Model 130 Moviecorder (160-0830) Video Recording Faxback Doc. # 19860 SPECIAL VIDEO RECORDING FEATURES Auto Focusing The automatic focusing feature lets you concentrate on recording great videos without having to worry about whether or not they are properly focused. The camcorder detects the distance from the camcorder to the object you see in the center of the viewfinder, then sets the focus for that distance. When you move the camcorder, it continuously adjusts the focus to maintain the sharpest picture. Try to keep your desired subject in the middle of the viewfinder. NOTES: If the lens gets dirty, clean it with a soft tissue and lens- cleaning fluid. If the lens gets damp, dry it with a soft cloth or wait until the moisture evaporates. Always replace the lens cap when you finish recording. The camcorder might not be able to focus on a subject when: You are taping in extremely low light. You are taping in snow or fog. Close and distant objects are both near the center of the viewfinder. You are taping a long object (such as a fence rail) from its end. The scene includes several objects equal distances apart. Light reflects off the subject. The focus point moves rapidly. You are taping through a window. Power Zoom The power-zoom feature lets you go from wide-angle to telephoto shots at the touch of a button. During recording, press W or T with the fingers of your right hand. Press W (wide-angle) to zoom out and T (telephoto) to zoom in. As you zoom out or in, a bar with an indicator appears on the left side of the viewfinder. The indicator moves up and down the bar, showing the relative zoom position. The pressure you place on W and T controls the speed of the zoom. The harder you press W and T, the faster the camcorder zooms. Macro Focusing The camcorder's macro focusing feature lets you shoot close up pictures (as little as 3/8 inch away) of objects such as flowers, printed material, or photos in your family album. To use macro focus, press and hold down W until you see the widest possible angle in the viewfinder, then aim the camcorder at the object you are shooting. In most cases, the camcorder automatically focuses on the subject. NOTES: Since macro focus exaggerates even the slightest movement of the camcorder or subject, we recommend that you set the camcorder on a tripod while using macro focus. For the best possible resolution while using macro focus, be sure to shoot in a well-lighted area. Digital Zoom The camcorder's digital zoom feature automatically doubles the magnification of telephoto shots while you use power zoom. To use digital zoom, simply continue to press and hold down T while you are zooming. As you press and hold down T, the magnification doubles and ZOOM appears above the indicator on the left side of the viewfinder. NOTES: The subject you are magnifying while using digital zoom might appear coarse. This is normal. Since digital zoom exaggerates even the slightest movement of the camcorder or subject, we recommend that you set the camcorder on a tripod while using digital zoom. Fade In and Fade Out To give your recordings a professional look, the camcorder has three fade options. White fade: The picture fades in/out from/to a white screen. When you select this option, an escalating bar graph symbol appears in the upper left corner of the viewfinder. Wipe fade: The picture opens/closes gradually from/to the center of a black screen. When you select this option, an up/down arrow appears in the upper left corder of the viewfinder. Zoom fade: The picture fades in/out while zooming from/to a white screen. When you select this option, a symbol with four arrows pointing away from each other appears in the upper left corner of the viewfinder. To select a fade option and fade in or out, repeatedly press FADE during recording or while the camcorder is paused until the icon for the option you want appears. Then press REC/PAUSE. NOTE: During fade, the recorded audio also fades in/out along with the video. Review This feature lets you quickly review the last few seconds of a recording. 1. During recording, press REC/PAUSE to stop tape. The pause symbol appears in the viewfinder. 2. Press REVIEW. The tape rewinds and plays the last few seconds of the tape, then stops the tape where the recording ends. 3. Press REC/PAUSE to resume recording from that point. Camera Search The camera search feature lets you review recorded portions of a tape and resume recording at the desired point on the tape. This lets you smoothly connect recorded scenes. 1. During recording, press REC/PAUSE to stop the tape. The pause symbol appears in the viewfinder. 2. Press and hold down FAST-F to search forward, or REWIND to search backward. 3. When you see the approximate place on the tape where you want to start recording, continue to press and hold down FAST-F or REWIND for a few seconds more, then release FAST-F or REWIND. 