
time

(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Display the REC FUNCTION page of

the OPERATION menu.

005 REC FUNCTION TOP

CACHE/INTVAL REC: OFF

Chapter 4 Shooting

4 Press the MENU knob.

Starting a shoot with a few seconds of pre-stored picture data (Picture Cache function)

The camcorder has a large capacity internal
memory, in which you can cache the last few
seconds (maximum 30 seconds) of captured
video and audio, so that recording starts from a
point just before you press the REC START
button or the VTR button on the lens.

Setting the Picture Cache mode/Picture
Cache time

To record in Picture Cache mode, you need to
turn on Picture Cache mode and set the picture
data storage time (Picture Cache time) using the
USER menu.
The Picture Cache time determines the number of
seconds recorded from the Picture Cache,
counting back from the time when you press the
REC START button or the VTR button on the

DISC EXCHG CACHE: OFF

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select CACHE REC, and turn the

MENU knob to display CACHE.

3 Select CACHE REC TIME, and turn

the MENU knob to display the desired
Picture Cache time.

As you turn the MENU knob, the Picture
Cache time change s as follows: 0-2s y 2-4s
y 4-6s y 6-8s y 8-10s y 18-20s y
28-30s.

The Picture Cache mode settings once made
continue to be effective until changed.
You can assign the Picture Cache on/off function
to one of the ASSIGN 1/2/3/4 switches, COLOR
TEMP. button, and RET button on the lens.

For details, see “Assigning functions to ASSIGN
switches” on page 178.

Advanced Operations for Shooting

81

Notes

• You can do a menu operation to change the Picture
Cache time while the camcorder is in recording mode.
However, the new setting takes effect only after the
recording is finished.

• In Picture Cache mode, the internal timecode generator
operating mode is always F-RUN regardless of the
setting of the F-RUN/SET/R-RUN switch.

Camcorder operations in Picture Cache mode

The recording procedure in Picture Cache mode
is basically the same as that for normal recording.
However, note the following differences.

• When you record in Picture Cache mode, the
picture you are shooting now is recorded to disc
after the picture data stored in memory (equal to
the Picture Cache time) is recorded to disc. For
this reason, disc access may continue for a short
time after you press the REC START button to

Chapter 4 Shooting

stop recording. During this time, the playback
control buttons are disabled, as in recording
mode. Also, if you press the REC START
button or the VTR button on the lens to restart
recording during this time, a separate clip is
recorded.

• When you press the REC START button or the
VTR button on the lens to restart recording
during disc access, the start point of the
recorded clip may be later than the Picture
Cache time, especially when there are a large
number of clips recorded on the disc. In Picture
Cache mode, you should avoid stop and start
recording operations in quick succession.

• The time disc access stops after the REC
START button is pressed equals the Picture
Cache time. However, if you start recording
within the Picture Cache time immediately after
selecting Picture Cache mode, changing the
Picture Cache time or performing playback or
recording review, the picture data for the
duration of the Picture Cache time will not be
stored in memory. Thus, the time disc access
stops after the STOP button is pressed becomes
shorter than the Picture Cache time.

• In Picture Cache mode, you cannot set the F­RUN/SET/R-RUN switch to SET to make
timecode settings. To make timecode settings,
first exit Picture Cache mode.

When power is lost during recording in Picture
Cache mode

• If the POWER switch is turned off during
recording in Picture Cache mode, the
camcorder gets powered off after disc access

has continued for a few seconds so that the
picture at the moment when the POWER switch
is turned off is recorded.

• If you remove the batter y, pull out the DC cable,
or cut power to the AC adaptor during recording
in Picture Cache mode, video and audio stored
in memory will be lost without being recorded
to the disc. For this reason, make sure you do
not replace the battery while recording.

Time-lapse video (Interval Rec function)

Using the memory in the camcorder, you can
capture time-lapse video. There are two modes
for this function, which is known as “Interval
Rec”.
Auto Interval Rec mode: In Auto Interval Rec

mode, pictures are automatically shot a frame
(two frames when the recording format is set
to 720p) at a time at the specified interval and
stored in memory. To use this function, you
must set the total time for shooting (TAKE
TOTAL TIME) and the length of time for
recording on the disc (REC TIME).

Manual Interval Rec mode: A specified number

of frames (NUMBER OF FRAME) is
recorded when you press the REC START
button or the lens VTR button.
There are two Manual Interval Rec modes: a
single shot mode in which recording is done
once with each press of the button, and a
consecutive mode in which recording is done
repeatedly at a specified interval after the
button is pressed.

A pre-lighting function is available in Auto
Interval Rec mode and the consecutive mode of
Manual Interval Rec mode. This function
automatically turns on the light before recording
starts, which allows you to record pictures under
stable light and color temperature conditions.

Note

Interval Rec settings cannot be made while this unit is in
the following states.

• The disc exchange cache function is enabled.

• SCAN MODE on the FORMAT page of the
OPERATION menu is set to “23.9P”.

Advanced Operations for Shooting

82

Operation limitations during recording

Item Description

(i.LINK)

S400 connector
Time code The internal time code

Audio signals Not recorded.
Playback control

buttons

Menu operations The settings of the Interval Rec-

When the
camcorder power
is switched off

Cannot be used.

generator runs in R-RUN mode
regardless of how the F-RUN/
SET/R-RUN switch is set.

• Auto Interval Rec mode and

the consecutive mode of
Manual Interval Rec mode

The EJECT, F REV, F FWD,
NEXT, PREV, PLAY/PAUSE
and STOP buttons are disabled.
To use these buttons, stop
recording by pressing the REC
START button or the VTR
button on the lens.

• The single shot mode of

Manual Interval Rec mode

The F REV, F FWD, NEXT,
PREV, PLAY/PAUSE, and
STOP buttons are disabled. To
use these buttons, exit the
Interval Rec mode by pressing
the EJECT button.

related items on the REC
FUNCTION page of the
OPERATION menu cannot be
changed. To change the settings,
do either of the following.

• Auto Interval Rec mode and

the consecutive mode of
Manual Interval Rec mode

Stop recording by pressing the
REC START button or the VTR
button on the lens.

• The single shot mode of

Manual Interval Rec mode

Exit the Interval Rec mode by
pressing the EJECT button.

• When you set the POWER
switch to OFF, the camcorder
will switch off by itself after
disc access has continued for a
few seconds to record the
picture data stored in memory.

