Umax ASTRACAM 1000 User Manual
UMAX AstraCam 1000
OWNER'S GUIDE
P/N: 83100177-0000
TRADEMARKS
UMAX is a registered trademark of UMAX Technologies, Inc. AstraCam 1000 is a trademark
of UMAX Data Systems. PhotoDeluxe is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. Windows is a
registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Mr. Photo is a trademark of NewSoft
Technology Corporation. Other names and trademarks appearing herein are trademarks of their
respective holders.
COPYRIGHT
1999 - 2000 UMAX Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any
language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
UMAX Technologies, Inc.
IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS
Read all of the instructions:
• Save these instructions for later use.
• Follow all warnings and instructions marked on the product.
• When replacement parts are required, be sure that service technicians have used
replacement parts that conform to at least the same safety standards with regard to fire,
electric shock, or other hazards.
• Do not use this product near water or in rainy/moist environment.
• The product should be operated using only the type of power source indicated on the
product label.
• Do not attempt to service this product yourself as opening or removing the enclosure may
expose you to dangerous voltage or other hazards.
• The sound pressure level at the operators position according to IEC 7041:1982 should be
less than or equal to 70dB(A).
CAUTION
Improperly inserting the batteries (wrong polarity) may cause damage to your camera and will
void the warranty. See the guide symbols inside the battery case for proper installation of the
batteries and read the section titled, Preparing the AstraCam 1000 for Use.
Replace the batteries only with AAA size, 1.2V rechargeable batteries or AAA size,1.5V
alkaline batteries. Check with local codes for possible special disposal instructions.
Contents
GETTING STARTED...................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction..............................................................................................................................1
UMAX AstraCam 1000 Package Contents............................................................................ 1
SETTING UP YOUR NEW DIGITAL CAMERA........................................................................ 2
Installing the Batteries............................................................................................................. 2
Replacing Worn-Out Batteries................................................................................................ 2
PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.................................................................................................... 3
INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE .................................................................................................. 3
Installing Adobe PhotoDeluxe................................................................................................3
Installing the AstraCam 1000 Software.................................................................................. 3
CONNECTING THE ASTRACAM 1000 TO YOUR COMPUTER........................................... 4
THE ASTRACAM 1000 DIGITAL CAMERA.............................................................................5
Taking Your First Photo.......................................................................................................... 6
Erasing Photos.......................................................................................................................... 7
Camera Memory Full............................................................................................................... 7
USING THE ASTRACAM 1000 PROGRAM............................................................................... 8
Prepare to Download................................................................................................................ 9
Downloading Photos................................................................................................................ 9
THE ASTRACAM 1000 SOFTWARE......................................................................................... 10
Viewing Your Photos.............................................................................................................11
Adjusting thumbnail photo.................................................................................................... 11
AFTER SHOT RECOVERY (ASR) ....................................................................................11
Rotate Photos.......................................................................................................................... 12
Transferring the Photos..........................................................................................................12
Saving a Photo to a File......................................................................................................... 12
Megapixel............................................................................................................................... 13
Deleting Photos...................................................................................................................... 13
OPERATING THE ASTRACAM 1000 FROM THE SOFTWARE.......................................... 14
Adjusting AstraCam 1000 Settings....................................................................................... 14
Camera Information............................................................................................................... 14
Checking the USB Port.......................................................................................................... 14
Quitting the AstraCam 1000 Program.................................................................................. 14
ORGANIZING YOUR PHOTO DATA WITH MR. PHOTO................................................... 15
Retrieving Your Photo...........................................................................................................15
MAKING PANORAMA PHOTO WITH MR. PHOTO............................................................16
CREATING A CALENDAR WITH PHOTODELUXE .............................................................17
CREATING A PHOTO E-MAIL.................................................................................................. 18
Preparing a Photo E-Mail Greeting....................................................................................... 18
Sending Your Photo E-Mail Greeting ..................................................................................19
Sending a Photo File as an Attachment................................................................................ 19
CARING FOR YOUR ASTRACAM 1000.................................................................................. 20
PRODUCT REGISTRATION.......................................................................................................20
ASTRACAM 1000 SPECIFICATIONS....................................................................................... 21
CONTACTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT................................................................................... 22
FCC DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY................................................................................ 23
WARRANTY.................................................................................................................................. 24
GETTING STARTED
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the UMAX AstraCam 1000 digital camera. Now you
can take great digital photos, easily transfer your new photos to a computer and
begin enjoying them in just moments.