4. Press and hold down PLAY to position the tape at the exact place where you want to start recording. When you locate the exact place, release PLAY to stop the tape. 5. Press REC/PAUSE to start recording at the desired position on the tape. Auto Exposure Depending on the brightness of the subject, the camcorder automatically sets its shutter speed to one of the following speeds: 1/60 1/100 1/120 1/180 1/250 1/350 1/500 1/750 1/1000 1/1500 1/2000 1/4000 The iris in the camcorder's lens also adjusts automatically in response to the shutter speed. The camcorder displays AE and the current shutter speed in the upper left corner of the viewfinder. Automatic Index Indexing makes it easy to find each recording on a tape using a VCR with the VHS Index Search System (VISS) feature. NOTE: For more information about VISS, refer to your VCR's owner's manual. The camcorder automatically records VISS index signals when: You turn on the camcorder's power after about 4 hours after you last turned it off, then start recording. You turn on the camcorder's power after the date changed to the next day while the power was off, then start recording. When the camcorder records a VISS index signal, INDEX appears in the viewfinder until you start recording. Recording the Date and Time On a Tape You can select a date/time recording option by repeatedly pressing DATE/ TIME. Each time you press DATE/TIME, you see one of the following options: A clock symbol with AUTO and the date--The camcorder automatically records the date on the first 10 seconds of the first recording of the day. Date only--The camcorder continuously records the date. No date/time display--The camcorder does not record the date or time. Time and date--The camcorder continuously records the date and time. NOTES: The camcorder records the same date when: You replace the cassette. You select another date/time option, then select the auto date option. The previous recording was less than 10 seconds long. If the date changes while recording continues for more than 10 seconds, the new date is recorded at the beginning of the next recording. Digital Counter The camcorder displays a digital tape counter in the upper right corner of the viewfinder during recording or playback. You can use this counter to mark and return to specific locations on a tape. The camcorder does not record the digital counter onto the tape. 1. Load a cassette into the camcorder, then slide POWER to CAMERA or VCR. The counter appears in the viewfinder. 2. Rewind the tape in the camcorder, then press RESET. The counter resets to 0000. 3. Begin recording or playback of the tape. 4. While recording or playing back, if you see a place on the tape you might want to return to, note the counter reading at that point. Counter Memory This feature lets you rewind the tape to a specific point where you reset the tape counter to 0000. 1. Load a cassette into the camcorder, then slide POWER to CAMERA or VCR. The counter appears in the viewfinder. 2. Press DISPLAY. M appears next to the counter in the viewfinder. 3. Begin recording or playback of the tape. When you see a scene you might want to return to, press RESET. The counter resets to 0000. 4. When you are ready to return to the location on the tape where you pressed RESET, follow these steps if you are recording: a) Press REC/PAUSE b) Slide POWER to VCR c) Press REWIND. If you are playing back a tape, press STOP/EJECT, then press REWIND. The tape rewinds, then stops when the counter reaches 0000. To rewind past the location on the tape where you pressed RESET, press REWIND again. Tape Remaining During recording and playback, the camcorder displays a bar below the tape counter in the viewfinder showing the amount of tape left on the loaded cassette. The camcorder displays remaining tape information in ranges from a clear bar (the tape is at or near the beginning), a half-filled bar (the tape is in or near the middle), to a fully shaded bar (the tape is at or near the end). NOTES: When there is less than 5 minutes of tape left, TAPE END also flashes in the viewfinder. When you first record or play back a cassette, the camcorder displays a cassette symbol followed by a series of dashes for about 10 seconds. Then the bar changes to show the remaining amount of tape. The remaining tape bar disappears when you eject the cassette. Titler You can easily create and record personalized titles on your recordings using the camcorder's titler. The camcorder stores up to two title "pages" in its memory. Once you store a title, you can display and record it onto a tape any time. Each title page can contain up to two lines of 16 characters each. The titler contains 47 different characters you can use to create titles. Creating Titles Follow these steps to create titles and save them in the camcorder's memory (one title per page). NOTE: You cannot load or eject a cassette while creating a title. 