• If you remove the battery,
unplug the DC cable, or cut
power to the AC adaptor, picture
data stored before recording
stops (a maximum of ten
seconds) may be lost. Take care
when replacing the battery.

Auto Interval Rec mode settings and
shooting

To make settings

1 Display the REC FUNCTION page of

the OPERATION menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select CACHE/INTVAL REC, and

turn the MENU knob to display
“A.INT”.

005 REC FUNCTION TOP

CACHE/INTVAL REC: A.INT
TAKE TOTAL TIME : 5MIN
REC TIME : 5SEC
PRE-LIGHTING : OFF

DISC EXCHG CACHE: OFF

As you turn the MENU knob, the setting
changes as follows: OFF y CACHE y
A.INT y M.INT.

3 Select TAKE TOTAL TIME, and turn

the MENU knob to select the desired
total time for shooting.

As you turn the MENU knob, the setting
changes as follows: 5MIN y 10MIN y
15MIN y 20MIN y 30MIN y 40MIN

y 50MIN y 1H y 2H y 3H y 4H
y 5H y 7H y 10H y 15H y 20H
y 30H y 40H y 50H y 70H y

100H.
Here MIN means minutes (5MIN is 5
minutes) and H means hours (1H is one
hour).

4 Select REC TIME, and turn the MENU

knob to select the desired time to be
recorded on the disc.

As you turn the MENU knob, the setting
changes as follows: 5SEC y 10SEC y
15SEC y 20SEC y 30SEC y 40SEC
y 50SEC y 1MIN ... 85MIN.
Here SEC means seconds (5SEC is 5
seconds) and MIN means minutes (1MIN is
one minute).
You cannot set a REC TIME that is more
than one thirtieth of TAKE TOTAL TIME.

Chapter 4 Shooting

Advanced Operations for Shooting

83

The setting value changes within the range
that can be set.
For example: When TAKE TOTAL TIME is
set to 1H, the maximum value of REC TIME
is 2 MIN. (60 minutes divided by 30 gives 2
minutes.)

5 As required, select PRE-LIGHTING,

and turn the MENU knob to select the
lighting on-time before recording starts.

As you turn the MENU knob, the setting
changes as follows: OFF y 2SEC y
5SEC y 10SEC.

Note

Set the LIGHT switch on the camcorder to AUTO
to turn on the light before recording. The light
switch must also be set to ON. With these settings,

Chapter 4 Shooting

the light turns on and off automatically. However,
the light remains on continuously if the off time is 5
seconds or less.
When the LIGHT switch is set to MANUAL and
the light switch is set to ON, the light remains on
continuously. (The light does not turn on and off
automatically.)

When the setting is completed, the message
“AUTO INTERVAL **M**S” appears along the
bottom of the viewfinder screen. “**M**S”
indicates the shooting interval.
For example, the message “AUTO INTERVAL
00M04S” indicates that the shooting interval is
four seconds.

The camcorder exits Auto Interval Rec mode
whenever it is powered off. However, the TAKE
TOTAL TIME, REC TIME, and PRE­LIGHTING settings are maintained. You do not
need to set them again the next time you use Auto
Interval Rec mode.

To shoot and record

1 After performing the basic procedures

for shooting and recording, following
the instructions in “Basic Procedure for
Shooting” (page 76), secure the
camcorder so that it will not move.

2 Press the REC START button or the

VTR button on the lens.

LIGHTING function, recording starts after
the light is switched on.
The actual recording to disc begins when the
camcorder has saved about ten seconds of
video in memory, so disc access is
intermittent.
While recording in Auto Interval Rec mode,
the TALLY (green tally) indicator in the
viewfinder flashes (4 flashes/second) and the
message “AUTO INTERVAL **M**S”
flashes on the viewfinder screen.
When the camcorder is capturing the picture
in memory, the REC (recording, red tally)
indicator in the viewfinder lights.
After the length of time for recording on the
disc (REC TIME) has elapsed, the camcorder
automatically stops recording.

To interrupt shooting

Press the REC START button or the VTR button
on the lens.
Disc access may occur for recording picture data
already stored in memory.

To continue shooting

Press the REC START button or the VTR button
on the lens again.

To exit Auto Interval Rec mode

Do either of the following.

• Set the POWER switch to OFF.

• Set CACHE/INTVAL REC to OFF on the REC
FUNCTION page of the OPERATION menu.

Time required for shooting and time required for
recording on the disc

Auto Interval Rec mode is effective for shooting
objects that move very slowly. To use this
function, you need to set the total time for
shooting (TAKE TOTAL TIME) and the length
of time for recording on the disc (REC TIME).
The time required for shooting is the time
required to capture the very slowly moving
subject, and the camcorder must be arranged so
that during this time the subject is always in the
frame.
The disc recording time indicates the running
time of the completed recording. The camcorder
calculates the time-lapse interval from these two
times.

The camcorder starts recording in Auto
Interval Rec mode. When you use the PRE-

Advanced Operations for Shooting

84

Total time for shooting (TAKE TOTAL TIME)

Shooting interval

Time for recording on the disc
(REC TIME)

Manual Interval Rec mode settings and
shooting

Manual Interval Rec has the following two
modes.
Single shot mode: Each time the REC START

button or VTR button on the lens is pressed,
the camcorder captures to memory a single
shot consisting of the specified number of
video frames.

Consecutive mode: Once the REC START

button or VTR button on the lens is pressed,
the camcorder captures consecutive shots to
memory at the specified interval, with each
shot consisting of the specified number of
video frames.

To make settings

1 Display the REC FUNCTION page of

the OPERATION menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select CACHE/INTVAL REC, and

turn the MENU knob to display
“M.INT”.

005 REC FUNCTION TOP

CACHE/INTVAL REC: M.INT
NUMBER OF FRAME : 1
TRIGGER INTERVAL: M

DISC EXCHG CACHE: OFF

As you turn the MENU knob, the setting
changes as follows: OFF y CACHE y
A.INT y M.INT.
When M. INT appears, the camcorder is in
Manual Interval Rec mode and the TALLY
(green tally) indicator in the viewfinder
flashes.

3 Select NUMBER OF FRAME, and turn

the MENU knob to select the desired
number of frames to be recorded in
each shot.

As you turn the MENU knob, the setting
changes as follows: 1 y 3 y 6 (when
SYSTEM LINE is set to 720 and REC
FORMAT is set to HD422 50 , HD420 HQ, or
HD420 SP: 2 y 6 y 12).

