4EZ (“easy”) MODE button and indicator

Press this button (EZ mode on) when you want to be able to shoot immediately, with automatic adjustment of the camcorder settings to standard values. (See page 88 for EZ mode setting.) When this function is used, the iris and the white balance are adjusted automatically. (The total level control system functions.) Press this button again to return the camcorder to the previous settings (EZ mode off).

Note

When the RM-M7G Remote Control Unit is connected, the “easy mode” function is disabled.

5ZEBRA button and indicator

Depress this button to display a zebra pattern (diagonal stripes) in the viewfinder.

Depending on the zebra setting in advanced menu page 4 (see page 86), the zebra 1 for video levels between

70 to 90 IRE (or 70 to 90%) and the zebra 2 for video levels 100 IRE or more (or 100% or more) can be displayed independently or simultaneously.

6A.IRIS (auto iris) MODE switch and indicator When you use the auto iris function (by setting the iris selector on the lens to A), set this switch to suit the shooting conditions. Selecting BACK L gives more light to back-lit subjects, and selecting SPOT L adjusts for high contrast in spot-lit subjects. For normal shooting, set this switch to STD.

7MENU switch

When you press this switch to the ON position, the basic menu is displayed. Keep pressing it to the ON position to cycle through the various menu displays. When you press the switch to the STATUS position, the camcorder’s status (of current settings) is displayed.

8W. BAL (white balance) switch

This selects the white balance setting from the preset value, the value in memory A or the value in memory B. (See page 100.) You can select the preset white balance at 3200 K or 5600 K using the FILTER control (3 on page 11). If you select the 3200 K preset, it can be switched to the 3000 K preset in advanced menu page 3 (see page 85).

9MENU dial

Use this dial to change menu pages or settings.

0POWER switch

Powers the camcorder on or off.

!¡ OUTPUT/DL/DCC+ (DynaLatitude/dynamic contrast control plus) switch

Use this switch to select the DCC+ function, the DynaLatitude function, or color bar output. Select the CAM/DCC+ position in most cases.

CAM/DCC+: This activates the DCC+ function. This prevents color faults when shooting high- intensity subjects.

CAM/DL: This setting uses the DynaLatitude function, which finely adjusts the contrast of each pixel according to a histogram of luminance signal levels. Access advanced menu page 2 to set the DynaLatitude function ON or OFF. The DynaLatitude effect can be set to any of three levels, Low, STD (standard), and High with basic menu page 2.

BARS: This setting displays color bars.

For details of menu operation, see Chapter 4 “Viewfinder Screen Displays and Menus”.

!™ NG button

When using the ClipLink function during shooting, you can designate a particular scene as “NG” (No Good) by pressing this button before shooting the next scene. Press the button again to cancel the NG setting.

!£ GAIN switch

This selects one of the three gain settings, high, medium or low. You can choose the gain values assigned to the H, M and L settings from values from –3 dB to 24 dB + DPR and hyper gain.(See page 85.) The factory default selections are 18 dB (H), 9 dB (M) and 0 dB (L).

Note

When the HYPER GAIN switch (7 on page 21) is in the ON position, the GAIN switch has no effect.

!¢ ATW (auto tracing white balance) button and indicator

Press this button, turning the indicator on, when you want the white balance to be adjusted automatically to follow changes in lighting conditions. (See page 102.)

Overview 1 Chapter

Chapter 1 Overview 13