PART 1: GETTING STARTED

Listed below are those buttons you really need to get to know- in order to start shooting quickly. Once you are happy with these - Move on to Part 2 and learn how to operate the camera in manual.

POWER ON / OFF - back of camera top left

Rotate the large round button to PLAYER while depressing the locking button in the middle. The camera should bleep and the transport controls illuminate - you can use the player/recorder to review your tapes by operating the STOP, REWIND, PLAY, FAST FORWARD and PAUSE buttons.
Rotate the large round button to CAMERA while depressing the locking button in the middle. - you have now selected the camera and the recorder (you will not have a picture until you select STANDBY- see below).

Back to the top.

START / STOP - under the right thumb when the camera is hand held.

This is a red button with a black rotary control around it. It has three positions.

LOCK is off.
STANDBY turns the camera and recorder on.(If you still cannot see a picture in the viewfinder check that you have removed the lens cap.)
PHOTO STANDBY is for taking stills only and should not be selected if you wish to record moving pictures.

TO START RECORDING
press the red button, the message REC will appear in the viewfinder (plus the red tally lights will come on and the time code will start counting)

TO STOP RECORDING
press the red button again, the message STBY will appear in the viewfinder.

NB when there is a tape in the camera it will automatically turn itself off every five minutes. You can turn it back on by switching from STANDBY to LOCK and back again.

Back to the top.

POWER ZOOM

The 'T' stands for TELEPHOTO and will zoom the lens in.
The 'W' stands for WIDE-ANGLE and will zoom the lens out.

The Power zoom has two speed levels. Press gently to zoom in slowly - press firmly to zoom in quickly.

NB the 20:1 zoom facility combines a 10:1 optical zoom with a digital doubler. The camera will work with or without the digital doubler. It is advisable to turn it OFF as it degrades the picture considerably (to do this go into the camera's MENUS) .

Back to the top.

AUTO LOCK

When the HOLD/AUTO LOCK switch is in AUTO LOCK position - the camcorder will automatically adjust the WHITE BALANCE, SHUTTER, EXPOSURE/GAIN and SOUND RECORDING LEVEL.
With the HOLD/AUTO LOCK turned to the middle position you have the choice of operating the above features manually or on auto
To retain the settings you have adjusted manually, turn the HOLD/AUTO LOCK to the HOLD position.

Back to the top.

AUTO FOCUS

With the FOCUS switch set to AUTO the camera will automatically focus for you.
Set the switch to MANUAL to take control of focusing - the symbol appears top and centre of the viewfinder.
The PUSH AUTO button below will automatically focus the camera on whatever is in the centre of the picture. When you release the button it will revert to the manual mode.
When the FOCUS switch is held in the INFINITY position the camera automatically goes to maximum focal distance and a mountains symbol appears in the viewfinder top centre. When you release the switch it reverts to the MANUAL position.

Back to the top.

STEADY SHOT

This is an optical means of compensating for camera shake.
You can switch it on/off with the STEADY SHOT switch - located on the bottom left of the inside of the battery compartment door.
When switched on - the symbol appears on the left of the blue strip in the bottom of the viewfinder
It should be switched on in most circumstances because even lightweight tripods are inherently unstable.

For a great explanation on how image stabilisers work take a look at this from the tvcameramen.com site.

Back to the top.

EDIT SEARCH

Momentarily holding down the EDIT SEARCH rocker marked "-" allows you to look at the last two seconds of the last picture you recorded.
By holding down the "+" or "-" side of the edit search you can forward or rewind through the tape. (The harder you press the faster it goes.)
Be careful when you use the edit search facility. If you forward onto blank tape then start recording, the camera will reset timecode to ZERO. Always cue up on the last recorded picture to ensure you have continuous timecode throughout your rushes.

Back to the top.

PRE FLIGHT CHECKS

Always check that the viewfinder is in focus.

First of all make sure the lens cap is in place. All you should be able to see in the viewfinder is the blue strip along the bottom which houses the time code details, and battery symbol.
Under the rubber eye cup, on the viewfinder, you'll find the viewfinder lens adjustment ring.
Turn the ring with your thumb until the battery symbol in the blue strip is completely out of focus.
Slowly bring the battery symbol back into focus. You may find it helps to rock the ring backwards and forwards – until your sure that the symbols are in perfect focus.

Check all of your batteries – you should have at least three fully charged camera batteries in your kit along with some spare AA batteries for your microphones.
Make sure you have enough tapes with you.
Check the tripod hot shoe matches the tripod. You cannot mix and match one manufacturers hot shoe with another manufacturers tripod.
Adjust the Velcro fastening on the side strap until it is comfortable for your hand size.

Back to the top.

Move on to...: Part 2: MANUAL OPERATION

Back to the top.

Christina Fox