4 Select TRIGGER INTERVAL, and

turn the MENU knob to select the
desired trigger mode or length of
interval.

As you turn the MENU knob, the setting
changes as follows: M y 1SEC y 2SEC

y 3SEC y 4SEC y 5SEC y 6SEC
y 7SEC y 8SEC y 9SEC y 10SEC
y 15SEC y 20SEC y 30SEC y

40SEC y 50SEC y 1MIN y 2MIN y
3MIN y 4MIN y 5MIN y 6MIN y
7MIN y 8MIN y 9MIN y 10MIN y
15MIN y 20MIN y 30MIN y 40MIN

y 50MIN y 1H y 2H y 3H y 4H
y 6H y 12H y 24H.

Here SEC means seconds (5SEC is 5
seconds) and MIN means minutes (1MIN is
one minute).

M: The single shot mo de (recording only one

shot after one operation). In the
viewfinder, the TALLY (green tally)
indicator flashes twice per second.

A setting value other than “M”: The

consecutive mode (recording shots
repeatedly after one operation). In the
viewfinder, the TALLY (green tally)
indicator flashes four times per second.

5 When a setting value other than “M”

(the consecutive mode) is selected in
step 4, select PRE-LIGHTING, and
turn the MENU knob to select the
lighting on-time before recording starts
as required.

As you turn the MENU knob, the setting
changes as follows: OFF y 2SEC y
5SEC y 10SEC.

Note

Set the LIGHT switch on the camcorder to AUTO
to turn on the light before recording. The light
switch must also be set to ON. With these settings,

Chapter 4 Shooting

Advanced Operations for Shooting

85

the light turns on and off automatically. However,
the light remains on continuously if the off time is 5
seconds or less.
When the LIGHT switch is set to MANUAL and
the light switch is set to ON, the light remains on
continuously. (The light does not turn on and off
automatically.)

When the setting is completed, the following
message appears along the bottom of the
viewfinder screen.
In single shot mode: MANU INTERVAL *

FRAME

In consecutive mode: MANU INTERVAL *

SEC * FRAME
“* SEC” indicates the length of interval and “*
FRAME” indicates the number of frames.

The camcorder exits Manual Interval Rec mode

Chapter 4 Shooting

whenever it is powered off. However, the
NUMBER OF FRAME, TRIGGER INTERVAL,
and PRE-LIGHTING settings are maintained.
You do not need to set them again the next time
you use Manual Interval Rec mode.

To shoot and record

1 After performing the basic procedures

for shooting and recording, following

the instructions in “Basic Procedure for

Shooting” (page 76), secure the

camcorder so that it will not move.

2 Press the REC START button or the

VTR button on the lens.

The camcorder starts recording in Manual

Interval Rec mode. When you use the PRE-

LIGHTING function, recording starts after

the light is switched on.

While recording in Manual Interval Rec

mode, the TALLY (green tally) indicator in

the viewfinder flashes (2 or 4 flashes/second)

and the message “MANU INTERVAL (*

SEC) * FRAME” flashes on the viewfinder

screen.

To exit Manual Interval Rec mode

Do one of the following.

• In the single shot mode, press the EJECT

button.

• In the consecutive mode, press the REC START

button or the lens VTR button to stop recording.

• Set the POWER switch to OFF.

After the camcorder has exited from Manual
Interval Rec mode, it records picture data stored
in memory to the disc.

To exchange discs while record­ing (Disc Exchange Cache func­tion)

Even if you run out of free disc capacity while
recording, you can continue recording by using
the Disc Exchange Cache function. This function
enables seamless recording over extended
recording sessions, too long to fit on one disc, by
recording to the unit’s internal memory wh ile you
exchange the disc.

Note

The unit’s internal memory is not unlimited, so the video
and audio may be interrupted if it takes too long to
exchange the disc.

To enable the Disc Exchange Cache
function

1 Display the REC FUNCTION page of

the OPERATION menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select DISC EXCHG CACHE, and

turn the MENU knob to display “ON”.

The TALLY (green tally) indicator lights in
the viewfinder.

To exchange discs with the function
enabled

When the disc exchange cache function is
enabled, the following procedure allows you to
exchange discs while continuing to record.

1 Press the REC START button or the

VTR button on the lens to start
recording.

The REC (recording, red tally) indicator
lights in the viewfinder, and the tally
indicator lights.

2 Press the EJECT button with the unit

still in the recording state.

Advanced Operations for Shooting

86

The REC (recording, red tally) indicator in

the viewfinder and the tally indicator flash

(once per second), and the disc is ejected.

If the message “DISC FULL!” appears

You can continue recording, because video

and audio continue to be saved to internal

memory. Press the EJECT button and

continue to step 3.

Note

Do not stop recording before pressing the EJECT

button. If you stop recording, the unit will stop

storing video and audio in internal memory and this

function will not work.

3 Quickly remove the disc, insert a

formatted blank disc, and close the

cover.

When the disc is loaded, the REC (recording,

red tally) indicator in the viewfinder and the

tally indicator change to lit, and recording

continues.

If the REC indicator and tally indicator

begin flashing rapidly during the disc

exchange

If the indicators change to flashing twice per

second, that means that the unit’s internal

memory is almost full. Complete the disc

exchange quickly.

Note

Recording may not start immediately if you insert

an unformatted disc, or a disc that already contains

a large number of clips. As a result, the video and

audio may be interrupted.

Retaking the most recent clip

A retake function is available, making it easy to
erase and retake the most recently recorded clip.
To use the retake function, you need to assign it
to one of the ASSIGN 1/3/4 switches or COLOR
TEMP. button in advance.

For details, see “Assigning functions to ASSIGN
switches” on page 178.

Example: After recording clip 3, you want to
delete it and record a new clip 3 after clip 2.

Clip 1 Clip 2

Clip 3

New clip

To retake the most recent clip

With recording paused or after the end of a
recording review (see page 77), proceed as
follows.

1 Hold down the button to which the

retake function has been assigned.

While the button is held down, the last frame
of the recorded clip and the message “PUSH
RET FOR CLIP DELETE” appears.

2 In this state, press the RET button.

The message “DELETING LAST CLIP”
appears, and the processing for deleting the
last recorded clip begins.
When the deleting has finished, the message
“LAST CLIP WAS DELETED” appears.

