Model 128 Moviecorder
(160-0828) Special Features Faxback Doc. # 18400
AUTO FOCUSING
The automatic focusing feature lets you concentrate on creating great
videos without having to worry about whether or not they are properly
focused. However, the camcorder also has a manual focusing feature for
special situations or special effects.
In the auto-focus mode, the camcorder detects the distance from the
camcorder to the object at the center of the viewfinder and sets the focus
for that distance. When you move the camcorder, the focus is continuously
adjusted to maintain the sharpest picture. Try to keep your desired
subject in the middle of the viewfinder.
Zoom Auto Focus
Your camcorder's zoom auto focus automatically zooms out to adjust the
focus if you zoom all the way in on an object and the object is out of
focus. This feature works only in the full auto mode.
NOTES: When the subject is closer than 10 feet, the camcorder might
automatically zoom out to obtain the best focus.
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 auto-focus sensor might not be able to focus on a subject in the
following situations.
You are taping in extremely low light.
You are taping in snow or fog.
Close and distant object are both near the center of the viewfinder.
You are taping a long object 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.
MANUAL FOCUSING
Manual focusing is useful is when the subject is not in the center of the
viewfinder. You get the best results if you focus on the subject close
up before you begin recording, as described in the following procedure.
1. Push FULL AUTO to the left so the FULL AUTO indicator disappears.
Then press MANUAL FOCUS. MANUAL FOCUS appears in the viewfinder.
2. Press T to zoom in on your subject.
3. Press POWER FOCUS F and N until the image is sharp and clear.
4. Press W or T until you see the desired image, and begin recording.
To automatically focus on a subject in the center of the viewfinder, you
can temporarily switch to the auto-focus mode by pressing MANUAL FOCUS
so MANUAL FOCUS disappears from the viewfinder. Then press the button
again to return to manual focusing.
MACRO FOCUSING
When you want to shoot extremely close up pictures (as close as 3/8-inch
away) of objects such as small plants, inserts, or photos in your family
album, slide FULL AUTO to select the full auto mode, press W and aim the
lens at the subject. Auto focus will automatically focus on the subject
in most cases. It is best to set the camcorder to the zoom-out position
during a macro shot.
If auto focus does not function with a close-up subject, follow this
procedure.
1. Push FULL AUTO to the left - FULL AUTO disappears from the viewfinder.
2. Press W to zoom-out from your subject.
3. Press MANUAL FOCUS. MANUAL FOCUS appears in the viewfinder.
4. Press POWER FOCUS F and N until you get the sharpest picture.
When you record a solid-colored object such as a flower petal, the color
might shift. If this happens, use the white balance lock mode.
We recommend that you set the camcorder on a tripod, because even the
smallest movements are magnified when you use the macro-focus mode (FULL
AUTO).
VARIABLE SPEED POWER ZOOM
The power-zoom feature lets you go from wide-angle to telephoto shots at
the touch of a button. During recording, press the power zoom buttons (W
or T) with the fingers of your right hand. Press T (telephoto) to zoom in
and W (wide-angle) to zoom out.
The pressure of your finger tips controls the speed of the zoom. The
harder you press, the faster the zoom.
BACKLIGHT COMPENSATION
The lens' iris determines how much light gets into the camcorder.
Normally, the camcorder automatically adjusts for changing lighting
conditions. The iris opens in low light and closes in bright light.
The auto-iris system can handle most lighting conditions. However, if the
background is much lighter than your subject, the iris closes, resulting in
a dark subject. Press and hold down BACKLIGHT/GAIN-UP to compensate for
unusually bright backlighting. LIGHT appears in the viewfinder to indicate
that the camcorder is in the backlight mode.
GAIN-UP
LIGHT appears in the viewfinder when you record a dark subject. Press
BACKLIGHT/GAIN-UP to make the image brighter. A symbol similar to
sunglasses appears in the viewfinder to indicate that the gain-up mode is
selected.
When the subject becomes brighter, the symbol disappears and the gain-up
mode is disengaged. If the subject becomes dark again, press BACKLIGHT/
GAIN-UP to select the gain-up mode again. To completely disengage the
gain-up mode, press BACKLIGHT/GAIN-UP while the symbol appears in the
viewfinder.
NOTE: In the gain-up mode, picture quality is usually lower than in
the regular mode.
AUTO WHITE BALANCE
Adjust the white balance so white objects record as white and colors appear
natural. In most cases, the automatic white-balance adjustment works best.
