Model 127 Moviecorder
(160-0827) Operation Faxback Doc. # 37747
INSERTING/REMOVING A CASSETTE
You can open the cassette compartment to insert/remove a cassette
whenever a power source is connected to the camcorder, whether or not
the camcorder is turned on.
1. Press EJECT to open the cassette compartment.
2. Insert a VHS cassette into the cassette compartment with the side
label facing you and the spine label facing up.
CAUTION: Never insert anything except a VHS video cassette into the
cassette compartment.
3. Press the PRESS FIRMLY marking on the compartment door until it
closes.
To remove a cassette, press EJECT, wait for the compartment door to
open, and pull out the cassette.
CAUTION: Always remove the cassette before storing the camcorder.
VIEWFINDER ADJUSTMENT
The rotating viewfinder lets you position the eyepiece to the most
comfortable position. After you select the best position, adjust
the VIEWFINDER FOCUS control for the best viewfinder picture. You
can rotate the viewfinder picture. You can rotate the viewfinder 90
degrees upward and 45 degrees downward to match shooting angles.
CAUTION: Do not forcibly slide the viewfinder beyond the click-stops.
The viewfinder might be detached from the unit.
The eyepiece is detachable. Turn it counterclockwise and pull
it to detach it. To reattach the eyepiece, align the marks,
insert the eyepiece, and turn it clockwise until it clicks
into position.
NOTES: You must set the power switch to CAMERA before you can see the
image through the viewfinder.
Return the viewfinder to its original position before you place
the camcorder in its carrying case.
USING THE CARRYING HANDLE
Use the handle to carry the camcorder between the shots. When you are
shooting or when you are finished recording, fold the handle out of the
way.
NOTES: Do not swing the camcorder using the carrying handle.
Fold the viewfinder up against the camera body while you are
carrying around the camcorder.
ATTACHING THE SHOULDER STRAP
The shoulder strap provides a convenient way to carry the camcorder when
it is not in use and is not in the carrying case. You can also use it
as a safety strap when you use the camcorder. Attach each end of the
strap to the camcorder, as shown.
NOTES: Use only the supplied shoulder strap with this camcorder.
Do not swing the camcorder from the shoulder strap.
Replace the lens cap when carrying the camcorder with the shoulder
strap.
CAMERA RECORDING
To eliminate complicated adjustments in most situations, this camcorder
has fully automatic features for focus, white balance, and shutter speed
(normal setting). All you need to do is press REC START/STOP. Of course,
you can override these automatic features for special situations or
special effects. When the camcorder is in the fully automatic mode, a
green bar appears next to the FULL AUTO switch and FULL AUTO appears
in the viewfinder.
The following instructions outline the basic procedures for making a
camera recording. In many of the steps, you are directed to a specific
section of this manual that contains more detailed information.
When operating the camcorder for the first time, read all the steps
and the suggested detailed information before you actually begin. Then,
use this outline as a reminder for camera recording procedures.
1. Choose and connect a power source. See "Selecting a Power Source."
2. Press EJECT to open the cassette compartment. Insert a standard VHS
cassette, and close the compartment.
3. Slide POWER to CAMERA so that the power indicator lights.
The power switch selects the camcorder's operation mode. Set the
switch to CAMERA for making a recording and set it to VCR for
playback.
4. Press FULL AUTO to the right so that the green indicator appears.
The camcorder is automatically set to the full auto mode. FULL AUTO
appears in the viewfinder.
If there is no cassette in the camcorder, CASSETTE appears in the
viewfinder. If the cassette has its erase-protection tab broken
off, PROTECT TAB appears in the viewfinder.
5. Place your right hand between the handstrap and the camcorder. Then,
adjust the hand strap so that it fits tightly over your hand. If
the strap is loose, the camcorder is difficult to handle.
6. Remove the lens cap and hang it onto the hand strap clip.
7. Turn the viewfinder to the left until you can look into it comfortably
when the back of the camcorder rests on your shoulder. Then, adjust
the viewfinder focus control for the sharpest picture in the
viewfinder.
8. Point the camcorder at the desired subject, and press W or T on the
power zoom control unit you see the desired picture in the viewfinder.
9. To begin recording, press REC START/STOP with your right thumb.
During recording, Symbol >>>>> moves from left to right in the
viewfinder and the record indicator on the front of the camcorder
lights.