Note

If an operation (other than recording review) which is not
a retake operation is carried out after the last clip has
been recorded, the retake function does not work even
when the camcorder is in the recording pause state.
In this case, the message “RE-TAKE NOT
ALLOWED!” appears. When you want to replace the
last clip with a new clip, delete the clip (see page 112).
Once you carry out a retake operation, the last clip is
deleted even if you do not carry out a recording oper ation
afterwards.

Assigning user-defined clip titles automatically

About the automatic title generation
function

By default, clips on each disc are assigned names
in the range C0001.MXF to C9999.MXF. For this
reason, two discs can contain clips with the same
names. The automatic title generation function
allows you to assign titles to all of the clips on
several discs, which facilitates clip management.
For example, if the titles TITLE00001 to
TITLE00020 are assig ned to clips C0001.MXF to
C0020.MXF on disc 1, then the titles
TITLE00021 to TITLE00037 are assigned to
clips C0001.MXF to C0017.MXF on disc 2.

Titles are made up of prefixes, up to 10 characters
in length, and five-digit serial numbers such as
TITLE 00001.

Chapter 4 Shooting

Advanced Operations for Shooting

87

C0020.MXF

C0002.MXF

C0001.MXF

TITLE00020

TITLE00020

TITLE00001

Clips recorded on Disc 1

C0017.MXF

C0002.MXF

C0001.MXF

Chapter 4 Shooting

TITLE00022

TITLE00021

Clips recorded on Disc 2

TITLE00037

Setting the title prefix

You can assign title prefixes by choosing from a
prefix list stored in internal memory, or by
entering the prefix directly.
However, to choose from a prefix list, you must
create the list beforehand on a computer and
transfer it to the unit's internal memory with a
“Memory Stick”.

Setting the initial value of the serial number

The initial value of the serial number can be set to
00001 (the default) or to any other number. The
number is automatically incremented by 1 each
time you record a clip. When it reaches 99999, it
returns to 00001 for the next clip.

Note

Duplicate clip titles can be generated depending on the
serial number setting, for example if you reset the serial
number to the original value after recording several clips.
Care should be taken when setting the serial number.

To assign user-defined titles
automatically when clips are recorded

(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Display the CLIP TITLE page of the

OPERATION menu.

027 CLIP TITLE TOP

TITLE : DSABL

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select “TITLE” and then press the

MENU knob.

3 Turn the MENU knob to display

“ENABL” and then press the MENU
knob.

027 CLIP TITLE TOP

TITLE : ENABL
SELECT PREFIX : EXEC
CLEAR NUMERIC : EXEC
LOAD PREFIX DATA: EXEC
PREFIX : TITLE
NUMERIC : 00001

Clip titles will be generated automatically if
you record in this state.
The title of the next clip to be recorded will
be a combination of the prefix in the PREFIX
field and the serial number in the NUMERIC
field.

To create a list of title prefix strings

Prepare the data beforehand according to the
following rules.

File name

Assign the name “TITLES.TXT” to the file.

Input format

Enter title prefixes one at time, separated by
newline (CRLF) characters.
Prefixes can be up to 10 characters long. A prefix
file can contain up to 20 prefixes.

Allowable characters

• Digits: 0 to 9

• Alphabetic characters: a to z, A to Z

• The following symbols:!, #, $, %, &, ', ( , ), ~, =,

-, ^, @, [, ], {, }, +, ; (semicolon), , (comma), .
(period), _ (underscore)

•Space

Advanced Operations for Shooting

88

Title prefix list example

Tennis<CRLF>
Basketball<CRLF>
Skiing_1<CRLF>
Skiing_2<CRLF>

To transfer a title prefix list to the
internal memory of the camcorder

(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Copy the title prefix file (TITLES.TXT)

to the following folder on the “Memory

Stick”.

\\MSSONY\PRO\XDCAM\GENERAL\VA

L_LIST

Note

This folder is created when you insert a “Memory

Stick” into the camcorder. Do not create this folder

yourself on a computer.

2 Select “SELECT PREFIX” and then

press the MENU knob.

A list of up to 20 title prefixes appears.

P00 TITLE PREFIX ESC

001: Tennis
002: Basketball
003: Skiing_1
004: Skiing_2
005: Athletics
006: Aquatics
007: Cycling
008: Softball
009: Fencing
010: Sailing

Note

When no list of title prefi xes has been transferred to
the internal memory of this unit, only the initial
value “TITLE” appears.

3 Select the desired title prefix from the

list, and then press the MENU knob.

The CLIP TITLE page appears again, and the
selected prefix appears in the PREFIX field.

Chapter 4 Shooting

2 Insert a “Memory Stick” with the title

prefix file (TITLES.TXT) into the

“Memory Stick” slot of the camcorder.

3 On the CLIP TITLE page of the

OPERATION menu (see page 137),

select “LOAD PREFIX DATA” and

then press the MENU knob.

“MEMORY STICK ACCESS” appears, and

the file on the “Memory Stick”

(TITLES.TXT) is transferred to the internal

memory of the unit.

The message “COMPLETE!” appears when

the transfer finishes.

Note

The message “FILE NOT FOUND!” appears if no

list of title prefixes is found.

Check the location where the file is stored on the

“Memory Stick”.

To select a prefix from the title prefix list

(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Display the CLIP TITLE page of the

OPERATION menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic

menu operations” on page 163.

To enter a title prefix directly

(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Display the CLIP TITLE page on the

OPERATION menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select “PREFIX” and then press the

MENU knob.

A prefix string appears.

027 CLIP TITLE TOP

TITLE : ENABL
SELECT PREFIX : EXEC
CLEAR NUMERIC : EXEC
LOAD PREFIX DATA: EXEC
PREFIX : TITLE
!#$%&'()+,-.0123456789;
=@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV
WXYZ[]^_abcdefghijklmnop
qrstuvwxyz{}~
INS DEL RET ESC END

3 Move x onto the character you want to

change, and then press the MENU
knob.

4 Turn the MENU knob to move x onto

the desired character in the list of
selectable characters, and then press
the MENU knob.

Advanced Operations for Shooting

89

5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 to enter the

remaining characters.

5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 to enter the

remaining digits.

6 When you have finished entering the

prefix, turn the MENU knob to move x

to “END” and then press the MENU

knob.

The camcorder exits prefix input mode, and

the original CLIP TITLE page appears.

To set the initial value of the clip title
serial number

You can set the initial value of the clip title serial
number to 00001 (default) or to any 5-digit value.