(Slide FULL AUTO to the right.)
Color shifts might occur in the following situations:
Most of the subject is a single color.
You are shooting a close-up (macro) or telephoto shot.
Natural and artificial lights are mixed.
You are using special effects lighting.
You are recording a subject against a background with an intense
color.
You are recording in insufficient light.
The lighting of a scene changes too rapidly or there is too much
contrast.
In such situations, you can avoid color shifts by setting and locking the
white balance setting as follows:
1. Zoom out all the way on a subject that is not one solid color. Wait
about 8 seconds for the white balance to adapt.
2. Push FULL AUTO to OFF.
3. Press MENU to display the menu in the viewfinder. Then, press SELECT
so the pointer is next to W. BALANCE.
4. Press SET. AUTO starts flashing. Press SELECT so the display changes
to LOCK, then press SET to store.
5. Press MENU. The viewfinder displays returns to normal mode.
NOTES: To unlock the white-balance setting, push FULL AUTO to ON.
The color temperature of light varies. For instance, the color
temperature of the sun varies depending on the weather and time
of day (see "Brightness Situations," Faxback Doc. # 18399,
Hints and Tips).
FADE IN & FADE OUT
You can press FADE IN/OUT to fade in at the beginning of a scene and/or
fade out at the end. This gives your recordings a professional look.
To fade in, do the following:
1. Press FADE IN/OUT before starting recording. FADER appears in the
viewfinder.
2. Press REC START/STOP to begin recording. FADE IN appears in the
viewfinder, and the image gradually appears in the viewfinder.
To fade out, do the following:
1. Press FADE IN/OUT during recording. FADE OUT appears in the
viewfinder.
2. Press REC START/STOP to stop recording. FADE OUT appears in the
viewfinder, and the image gradually disappears from the viewfinder.
NOTE: The sound fades in and out along with the picture.
BLANK SEARCH
This function automatically finds the end of the recorded portion on a
partially recorded tape, letting you continue recording from that point.
NOTE: Once a tape has been recorded up to the end, blank search does not
work properly. Be sure to use it only on partially recorded tapes.
1. Press REVIEW, then press PLAY. Either *>>> or *><< appears in the
viewfinder, and the camcorder begins to search for the end of the
recorded portion of the tape.
2. Press REC START/STOP to continue recording from the end of the
previously recorded portion.
To stop the blank search function while it is still in progress:
Press STOP.
Switch to VCR mode.
Eject the cassette.
REVIEW
This feature lets you quickly review the last few seconds of a recording.
1. During recording, press REC START/STOP to stop the tape. ||- - - - -
appears steadily in the viewfinder.
2. Press REVIEW. The tape rewinds and plays the last few seconds of the
tape.
3. Press REC START/STOP to resume recording from that point.
CAMERA SEARCH
The camera search function lets you review recorded portions of a tape and
resume recording at the desired point on the tape for smooth scene
transitions.
1. During recording, press REC START/STOP to stop the tape. || - - - -
appears in the viewfinder.
2. Press REVIEW. Then, press and hold down FAST-F to move the tape
forward at the normal playback speed, or press and hold down REWIND to
quickly scan backward.
3. Release either button to stop the tape.
4. Press REC START/STOP to start the recording at that position on the
tape. This permits neatly connected successive recording.
HIGH SPEED SHUTTER
A faster shutter speed reduces the blurring that sometimes occurs in the
individual frames of fast action shots. Use this feature when recording
fast action (such as tennis or a golf swing) that you want to watch later
using the freeze-frame feature.
The normal shutter speed is 1/60 second. You can change the speed to
1/100, 1/250, 1/1,000, 1/4,000 or 1/10,000 second.
1. Push FULL AUTO to OFF.
2. Press MENU to display the menu in the viewfinder. Then press SELECT
so the pointer is next to H. S. SHUTTER.
3. Press SET. NORMAL starts flashing. Press SELECT to display the
desired shutter speed, then press SET to store.
4. Press MENU. The viewfinder display returns to normal mode.
Display in the Brightness
Shutter speed viewfinder required
1/60 (Normal) (None)
PAGE DOWN PAGE DOWN
1/100 1/100 30 lux
PAGE DOWN PAGE DOWN
1/250 1/250 75 lux
PAGE DOWN PAGE DOWN
1/1000 1/1000 300 lux
PAGE DOWN PAGE DOWN
1/4000 1/4000 1200 lux
PAGE DOWN PAGE DOWN
1/10000 1/10000 3000 lux
NOTES: You need more light than usual for high shutter speeds. See
"Brightness Levels," Faxback Doc. # , Hints.
