Vivitar ViviCam 38 User Manual

ViviCam 38 Digital Camera

User Manual

© 2009-2011 Sakar International, Inc. All rights reserved.
Windows and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

1

Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 2

Key Features............................................................................................................. 2

What‟s Included......................................................................................................... 2

Computer System Requirements for Windows ............................................................ 3

Computer System Requirements for Macintosh .......................................................... 3

A Quick Look at your Digital Camera .......................................................................... 4

Inserting Batteries ..................................................................................................... 4

Power On and Use Your Camera ............................................................................... 7

Mode Selection/Taking Photos................................................................................... 7

Installing the Vivitar Experience Image Manager Software & Camera Driver .............. 16

Connect Your Camera to the Computer.................................................................... 17

Get Photos and Videos from Your Camera to Your Computer ................................... 18

Get Started! ............................................................................................................ 19

Sakar Warranty Card ............................................................................................... 20

Technical Support ................................................................................................... 21

Technical Specifications .......................................................................................... 21

Frequently Asked Questions .................................................................................... 22

2

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the ViviCam 38 Digital Camera. Everything you need to take quality
digital photos and videos is included with your device. Please read this manual carefully
FIRST in order to get the most out of your digital camera.

Important Notice:
Please do not plug the camera into the USB port of your computer until you have
installed the Vivitar Experience Image Manager software and the camera`s driver.
Plugging in your camera at this stage will cause the device to not be recognized by the
computer and no images will be downloaded.

Key Features

 Still Camera –Holds Up to 120 Photos
 1.5” Preview Screen
 Shoots Video Clips
 8 MB Internal Memory

What’s Included

 Digital Camera
 Vivitar Experience software and driver Installation CD
 USB cable
 Wrist Strap
 Quick Start Guide
 Warranty Card

3

Computer System Requirements for Windows

To be able to download photos and videos to your PC, you will need the following minimum
configuration:

 Microsoft® Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1 or Windows 7
 Pentium ® 4 processor or above
 512 MB RAM, with 250MB of free disk space
 1024 x 768 Recommended screen resolution
 16-bit color or higher display adaptor
 CD-ROM Drive
 QuickTime® 6 or higher
 Microsoft® Internet Explorer 7 or higher
 Windows Media Player 10 or higher
 DirectX 9 or higher

Computer System Requirements for Macintosh

To be able to download photos and videos to your MAC your will need the following minimum
configuration:

 Macintosh with Intel Processor running Mac OS X v10.5.x or later
 256 MB RAM, 250 MB free disk space
 Display: 1024 x 768 or higher-resolution monitor
 QuickTime® 6 or higher

4

A Quick Look at your Digital Camera

Inserting Batteries

Your camera requires three AAA batteries. Insert the batteries into the camera:

1. Open the cover of the battery compartment on the bottom of the camera.

2. Insert the batteries according to the polarities (+ and -) indicated on the inside of the
battery cover

3. Close the battery cover.

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Important: Before installing the batteries make sure you are not near water and that
your hands are dry.

WARNING: Opening the battery compartment and/or removing the batteries will
erase the photos currently stored in the camera. Download your photos as often
as possible. Photos may be lost when the batteries run low.

A “Low battery” message will appear on the “Preview” screen when your batteries are
running low, in which case you will need to replace your camera‟s batteries. Please
download any photos you have on the camera before opening the battery compartment.

Note: If you do not intend to use your camera for an extended period, remove the
batteries to avoid battery leakage and corrosion.

6

Battery Capacity Icons

An icon will appear on the top right corner of your Preview Screen, showing the amount of battery
power available.

 Once the battery indicator falls below 35% it is advisable to download the images to your

computer as quickly as possible so as not to lose them.

 Once the battery run low and the camera turns off, the images will be erased from the

camera‟s memory.

 Removing the batteries and replacing them with new ones also erases the images from the

camera‟ memory.

When the battery is running low, a “low battery” message will appear on the Preview Screen and
then automatically switch off. In this case you will need to replace the camera‟s batteries before
continuing to take photos.

Warning:

Do not remove the batteries before downloading the photos and videos from the camera. Doing

so will erase everything in the camera‟s memory.

Note: We recommend downloading and saving your photos and videos often so as not to
lose them if the battery power becomes too low.

