Some cameras have many buttons, others a long list of menu. Many name these button controls one thing, and others call it something else.
Most of us are used to working with a particular model of camera. The moment we have to work with a different model, we are at a complete loss as to what button to push in order to make it do anything productive.
So, we're going to take a look at some of the most common buttons and dials found on camera today.
Power, VCR/Camera: Often comprised as a three position lever and a button, the lever dictates whether the camcorder will be functioning as a camera (recording), a VCR (playback), or powered down. The button typically acts as record/pause. Look for this one in a spot that you can conveniently reach with a thumb (Generally RED in color)
Power, VCR/Camera: Often comprised as a three position lever and a button, the lever dictates whether the camcorder will be functioning as a camera (recording), a VCR (playback), or powered down. The button typically acts as record/pause. Look for this one in a spot that you can conveniently reach with a thumb (Generally RED in color)
LCD Brightness: doesn't affect how the image appears on tape, but rather it controls how bright or dim the actual viewing screen is. You might need to make the image appear darker, for instance, to see it in bright sunlight, but your recorded image isn't changed.
Open, Eject: This gets your tapes in and out of the camera.
Battery Eject: The battery eject button often pushes a lever which actually physically pushes the battery from its compartment. Look for it very close to the battery.
W/T (Zoom): The zoom button is usually a rocker switch in an accessible place and marked W (wide, zooms out) and T (telephoto, zooms in). It will change the way the image looks on tape, by physically moving the lens.
Backlight, Spotlight: Some cameras, such as Sony's PD-170 have buttons for backlit and spot lit situations. Normally your camcorder's light meter assumes that everything is properly lit.
In a situation where a subject is standing before a bright background or illuminated in front of a dark background, the camera's internal meter will be confused and might improperly expose the scene.
Selecting backlight tells the camera that the scene is brighter than it is expecting, whereas spotlight tells the camera that the scene is actually darker than its internal meter tells it and will adjust the exposure accordingly.
In a situation where a subject is standing before a bright background or illuminated in front of a dark background, the camera's internal meter will be confused and might improperly expose the scene.
Selecting backlight tells the camera that the scene is brighter than it is expecting, whereas spotlight tells the camera that the scene is actually darker than its internal meter tells it and will adjust the exposure accordingly.
AE: Aside from backlight and spotlight, other popular program modes for things like "sports" and "portrait" are common on many cameras, often on a wheel that allow you to rapidly switch between them.
These presets normally allow you to spend more time worrying about what's in your viewfinder and less time worrying about the lighting.
AE modes often lock out many of the camera's manual features to keep them from being inadvertently changed. When handing your camera over to someone who doesn't use it, the AE modes will make it much easier for them to get useful footage.
These presets normally allow you to spend more time worrying about what's in your viewfinder and less time worrying about the lighting.
AE modes often lock out many of the camera's manual features to keep them from being inadvertently changed. When handing your camera over to someone who doesn't use it, the AE modes will make it much easier for them to get useful footage.
White Balance: Not all light is created equal. To the eye, a sheet of white paper will look perfectly white when exposed to sunlight, but greenish under fluorescence and reddish under tungsten bulbs.
The white balance button is used to properly adjust how colors will be represented under different lighting conditions. Presets for conditions such as "sunlight" or "tungsten" will often produce acceptable results, whereas more complex lighting situations will require manual white balancing.
Usually, to do this, the camera operator points the camcorder at a white target (like a sheet of copy paper,) and presses a button to calibrate the camera.
Iris, Gain, Shutter Speed, Focus: Many camcorders have manual controls which allow you to set the focus, gain, iris, and even shutter speed of your camera.
Together these will serve to determine aspects of your image such as the ability to catch fast motion without blurring, or focus on an area not in the center of your frame.
A common control use allows you to use a wide aperture during bright sunlight by selecting a low gain and high shutter speed, giving you a shallow depth of field and better separating your subject from your background.
Together these will serve to determine aspects of your image such as the ability to catch fast motion without blurring, or focus on an area not in the center of your frame.
A common control use allows you to use a wide aperture during bright sunlight by selecting a low gain and high shutter speed, giving you a shallow depth of field and better separating your subject from your background.
Aspect Ratio: As 16:9 televisions are becoming more popular, more and more cameras are giving you a choice between shooting in the old 4:3 format or 16:9 widescreen DV format.
Image Stabilizer: Image stabilization minimizes camera shake when shooting hand held--camera shake is one of the most common things that ruins a shoot, especially at telephoto ranges.
Digital Effects: Ranging from things such as simple fades, to more complicated things like negative images, or black and white.
Camera Manual: Reading your camera manual will not only help you trouble shoot any problems arising while shooting but also help you understand your camera better and leave you with more time to concentrate on the aesthetics than the technical aspects.
Conclusion
All camcorders basically perform the same tasks in similar ways. Knowing which buttons to press can help you operate a camera that you're not familiar with, so you're not stuck standing silly trying to figure how to turn on a simple camcorder.
All camcorders basically perform the same tasks in similar ways. Knowing which buttons to press can help you operate a camera that you're not familiar with, so you're not stuck standing silly trying to figure how to turn on a simple camcorder.
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