To return the initial value to 00001

(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

Chapter 4 Shooting

1 Display the CLIP TITLE page on the

OPERATION menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic

menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select “CLEAR NUMERIC”and then

press the MENU knob.

The message “CLEAR OK? bYES NO”

appears.

3 Select “YES” and then press the MENU

knob.

The value in the NUMERIC field returns to

00001.

To set the initial value to any number

(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Display the CLIP TITLE page on the

OPERATION menu.

For details on menu operations, see “Basic

menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select “NUMERIC” and then press the

MENU knob.

3 Move x onto the digit you want to

change, and then press the MENU

knob.

4 Turn the MENU knob to move x onto

the desired digit in the list of selectable

digits, and then press the MENU knob.

6 When you have finished entering the

value, turn the MENU knob to move x
to “END” and then press the MENU
knob.

The camcorder exits numeric input mode,
and the original CLIP TITLE page appears.

To check clip titles

Press the THUMBNAIL button to display the
thumbnail screen, and select the clip whose title
you want to check.
The title of the selected clip appears in the upper
left of the screen.

See “Clip thumbnail screen” (page 96) for more
information about the thumbnail screen.

Notes

• It is not possible to specify 00000 as the initial value.
Even if you enter 00000, the value is reset to 00001
when the camcorder exits numeric input mode.

• The value of the serial number is incremented by 1
every time a title is generated. When the value reaches
99999, the next number restarts from 00001.

• Duplicate clip titles can be generated if you reset the
serial number after recording several clips or the same
is true depending on the value setting. Care should be
taken when setting the serial number.

Assigning user-defined names to clips and clip lists

The following standard format names are
assigned automatically to clips and clip lists that
are created or recorded by XDCAM devices.

Clips: C0001.MXF to C9999.MXF
Clip lists: E0001E01.SMI to E0099E01.SMI

When you record or create clips and clip lists, you
can assign user-defined names instead of the
standard format names. Assigning meaningful
names to clips and clip lists can facilitate file
management.

Limitations

• Letters, numbers and symbols from the Unicode

2.0 character set can be used.
However, the following control characters and
symbols cannot be used.

- Control characters: U+0000 to U+001F,

U+007F

- Symbols: ", *, /, :, <, >, ?, \, |

Advanced Operations for Shooting

90

• Depending on the character type, the length of
name (“C*” part) may be limited to 14
characters. (The limit for ASCII characters is 56
characters.)

• All file name extensions are converted
automatically to uppercase.

• Titles are used as user-defined clip names on
this unit. Therefore, the available characters are
limited to those supported by the title function.

• Files generated along with clips and clip lists
are assigned the same names (the “C*” or “E*”
part of the following file names).

- Clips: Metadata files (C*M01.XML), user

metadata file (C*M02.KLV), proxy AV data
files (C*S01.MXF)

- Clip lists: Metadata files (E*M01.XML)

• The following names cannot be assigned.

- Clips: C0000.MXF

- Clip lists: E0000E01.SMI, E0100E01.SMI to

E9999E01.SMI, E0000.SMI, E0100.SMI to
E9999.SMI

• The following names should be avoided.

- Clips: C5000.MXF to C9999.MXF

- Clip lists: E0001.SMI to E0099.SMI

To assign clip names on this unit

The title assigned to a clip is also used as the name
of that clip (or the file name).

C0001.MXF

TITLE00001

When sub item “AUTO NAMING” is set to
“C****”

TITLE00001.MXF

TITLE00001

When sub item “AUTO NAMING” is set to
“TITLE”

(How to select an item in the menu screen: Turn
the MENU knob to move b to the desired item.)

1 Before starting, set TITLE on the CLIP

TITLE page of the OPERATION menu
to ENABL and set a title (see page 88).

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Display the FILE NAMING page of the

OPERATION menu.

3 Select NAMING FORM and then press

the MENU knob.

4 Turn the MENU knob to display

“FREE” and then press the MENU
knob.

You can now enter a user-defined name.

028 FILE NAMING TOP

NAMING FORM: FREE
AUTO NAMING: C****

5 Turn the MENU knob to select “AUTO

NAMING” and then press the MENU
knob.

6 Turn the MENU knob to display

“TITLE” and then press the MENU
knob.

The same name will now be given to newly
recorded clips.

Notes

• An FTP client software that supports UTF-8 is
required to use Unicode characters other than ASCII
characters. Command prompt FTP commands do not
support UTF-8.

• When the first letter of the title setting on the CLIP
AUTO TITLING menu is a space or period (.), the clip
name is the title string minus the first letter.

To use clip names and clip list names by FAM
and FTP

Carry out steps 2 to 4 of “To assign clip names on
this unit” (page 91).
It is now possible to write, transfer, and rename
clips and clip lists with user-defined names over

Chapter 4 Shooting

Advanced Operations for Shooting

91

file access mode (FAM) connections (see page

199) and FTP connections (see page 203).

Fuji.MXF

User-defined clip names can be used by FAM
and FTP

Sakura.SMI

User-defined clip list names can be used by FAM

Chapter 4 Shooting

and FTP

To set clip names by using planning
metadata

Planning metadata is a file that contains metadata
about the clips to be shot and recorded.
The following two types of clip name strings can
be written in a planning metadata file.

• The ASCII format name that appears in the
viewfinder

• The UTF-8 format name that is actually
registered as the clip name

1) It is also possible to display the UTF-8 format name,

or no name (see page 123).

2) When no UTF-8 format name string is specified, the

ASCII format name string is registered as the actual
clip name.

By loading a file from one of the following
locations into the unit's memory before starting to
shoot, you ca n register the names in the file as clip
names.
To load files, use a GUI screen (see page 121).

1)

2)

File creation rules

File location File name

Professional Disc:

General/Sony/
Planning

a)

directory

USB Flash drive:

General/Sony/
Planning directory

a) The General/Sony/Planning directory is generated

automatically when you format a disc.

• Format that can be used in
the General directory (see

page 198)

• Extension: XML

• ASCII characters (up to
63 characters including
the extension)

• Extension: XML

Clip name string format

In a text editor, modify the two fields in the
<Title> tag that contain the clip name strings (the
shaded fields in the example below).
Enter a name in the first field in ASCII format (up
to 52 characters), and enter another name in the
second field in UTF-8 format (up to 52 bytes).

