Model 151 MovieCorder (160-0852) Recording Features Faxback Doc. # 18474 VIDEO CASSETTE HANDLING Proper handling of video cassettes lengthens cassette life and protects the camcorder. Always treat them with care. Cassette Storage Store video cassettes in their protective boxes and in a cool, dry, dustfree environment. Use video cassette racks that hold the cassettes on end, not on their sides. This prevents improper settling of the spool of tape. Erase Protection Each 8 mm video cassette has an erase-protection feature to prevent accidental erasure of a tape. If the erase protection window on the spine of the cassette is closed, the camcorder cannot record on the tape. ERASE-PROTECTION Switch If you want to record on a tape, use the tip of a pen to open the window. Video Tape Recording/Playback Time Tape Size P6-15 P6-30 P6-60 P6-90 P6-120 Time 15 min 30 min 60 min 90 min 120 min NOTE: Do not cover the holes on the bottom of the cassette. These holes tell the camcorder the type and length of tape you are using. AUTO/MANUAL FOCUS In most cases, the auto-focus system provides excellent results. However, the camcorder also has a manual focus feature for special situations or special effects. Manual Focus 1. Set the FOCUS switch to MANUAL. MF appears in the viewfinder 2. Press the [T] power zoom button for a close-up view. 3. Turn the focus ring until the image is sharp and clear. 4. Press the [W] power zoom button until you see the desired image. Auto-Focus When you set the FOCUS switch to AUTO, the camcorder uses a digitally- processed, through-the-lens, auto-focus system to determine the distance to the nearest object that appears in the center of the viewfinder. Then, it focuses on that object. When you move the camcorder, the auto-focus system automatically refocuses. AF appears in the viewfinder when the camcorder is set to AUTO. CAUTION: While the camcorder is set to auto-focus, do not turn the focus ring manually. However, some situations are difficult for the auto-focus system to handle: The zoom lens is at the most close-up position. The focus point is not in the center of the picture. Close and distant objects are both near the center of the viewfinder. You are taping a long object from its end. You are taping subjects with no contrast such as a white wall, sky, etc. The focus point is moving rapidly. You are taping a bright subject. You are taping in snow or fog. You are taping objects that are more than 30 feet away in low-light conditions. You are using a special filter (for vari-cross, mirages, and so forth). You move the camcorder rapidly or objects pass between the camcorder and the subject you are recording. Focus Reverse The FOCUS REVERSE button temporarily switches to the opposite focus mode. When the FOCUS switch is set to AUTO: Press and hold down [REVERSE] while panning. The focus remains fixed during the pan, producing a smooth picture as you move from one subject to another. Release the button to return to the auto-focus mode. When the Focus switch is set to MANUAL: Press and hold down [REVERSE] when you move from one subject to another to automatically focus on the new subject. Release the button to return to manual focus. POWER ZOOM This feature lets you go from a wide-angle shot to a telephoto shot at the touch of a button. During recording, press the power-zoom buttons-[W] or [T]-with the fingers of your right hand. Press [W] to zoom out (wide angel) or [T] to zoom in (telephoto). Press gently for slow zoom or hard for quick zoom. MANUAL ZOOM Move the zoom ring manually for special zoom effects. Turn the zoom lever to the right or left, to zoom in or zoom out. NOTES: Vibration is more noticeable when you zoom in close, so be sure to hold the camcorder steady. When you use the manual focus and the power zoom features at the same time, adjust the focus at the maximum close-up position. Then, return to the desired zoom position. Focusing is more accurate at the close-up position. MACRO (CLOSE-UP) FOCUSING Under ordinary conditions, the camcorder cannot focus on objects closer than 3 1/2 feet away. Use the macro focus feature to focus on closer objects (from 3/8 inch to 3 1/2 feet away.) 1. Set the FOCUS switch to MANUAL. 2. Press and hold the green macro-set button. 3. Move the manual zoom lever to the MACRO range (green area). 4. Approach the subject, and focus the image by manually adjusting the zoom lever within the macro range. NOTE: You can also focus by varying the distance between the camcorder and the objects you are recording. To return to normal focus, turn the zoom lever or press and hold down the [T] zoom control to move out of the green macro-focus range. The green button pops up. NOTES: Do not use the power zoom buttons during macro recording. Small movements greatly affect macro recordings. You should always use a tripod during macro recording. HIGH-SPEED SHUTTER Use this feature when recording fast action (such as a tennis or golf swing) that you want to watch later using freeze frame. Freeze without High-speed Shutter Freeze with High-speed Shutter The faster shutter speed reduces blurring of individual frames that usually occurs when you record fast action. Press [HI SPEED SHUTTER]. 