1. Slide POWER to CAMERA or VCR. 2. Press TITLE. A flashing cursor appears in the viewfinder. 3. Repeatedly press SHIFT to move the flashing cursor to the place where you want to begin your title. 4. Select the first character of your title by repeatedly pressing - or + to move backward or forward through the characters until the viewfinder shows the correct character. To quickly move backward or forward through the characters, press and hold down - or +. The characters appear in this order as you press + (or in reverse order as you press -). A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ? ' . / , - ; : < > ! (space) 5. After you have selected the first character, press SHIFT to move the flashing cursor to the place where you want the next character. 6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until you complete the title. NOTE: The last character you select might flash in the viewfinder, but it will not flash when you save it. 7. If you like, you can press PAGE then repeat Steps 3 - 6 to create another title. 8. To save and review the titles you created, press TITLE. The last title page you created appears, and the first character of the title flashes. To view the other title page (if you created one), press PAGE. NOTES: Your camcorder's built-in rechargeable battery protects the titles you created. The camcorder saves the titles you created when it automatically stops and turns itself off after 5 minutes. Editing Titles Follow these steps to change a title: 1. Press TITLE. Then, if the title page you want to correct does not appear, press PAGE to select the other title page. 2. Repeatedly press SHIFT to move forward through the characters until the incorrect character flashes. 3. Repeatedly press - or + to move backward or forward through the characters until the viewfinder shows the correct character. To quickly move backward or forward through the characters, press and hold down - or +. 4. If necessary, repeat Steps 2 and 3 to select and correct other characters. Adding Titles While Recording You can use the camcorder to superimpose (add) titles to your recordings while you record. NOTE: You cannot use these steps to superimpose titles over material previously recorded. You can do this while you dub a tape. 1. Slide POWER to VCR. 2. Locate the position on the tape where you want to record a title. 3. Slide POWER to CAMERA. 4. Press TITLE. Then, if the title page you want to record does not appear, press PAGE to select the other title page. 5. Press REC/PAUSE to start the title recording. The camcorder superimposes the title you selected over the scene you are recording. 6. When you want to stop recording the title onto the tape, press TITLE. The title disappears. HINTS FOR MAKING BETTER VIDEO TAPES If you are not familiar with camera techniques, there are many books about the subject available at your local library. However, because the camcorder is so simple to use and tape can be used again and again, it is inexpensive to experiment and learn as you go. The following information will get you started. Lighting Lighting should be uniform. The camcorder can record in low-light conditions, but more light is usually better. The optimum brightness for top-quality pictures is between 500 and 100,000 lux. CAUTION: Do not place a light source near the camcorder. The heat can damage the camcorder. This chart shows you the approximate brightness in different situations or from different light sources. Brightness (LUX) Situation 100,000 Clear day at noon 65,000 Clear day at 10:00 AM 35,000 Clear day at 3:00 PM 32,000 Cloudy day at noon 25,000 Cloudy day at 10:00 AM 2,000 Cloudy day, one hour after sunrise 1,000 Clear day, one hour before sunset 1,000 Fluorescent light near window 700 - 800 Factory floor 500 - 700 Sales counter in department store 500 Bowling Alley 400 - 500 Library 400 - 500 Office with fluorescent lighting 400 Fluorescent desk lamp 250 Flashlight at 3 feet 100 Factory stairway 15 - 35 During intermission at movie theater 15 - 20 Cigarette lighter at 1 foot 10 - 15 Candles on birthday cake at 8 inches Camcorder Movement When you move the camcorder while recording, do so slowly and steadily. Too much movement or fast movement make your recordings look awkward. A video camera tripod (such as Radio Shack Cat. No. 16-2017, not supplied) is a worthwhile investment for top-quality movie making. Zoom In and Zoom Out As with movement, too much use of the camcorder's zoom features can detract from your recordings. When you use power zoom and/or digital zoom, it is best to zoom in or zoom out in one smooth motion, not in several jerky motions. If you use them sparingly, movements from side to side combined with zooms can be very effective in your video tapes. (EB 2/26/96)