Clip name string example

version="1.0"spencoding="UTF-8"?>3

<?xml

sp

<PlanningMetadata

xmlns.sony.net/pro/metadata/
planningmetadata"

creationDate="

P0001"

sp

2008-01-20T17:00:00+09:00"
2008-03-28T10:30:00+09:00"

version="1.00">3

false"

sp

<Properties

assignment"
00+09:00"

<Title

="en"> </

xmlns="http://

sp

assignId="

sp

lastUpdate="

sp

load="

sp

propertyId="

sp

update="2008-01-20T09:00:

sp

modifiedBy="Chris">3

sp

usAscii=" "spxml:lang

sp

Typhoon

Typhoon_Strikes_Tokyo

Title>3

</Properties>3

</PlanningMetadata>3

In the above example,

indicates a space and 3

sp

indicates a carriage return.

Notes

• When creating a file, write each line as a single
statement, inserting carriage returns only at the
indicated carriage return locations, and inserting no
unspecified spaces.

• If the UTF-8 format string is longer than 52 characters,
the ASCII format string is used as the clip name string.

Advanced Operations for Shooting

92

Setting clip names

1 Load a planning metadata file

containing clip names into the unit’s
memory (see page 121).

2 Carry out steps 2 to 5 of “To assign clip

names on this unit” (page 91).

3 Turn the MENU knob to display

“PLAN”, and then press the MENU
knob.

Each time that you start recording, the unit
automatically creates clip names using the
names specified in the planning metadata
file. An underscore (_) a nd a three-digit serial
number (001 to 999) is appended to each clip
name.

Examples of automatically generated clip
names

• Clip names displayed in the viewfinder:
Typhoon_001, Typhoon_002, ...

• The actually recorded clip names:
Typhoon_Strikes_Tokyo_001,
Typhoon_Strikes_Tokyo_002, ...

1) When display of the ASCII format clip name has

been selected (see page 123).

Notes

• The serial numbers return to 001 on the next
recording operation if you reach number 999.

• Serial numbers are not reset when you power the
unit off or exchange discs (newly generated
numbers are continuous on the old ones).

• If the ASCII format clip name string is longer
than 14 characters, it is displayed in the
viewfinder as the first 8 characters + x
(abbreviated) + the last 4 characters, for a total of
13 characters.

To check clip names

Press the THUMBNAIL button to display the
thumbnail screen, and select the clip whose name
you want to check.
The name of the selected clip appears in the upper
left of the screen.

See “Clip thumbnail screen” (page 96) for more
information.

Note

The item at the upper left of the screen is displayed
according to the following order of priority.
Title > user-defined clip name > standard format clip

1)

name
Therefore, the display of this item changes as follows,
depending on whether or not there is a title.

• When a title has been set as a clip name on this unit,
the title is displayed for clips recorded on this unit.

• The user-defined name or standard format name is
displayed for clips without a title.

To check clip information (name, title,
etc.)

For details, see “Checking clip properties”
(page 108).

Recording video from external devices

You can select between recording of data shot by
the camera and recording of data input from an
external device by using a menu or by using the
ASSIGN 2 switch.

Notes

• If you want to use the ASSIGN 2 switch, you must
assign the video switching function to the ASSIGN 2
switch beforehand (see page 178).

• Switching by the ASSIGN 2 switch takes priority over
switching by the menu. (Switching by menu is not
possible if the function has been assigned to the
ASSIGN 2 switch.)

• Video breakup may occur around the switch if you
switch the input during recording.

• Camera video is recorded if you switch to external
input without inputting an external video signal to the
SDI IN (OPTION) connector or the GENLOCK IN
connector.

• It is not possible to record external input video with a
changed aspect ratio.

To record SDI signals (with the CBK­HD01 installed)

When the optional CBK-HD01 HD/SD SDI Input
Board is installed in this unit, you can record HD­SDI or SD-SDI signals input to the SDI IN
(OPTION) connector. When an HD recording
format (MPEG HD422 50, or MPEG HD420 HQ/
SP) is selected, SD-SDI signals are upconverted
to HD signals before recording.

Notes

• It is not poss ible to record HD-SDI signals when an SD
recording format (MPEG IMX 50/40/30, or DVCAM)
is selected.

Chapter 4 Shooting

Advanced Operations for Shooting

93

• The system frequency and resolution (HD-SDI input
only) of input signals must match the current settings
of this unit. Otherwise the input signals cannot be
recorded.

• Only audio signals embedded in SDI signals are
recorded, regardless of the settings of the AUDIO IN
CH-1/CH-2/CH-3/CH-4 switches.

1 Display the SOURCE SEL page of the

OPERATION menu.

Note

Even if the GENLOCK item on the GENLOCK page of
the MAINTENANCE menu is set to OFF, the unit
automatically genlocks to external video signals that are
input to the GENLOCK IN connector. When
GENLOCK is set to OFF, the genlock is cancelled when
the input of external video signals stops and the unit
switches to camera shooting.

1 Display the SOURCE SEL page of the

OPERATION menu.

2 Select REC VIDEO SOURCE, and turn

the MENU knob to display “EXT”.

Chapter 4 Shooting

For details on menu operations, see “Basic
menu operations” on page 163.

2 Select REC VIDEO SOURCE, and turn

the MENU knob to display “EXT”.

3 Select EXT VIDEO SOURCE, and turn

the MENU knob to select the desired
signal to be recorded.

As you turn the MENU knob, the setting
changes as follows: HDSDI
y VBS

1) HDSDI cannot be selected when an SD recording

2) Does not appear when the optional CBK-SC02

After you complete this setting, you can record
the video signals of external devices by inputting
the SDI signals selected in step 3 to the SDI IN
(OPTION) connector.

2)

.

format is selected.

Analog Composite Input Board is not installed.

Recording analog composite signals
(with the CBK-SC02 installed)

When the optional CBK-SC02 Analog
Composite Input Board is installed in this unit,
you can record analog composite signals input to
the GENLOCK IN connector. When an HD
recording format (MPEG HD422 50, or MPEG
HD420 HQ/SP) is selected, analog composite
signals are upconverted to HD signals before
recording.

1)

y SDSDI

3 Select EXT VIDEO SOURCE, and turn

the MENU knob to display “VBS”.

1) Does not appear when the optional CBK-SC02
Analog Composite Input Board is not installed.

After you complete this setting, you can record
external video signals by inputting analog
composite signals to the GENLOCK IN
connector.