10. To stop recording, press REC START/STOP again ||----- lights steadily
in the viewfinder.
When the tape reaches its end during recording, TAPE END appears in the
viewfinder.
VIEWFINDER PLAYBACK
After you make a recording, you can play it back through the viewfinder
and listen through an optional earphone or headset with a 1/8-inch plug.
Of course, you can also press EJECT, remove the tape, and play it in any
VHS VCR.
1. Slide the power switch to VCR so that the power indicator lights.
2. Press REWIND to return the tape to the beginning or to the place you
want to begin playback.
3. Press PLAY and watch the picture in the viewfinder.
4. Insert an earphone or headset with a 1/8-inch plug into the EAR jack
on the camcorder, and listen to the sound. The volume level is fixed
at an average listening level.
Press STOP to end playback and press EJECT to remove the cassette.
Except when you are recording, you can eject a cassette any time power
is connected to the camcorder, whether or not the power indicator is
lighted.
AUTO POWER OFF
To protect the tape and conserve battery power, the camcorder releases
the tape and turns itself off if you leave it in the record pause mode
for more than 5 minutes.
SPECIAL CAMERA RECORDING FEATURES
AUTO FOCUSING
The automatic focusing feature lets you concentrate on creating great
video without having to worry about whether or not they are properly
focused. However, the camcorder also has a manual focusing 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 that 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.
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 objects 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.
MANUAL FOCUSING
Manual focusing is useful 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 that the FULL AUTO indicator disappears.
Then press MANUAL FOCUS. MANUAL FOCUS appears in the viewfinder.
2. Press T for a close-up view of 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 that 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, insects, 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.
In case the auto focus does not function to a close-up subject, follow
the procedure below.
1. Push FULL AUTO to the left - FULL AUTO disappears in the viewfinder.
2. Press W for a zoom-out view of 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 recording a solid colored object such as a flower petal, the color
might shift. If this happens, use the white balance lock mode.
We recommend you set the camcorder on a tripod, because even the smallest
movements are magnified when you use the macro-focus mode.
VARIABLE SPEED POWER ZOOM
The power-zoom feature lets you go from wide-angle shots 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 to zoom
in and W to zoom out.
The pressure of your fingers 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 charging 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. Symbol 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. Symbol appears in the
viewfinder to indicate that the gain-up mode is selected.
When the subject becomes brighter, Symbol disappears and the gain-up
mode is disengaged. If the subject becomes dark again, press BACK-LIGHT/GAIN-UP to select the gain-up mode again.
To completely disengage the gain-up mode, press BACKLIGHT/GAIN-UP while
symbol appears in the viewfinder.
NOTE: In the gain-up mode, picture quality is usually lower than in the
regular mode.
AUTO WHITE BALANCE
Adjustment of the white balance is necessary so that white objects record
as white, and colors appear natural. In most cases, the automatic white-
balance adjustment works best. (Push FULL AUTO to the right.)
However, color shifts might occur in the following situations.
Most of the subject is a single color.
You are shooting a close-up (marco) 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 in one of the following ways:
Coarse Setting
1. Push FULL AUTO to left.
2. Zoom out all the way on a subject that is not one solid color. Under
this condition, the proper white balance is automatically set.
3. Press WHITE BALANCE to lock the white balance setting. W. BALANCE LOCK
appears in the viewfinder.
Fine Setting
1. Push FULL AUTO to left.
2. Focus on a white piece of paper so that the viewfinder is filled with
it and wait at least 3 seconds. Then, the proper white balance is
automatically set.
3. Press WHITE BALANCE to lock the white balance setting. W. BALANCE LOCK
appears in the viewfinder.
To unlock the white-balance setting, press WHITE BALANCE again so W.
BALANCE LOCK disappears from the viewfinder.
FADE IN & FADE OUT
You can press FADE IN/OUT to fade in at the beginning of a scene 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. FADER 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 locates 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 only partially recorded tapes.
1. Press REVIEW, then press PLAY. Either *>>> or *><< appears in the
viewfinder, and the camcorder begins to search an unrecorded 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 scan forward, or
press and hold down REWIND to 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 blurring that sometimes occurs in the
individual frames of fast action. 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.
Normally the shutter speed is 60 times a second. You can change the speed
to 10,000, 2000, 500, or 100 times a second.
