RCA ProV712 / PRO 8 Camcorder (160-0867) Operation, Record Faxback Doc. # 34797 Handling the Lens Cap and Using the Hand Strap Attach the Lens Cap to the Hand Strap and Fit the Hand Strap to Your Hand 1. Open the hand strap flap and grip strap, and slide the lens cap holder from the grip strap. 2. Pass the grip strap through the loop at the end of the lens cap cord, and replace the lens cap holder onto the strap. 3. Hold the Camcorder against your chest. Put your thumb close to the Power Zoom buttons, pull the grip strap tight until it fits snugly, and then close the hand strap flap. CAUTION: Do not swing the Camcorder by its hand strap. Handling the Lens Cap NOTE: Always replace the lens cap on the Camcorder lens when the Camcorder is not in use. Attaching the Shoulder Strap 1. Hold one end of the strap and thread it through the loop on the left side of the LCD monitor screen. 2. Loosen the strap in the buckle, then feed through the end of the strap. 3. Pull the strap in the direction of arrow. 4,5,6 Repeat steps 1 through 3 to attach the other end of the shoulder strap to the ring on the lens side. Handling the LCD Monitor Screen Do not let anything press against the monitor screen, and do not expose it to shock, as it may break. Do not put the Camcorder on a table, or any other surface, with the monitor screen facing down. Use a soft cloth to clean the monitor screen. Easy Camera Recording You can watch the subject on the large LCD monitor screen for easier, more enjoyable video-shooting. Before you start recording, perform the operations described on Faxback Doc. # 34795 and # 34796 to prepare your Camcorder for recording. 1. Remove the lens cap and secure it to the hand strap. (See above) 2. Hold down the Power switch and slide it to CAMERA. (The picture from the lens is now displayed on the LCD monitor screen.) 3. Press the REC START/STOP button to start recording. Make sure the REC indicator lights. 4. Press the REC START/STOP button again to finish recording. The Cam- corder is engaged in Recording Standby mode. Make sure the REC indicator turns off. To exit Recording mode, slide the Power switch to OFF. NOTES: During Recording mode, the speaker is off. If the Camcorder is kept in Recording Standby mode for more than approximately 5 minutes, the power will be automatically turned off to save battery power and to protect the tape from being damaged. To continue recording after this, set the Power switch to OFF, and then back to CAMERA again. If you will not be recording again for a while, turn off the power by sliding the Power switch to OFF. This will make the battery last longer. Basic Operations Camera Recording Zooming Zooming allows you to move visually closer to or farther from a subject without physically changing your position. To Zoom In Press the Power Zoom T (telephoto) button to get a close-up view when you want to focus on the subject. To Zoom Out Press the Power Zoom W (wide angle) button to get a wide field of view when you want to show the surroundings. NOTES: If the REC indicator starts to flash when you press the REC START/ STOP button to begin recording, check for the following and correct the situation. There is less than one minute until the end of the tape is reached. A blank white area may appear at the beginning of the recording if you slide the Power switch to CAMERA and then press REC START/STOP before an image has appeared on the monitor screen. Tips on Recording Positions The rotating LCD monitor screen lets you enjoy easy video recording in relaxed postures. You can record using more natural body postures since you can see the subject on-screen, without having to hold the Camcorder against your eye. The LCD monitor screen also makes high-angle and low-angle shots easy. In hand-held recording, the Camcorder has to be steadied to prevent image shake. Use a tripod for very stable recording. Basic Recording Positions Put the fingers of your right hand through the hand strap and position your right thumb close to the REC START/STOP and Power Zoom buttons. Place your left thumb in the indentation on the left side of the LCD monitor screen. NOTES: Take care not to touch the monitor screen with your fingers, as perspiration and dirt will smudge it. Unless you intend to create a special effect, keep the Camcorder level with the horizontal plane. Take care not to touch the microphone with your fingers when the Camcorder is recording. It will cause noise on the audio track. Hints for Better Shooting Position the subject in the center of the screen. NOTES: When you are using auto focus, whatever is in the center of the screen is kept in focus. Avoid backlit subjects. For the best picture, the light source should be located behind the Camcorder. When the background is brighter than the subject, the subject often becomes too dark. If you need to record under such conditions, use the backlight compensation (BLC) function to improve the picture (see "Backlight Compensation (BLC) and Gain-up (Cat's Eye", below.) More Hints For Shooting Better Videos Before zooming, think about how to frame the shot best. Stop zooming when the shot is well framed. When image shake is noticeable during zoomed-in telephoto shooting, use a tripod or press the Power Zoom W (wide angle) button to zoom out. Screw the tripod into the tripod socket on the bottom of the Camcorder. Horizontal panning (lateral movement) and tilting (vertical movement) should be done slowly to emphasize the wide expanse of a scene or the height of a building, and to make them easy to watch on playback. Use wide-angle settings for fast-moving subjects. NOTE: It may take longer to focus when zooming and panning are used frequently. Optical Picture Control This function automatically causes the LCD's backlight to become brighter for easier viewing when recording outdoors. NOTE: Outdoor recording depletes battery pack power more quickly than indoor recording. Self Recording The LCD monitor screen can be rotated 180 degrees vertically so that the monitor screen faces the subject. This lets you record yourself while watching yourself on the monitor screen. Recording yourself and your friends together at a party, while monitoring yourselves on the Camcorder's screen. CAUTIONS: Do not rotate the monitor part to the self recording position while the Camcorder is recording or playing back. For recording in Self Recording mode, be sure to rotate the monitor part, NOT the lens. If you hold the Camcorder upside down with its lens at the bottom, the subject will be recorded upside down. NOTE: The screen image is automatically inverted when the monitor rotation is between 140 degrees and 200 degrees. When the monitor screen is turned back to its normal position, the image returns to normal. Using Self Recording 1. Rotate Camcorder's monitor part 180 degrees vertically. The screen image will be inverted to show a mirror image of the subject. 