Hitachi HDC-881E User manual

EN-1
FCC STATEMENT
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions:
(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and
(2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Note:
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class B digital
devices, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.This
equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the
user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following
measures:
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Use of shielded cable is required to comply with Class B limits in Subpart B of Part 15
of the FCC rules.
Do not make any changes or modifications to the equipment unless otherwise
specified in the manual. If such changes or modifications should be made, you could
be required to stop operation of the equipment.
Notice
If static electricity or electromagnetism causes data transfer to discontinue midway
(fail), restart the application or disconnect and connect the communication cable
(USB, etc.) again.

EN-2
READ THIS FIRST
Trademark Information
 Microsoft
®
and Windows
®
are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Pentium®is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Inc.
SD™ is a trademark.
Other names and products may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.
Product Information
Product design and specifications are subject to change without notice. This
includes primary product specifications, software, software drivers, and user’s
manual. This User Manual is a general reference guide for the product.
The product and accessories that come with your camera may be different from
those described in this manual. This is due to the fact that different retailers often
specify slightly different product inclusions and accessories to suit their market
requirements, customer demographics, and geographical preferences. Products
very often vary between retailers especially with accessories such as batteries,
chargers, AC adapters, memory cards, cables, pouches, and language support.
Occasionally a retailer will specify a unique product color, appearance, and
internal memory capacity. Contact your dealer for precise product definition and
included accessories.
The illustrations in this manual are for the purpose of explanation and may differ
from the actual design of your camera.
The manufacturer assumes no liability for any errors or discrepancies in this user
manual.

EN-3
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
Read and understand all Warnings and Cautions before using this product.
Warnings
If foreign objects or water have entered the camera, turn the power off
and remove the battery.
Continued use might cause fire or electric shock. Consult the store of
purchase.
If the camera has fallen or its case has been damaged, turn the power
off and remove the battery.
Continued use might cause fire or electric shock. Consult the store of
purchase.
Do not disassemble, change or repair the camera.
This might cause fire or electric shock. For repair or internal inspection, ask
the store of purchase.
Use the supplied AC adapter only with the indicated power supply
voltage.
Use with any other power supply voltage might cause fire or electric shock.
Do not use the camera in areas near water.
This might cause fire or electric shock. Take special care during rain, snow,
on the beach, or near the shore.
Do not place the camera on inclined or unstable surfaces.
This might cause the camera to fall or tilt over, causing damage.
Keep the battery out of the reach of children.
Swallowing the battery might cause poisoning. If the battery is accidentally
swallowed, immediately consult a physician.
Do not use the camera while you are walking, driving or riding a
motorcycle.
This might cause you to fall over or result in traffic accident.

EN-4
Cautions
Insert the battery paying careful attention to the polarity (+ or –) of the
terminals.
Inserting the battery with its polarities inverted might cause fire and injury, or
damage to the surrounding areas due to the battery rupturing or leaking.
Do not fire the flash close to anyone’s eyes.
This might cause damage to the person’s eyesight.
Do not subject the LCD monitor to impact.
This might damage the glass on the screen or cause the internal fluid to
leak. If the internal fluid enters your eyes or comes into contact with your
body or clothes, rinse with fresh water. If the internal fluid has entered your
eyes, consult a physician to receive treatment.
A camera is a precision instrument. Do not drop it, strike it or use
excessive force when handling the camera.
This might cause damage to the camera.
Do not use the camera in humid, steamy, smoky, or dusty places.
This might cause fire or electric shock.
Do not remove the battery immediately after long period of continuous
use.
The battery becomes hot during use. Touching a hot battery might cause
burns.
Do not wrap the camera or place it in cloth or blankets.
This might cause heat to build up and deform the case, resulting in fire. Use
the camera in a well-ventilated place.
Do not leave the camera in places where the temperature may rise
significantly, such as inside a car.
This might adversely affect the case or the parts inside, resulting in fire.
Before you move the camera, disconnect cords and cables.
Failure to do this might damage cords and cables, resulting in fire and
electric shock.

