Canon MD 215 User manual

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Canon MD215 video camera
Contents
Before you begin:..................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Switching on .............................................................................................................................................................................. 3
Connecting to mains power ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Using battery .................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Inserting a cassette................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Recording....................................................................................................................................................................................6
Playback .......................................................................................................................................................................................8
Charging the battery..............................................................................................................................................................9
Using the Menu....................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Advanced controls ................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Manual controls..............................................................................................................................................................................12
Attaching an external microphone .................................................................................................................................13
Attaching to a tripod .............................................................................................................................................................13
Transferring recorded material...................................................................................................................................... 14

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Before you begin:
1. Canon MD215 video camera
2. Power adaptor
3. Power cable
4. Battery
5. Mini DV Cassette (not supplied)
Note - Cassette tapes are not supplied with the camera kit, and must be purchased. They can be
bought (at the time of writing) from the Student Union shop, or at most electronics stores. Any
brand is usable in the camera, as long as they are Mini DV format.
You will also need a firewire cable to transfer your footage to a computer. If you require a
firewire cable, see page 14 for more information.
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Switching on
Connecting to mains power
If possible, it is recommended you run your camera from a mains socket. The battery life for
these cameras is around one hour, and it will increase the time you are able to use the camera.
To connect to mains:
Connect the power cable to the power
adaptor.
Connect the power adaptor to the DC in
socket on the camera.
Using battery
If using battery:
Connect battery at back of video camera by sliding it upward until both terminals click
together.

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Inserting a cassette
1. Slide the 'Open/Eject' lever away from the
lens.
2. Open the cassette drawer cover until it
clicks, and the internal cassette holder will
automatically pop open.
3. Insert the Mini DV Tape, with arrow facing
down and 'spools' facing into video camera, into
the internal cassette holder.
4. Squeeze the internal cassette holder
together to close (it will automatically go
down).

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5. Close outer cassette cover until it clicks.
To remove the cassette repeat the process, only removing the cassette from the internal cassette
holder on step 3.

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Recording
Turn the mode dial to Camera mode.
Slide the lever next to the lens to open the
camera lens cap
Open the LCD display monitor at the side of
the camera.
There are two settings, on a switch above and
to the right of the mode dial. Easy will put all
settings such as focus and exposure on
automatic, and P Mode will give you more
controls over the camera's settings (see
"Advanced controls" and "Manual controls" for
more details).

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If using the camera handheld (without a
tripod), hold the camera with your right hand
through the strap as pictured.
The zoom button should be under your index
finger. Use this lever to change the focal length
(zoom in and out)
Press the white record button to start
recording, and once again to stop. When
recording, a red recording icon will appear in
the viewfinder.
Zoom
Record
button

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Playback
To view your tape back:
Turn the mode dial to Camera mode.
Open the LCD display monitor at the side of
the camera.
To operate the tape player, use the joystick (1)
- the onscreen icons (2) show what controls
are active.
Move the joystick up to play/pause
Move the joystick left to rewind
Move the joystick right to fast forward
Move the joystick down to stop
To increase or decrease the speaker volume
in the camera:
Press the function button (3)
Move the joystick left or right to
descrease or increase the volume.
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Charging the battery
There is a battery icon on the viewfinder
(circled below) that indicates how much power
remains on the camera's battery. When very
low, this will flash red as a warning to charge
the battery as soon as possible.
To charge the battery:
Plug in the mains adaptor, as outlined
in "Connecting to mains" on page 3.
Move the mode wheel to Off.
When charging a red light will flash on
the side of the camera - once fully
charged this will change to a solid red
light.

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Using the Menu
To activate the set-up menu, press the function button and move down to the bottom icon with
the joystick (See "Playback" section on page 8 for the location of these). Press the joystick as a
button to open the menu (pictured above). Use the joystick to move around the menu, pressing it
as a button to select an option.
We recommend setting the camera to the following:
Camera Setup - Widescreen - Sets the video record mode between Widescreen (16:9) and
Standard (4:3) aspect ratio. It is up to you which you record in, but keep this consistent so all
your footage is in the same ratio.
VCR Setup - Rec Mode - Sets the record mode between Standard Play (SP) and Long Play
(LP). Long Play will allow you to fit 50% more footage on a tape, but video and audio quality will be
significantly worse. It is only recommended that Long Play should be used if you need to
continuously record footage that you know will not fit on a 60 minute tape.