2. Press the Power Zoom W (Wide angle) or T (Telephoto) button to obtain the desired angle of view. 3. Press the REC START/STOP button to start recording. To pause recording, press the REC START/STOP button. NOTE: You can enjoy playback by sliding the Power switch to VCR, even while the monitor part is rotated 180 degrees. Auto/Manual Focus Auto Focus The Camcorder's Auto Focus feature is designed to focus on most types of subjects. In Auto Focus mode, the Camcorder automatically focuses on what- ever is in the center of the scene. Therefore, always keep the subject in the center of the monitor screen. NOTES: If no subject is in the center of the monitor screen, the focus area will expand and the Camcorder will focus on the subject nearest the center. If no subject is displayed on the monitor screen, the Camcorder will automatically zoom out until some subject comes into the monitor screen. Auto focus may not be able to focus correctly in the situations shown in the chart below. In such situations set the Camcorder to Manual Focus mode and focus manually. Do not use Auto Focus with the following: Subject is too dark. Lack of contrast, e.g. snow scene Fast-moving subject Background is too bright. Subject has vertical or Subject is being shot through a horizontal stripes. dirty or wet window. Light reflects off the subject. Two subjects at different distances overlap in the same scene. Subject has fine repeated Subjects at different distances patterns. appear in the center of the scene at the same time. Using the Manual Focus 1. Press the Power Zoom T button to set the zoom power to the maximum. 2. Press the FOCUS Far or FOCUS Near button for 1 second to set Manual Focus mode. Then press the buttons to focus on the subject. 3. Press the Power Zoom buttons to frame the subject as you desire. NOTES: While recording in Manual Focus mode, you may not be able to focus correctly if the subject is within approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) of the Camcorder. In such a case, shift the zoom control toward wide angle, and then try focusing again. If you focus on a subject without first setting the zoom power to the maximum, the subject may go out of focus when you zoom farther in on it later. If the lens is dirty or fogged, you may not be able to obtain correct focus. Backlight Compensation (BLC) and Gain-up (Cat's Eye) Backlight Compensation (BLC) When the subject is backlit, the image will be darkened if it is recorded normally. The Camcorder's backlight compensation (BLC) feature can improve the picture. Gain-up (Cat's Eye) When you are recording in a dark or poorly illuminated location, the gain- up function lets you record a brighter picture. Using BLC/GAIN-UP 1. Press and hold down the BLC/GAIN-UP button. 2. To turn off the BLC (or Gain-up) function, release the BLC/GAIN-UP button. When lighting is adequate, the BLC/GAIN-UP button works as "BLC" while holding it down. When lighting is insufficient, the BLC/GAIN-UP button works as "GAIN-UP" while holding it down. NOTE: There is more picture noise in the Gain-up mode. Macro Shots This camcorder lets you shoot close-up images of small objects such as flowers and insects or make title frames for your videos. When you want to record a magnified image of a subject which is within approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) of the Camcorder, do not zoom in on the subject. Instead, zoom out all the way by holding down the Power Zoom W button. Then move the Camcorder closer to the subject until you obtain the desired image on the monitor screen. The Camcorder will automatically focus on the subject when the lens is set for the widest angle. NOTES: When you are recording a macro shot, be sure that there is sufficient illumination on the subject. It is recommended that you use a tripod for recording macro shots, to prevent camera shake. Turning Off the LCD Monitor Backlight This Camcorder's LCD monitor screen uses a fluorescent lamp for back- lighting. In order to reduce battery consumption, you can turn off the lamp when backlighting is not necessary during camera recording (e.g. when you are shooting at a fixed angle when using a tripod). During camera recording, hold down the LAMP OFF button for four seconds to turn off the lamp. To turn it on again, press the REC START/STOP button, or Power zoom button. Recording with Another VCR Your Camcorder can be used as the playback source deck for dubbing and editing a tape with another VCR. Connect the Camcorder to a VCR with the supplied audio/video cable. NOTE: This Camcorder lets you monitor the source program on the built-in LCD monitor screen without having to connect it to an external TV or video monitor. Recording with Another VCR 1. On the Camcorder, play back the tape to be edited, and locate the beginning and end of the sequence you wish to cut. Then rewind the tape to the beginning of the portion that you wish to keep. 2. Load a blank tape cassette into the recording VCR. 3. Press the Camcorder's PLAY button (->) and the VCR's REC (Record) button at the same time. 4. Press the VCR's Pause/Still button to pause recording when the source tape reaches the beginning of the sequence to be cut. 5. Press the VCR's Pause/Still (or REC) button to resume recording when the source tape reaches the end of the sequence to be cut. To Stop Dubbing Press the Stop buttons on the Camcorder (STOP) and the VCR. NOTES: Make sure that you press the Pause/Still button at exactly the right moment in steps 4 and 5 above. Otherwise, some of the transitions between edited sequences may be slightly off. The picture may be disturbed during video search picture playback. This does not imply a defect in the Camcorder. (BR/EB 9/25/96)