35%-70% power

more than
70% power

5%-35%
power

less than
5% power

7

Power On and Use Your Camera

Note: In order to download the photos and videos captured with this camera you need to

install the Vivitar Experience Image Manager software and camera specific driver for this

device. See the “Install the Vivitar Experience Image Manager Software” section of this

manual to learn how to install the software before connecting the camera to your computer.

1. Press the Power/Menu button to start the camera.

2. The red LED ON indicator will light up and the color LCD panel will turn on to confirm
that your camera is on and ready for use.

Mode Selection/Taking Photos

Note: In order to download the photos and videos captured with this camera you need to
install the Vivitar Experience Software and camera specific driver for this device.

Press the Power/Menu button to power on the camera.

When you start the camera for the first time, the default settings are:

 PHOTO MODE
 HIGH RESOLUTION -2 Megapixel- 1600x1280
 Higher Photo Quality- Higher image quality but uses more memory
 60 HZ- For North America, Central America and certain regions in South America

You can immediately start taking photos if you are happy with the default setting.

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Follow these instructions to change the camera settings:

LCD DISPLAY LAYOUT

The camera has 5 mode options on the Main Menu:

To select the mode and to change the settings in each mode:

1. Press the Power/Menu button, the Main Menu screen appears.

2. Use the UP/Down buttons to toggle between the menu icons on the screen.

3. Use the Shutter button to toggle and select the different submenu features within
each menu.

4. Press the Power/Menu button to save your choice.

Quality
Select

Delete
Image

9

CAPTURE MODE

The capture mode setting options are:

Photo

Self-Timer
Video

Continuous 3 shot

Taking Photos

1. Power on the camera. The camera mode is selected by default. The camera
icon appears on top left of the Preview Screen.

2. Press the Shutter button to take a photo. The number that appears at the bottom left
corner of the screen indicates how many photos you can take at the current setting.

3. Press the UP/Flash button to activate the flash options - Auto or Forced on. Press
again to turn the flash off.

Note: After a photo is captured the number of photos that can still be taken will
appear for a short time on the bottom left corner of the screen.

Using the Self-timer

Include yourself in the picture by setting the camera to the Self-timer mode.

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Place the camera on a flat or strudy surface or attach the camera to a tripod via the tripod socket

on the base of the camera.

1. Press the Power/Menu button once to enter the menu.

2. Press the Shutter button until the icon appears in the Capture mode icon area
of the Preview Screen.

3. Press the Power/Menu button again to save the choice and exit the menu.

4. The Self-timer icon now appears in the top left corner of the Preview Screen.

5. The camera is now ready to take a photo after a 10-second count down.

6. Press the Shutter button to start the countdown. The camera will emit a beep for
every second. After 10 seconds the photo will be taken automatically.

Taking Videos

1. Press the Power/Menu button once to enter the menu.

2. Press the Shutter button until the icon appears in the Capture mode icon area
of the Preview Screen.

3. Press the Power/Menu button again to save the choice and exit the menu.

4. The Video icon now appears in the top left corner of the Preview Screen.

5. Press the Shutter button to start shooting the video and again to stop the video
capture. The video is saved as an AVI file in the camera‟s memory.

6. During video capture the recording elapsed time will appear on the bottom right
corner of the Preview Screen.

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Taking 3 Continuous Shots

1. Press the Power/Menu button once to enter the menu.

2. Press the Shutter button until the icon appears in the Capture mode icon
area of Preview Screen.

3. Press the Power/Menu button again to save the choice and exit the menu.

4. The 3 Continuous Shots icon now appears in the top left corner of the Preview
Screen.

5. Press the Shutter button. The camera will now automatically take 3 continuous
photos one after the other.

Reminder: Download your images often to your computer. If the battery power runs low, all the

images on the camera will be erased from the memory.

PLAYBACK MODE

The Playback Mode enables you to preview the image files (JPEG/AVI) stored on your camera

using the Preview Screen.

1. Press the Playback button to enter the Playback mode.

2. The Preview Screen will open and show the last photo or video file that was taken.

3. The sequence number and the total number of images currently stored appears on

the bottom left of the Preview Screen.

4. Press the UP/DOWN buttons to go to the previous or the next image.

5. Press the Playback button again to exit the Playback mode.

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Video Playback

Video clips (AVI) appear with the icon on the top left corner of the LCD Preview Screen.
Press the Shutter button to play the video and press it again to pause.
When playing the video file, the elapsed time will appear on the bottom right corner of the Preview

Screen.