Your AstraCam 1000 comes with software to make your photo taking
experience really creative. Use Adobe PhotoDeluxe for artistic manipulation
of your photos or to just make them better. Organize your photos with Mr.
Photo and make Internet photo greeting cards with VistaShuttle. AstraCam
1000 with its lightweight point and shoot simplicity, and fast photo
downloading is a great way to welcome you to the world of digital photography.
UMAX AstraCam 1000 Package Contents
Your AstraCam 1000 package contains everything you need to take digital
photos, download them to your computer and make use of your photos. When
unpacking your AstraCam 1000, make sure you've received all the components:
• AstraCam 1000 Digital Camera
• USB Cable
• 2 AAA Batteries
• Camera Strap
• Owners Manual
• AstraCam 1000 Software CD including:
- AstraCam 1000 Software (TWAIN Driver)
- Mr. Photo
- VistaShuttle
• Adobe PhotoDeluxe Software CD
1
AstraCam 1000
SETTING UP YOUR NEW DIGITAL CAMERA
Installing the Batteries
Important Battery Usage Guides: Read Before Using the AstraCam 1000
WARNING: Improperly inserting the batteries (wrong polarity) may cause
damage to your camera and will void the warranty. See the guide symbols
inside the battery case for proper installation of the batteries.
To put the batteries in the AstraCam 1000:
1. Unwrap the 2 AAA batteries. Note the polarity symbols near the ends of
each battery.
2. Open the battery cover at the bottom of the
camera by pushing the cover out with your
thumb.
3. Note the + / - polarity symbols on the
contacts attached to the inside of the cover.
Insert each battery so that the polarity
symbol of the exposed end of each battery
matches the polarity symbols on the contacts
inside the battery compartment.
4. Close the cover.
Bottom View
Replacing Worn-Out Batteries
Replace the batteries only with AAA size, 1.2V rechargeable batteries or
AAA size,1.5V alkaline batteries.
2
PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
• Pentium
• Microsoft Windows
• At least 32 MB RAM
• 90 MB available hard disk space
• CD-ROM drive
• VGA Color Monitor
• USB Port
®
processor or higher
®
98
INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE
Please quit all Windows programs before installing your new software.
IMPORTANT: Install the software prior to installing the AstraCam 1000.
Please install Adobe® PhotoDeluxe® first and then install the AstraCam 1000
software.
Installing Adobe PhotoDeluxe
1. Insert the Adobe PhotoDeluxe CD into your CD-ROM drive. (If the
installation program starts automatically, skip to step 5.)
2. Double-click on the MY COMPUTER icon on your Windows desktop.
3. Double-click on the PHOTODELUXE icon (your CD-ROM drive icon).
4. Double-click on the AUTOPLAY icon.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions to continue the installation. This CD will
install Adobe PhotoDeluxe, Adobe® Acrobat® Reader and Adobe® Type
Manager®.
6. Once everything has been installed, click on the FINISH button to finish
installation and begin the registration process.
7. After registration is complete, you will be prompted to restart the computer.
Click on the OK button to restart Windows.
Installing the AstraCam 1000 Software
1. Insert the AstraCam 1000 Digital Camera CD into your CD-ROM drive. (If
the installation program starts automatically, skip to step 5.)
2. Double-click on the MY COMPUTER icon on your Windows desktop.
3
3. Double-click on the UMAX AstraCam 1000 CD icon (your CD-ROM drive
icon).