Set FULL AUTO to OFF, then press HIGH SPEED SHUTTER until the desired
shutter speed appears in the viewfinder. The display changes from 1/100
to 1/500 to 1/2000 to 1/10000 and back to no display (the normal setting).
The camcorder uses the normal 1/60 second shutter speed when there is no
display.
NOTES: You need more light than usual for high shutter speeds (5000 lux
for 1/10000 for 1/500 second, or 100 lux for 1/100 second).
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 the high shutter speeds.
If you use AC-powered lights during high shutter, speed recording,
the picture might flicker during playback.
SELF TIMER
This feature automatically activates recording after a decay, so that
everyone can get into the picture at the beginning of the shot.
CAUTION: To protect your camcorder, we recommend that you mount the
camcorder on a video-camera tripod when using the self timer.
Set the self timer as follows:
Press SELF TIMER once. SELF TIMER 1 appears in the viewfinder and the
record indicator flashes. Recording begins in 10 seconds and
automatically stops after 20 seconds.
Press SELF TIMER twice. SELF TIMER 2 appears in the viewfinder and the
record indicator flashes. Recording begins in 10 seconds and continues
until you press REC START/STOP or the tape ends.
If you press REC START/STOP when SELF TIMER 1 or SELF TIM). R 2 lights
steadily, the camcorder enters the normal recording mode.
INTERVAL (TIME LAPSE) RECORDING
You can program the camcorder to make a series of 1-second recordings
about 30 seconds apart. When played back, this has the effect of
compressing time. This feature is great for recording and examining
slowly developing action such as the opening of a flower.
1. If recording is in progress, press REC START/STOP to stop the tape.
||-----lights steadily in the viewfinder.
2. Press SELF TIMER three times consecutively. INTERVAL appears in the
viewfinder and the interval time clock starts counting. In about
25 seconds, the camcorder records the first 1-second segment.
Then, the camcorder records another 1-second segment every 30 seconds
until you press SELF TIMER again.
NOTES: This camcorder is not designed for industrial time lapse
recording. Do not use this camcorder exclusively for time
lapse recording. Do not use this camcorder exclusively for
time lapse recordings.
Do not use the interval recording feature for more than an hour
at a time to prevent damage to the cassette and video heads.
We recommend that you do not continue intervals recording for more
than 1 hour. If the camcorder does not function properly during
interval recording, turn off the camcorder's power and disconnect
the power source. (Remove the battery or disconnect the power
cord from the DC IN 6V jack.) Then, reconnect the power source
and turn on the camcorder's power.
AUTO INDEX MARK RECORDING
Indexing your tapes while recording makes it easy to find desired 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.
NOTES: The camcorder 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/or time are recorded on the tape.
In out example, we set the date to November 26, 1991 and the time to
3:25 p.m.
1. Load the clock/calendar battery.
2. Slide the power switch to CAMERA so that the power indicator lights.
3. Press DATE-TIME DISPLAY repeatedly so that the time and date appear
in the viewfinder.
4. Press RESET with a pointed object such as a ballpoint pen.
5. The month display flashes. Press SELECT to select the month.
When the correct month appears, press SET.
6. The day display flashes. Press SELECT to select the day. When the
correct day appears, press SET.
7. The year display flashes. Press SELECT to select the year. When the
correct year appears, press SET.
8. The hour digits flash. Press SELECT to select the hour. The
camcorder displays AM/PM time. Be sure to set AM or PM correctly.
When the correct hour appears, press SET.
9. The minute digits flash. Press SELECT to select the minutes. When
the correct time appears, press SET.
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. Each time you press DATE/TIME DISPLAY, the display changes
in the following sequence.
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.
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 0 0 0 0 at the beginning
of the tape.
3. Begin recording or playback.
4. At points you might want to return to, note the counter reading.
Then, if you reset the counter to 0 0 0 0 at the beginning of the tape
each time you play the tape, the same 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 0 0 0 0.
1. Press COUNTER MEMORY/DISPLAY until the counter and M appear in the
viewfinder.
2. Begin recording or playback of a tape.
3. At a point you want to return to, press COUNTER RESET to set the
counter to 0 0 0 0 or 9 9 9 9.
4. When you are ready to return to the 0 0 0 0 location, press STOP.
Then, press REW. The tape stops when the counter returns to 0 0 0 0.
The tape also stops when 0 0 0 0 is reached during fast-forward.
(LB/km-02/03/1997)
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