“How To:” Canon ZR950

“How To:” Canon ZR950 Preparation/Orientation To be most efficient, a camera runs on battery power, and batteries need to be charged. Make sure battery is in place. Look for the small port labeled DC IN/8.4 V. Plug the small end into the port labeled DC IN 8.4V. Plug the other end into any outlet. Allow 2+ hours for camera battery to fully charge. Red light will flash while battery is charging. Two quick flashes at 1‐second intervals: battery pack is at least 50%charged. One quick flash at 1‐second intervals: battery pack is less than 50% charged. Battery light will be continuously on and then go off when battery pack is fully charged. 1 The ZR60 utilizes mini DV tapes to record video. Generally the tapes record 60 minutes of video, with possibly 90 minutes when set to LP, long play. To load the tape, look at camera from the bottom. Move switch labeled OPEN/EJECT fold open cassette compartment cover. The cassette compartment will automatically open, ready to receive a tape. Slide a mini DV tape into position and gently close where indi‐
cated. Fold cover shut. Remove lens cover and camera is ready to be powered on. 2 Power the camera on by pressing the green button and turning the dial to Camera. Find and press the gray switch on the side of the camera labeled OPEN and flip open the LCD screen. Check the camera’s status. Image Stabilizer SP (Standard Play)
LP (Long Play) “Paused” or “Playing” Time Code Hours:Minutes:Seconds
“EASY” or “Program” Mode Tape Remaining Battery Indicator Wireless Controller “1”, “2”, or “OFF.” Current Time and Date Audio Recording Mode Time Zone Only seen for the first 3 seconds 3 When you are ready to “shoot” your video, there are 2 main controls, the Start/Stop but‐
ton and the W—T (Zoom). Simply press the Start/Stop button, focus on your subject using the LCD view finder and the W—T button to change the distance from the scene. In bright sunshine, the LCD screen may be difficult to see. Optionally, you may close the LCD screen and use the traditional view finder, which is also adjustable for your comfort. When you are ready to pause or quit, press Start/Stop buttons once more. For a full description of the menus and settings for this camera, go to: Canon ZR60 For some good, basic information on making a “home video,” follow this link: http://www.wikihow.com/Make‐a‐Home‐Video View Your Video There are 2 simple ways to view your video. The first is on the camera itself. Press the green button and turn dial to PLAY (VCR). The screen in the center appears. Push the REC SEARCH, ‐ or + to rewind or advance the tape. Stop it at any point by pushing the AE SHIFT (with the square icon below the words). To display video on LCD, push the FOCUS (Play/Pause) button. 4 To view play back on a TV or VCR attached to a TV, find the find the cable with a single con‐
nection on one end and 3, color‐coded RCA connections on the other. To the left of the lens as you look at the front of the camera, find the cover and port labeled AV. Connect the single end here. Connect the other 3 to the appropriately color ports of your TV or VCR, yellow for video, red and white for stereo audio. Follow the same steps on page 4 for rewinding and playing your video. If it does not appear on the TV, please check the video source menu on the TV and choose the correct device. Of‐
ten the choice is between “Video 1, 2. or 3” or “TV , DVD, and AUX.” Transfer Video for Editing To copy your video to a computer for editing, we recommend using the Mac operating system found on all of the iMAC’s in the Computer Lab on the lower level of the Library and on Floor 1M. The application iMovie is very adept at making home videos, either to burn to DVD or publish to the web. Switch to Mac If your chosen computer is logged into Windows, click Start, Shutdown, and choose Restart. A choice of operating systems will be presented; choose Mac OS X. Choose Wheelock Users. 5 A choice of operating systems will be presented; Choose Mac OS X. Choose Wheelock Users. From the menu bar at the top of the page, choose Go, and then Applications from the drop‐down menu. Look for iMovie and double‐click. The iMovie project window appears. 6 Connect the camera and transfer the video by finding the Firewier 800 cable included in the camera bag. Flip open the cover labeled S and DV. Look for the port labeled DV behind the cover. Connect the small end of the cable to the camera where indicated. Connect the large end of the cable to the firewire port on the back of the iMAC. The camera will ac‐
knowledge the connection with the appearance of DV‐IN on the LCD screen. With iMovie open, the window (below, left) will appear. You may select the Automatic option which will rewind the tape and import all of the footage, or click to select Manual. Use the REC SEARCH ‐ / + to rewind or fast‐forward to the beginning of the video clip you want to import. 7 Choose a name for the import; by default iMovie will choose the current date. Then click Import. *IMPORTANT* Video import takes place in “real” time. If you have an hour of video you want to import, the camera plays it for iMovie to import—it will take an hour. It is important to plan for this time in making your project. Your video events, the repository of your raw video footage, is represented by “thumbnails,” time slices of video which can be manipulated into a project. Please note that the raw video stores only on a particular computer. If you want to move it for use on other computers, follow these steps: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1097 . When the video is integrated into a Project, that project can also be saved to an external USB key or burned to a DVD. The application in‐
cludes extensive prompts and help files to complete your video project. Here is a link to the manual for iMovie 08: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iMovie_08_Getting_Started.pdf. 8