EN-5
Notes on Battery Usage
When you use the battery, carefully read and strictly observe the Safety Instructions
and the notes described below:
Use only the specified battery (3.7V).
Avoid extremely cold environments as low temperatures can shorten the battery
life and reduce camera performance.
When you are using a new rechargeable battery or a rechargeable battery that has
not been used for an extended period of time (the battery that passed the expiry
date is an exception), it may affect the number of images that can be captured.
Therefore, to maximize its performance and lifetime, we recommend that you fully
charge the battery and discharge it for at least one complete cycle before use.
The battery may feel warm after a long period of continuous use of the camera or
the flash. This is normal and not a malfunction.
The camera may feel warm after a long period of continuous use. This is normal
and not a malfunction.
If the battery is not to be used for a long period of time, remove it from the camera
to prevent leakage or corrosion and store it after no battery power is left. Stored for
a long time in a fully charged condition, its performance may be impaired.
Always keep the battery terminals clean.
There is a risk of explosion if the battery is replaced by an incorrect type.
Dispose of used battery according to the recycle instructions.
Charge the rechargeable!battery fully before using for the first time.
To prevent short-circuiting or fire, keep the battery away from other metal objects
when carrying or storing.

CONTENTS
EN-6
7 INTRODUCTION
7Overview
7 Package Contents
8 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR
CAMERA
8 Front View
9 Rear View
10 LCD Monitor Display
12 GETTING STARTED
12 Preparation
13 Turning the Power On/Off
13 LED Indicators
14 Choosing the Language
14 Formatting the Memory Card or
Internal Memory
15 Setting the Date and Time
16 CAPTURE MODE
16 Capturing Images
16 Using the Zoom Function
17 Setting Focus
18 Setting the Scene Mode
19 Adjusting the Exposure (EV
Compensation)
20 VIDEO MODE
20 Recording Video Clips
21 Playing Back Video Clips
22 PLAYBACK MODE
22 Playing Back Still Images
22 Removing Red-eye
23 Thumbnail Display
23 Slideshow Display
24 Protecting Images
25 DPOF Settings
26 Erasing Images
27 MENU OPTIONS
27 Capture Menu
29 Video Menu
30 Playback Menu
31 Setup Menu
33 TRANSFERRING FILES TO
YOUR COMPUTER
33 Downloading Your Files
34 EDITING SOFTWARE
INSTALLATION
35 USING THE CAMERA AS A PC
CAMERA
35 Install the PC camera driver
36 SPECIFICATIONS
37 APPENDIX
37 Possible Number of Shots
38 Troubleshooting
39 Connecting to a PictBridge
Compliant Printer

EN-7
INTRODUCTION
Overview
Congratulations on your purchase of the new digital camera.
Capturing high-quality digital images is fast and easy with this state-of-the-art smart
camera. Equipped with a 8.0-megapixel sensor, this camera is capable of capturing
images with a resolution of up to 3264 x 2448 pixels.
Package Contents
Carefully unpack your camera and ensure that you have the following items:
Common Product Components:
Digital Camera
User’s manual
Software CD-ROM
USB cable
Camera strap
Camera pouch
Lithium-ion rechargeable battery
Battery charger
AC adapter for battery charger
Common (Optional) Accessories:
SD/SDHC memory card
Accessories and components may vary by retailer.

EN-8
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR CAMERA
Front View
1. Strap holder
2. Lens cover
3. Shutter button
4. Flash
5. Lens
6. Microphone
7. Self-timer LED
6
5
24
3
1
7

EN-9
Rear View
OK
1
2
10
11
5
6
7
8
9
4
3
1. Focus switch
Normal mode
Macro mode
2. USB connector
3. Tripod socket
4. Battery / memory card cover
5. OK OK button
Digital Zoom button
6. T
Down button
MODE Mode button
7. X
Right button
Flash button
8. W
Left button
Self-timer button
9. S
Up button
MENU Menu button
10. LCD monitor
11. Status LED

EN-10
LCD Monitor Display
4
21 3
5
6
7
8
10s
10s
10
11
12
13
14
A
10s
+0.3
+0.3
+0.3
2008/01/01 19:58
2008/01/01 19:58
2008/01/01 19:58 00154
00154
00154
9
8
m
8
m
Capture mode
1. Mode indication
[ ] Auto Mode
[ ] Sport Mode
[ ] Night Mode
[]PortraitMode
[ ] Landscape Mode
[ ] Backlight Mode
2. Flash mode
[]AutoFlash
[ ] Forced Flash
[] Red-eye reduction
[ ] Flash Off
3. Battery condition
[ ] Full battery power
[ ] Medium battery power
[ ] Low battery power
[ ] No battery power
4. Storage media
[ ] Internal memory (no card)
[ ] SD/SDHC memory card
5. Image size resolution
[ 8 m ]3264 x 2448
[
5 m ]2560 x 1920
[
2 m ]1600 x 1200
[
VGA ]640 x 480
6. Image quality
[ ] Fine
[]Normal
[ ] Economy
7. Available number of shots
8. Main focus area
9. Self-timer icon
[ 10s ] 10 sec.
[
2s ] 2 sec.
10.Date and time
11.
[] Exposure compensation
12. Metering
[ ] Average
[]Spot
13. W.Balance
[ Blank ] Auto
[]Daylight
[ ] Cloudy
[ ] Incandescent
[ ] Fluorescent1
[ ] Fluorescent2
14. Focus setting
[ Blank ] Normal
[]Macro