1000 appears in the viewfinder. To return to normal speed, press [HI SPEED SHUTTER] again. 1000 disappears from the viewfinder. NOTES: You need more light than usual when recording with the high shutter speed. When you play back a tape recorded with the higher shutter speed, you might notice that scene changes are not as smooth as normal. Picture brightness changes when you use the high shutter speed. If you use AC-powered lights during high shutter speed recording, the picture might flicker during playback. AUTO IRIS The Iris determines how much light gets into the camcorder. Normally, the camcorder automatically adjusts for changing lighting conditions. The aperture widens in low light and narrows in bright light. The auto-iris system can handle most lighting conditions. If the background is much lighter than your subject, however, the iris closes, resulting in a dark subject. Press [BACKLIGHT] to compensate for unusually bright backlighting. AUTO WHITE BALANCE Adjustment of white balance is necessary so that white objects record as white, and colors appear natural. In most cases, the automatic white-balance adjustment circuit works best. Set the WHITE BAL switch to AUTO. In the following situations, you might get best results with a manual white-balance setting: When most of the subject is a single color. When doing close-up (macro) or telephoto recording. Set the switch to either indoor (LIGHT SYMBOL) or outdoor (*). USING THE CLOCK/CALENDAR Your camcorder has a clock/calendar that constantly keeps up with the date and time. You can choose to record the current date or time on your tape if desired. Begin by setting the clock/calendar. NOTE: You must install the supplied lithium battery before you set the clock/calendar. Setting the Date/Time In the following example, we set the clock/calendar to 2:10 p.m. on December 24, 1990. 1. Press [DATETIME] until the date display appears in the viewfinder - 1.1.89, for example. Then, press and hold [SET] until the month digit (s) flash. 2. Press [DATE/TIME] to select the current month - 12.1.89, for example. 3. Press [SET] so that the day digits flash. Then, press [DATE/TIME] to select the current day - 12.24.89, for example. 4. Press [SET] so that the year digits flash. Then, press [Date/Time] to set the current year-12.24.90, for example. The clock/calendar can display years up to 2015. 5. Press [SET] so that the time display appears with the hour digit(s) flashing-AM 12:00, for example. Then, press [DATE/TIME] to set the correct hour. (PM 2:00, in our example). NOTE: The clock/calendar uses a 24-hour a.m./p.m. time display. Be sure to set AM or PM correctly. 6. Press [SET] so that the minutes digits flash. Then, press [DATE/TIME] to select the current minute (PM 2:10, in our example). 7. Press [SET]. The clock/calendar display disappears from the viewfinder. NOTE: You cannot set the date/time while you are recording or playing back a tape. Recording the Date or Time When you want to record the date or time on your tape, simply press [DATE/ TIME] until the information you want to record (date or time) appears in the viewfinder. Then record as usual. To record neither the date nor time on your tape, press [DATE/TIME] to clear the date/time information from the viewfinder. NOTE: If 88:88 flashes when you press [DATE/TIME], either the clock/ calendar battery is too weak or the date has not been set. Replace the battery if necessary, and re-set the clock/calendar. RECORDING REVIEW This feature lets you quickly review the last two seconds of a recording you just made. Press [PLAY] when the camcorder is in the record-pause mode (PAUSE flashes in the viewfinder). The last 2 seconds of the recorded material plays back in the viewfinder, and the camcorder automatically returns to record-pause mode. REAL-TIME TAPE COUNTER The real-time tape counter indicates the amount of tape used in minutes and seconds. To use the real-time tape counter: 1. Rewind the tape to the beginning. 2. Press [RESET] to set the counter to 0:00:00 at the beginning of the tape. 3. Begin recording or playback. 4. At each point you might want to return to, note the counter reading. Then, as long as you rewind the tape to the beginning and reset the counter to 0:00:00 each time you use the tape, the same counter readings should correspond to the same locations on the tape. You can also use this feature to calculate the remaining tape length. Simply subtract the current counter reading from the tape's total length. To use the counter memory: With this function you can automatically return to the exact position where you reset the counter to 0:00:00. 1. Press [RESET] at the point you want to return later. 2. Press [MEMORY]. M appears in the viewfinder. 3. Press [REWIND] when you finish recording or playback. The tape rewinds and automatically stops at the 0:00:00 counter reading. To cancel the memory mode, press [MEMORY] so that M disappears from the viewfinder. NOTE: The counter indicates a minus reading when you rewind the tape beyond 0:00:00. Press [FAST-F] to return to the 0:00:00 point on the tape. (BR 11/3/95)