PHOT RESOLUTION AND QUALITY

Resolutions Selection

There are 3 photo resolutions to select from:

3.1M (2048 x 1536)

2.0M (1600 x 1280)

1.3M (1280 x 1024)

To Select the desired photo resolution:

1. Press the Power/Menu button once to enter the menu.

2. Press the UP/DOWN button to select the resolution setting icon.

3. Press the Shutter button to select the desired resolution:

o The icon with 3 stars means 3.1M (2048 x 1536)

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o The icon with 2 stars means 2.0M (1600 x 1280)

o The icon with 1 star means 1.3M (1280 x 1024)

4. Press the Power/Menu button to save the setting and exit to the Photo mode.

Photo Quality Selection

There are 2 photo quality options to select from:

Higher quality - large file size, less photos stored in memory
Normal quality - smaller file size, more photos stored in memory

To select the desired quality setting:

1. Press the Power/Menu button once to enter the menu.

2. Press the UP /DOWN button to select the quality setting icon.

3. The icon means the current quality is higher quality.

4. To change to normal quality, press the Shutter button until the icon appears
on the Preview Screen.

5. Press the Power/Menu button to save the setting and exit to the previous mode.

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Memory Usage Reference Table

FREQUENCY

The camera has 2 Electric Current Frequency settings:

60 Hz –US, Canada
50 Hz – UK, Europe

Set the camera for the correct frequency according to the electric current frequency in the area
you are located:

1. Press the Power/Menu button once to enter the menu.

2. Press the UP/DOWN buttons to select the frequency setting icon.

3. If the icon appears this means the current frequency setting is 60Hz.

4. To change to 50Hz, press the Shutter button until the icon appears.

5. Press the Power/Menu button to save the setting and exit to the photo mode.

Photo

Resolution

Photo Quality

Total Number of Photos

Available

3.1M

Higher Quality

12 photos

3.1M

Normal Quality

24 photos

2.0M

Higher Quality

15 photos

2.0M

Normal Quality

30 photos

1.3M

Higher Quality

43 photos

1.3M

Normal Quality

120 photos

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Delete Photos & Videos

To Delete A Single File

1. Press the Playback button once to enter the Playback mode.

2. Press the UP/DOWN buttons to select the file to be deleted.

3. Press the Power/Menu button once for the delete selected file confirmation screen to
appear.

4. Press the UP/DOWN buttons to select “Yes” or “No”.

5. If „Yes‟, press the Shutter button to confirm the deletion. This will erase the selected
file stored on the camera.

6. If „No‟, the camera will revert to the main menu icons screen.

To Delete All images on the camera

1. Press the Power/Menu button once to enter the menu.

2. Press the UP/DOWN buttons to select the Delete All icon .

3. Press the Shutter button once for the delete confirmation screen to appear.

4. Press the UP/DOWN buttons to select ”Yes” or “No”.

5. If „Yes‟, press the Shutter button to confirm the deletion. This will erase all the image

files stored on the camera.

6. If „No‟, the camera will revert to the main menu icons screen.

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Important: Please use the delete options with caution. The delete process is irreversible
and the files will be erased without recovery.

Turning Off The Camera

Press the Power button to switch the camera off.

Energy Save Mode:

To conserve battery power, if the camera is not in use for 60 seconds, it will automatically switch
off.

Installing the Vivitar Experience Image Manager Software &
Camera Driver

Warning: Do not plug your camera into the computer until the Vivitar Experience

Image Manager Software installation is complete.

1. Insert the installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. The Vivitar Experience Image
Manager will begin to install the camera driver and software.

2. Please review the license terms.

On PC and Macintosh: Click the “I accept the terms of this license agreement” and

then click “Next” to continue.

3. On PC only: Let the “Vivitar Experience Image Manager” installer create the folder to
where the program will be installed, and then click “Install”.

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4. Please wait while the application continues the installation process on your
computer.

5. Follow all instructions.

6. On PC: Click the “Close” button when the installation is complete.

The application automatically opens.

7. On Macintosh: Click the “Quit” button when the installation is complete.

8. Click the “Launch” button to open the application.

9. If you closed the application, click on the Vivitar Experience Image Manager desktop
icon or run and open the application from the Start\Programs or Applications menu
on your computer.