EN-11
Video mode [S]
1. Mode icon
2. Available recording time
3. Main focus area
4. Battery condition
5. Storage media
6. Video resolution
7. Exposure compensation
8. Focus setting
Playback mode
!
[
x
]
!
-
!
Still image playback
1. Play mode
2. Battery condition
3. Storage media
4. File number
5. Folder number
6. Protect icon
7. DPOF icon
Playback mode
!
[
x
]
!
-
!
Video playback
1. Play mode
2. Mode icon
3. Total recorded time
4. Battery condition
5. Storage media
6. Video resolution
7. File number
8. Folder number
9. Playback indicator
VGA
VGA
VGA
+0.3
+0.3
+0.3
4
21 3
5
6
6
7
8
59:59
59:59
59:59
100-0001
100-0001
4567
1 2
3
00:11
00:11
100-0001
100-0001
00:11
100-0001
41 2
7
3
6
5
9 8
VGA
VGA
VGA

EN-12
GETTING STARTED
Preparation
1. Attach the camera strap.
2. Open the battery/memory card cover.
3. Load the batteries with correct orientation as
shown.
4. Insert an SD/SDHC memory card (Optional).
The camera has 16MB internal memory
(14MB available for image storage), but you
can load an SD/SDHC memory card (SDHC
memory card up to 4GB) to expand the
camera’s memory capacity.
Be sure to format the memory card with this
camera before its initial usage.
5. Close the battery/memory card cover and make
sure it is locked securely.
 To prevent valuable data from being accidentally erased from an SD/SDHC
memory card
, you can slide the write protect tab (on the side of the SD/
SDHC
memory card) to “LOCK”.
 To save, edit, or erase data on an SD/SDHC memory card, you must
unlock the card
/

To prevent damaging of an SD/SDHC memory card, be sure to turn off the
power when inserting or removing the SD/SDHC memory card. If inserting
or removing the SD/SDHC memory card with the power on, the camera will automatically turn off.
Be careful not to drop the batteries when opening or closing the battery cover.

EN-13
Turning the Power On/Off
Load the batteries and insert an SD/SDHC memory card before starting.
To turn the camera on, slide the lens cover
open until it clicks, uncovering the lens.
To turn the camera off, slide the lens cover
closed until it clicks, covering the lens.
The power is turned off automatically when the camera has not been operated for a fixed period
of time. To resume the operation condition, turn the power on again. Refer to section in this
manual titled “Auto Off” in the Setup Menu for further details.
LED Indicators
Indicators State Description/Activity
LED indicator Solid green The digital camera is powering up.
LED indicator Solid green The digital camera is ready to record
images (or movies).
LED indicator Blinking red Reading/Writing files.
LED indicator Blinking red Charging the flash.
Self-timer indicator Blinking red The self-timer function is activated.
ON
OFF

EN-14
Choosing the Language
Specify in which language menus and messages are to be displayed on the LCD monitor.
1. Press the c/ MENU button.
2. Select [Setup] menu with the fbutton.
3. Select [Language] with the c/ dbuttons, and
press the OK button.

The Language setting screen will be displayed.
4. Select the displayed language with the c/ d
buttons, and press the OK button.
The setting will be stored.
Formatting the Memory Card or Internal Memory
This utility formats the internal memory (or memory card) and erases all stored images
and data.
1. Press the c/ MENU button.
2. Select [Setup] menu with the fbutton.
3. Select [Format] with the c/ dbuttons, and
press the OK button.
4. Select [Execute] with the c/ dbuttons, and
press the OK button.
To cancel formatting, select [Cancel] and
press the OK button.
HZ
Format Next Menu
Beep
Language
Auto Off
Sys. Reset
Light Freq.
On
English
3 Min.
Next Menu
50Hz
Setup
HZ
Format Next Menu
Beep
Language
Auto Off
Sys. Reset
Light Freq.
On
English
3 Min.
Next Menu
50Hz
Setup
Format
Cancel
Execute