4. Double-click on the SETUP icon.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions to continue the installation. On the Select
Component screen, select the programs you want to install:
• Mr. Photo
• VistaShuttle
• AstraCam 1000 Software (including the Twain driver)
The default setting is to install all three programs (highly recommended). You
must install the AstraCam 1000 and Mr. Photo software in order to download
photos to your computer using the DOWNLOAD button.
CONNECTING THE ASTRACAM 1000 TO YOUR
COMPUTER
The AstraCam 1000 connects your camera to a computer using the attached
USB cable. The USB system is "hot-swappable." You do not have to turn
your system off before inserting the USB cable into the port.
1. Look on the back of your computer for the USB port. The USB port is a
small slot 1/2" long by 1/4" wide (see illustration on the right). Insert the
USB cable into the USB socket.
2. With the AstraCam 1000 power
switch turned off, gently insert the
large end of the USB cable into the
bottom of the AstraCam 1000. The
side of the connector that has
“UMAX” printed on it should face
in the same direction as the front of
the camera. The front of the
camera is the side that displays the
UMAX logo.Windows will display
screens saying that it discovered
your new hardware, is updating the
driver database and is installing
new software.
Note: To save battery, you can turn off the camera when connecting to PC for
downloading.
4
THE ASTRACAM 1000 DIGITAL CAMERA
Shutter Button
Erase Button
Viewfinder
Action Light
Quality Switch/
Download Button
• Viewfinder Look through this to compose the photo.
• Quality Switch / Download Button Press to change the image quality
mode. Or press to download photos when connected to a PC.
• Action Light Flashes whenever camera operates and is accompanied by an
audible beep.
• Mode Button Press to change the White Balance settings.
• Erase Button Press to erase photos from the camera.
• Settings Display Shows the current settings of the AstraCam 1000 with the
following symbols:
Settings Display
Mode Button
White Balance Icon Displays the selected White Balance Mode.
(See page 6, "White Balance Settings for Better Photos.")
HQ EQ Quality Indicates that the AstraCam 1000 is ready to take photos
in High Quality (HQ) or Economy Quality (EQ) mode.
Battery Status Shows two solid blocks for full batteries and one solid
block when batteries have less than a 20 percent charge.
Camera Icon Indicates that the AstraCam 1000 is ready to take
photos.
Shots / Remaining In Camera mode, shows shots remaining.
Process When this symbol flashes, the camera is processing
commands.
5
Taking Your First Photo
Taking photos with your AstraCam 1000 is easy:
1. Turn the power switch ON.
2. Compose your photo by looking through the viewfinder.
3. Slightly press and hold the SHUTTER button. You will hear a short beep as
the AstraCam 1000 automatically sets exposure.
4. Continue pressing fully down on the SHUTTER button. You will hear a
second short beep as the photo is taken. Release the shutter button.
Note: It is important to hold the camera very still when taking a picture.
Moving the camera when shooting will create blurry pictures.
Image Mode Settings
With the AstraCam 1000 you can choose between two image mode settings.
Before picture is taken, you can set the camera to take pictures in High Quality
(HQ) or Economy Quality (EQ) according to your needs.
HQ mode with lower compression rate is good for printout or if you plan to
enlarge your photo to 1280 x 960 resolution by using the AstraCam 1000
software. However pictures taken in HQ mode will take up more of the
camera’s internal memory than if using EQ mode.
EQ mode, with a higher compression rate, is good for monitor display, email
and Internet uses. By using the EQ mode, the AstraCam 1000 is able to hold
more pictures in its internal memory.
White Balance Settings for Better Photos
AstraCam 1000 has four white balance settings that adjust the camera for
specific lighting situations. These settings help you optimize your photos in
different kinds of light. One of the icons below will always appear in the
settings display when the camera is turned on.
You can set the camera to take pictures in:
Sunny light
Cloudy light or shade
Tungsten light (Keep photos from looking too yellow when taken in
tungsten light. This kind of light is common in homes.)
Fluorescent light (Keep your photos from looking too green when
taken in fluorescent light. This kind of light is common in stores.)
6
Loading...