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Advanced controls
If operating the camera on Easy mode (see "Recording" on page 6), most settings will be
automatically set, with the camera calculating optimum settings for the light conditions. If in P
Mode, however, you will be able to change several settings on the camera.
While in camera mide (see "Recording" on page 6) press Function. The menu is then controlled
using the joystick. (See "Playback" on page 8).Moving the joystick up and down will move through
the menu, and left and right between the different settings displayed at the bottom of the screen.
The first icon sets a series of recording presets,
including settings optimised for night, portraits,
snow, sports, beach, etc. Program AE is the
setting that allows you to alter the settings
individually yourself.
The next sets the white balance (the way the
camera works out colours in different light
conditions). The settings are auto white
balance, presets for outdoors and Tungsten
lighting, and evaluate white balance. To do
the latter, select this icon, point the camera at
something predominantly white (such as a
piece of paper or white wall), and press the
joystick as a button.
The fourth icon sets various effects, including
fades, black and white, sepia and mosaic
modes. It is strongly recommended that you do
not use these in filming, and add any effects
such as these when you edit your footage (in
post-production). However it is useful to know
where this setting is, in case a previous user has
added any of these effects and you need to
remove them.

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Manual controls
In many instances, autofocus and autoexposure (Easy mode) will be all you need, but there may
be times when you want to set these yourself.
To manually focus:
Press the joystick button.
Push down on the joystick to select
focus mode.
Move the joystick left and right to
change the focus.
To manually change the exposure:
Press the joystick button.
Push up on the joystick to select
exposure mode.
Move the joystick left and right to
change the exposure.

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Attaching an external microphone
The camera has a built in microphone on the front of the camera, but it is advisable where
possible to use an external microphone.
Microphones are available as "additional items" when you book your camera via
MyRooms&Resources, or separately as "IC Accessories" .
Plug the microphone into the red Mic socket
on the camera, located under the LCD display
monitor.
Attaching to a tripod
Tripods will steady your shots and are a recommended piece of equipment when videomaking.
Microphones are available as "additional items" when you book your camera via
MyRooms&Resources, or separately as "IC Accessories" .
First remove the tripod plate from the tripod.
On the bottom of the camera there are two
holes that correspond with the screws on the
tripod plate. Line these up, and screw it tightly
together by hand using the screw labelled 1
below. (Note - if this is too tight to turn by hand,
a 20p piece is the perfect size).
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Transferring recorded material
To transfer recorded material to a computer, you will need a firewire cable. There are three
main connections, as pictured below:
3 Pin
6 Pin
9 Pin
The cameras have a 3 Pin socket. What connection you will need on the other end will depend on
the socket on the computer you plan to use. Most Information Commons desktop machines will
need a 3 Pin - 6 Pin cable, whereas the Information Commons laptops will need a 3 Pin - 3 Pin. If
you plan on using your own computer you may need any of these, or may not have Firewire at all.
If in doubt please ask a member of staff.
Firewire Cables for IC laptops and desktop machines are available as "additional items"
when you book your camera via MyRooms&Resources, or separately as "IC Accessories" .
The cable attaches to the camera in the socket
labelled DV (circled), under the LCD display
monitor, with the other end attaching to your
computer.
To capture the material you would use editing software such as Windows MovieMaker, Adobe
Premiere, iMovie or Final Cut Pro. The details vary of how you would do this - see
www.shef.ac.uk/cics/creativemedia/ for Quick Tips guides for these programmes, that will give
detailed instruction on how to do this.
Note - Capturing from tape takes as long as the footage you want to capture - if you recorded an
hour, for example, it will take an hour.