This Camera for everyone, even in the pitch black!

This little Camcorder is great; I got it for Christmas so I didn't know what the price was, but considering what it does...it's great! First of all it has that sleek silver shine to it, with a swivel color LCD-viewfinder (which is great)!

You can also look through the regular viewfinder if you like. (I prefer it if you want the picture to shake less). the first thing that you do when you get the camera is charge the battery. On the camera that I have it says that the battery will last 16hours...that's misleading advertising. Unless you bought (or were given) the NP-F960 Sony battery, it will not last that long. Usually it will last from 128-148min (which is good for a camera that has a 200X Digital Zoom).

Once the battery is charged, you turn on the camera by a switch on the side (near the lenses) to "Power, Camera." Then on the back, there is another little switch that you will flip to "Stand-by" Then the camera will ping and if you look in the viewfinder you will soon see what the Camera is looking at. On the top left corner, the amount of battery time will be displayed, the middle top will show the status of the camera (if you are recording or on stand-by), and the top right will show where you are on your tape.

If there is a little blinking videotape picture that means that you haven't inserted a tape into the camera. What you need to do is look on the top of the Camera and there will be an "Eject" slide button with a blue dot on it. Push down on the button slightly and slide the button, and let it come back. The camera will ping again (a diff. noise) and a drawer will slowly come up and a compartment will open up with the spot to put the videotape in.

Insert a tape into the spot and push on the side of the compartment that says "Push." It will then close and you are ready to videotape!
All you have to do is push the little red button by the "Stand-by" switch and you are ready to go!

There are many many features to this camera. There is a Digital Zoom (and also an Optical Zoom). The zoom slide is located on the top of the camera near the "Eject" button. Slide it to the 'W' (wide) side to ZOOM OUT, and to the 'T' (tight) side to ZOOM IN. Once you reach the end of the Optical Zoom the digital zoom will take over which means that you can get too 200times closer than you actually are with the Zoom. *Once you go past about 150X you will notice that the picture quality will degrade and the picture will shake more. That’s because you are closer than you actually are and the amount that you are shaking the camera is still the same just with the smaller space seen it seems much more.

There are some simple "Fading" techniques that make a video seem more professional. All you have to do is before you start to record press the "Fader" button located on the back of the camera, on the left of the battery. The first one that will be displayed on the screen is called "fader." That is just the simple black dissolve into the picture. There is one called "M. Fader" which is the Mosaic Fader which takes only a sample of the color of the picture and starts off really simple and blows up the squares until it turns into the real picture. Then the 3rd is called "Stripe." That one is my personal favorite. It works like blinds that meet together in the middle. It splices the screen in half about 10 times and half of the picture comes in from the left and the other half from the right. It is a really cool effect. The next one is called "Bounce" (***Note can only be used when the Digital Zoom is turned off. Read about that later) The bounce fader takes half of the picture and puts it at the top of the screen and bounces it down to the bottom about two times. That is also one of my favorites. The last fader is called "Monotone," it's exactly as it sounds. It starts the picture how it usually is and it slowly turns it black and white and decreases the volume. It gives a more "old fashion look."

The next button down is called "Backlight," which you should use when inside and the light is come from the back of the object that you are shooting. If you happen to be near a sunny window use this button. (I found that I didn't like this feature very much and decided not to use it. The camera does such a good job of adjusting the light itself.)

The next button down is called "Program AE." Which is automated programs for different scenarios. To change between the different styles, look below to a little wheel. It is called the "Sel/ Push Exec." button. You will use this when selecting things on a menu or in this case by selecting a Program. The first one is called "Spotlight Mode" (which is shown as a little man in a circle). This mode prevents people's faces, for example, from appearing excessively white when shooting subjects lit by strong light in a theater. The "Soft Portrait" Mode (Two people, one black & one white) This mode makes the closer object more in focus while letting the background more of a softer picture. The "Sports" Mode is pretty self explanatory. It makes fast moving subjects less shaky. The "Beach & Ski Mode" is for when shooting at the beach or where light is reflected, and it minimizes the effect of darkened faces. The "Sunset & Moon" mode allows you to video tape things in the dark such as fireworks or sunset...etc. The "Landscape" mode is so when you want the farthest object to be in focus instead of the window that you are taping through.