EN-15
Setting the Date and Time
Follow the steps below to set the date display style, current date and time.
1. Slide the lens cover open until it clicks to turn on
the camera.
The camera mode is displayed.
2. Press the c/ MENU button to enter [Setup] in
any mode.
3. Select [Date/Time] with the c/ dbuttons, then
press the OK button.
The Date/Time setting screen will be
displayed.
4. Select the item’s field with the e/ fbuttons
and adjust the value for the date and time with
the c/ dbuttons.
The date and time is set in the order
year-month-day-hour-minute.
The time is displayed in 24-hours format.
5. After confirming all settings are correct, press
the OK button.
Setup
Date/Time
00:00
2008 / 01 / 01

EN-16
CAPTURE MODE
Capturing Images
Your camera is equipped with a 2.8" LTPS LCD monitor to help you compose images,
playback recorded images/video clips or adjust menu settings.
1. Slide the lens cover open until it clicks to turn on the camera.
2. Compose the image on the monitor screen so that the main subject is within the
focus frame.
3. Press the shutter button to capture the image.
Using the Zoom Function
This camera is equipped with 4x digital zoom. You can enlarge the subjects by pressing
the OK / button. A useful feature as it is, however, the more the image is magnified,
the grainer the image may become.
To capture a zoomed image, perform the following steps:
1. Slide the lens cover open until it clicks to turn on
the camera.
2. To activate the digital zoom, press the OK /
button.
The status of digital magnification is
displayed on the LCD monitor.
3. Compose your scene and press the shutter
button to capture the image.
The digital magnification ranges from 1.0x to 4.0x.
As you record video clips, the zoom function cannot be activated.

EN-17
Setting Focus
Images can be captured by sliding the focus switch to set the focus modes: [ ]
macro or [ ] normal mode.
1. Slide the lens cover open until it clicks to turn on
the camera.
2. Slide the focus switch to your desired focus
mode.
3. Compose your scene and press the shutter
button.
The table below will help you choose the appropriate focus mode:
Focus mode Description
Normal This mode is suitable for scenery and portrait shooting.
Macro Select macro to capture close-up images. When the lens is zoomed
to its widest position you may focus objects as close as 60 cm.

EN-18
Setting the Scene Mode
You can select the scene mode according to the shooting scene. There are 6 available
modes in this scene mode.
[ ] Auto: Select this mode to adjust point-and-shoot action.
[ ] Sport: Select this mode when you want to photograph fast-moving
subjects.
[ ] Night: Select this mode when you want to capture dark scenes such as
night views.
[ ] Portrait: Select this mode when you want to capture an image that makes
the person stand out against a defocused (blurred) background.
[ ] Landscape: Select this mode to capture an image with infinity focus, hard
sharpness and high saturation.
[ ] Backlight: Select this mode when you want to capture images as the
light comes from behind the object.
1. Press the c/ MENU button.
The [Capture] menu is displayed.
2. Select [Scene Mode] with the c/ dbuttons,
then press the OK button.
3. Select the desired scene mode with the c/ d
buttons, then press the OK button.
4. To exit from the menu, press the ebutton.
Size 8M
Quality
Scene Mode
EV
Metering
W. Balance
Fine
Auto
0.0
Average
Auto
Capture
Scene Mode
Auto
Sport
Night
Portrait
Landscape
Backlight
Ex.: In Camera Mode

EN-19
Adjusting the Exposure (EV Compensation)
You can manually adjust the exposure determined by the digital camera. Use this mode
when the proper exposure cannot be obtained, for example, when the contrast (different
between light and dark) between the subject and the background is extremely large.
The EV compensation value can be set in the range from -2.0EV to +2.0EV.
1. Press the c/ MENU button.
The [Capture] or [Video] menu is displayed.
2. Select [EV] with the c/ dbuttons, then press
the OK button.
3. Use cor dto set the range of EV
compensation value from -2.0EV to +2.0EV,
then press the OK button.
4. To exit from the menu, press the ebutton.
Effective Subjects and Set Values
+(positive) compensation -(negative) compensation Backlight correction
(+0.3 EV, fixed)
* Printed matter with black
text on whitish paper.
* Backlighting.
* Bright scenes or strong
reflected light such as ski
slopes.
* When the sky accounts for
a large area on the screen.
* People illuminated by a
spotlight, in particular,
against dark background.
* Printed matter with white
text on blackish paper.
* Weak reflecting bodies such
as evergreen trees or
darkish leaves
* When the background is
bright and the subject is
dark.
* When subjects (people)
have a light source such
as the sun to their backs.
Size 8M
Quality
Scene Mode
EV
Metering
W. Balance
Fine
Auto
0.0
Average
Auto
Capture
EV
0.0