Connect Your Camera to the Computer

1. Use the USB cable that came with your camera to connect your camera to your
computer.

2. Plug the one end of the USB cable into the USB slot on the side of the camera and
plug the other end into an available USB port on your computer.

3. Your camera will automatically turn on.

4. On a Windows PC the first time you connect the device to the computer you will
have to wait a few moments until the computer recognizes the device.

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Get Photos and Videos from Your Camera to Your Computer

Do not disconnect the cable during transfer. Doing so will cancel the transfer of any files on their
way to your computer.

1. Select the “Get Images” button from the Main menu.

2. The “Get media from device” window opens.

3. Both photos and videos (if you have captured any) will get downloaded.

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4. Select your camera model from the device window. If your camera is the only device
connected then it will be selected automatically.

5. Select a location on the computer where to place the new photo and video files.

6. Add the new photo and video files to albums if desired.

7. Select to remove the media files from the selected device after the import.

8. Click the “Get Media” button to transfer the photos and videos from your camera to
your computer.

9. A media download progress window appears in the middle of the screen showing
the number of media files downloading to your computer. A message appears when
the download is complete.

10. The photo and video files that you selected are now downloaded to your computer to
the selected folder and albums ready for your use.

Get Started!

Using the Vivitar Experience Image Manager application you can:

 Get photos and videos from your camera
 Manage and organize your images by creating albums
 Edit the images using automatic and manual tools

 Easily transfer photos and videos between social networks and your computer

 Use automatic “Geotagging” with built in Google Maps and more…

For more details on how to use the Vivitar Experience Image Manager, open the Help file or
click the “Take a Tour” button on the application`s Home page.

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Sakar Warranty Card

This warranty covers for the original consumer purchaser only and is not transferable. Products
that fail to function properly UNDER NORMAL USAGE, due to defects in material or workmanship
will be repaired at no charge for parts or labor for a period of one year.

What Is Not Covered By Warranty:

Damages or malfunctions not resulting from defects in material or workmanship and damages or
malfunctions from other than normal use, including but not limited to, repair by unauthorized
parties, tampering, modification or accident.

What To Do When Service Is Required:

When returning your defective product (postage pre-paid) for service, your package should
include:

1) Copy of original bill of sale

2) A detailed written description of the problem.

3) Your return address and telephone number (Daytime)

MAIL TO ADDRESS BELOW:

Sakar US
Sakar International
Attention: Service Department
195 Carter Drive
Edison, NJ 08817

Sakar UK/Europe
Attention: Service Department
2D, Siskin Parkway East
4020 Middlemarch Business
Park
Coventry, CV3 4PE

Sakar Australia
Return faulty camera to
the Refund Counter at
the store where
purchased

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Technical Support

For technical support issues please visit our website at www.vivitar.com. You can find manuals,

software and FAQ‟s at the website. Can‟t find what you are looking for? E-mail us at

[e-mail] and one of our technical support team members will answer your questions.
For phone support in the US please call 1-800-592-9541, in the UK call 0800 917 4831, in Australia
call 1800-006-614. If you would like to call from anywhere else, please visit www.vivitar.com for
your local toll free number.

Technical Specifications

Image Resolution

3.1M (2048 x 1536), 2.0M (1600 x 1280),1.3M
(1280 x 1024)

File Format

JPEG/AVI

Memory

8MB SDRAM

Storage capability

Resolution

Higher
Quality

Normal
Quality

(2048 x 1536)

12

24

(1600 x 1280)

15

30

(1280 x 1024)

43

120

Interface

USB1.1

Power Supply

3AAA Battery or USB cable

Operating Systems

Windows XP SP3,Vista SP1, 7
Mac X 10.5.x (or higher)

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I have taken photos, but my computer says "No photos in camera." What do I do?

First, ensure that you have taken photos with your camera. Press the shutter button a few times to
take some sample photos and try again. If you still get a no photos error, this indicates that the
driver was not installed correctly or your computer may not meet the minimum system
requirements (see the Computer System Requirements section of this manual).
Reinstall the software and follow all the instruction.

Q: How do I make sure I don't lose important pictures?

Your camera uses SDRAM memory, which requires a constant electric current to store your
photos.
Should your camera lose power (for instance if the battery dies or run out of power) all stored
pictures will be lost. We recommend always downloading your photos to your computer as soon as
possible to prevent unintentional data loss.

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