When you play back a tape recorded with higher shutter speeds,
you might notice that scene changes are not as smooth as usual.
Picture brightness changes when you use high shutter speeds.
If you are AC-powered lights during high shutter speed recording,
the picture might flicker during playback.
AUTO INDEX MARK RECORDING
Recording with indexing makes it easy to find program segments when you
play back the tape in a VCR that has the VHS Index Search System (VISS)
feature. See your VCR's owner's manual for index playback instructions.
The index signals are automatically recorded when:
You turn on the camcorder and begin recording
You insert a cassette and begin recording
You switch from the VCR mode to the camera mode and begin recording
You press RECORD to start recording from the stop mode.
NOTE: The camcorder itself does not find the index marks in the playback
mode.
USING THE CLOCK/CALENDAR GRAPHICS GENERATOR
The clock/calendar feature lets you record the time and date as part of the
picture. Use the following procedures to set the current date and time,
and to select whether the date and time are recorded on the tape.
1. Load the clock/calendar battery. See "Installing the Clock/Calendar
Battery," Faxback Doc. # 18402, Preparing the Camcorder.
2. Slide the power switch to CAMERA so the power indicator lights.
3. Press MENU to display the menu in the viewfinder. Then press SELECT
until the pointer is next to DATE/TIME SETTING.
NOTE: If FULL AUTO is ON, H. S. SHUTTER and W. BALANCE do not appear.
4. Press SET. AM 12:00 JAN. 1. 1992 appears in the viewfinder, with
JAN. flashing.
5. Press SELECT to display the correct month, then press SET.
6. The day digits flash. Press SELECT to display the correct day, then
press SET.
7. The year digits flash. Press SELECT to display the correct year, then
press SET.
8. The hour digits flash. Press SELECT to display the correct hour, then
press SET.
9. The minute digits flash. Press SELECT to display the correct minutes,
then, press SET.
The date and time disappear, and the pointer moves to the next item.
10. Press MENU. The viewfinder display returns to normal mode.
NOTE: To correct or change clock/calendar information, repeat this
procedure.
Recording Clock/Calendar Information
The time/date graphics are recorded whenever they appear in the viewfinder.
To display the time/date graphics, do the following.
1. While in the record pause mode, press MENU to display the menu in the
viewfinder. Then press SELECT until pointer is next to DATE/TIME
DISPLAY.
NOTE: The menu does not appear while the recording is in progress.
Press REC START/STOP to stop recording and enter record pause
mode. Then press MENU to return to the menu display.
2. Press SET. The mode display starts flashing. Use SELECT to display
the desired mode, then press SET to store it.
3. Press MENU. The viewfinder display returns to normal mode.
COUNTER MEMORY/DISPLAY BUTTON
Press COUNTER MEMORY/DISPLAY to check several special displays in the
viewfinder. Each time you press COUNTER MEMORY/DISPLAY, the display
changes in the following sequence.
No Display
Battery Level and
Lapse-Time Counter
(Appears Only in
the Camera Mode)
Battery Level and
Tape Counter
Battery Level and
Tape Counter
with Memory
The lapse-time counter shows you the hours, minutes, and seconds of
elapsed time (only in the camera mode). The maximum time display
of the lapse-time counter is 9:59:59.
DIGITAL COUNTER
This feature helps you mark and return to specific locations on a tape.
1. Press COUNTER MEMORY/DISPLAY until the counter appears in the
viewfinder.
2. Press COUNTER RESET to set the counter to 0000 at the beginning of
the tape.
3. Begin recording or playback.
4. Note the counter reading for a point you might want to return to.
If you reset the counter to 0000 at the beginning of the tape each time
you play it, the counter readings correspond to the same locations on
the tape.
DIGITAL COUNTER WITH MEMORY
This feature lets you rewind the tape to a specific point where you reset
the counter to 0000.
1. Press COUNTER MEMORY/DISPLAY until the counter and M appear in the
viewfinder.
2. Begin recording or playback of a tape.
3. Press COUNTER RESET to set the counter to 0000 for a point you might
want to return to.
4. When you are ready to return to the 0000 location, press STOP. Then
press REWIND. The tape stops when the counter returns to 0000.
The tape also stops when the counter reaches 0000 during fast-forward.
Press REWIND or FAST-F again to wind the tape past 0000.
(LB 10/31/95)
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