1)

Advanced Operations for Shooting

94

Chapter5 Operations in GUI Screens

Overview

You can perform scene searches, play the
searched scenes, and select scenes (edit clip list)
in Graphical User Interface (GUI) screens. The

Switching between GUI screens

The most important GUI screens are:
Clip thumbnail screen: Displays thumbnails of

clips on the disc. “Clip” is displayed as the
title at the upper left of the screen (see
page 96).

Clip list thumbnail screen: Displays thumbnails

of sub clips in a clip list. “Clip List” is
displayed as the title at the upper left of the
screen (see page 96).

There are also two playback screens:
Clip playback screen: Playback screen for

normal video

Clip list playback screen: Playback screen for

clip list video

You will use the THUMBNAIL/ESSENCE
MARK button 1 and the SUB CLIP/DISC
MENU button 2 to switch between these four
screens. Each press of these buttons switches
between the screens as shown in the following
figure. The THUMBNAIL and SUB CLIP
indicators light as follows, according to the type
of screen that is currently displayed.

Notes

• To switch between these four screens, a disc

with recorded clips must be loaded in the unit.

• The GUI screens can display clip name, titles,
and other information in European languages
and Japanese, but they cannot display Chinese.

GUI screens are your gateways to discs and the
data saved on discs.

Chapter 5 Operations in GUI Screens

Overview

95

Clip playback screen

a)

1

1

Clip thumbnail screen

Clip:C0006 006/040

TC 00:23:00:25

TC 00:23:40:07

TC 00:24:45:11

TC 00:25:49:23

TC 00:26:22:10

TC 00:27:19:04

TC 00:28:06:09

TC 00:28:22:02

DATE&TIME

TC 00:23:34:18

30 NOV 2005 13:38 DUR 0:00:10:23

TC 00:25:06:14

TC 00:27:51:09

TC 00:23:54:22

TC 00:00:04:14

TC 00:00:35:15

TC 00:01:06:18

28 JUL 2006 19:55

Lit

Unlit

22

TC 00:00:12:04

TC 00:00:46:08

TC 00:01:13:11

Lit

Lit

Unlit

Unlit

THUMBNAIL

ESSENCE

MARK

SUB CLIP

DISC MENU

22

Unlit

Lit

a), b)

THUMBNAIL

ESSENCE

MARK

SUB CLIP

DISC MENU

1

1

Clip list thumbnail screen

Clip List:E0001 002/013

TC 00:00:00:00

TC 00:00:28:08

TC 00:00:59:16

DATE&TIME

Clip list playback screen

Chapter 5 Operations in GUI Screens

a) The playback screens appear when the LCD monitor is switched to display of video with (CHAR) or without

(MONI) superimposed text. Press the DISP SEL/EXPAND button to switch the LCD monitor to these modes (see
page 21).

b) The clip list playback screen appears when a clip list is loaded into the unit’s memory (see page 119).

TOTAL DUR

DISC MENU

b)

ESSENCE

DISC MENU

THUMBNAIL

ESSENCE

MARK

SUB CLIP

TC 00:00:20:13

TC 00:00:53:22

TC 00:01:17:27

00:01:31:16

THUMBNAIL

MARK

SUB CLIP

The other thumbnail screens are:

• Expand thumbnail screen

• Chapter thumbnail screen

• Essence mark thumbnail screen

Overview

96

Information and controls in thumbnail screens

Clip thumbnail screen

This screen displays thumbnails of clips on the
disc in the order that they were recorded. You can

use this screen to work with clips – deleting or

1

546

213

locking them, selecting their index pictures,
adding them to clip lists, and so on.

e Clip date and time

Displays the date and time when the selected clip
was shot and recorded.

12 3 4

Clip:C0006 006/040

KP NG OK

TC 00:23:00:25

TC 00:23:40:07

TC 00:24:45:11

TC 00:25:06:14

TC 00:25:49:23

TC 00:26:22:10

TC 00:27:19:04

TC 00:27:51:09

TC 00:28:06:09

TC 00:28:22:02

TC 00:23:34:18

30 NOV 2005 13:38 DUR 0:00:10:23

DATE&TIME

TC 00:23:54:22

56

a Clip name

Displays the name of the selected clip. When the
clip has a title, it is displayed as “TITLE00001”
(see page 87). Clip names can be displayed in
European languages when the area of use (see
page 40) is set to “NTSC AREA” or “PAL
AREA”.

Note

To display the clip title, Settings >Display Title in the
Disc Menu needs to be set to On.

b Selection frame

Indicates that the thumbnail is selected. To select
another thumbnail, move the frame (see
page 104). Multiple selection frames appear
when multiple thumbnails are selected (see
page 104).

c Clip number/total number of clips

Displays the total number of clips on the disc, and
the number of the selected clip.

d Scrollbar

When not all of the thumbnails can be displayed
in the thumbnail display area, the position of the
slider shows the relative position of the currently
displayed clips, and the length of the slider shows
the relative length of currently displayed clips
within all of the clips.
When you have a large number of thumbnails,
you can save time by using the Skip Scroll
function to jump directly to the thumbnail you
want (see page 104).

f Duration

Displays the duration (recording time) of the
selected clip.

1 Thumbnail display items

OK

TC 00:26:22:10

a Index picture

Displays an image to stand for the content of the
clip. The index picture is normally the first frame
of the clip.

b Index picture changed mark

This mark, like the folded-over corner of a page
that you want to remember, appears when the
index picture has been c hanged to any frame other
than the first frame of a clip (see page 108).

Note

When you cue up a clip, the unit always cues up the first
frame, even when the index picture has been changed to
a different frame.

c S mark

This mark appears when shot marks or multiple
Rec Start essence marks have been set in the clip
(see page 80).
The chapter thumbnail screen can be displayed
for clips that show this mark (see page 99).

d Clip flag icon

Displays the corresponding icon when a clip flag
(OK/NG/KP (KEEP)) is set in the clip (see
page 111).

Chapter 5 Operations in GUI Screens

Overview

97

e Clip and frame information

234

56

Displays the clip or frame information selected
with the Clip Information item in the Thumbnail
Menu (see page 107). The factory default
selection is the timecode of the first frame or the
timecode of the thumbnail frame.

f Lock icon

This icon appears when the clip is locked
(protected) (see page 111). Clips cannot be
deleted and their clip information cannot be
changed when this mark is displayed.

Clip list thumbnail screen

This screen displays thumbnails of the clips in the
current clip list. You can use this screen to create
and edit clips lists.