To open the LCD- View Finder, push the "Open" button and pull the screen open. If the Camera is on, the picture will shift to the screen. (***If you use the LCD screen the battery life will go down more. Just plan ahead. Don't waste the battery if not needed.) On the side where you press open are the buttons for VOLUME and the BRIGHTNESS of the screen. Inside, where the screen flipped from, there are eight buttons. DATE, TIME, COUNTER RESET, DISPLAY, END SEARCH, MENU (a round button), PICTURE EFFECT, AND TITLE.

Date: If you push this, the date will be shown on the video that you are making.
Time: ..........the time will be shown on the video.
Counter Reset: This will set the counter back to 0:00:00. (***If you rewind after doing this, the counter will start to count negative numbers)
Display: If you are recording (or not recording) you can push this to view all of the following; Battery Life, Taping Mode (SP, LP) and the counter. (***This will never be imprinted on the video)
End Search: This is a very useful button. If you record something and then rewind to watch something else on the tape and you want to record again from the point that you left off, all you have to do is press this button. (***Note: If you removed the tape, this button will not function.)
Menu: This round button brings up a whole new set of options. (I will go over this later).
Picture Effect: This lets you change the color or style of what you are recording at the time. (Again use the Round wheel to switch the style) The options are a Pastel look, Negative Art, Sepia (a country look), Black and White, Solarize, which makes things more bright (sort of), Mosaic (turns the picture into little squares), SLIM which actually extends the picture upwards off the screen making the appearance of SLIM, and Stretch which does the exact opposite.
Title: Which lets you select a title for your video. there are preset titles that you may use and select from the menu by using the roll wheel. But you can also make your own.

---Menu---
This button will help you change the settings on almost everything on the camera (except the other buttons). (To select something from the menu push down on the wheel and roll it to move on the menu). The first option are the Lenses options. You can change the Zoom you want. You can chose to only use the Optical Zoom (which allows you to use the "Bounce" fader feature. You can choose, 40X, or 200X.
Also the "16:9 Wide" button is usually set on off but if you would like a Cinema look select that from the menu, and you can choose the "16:9 Full" which only uses those dimensions, cutting off the top and bottom portions that the cinema does but stretches the picture to fit the screen.

The next set of options you won't want to fool with. The LCD color and brightness controls. If you want to change something use the control on the screen itself.

The "Tape" picture lets you change the type of taping you want. You can select the SP mode or LP. (S-short, L-Long).
ORC to SET button is something to use when you insert a new tape (or using an old one.) You push it and then push the "Record" red button. That establishes the best picture quality. The "Tape Remain" button you shouldn't change, leave it on AUTO.

The next list is the "Setup Menu." the clock set lets you change the date and Time. Auto Date, is a feature that either automatically puts the date on the videotape or you can set it to off and manually push the date button the side panel. Letter Size: That will change the actual Menu Letters size. leave it at normal.

ETC...The World Time (Don't touch!!!!) the BEEP, will change the beep noise. The Display will let you when dubbing a tape to the VCR see the Menu controls on the TV. (***but note that they will be recorded) if you select V-OUT/ LCD. Don't touch the REC. lamp button. You can turn this on if wanted on the front of the camera by flicking the switch to either "Auto" or "ON." This light EATS battery even more than the LCD, but if using both, the camera battery will only last about 20min. (***CAUTION:::The lamp is EXTREMELY hot, it will melt plastic AND your skin, do not touch it.)

Another feature that this Camera has is the Night Shot mode. This lets you videotape in total darkness. You need NO light. It uses and infrared lamp that is emitted from the bottom on the lens. Do not cover it up or the light will not be emitted and then you won't be able to see anything!!

The FOCUS slide button is only to be used when you want to immediately change the focus...but you won't ever use it. the camera knows what you want...it's weird but it does!

There is a microphone jack and an earphone jack on the side, where the tape deck is located. The installed microphone is on the front of the camera. If you want to playback a video from the Camcorder to the VCR open the black panel on the side with the tape, insert the cables that were given to you into their designated holes.

***To use the Playback feature Slide the long black slider on the other side of the Camera to "Player." On the top of the Camera where the videotapes are ejected, is the controls for Tape Viewing. To hear sound open the LCD screen and there is a speaker above the buttons, the Volume can be adjusted on the screen.

If you press the round MENU button while in Player mode the menu is different, but is quite similar to the other menu. There are less options on the Player Menu.

Well...that’s what there is to know about this extraordinary Camera! I know that what I just said seemed like a lot, it really isn't when you use it. Its very simple, and it makes wonderful videos. Have fun using it, and if you don't have a camcorder go out and get this one. It looks great and works great. Have fun! :-)