Tips on Recording Positions

The rotating LCD monitor screen lets you enjoy easy video recording in relaxed postures.

•You can record using more natural body pos- tures since you can see the subject on-screen, without having to hold the camcorder against your eye.

•The LCD monitor also makes high-angle and low-angle shots easy.

•In hand-held recording, the camcorder has to be steadied to prevent image shake.

•Use a tripod for very stable recording.

Basic Recording Positions

Put the fingers of your right hand through the hand strap, and place your right thumb close to the REC START/STOP and Power Zoom buttons. Place your left thumb in the indentation on the left side of the LCD monitor.

Notes:

•Take care not to touch the monitor screen with your fingers, as perspiration and dirt will smudge it.

•Unless you intend to create a special effect, keep the camcorder level with the horizontal plane.

•Take care not to touch the microphone with your fingers when the camcorder is recording. It will cause noise on the audio track.

Hints for Better Shooting

•Position the subject in the center of the screen. When you are using auto focus, whatever is in the center of the screen is kept in focus.

Camera Recording	Basic Operations

Basic Posture

Look at the monitor with both eyes.

Press your elbows against your sides.

Kneeling

Place your feet at a 45° angle and take a firm stance.

High Angle

You can record and still see the monitor screen.

This is convenient when you want to

record over a Low Angle crowd.

When kneeling, put one knee on the ground for the best stability.

Prone

Rest on both elbows to stabilize the camcorder.

Position the subject in	Focus manually when
the center.	you need to position the
	subject off center (see
	page 43).

•Avoid backlit subjects. For the best picture, have the light source behind you.

When the background is brighter than the sub- ject, the subject often becomes too dark. If you need to record with this lighting, correct the gain or iris to improve the picture (see pages 26 and 47).

Light from	Back-
Behind	lighting

•Before zooming, think about how to best frame the shot. Stop zooming when the shot is well framed.

•When image shake is noticeable during zoomed- in telephoto shooting, use a tripod, or press the Power Zoom W (wide angle) button to zoom out. Screw the tripod into the tripod socket on the bottom of the camcorder.

•Horizontal panning (lateral movement) and tilting (vertical movement) should be done slowly to emphasize the wide expanse of a scene or the height of a building, and to make them easy to watch on playback.

•Use wide-angle settings for fast-moving subjects.

Note:

•It may take longer to focus when zooming and panning are used frequently.