1

Clip List:E0001 002/013

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Chapter 5 Operations in GUI Screens

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DATE&TIME

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5

TOTAL DUR

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a Clip list name

Displays the name of the clip list. When the clip
list has a title, it is displayed as “TITLE00001”
(see page 87). Clip list names can be displayed in
European languages when the area of use (see
page 40) is set to “NTSC AREA” or “PAL
AREA”.

Note

To display the clip list title, Settings >Display Title in the
Disc Menu needs to be set to On.

b Selection frame

See the description in “Clip thum bnail screen” (page

96).

c Sub clip number/number of sub clips

Displays the total number of sub clips in the clip
list, and the number of the selected sub clip.

d Scrollbar

See the description in “Clip thumbnail screen” (page

96).

e Clip list date and time

Displays the date and time when the clip list was
created, or the date and time of its most recent
modification. An asterisk (*) appears after the
date and time of creation when the current clip list
has not been saved to the disc.

Notes

• “New File” appears when no clip list has been loaded
into the unit’s memory, and when a clip list has been
cleared from the unit’s memory.

• A mark appears before the date of creation or
modification when a disc is write inhibited. You can
create clip lists when the disc is write inhibited, but you
cannot save them.

f Total duration

Displays the total duration of all sub clips in the
clip list.

Expand thumbnail screen

This screen displays thumbnails of equally sized
divisions of the selected clip.

1324

Expand Clip 008/024 x 12 001/012

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CLIP

a Selection frame

See the description in “Clip thumbnail screen” (page

96).

b Clip number/total clips x number of

divisions

Displays the number of the selected clip, the total
number of clips on the disc, and the number of
times that the selected clip has been divided to
display the expansion thumbnails.

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Overview

98

c Thumbnail number/total thumbnails

67

Displays the total number of expanded
thumbnails and the number of the selected
thumbnail.

d Scrollbar

See the description in “Clip thum bnail screen” (page

96).

a Selection frame

See the description in “Clip thumbnail screen” (page

96).

b Clip number/total clips

Displays the total number of clips on the disc and
the number of the clip that contains the displayed
chapters.

e Clip name

Displays the name of the expanded clip. When the
clip has a title, it is displayed as “TITLE00001”
(see page 87). Clip names can be displayed in
European languages when the area of use (see
page 40) is set to “NTSC AREA” or “PAL
AREA”.

Note

To display the clip title, Settings >Display Title in the
Disc Menu needs to be set to On.

f Duration

Displays the time from the selected thumbnail to
the next one.

Chapter thumbnail screen

The sections between essence marks (shot marks
that have been set in clips, and Rec Start essence
marks) are called chapters. The sections between
shot mark and Rec Start essence marks in clips
are called chapters. This screen allows you to
display thumbnails of the chapters in the selected
clip.

Note

Shot marks can be set during recording and playback.
They can be deleted and moved.
Rec Start essence marks are set automatically at the start
of recording. They cannot be deleted or moved.

1425

Chapter of Clip 001/024 001/004

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3

c S1/S2/RS marks

The “S1”, “S2”, and “RS” marks on the
thumbnails indicate frames where Shot Mark1,
Shot Mark2, and Rec Start essence marks are set.

d Chapter number/total chapters

Displays the total number of chapters and the
number of the selected chapter.

Note

The total number of chapters is the total number of
chapters in the specified clip only.

e Scrollbar

See the description in “Clip thumbnail screen” (page

96).

f Clip name

Displays the name of the clip that contains the
selected frame. When the clip has a title, it is
displayed as “TITLE00001” (see page 87). Clip
names can be displayed in European languages
when the area of use (see page 40) is set to
“NTSC AREA” or “PAL AREA”.
To display the clip title, Settings >Display Title in
the Disc Menu needs to be set to On.

g Duration

Displays the time from the first frame of the
selected chapter to the first frame of the next
chapter.

Essence mark thumbnail screen

This screen displays thumbnails of the specified
essence mark, found by searching all clips on the
disc.

Chapter 5 Operations in GUI Screens

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Overview

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12 34

56

Displaying menus

Shot Mark1 001/029

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30 NOV 2006 19:55 "Capping literally years of spe..."

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a Essence mark name

Displays the name of the essence mark (Shot
Mark1 here).

b Selection frame

See the description in “Clip thum bnail screen” (page

96).

c Essence mark number/total essence

marks

Displays the total number of essence marks and

Chapter 5 Operations in GUI Screens

the number of the selected essence mark.

Note

The total number of essence marks is the total number of
essence marks that have been set in all clips on the disc.

d Scrollbar

See the description in “Clip thum bnail screen” (page

96).

e Clip date and time

Displays the date and time when the clip that
contains the selected thumbnail was recorded or
last modified.

f Clip name

Displays the name of the clip that contains the
selected frame. When the clip has a title, it is
displayed as “TITLE00001” (see page 87). Clip
names can be displayed in European languages
when the area of use (see page 40) is set to
“NTSC AREA” or “PAL AREA”.
To display the clip title, Settings >Di splay Title in
the Disc Menu needs to be set to On.

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Thumbnail Menu

The Thumbnail Menu displays menu items that
are valid for the currently displayed thumbnail
screen.

To display the Thumbnail Menu

To display the Thumbnail Menu, press the
MENU button with a thumbnail screen displayed.
To return to the original screen, press the MENU
button again, or press the RESET/RETURN
button.

2 RESET/RETURN button

1 MENU button

BRIGHTDISPLAYRESETHOLDDISP SEL

COUNTER RC U-BITEXPAND CHAPTER

RETURN

THUMBNAIL

ESSENCE

MARK

SUB CLIP

DISC MENU

MENU

SET

S.SEL

F-RUN

R-RUN

REGEN

SHIFT

CLOCK

Thumbnail screen

Clip:"Navigeting sibiling relati..." 018/036

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DATE&TIME

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112

Thumbnail Menu

Clip Information

Select Index Picture
Clip Properties
Add Sub Clips
Delete Clip
Lock/Unlock Clip
Set Clip Flag
Skip Scroll
Thumbnail Search

Thumbnail Menu

a) Clip thumbnail screen
b) Thumbnail Menu of the clip thumbnail screen

010010

SET

AUDIO SELECT

CH-1

PRESET

a)

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SHIFT+SET
SHIFT+RESET
SHIFT+STOP

b)

LEVEL

AUTO

MANUAL

CH-2

AUDIO IN

FRONT

REAR

WIRELESS

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CH-3

F
R
W

CH-4

F
R
W

Overview

100