Sony CCD-TR83 Handycam (160-8408) Recording Faxback Doc. # 31268 CAMERA RECORDING Make sure that the power source is installed and a cassette is inserted. When you use the camcorder for the first time, reset the date and time before you start recording. The data is automatically recorded for 10 seconds after you start recording (AUTODATE feature). This feature works only once day. Before you record one-time events, you may want to make a trial recording to make sure that the camcorder is working correctly. 1. While pressing the small green button on the POWER switch, turn it to CAMERA. 2. Turn STANDBY up. 3. Press START/STOP. The camcorder starts recording. The "REC" indicator appears and the red lamp lights up in the viewfinder. The camera recording/battery lamp also lights up. TO STOP RECORDING MOMENTARILY Press START/STOP again. The "STBY" indicator appears in the viewfinder (STANDBY MODE). TO FINISH RECORDING Press START/STOP again. Turn STANDBY down and turn the POWER switch to OFF. Then, eject the cassette and remove the battery pack. TO FOCUS THE VIEWFINDER LENS If you cannot see the indicators in the viewfinder clearly, or after someone else has used the camcorder focus the viewfinder lens. When using a monochrome viewfinder, turn the viewfinder lens adjustment ring so that the indicators in the viewfinder come into sharp focus. When using a color viewfinder, move the viewfinder lens adjustment lever so that the indicators in the viewfinder come into sharp focus. NOTE ON STANDBY MODE If you leave the camcorder in Standby mode for 5 minutes while the cassette is inserted, the camcorder turns off automatically. This prevents wearing down the battery and wearing out the tape. To resume Standby mode, turn STANDBY down once and turn it up again. To start recording, press START/STOP. NOTE: When you record from the beginning of a tape, run the tape for about 15 seconds before starting the actual recording. This will ensure that you won't miss any start-up scenes when you play back the tape. You can record tapes in SP (standard play) mode only. THE TAPE COUNTER The tape counter indicates the recording or playback time. Use it as a guide. There will be a time lag of several seconds from the actual time. To set the counter to zero, press COUNTER RESET. BEEP SOUND As indicated with a musical note in the illustrations, a beep sounds when you turn the power on or when you start recording and two beeps sound when you stop recording, confirming the operation. Several beeps also sound as a warning of any unusual condition of the camcorder. Note that the beep sound is not recorded on the tape. If you do not want to hear the beep sound, select "OFF" in the menu system. THE AUTO DATE FEATURE The clock is set to the East Coast Standard Time at the factory, but you can reset the clock in the menu system. You can change the AUTO DATE settings by selecting ON or OFF in the menu system. The AUTO DATE feature works once a day. However, the date may automatically appear more than once a day when: you reset the date and time. you eject and insert the tape again. you stop recording within 10 seconds. you set AUTO DATE to OFF and set to ON again in the menu system. WHEN MOVING FROM INDOORS TO OUTDOORS (OR VICE VERSA) Turn STANDBY up and point the camcorder at a white object for about 15 seconds so that the white balance is properly adjusted. RECORDING WITH THE DATE OR TIME Before you start recording, press DATE or TIME. You can record the date or time displayed in the viewfinder with the picture. You cannot record the date and time at the same time. Except for the date or time indicator, no indicator in the viewfinder is recorded. The clock is set to the East Coast Standard Time at the factory, but you can reset the clock in the menu system. TO STOP RECORDING WITH THE DATE OR TIME Press DATE or TIME again. The date or time indicator disappears. The recording continues. RESETTING THE DATE OR TIME You can reset the date or time in the menu system. 1. Press MENU to display the menu in the viewfinder. 2. Select CLOCK SET, then press the menu dial. 3. Turn the menu dial to adjust the year, and then press the dial. 4. Set the month, day, hour and minutes by turning the menu dial and pressing it. 5. Press MENU to erase the menu display. TO CORRECT THE DATE AND TIME SETTING Repeat steps 2 to 4. TO CHECK THE PRESET DATE AND TIME Press DATE to display the date indicator in the viewfinder. Press TIME to display the time indicator. When you press the same button again, the indicator goes off. THE TIME INDICATOR The internal clock of this camcorder operates on a 12-hour cycle. 12:00 AM stands for midnight. 12:00 PM stands for noon. SHOOTING WITH BACKLIGHTING When you shoot a subject with the light source behind the subject or a subject with a light background, use the BACK LIGHT function. Press BACK LIGHT. The BACK LIGHT indicator appears in the viewfinder. AFTER SHOOTING Be sure to release this adjustment condition by pressing BACK LIGHT again. The BACK LIGHT indicator in the viewfinder disappears. Otherwise, the picture will be too bright under normal lighting conditions. THIS FUNCTION IS ALSO EFFECTIVE UNDER THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS: On snow, e.g. at a ski resort At the beach under strong sunshine A subject with a light source nearby or a mirror reflecting light A white subject against a white background. Especially when you shoot a person wearing shiny clothes made of silk or synthetic fiber, his or her face tends to become dark if you do not use this function. CHECKING THE RECORDED PICTURE Using EDITSEARCH, you can review the last recorded scene or check the recorded picture in the viewfinder. 1. While pressing the small green button on the POWER switch, turn it to CAMERA. 2. Turn STANDBY up. 3. Press the - side of EDITSEARCH momentarily; the last few seconds of the recorded portion plays back (REC REVIEW). Hold down the - side of EDITSEARCH until the camcorder goes back to the scene you want. The last recorded portion is played back. To go forward, hold down the + side (EDIT SEARCH). TO STOP PLAYBACK Release EDITSEARCH. TO BEGIN RE-RECORDING Press START/STOP. Re-recording begins from the point you released EDITSEARCH. Provided you do not eject the tape, the transition between the last scene you recorded and the next scene you record will be smooth. TO MONITOR THE SOUND WHILE VIEWING THE PLAYBACK PICTURE IN THE VIEWFINDER Connect headphones (not supplied) to the headphone jack. Play back the tape in PLAYER mode. USING THE ZOOM FEATURE Zooming is a recording technique that lets you change the size of the subject in the scene. For more professional-looking recordings, use the zoom function sparingly. "T" side: for telephoto (subject appears closer) "W" side: for wide-angle (subject appears farther away) ZOOMING SPEED (DUAL SPEED ZOOMING) Press the power zoom button firmly for a high-speed zoom, press it softly for a relatively slow zoom. WHEN YOU SHOOT A SUBJECT USING A TELEPHOTO ZOOM If you cannot get a sharp focus while in extreme telephoto zoom, press the "W" side of the power zoom button until the focus is sharp. You can shoot a subject that is at least about 3 1/4 feet (100 cm) away from the lens surface in the telephoto position, or about 1/2 inches (1 cm) in the wide- angle position. NOTES ON DIGITAL ZOOM (CCD-TR83/TR93 ONLY) More than 12x zoom is performed digitally, and the picture quality deteriorates as you go toward the T side. If you do not want to use the digital zoom, set the D ZOOM function to OFF in the menu system. The horizontal bar in the power zoom indicator separates the digital zooming zone (above the bar) and the optical zooming zone (under the bar). If you set the D ZOOM function to OFF, the part above the bar disappears. (YO/SP/all-03/20/96)