Sony DSC-F55 User manual

© 2000 Sony Corporation
3-060-458-11 (2)
PictureGear
Version 4.1 Lite
User’s Guide
Руководство пользователя

2 GB
Program © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Sony Corporation
Documentation © 2000 Sony Corporation
© 2000 Sony Corporation. All rights reserved.
PictureGear, Memory Stick is a trademark of Sony Corporation.
Microsoft, MS-DOS and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
(USA) in the USA and in other countries.
This product contains the software product of FUJIFILM "Exif Toolkit For Windows
Ver.2.3" (Copyright © 1998 FUJI PHOTO FILM CO.,LTD.). Exif is the image file format
standard for digital still cameras stipulated by JEIDA (Japan Electronic Industry
Development Association).
This software uses Microsoft DirectX®Media Runtime (© 1998 by Microsoft
Corporation, All rights reserved)
This application uses the MGI, Inc. enhanced Toolkit for the FlashPix™ format. FlashPix
is a trademark of Digital Imaging Group.
Portions copyright Digital Imaging Group, 1996 and copyright MGI, 1996.
This FlashPix format uses Microsoft's OLE Structured Storage.
Portions are copyrighted by Eastman Kodak Company, 1996
Portions are copyrighted by Hewlett-Packard, 1996
Other system names and product names appearing in this document are generally
registered trademarks or trademarks of their manufacturers, although ™ and ®marks
are not shown in this document.
Before using this software, please read the Software License Agreement that is
displayed during the software's installation.
❒Copying all or part of the contents of this software and Operating Manual,
or renting the software without authorization are prohibited by copyright
laws.
❒The Company cannot accept liability for damage or loss resulting from the
use of this software, or for any claim from a third party.
❒The Company assumes no responsibility aside from the replacement of the
media due to manufacturing fault.
❒This software must not be used in a system other than that specified.
❒The software specifications may be subject to change without notice.

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Table of Contents
Before Use
Programme Features................................................................................... 4
Precautions for Use ..................................................................................... 6
About the Operating Environment .................................................... 6
About Colour Display Settings........................................................... 6
How to Use this Manual ............................................................................ 7
Installing PictureGear ................................................................................. 8
Installing the Movie Support Library .............................................. 10
Basic Operation
Starting the Programme ........................................................................... 11
Closing PictureGear ........................................................................... 12
Viewing Slides ........................................................................................... 13
Displaying Sample Slides in the View Area ................................... 13
Display Slides other than the Samples ............................................ 14
Viewing a Slide Enlarged .................................................................. 15
Playing a Movie .................................................................................. 15
Using with External Devices
Using a Video Camera.............................................................................. 16
Connections and Settings .................................................................. 16
Using the First Time ........................................................................... 18
Storing Images .................................................................................... 18
Using a Digital Still Camera or Memory Stick Serial Port Adaptor
(for Handycams)........................................................................................ 19
Using the Memory Stick Slot ................................................................... 20
Loading Images................................................................................... 20
Saving Images ..................................................................................... 20
Storing Images from External Devices ................................................... 21
Miscellaneous
How to Uninstall PictureGear ................................................................. 22
In Case of Trouble ..................................................................................... 23

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Before Use
Programme Features
PictureGear Version 4.1 Lite (hereafter referred to simply as PictureGear) is a
software application that makes it easy to list, manage, and display image
files stored in “Memory Stick” or on a computer’s hard disk. In PictureGear,
each displayed image is called a slide.
Note
The example screens in this document are for the English version. However, to use this
software, the language selected during installation should match the language of the
operating system installed on the PC.
Languages that can be selected during installation are as follows.
Japanese / English / German / French / Italian / Spanish
If the language of your operating system is other than the above, select a language from
among the above. The default selection is English.*
* Please note: Operation is not assured with operating systems for languages other
than the above.
List View and Zoom View
Slides within a selected folder are displayed in the List View. The List View
can be zoomed in and out between 12 and 800% using the Zoom Bar, so any
slide can be quickly selected.
As long as a slide is in an image format that can be handled by PictureGear,
even if its format differs from other slides, it appears in the same List View
together with the other slides. Slides in the List View can be displayed in
order by date, name, etc.
Copy and Move Slides
Slides can be copied and moved by simple operations in the PictureGear
window.

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Before Use
Zoom Display of a Slide
A slide selected in the List View can be displayed zoomed in a separate
window (Single-Image View). Slides displayed in Single-Image View can be
magnified, reduced and scrolled.
Print Slides
Slides can be printed, either singly or as multiple slides per page.
Play Movies in the Movie Playback Window
MPEG1 and AVI format movie files can be played in separate windows. A
corresponding still image appears in the List View.
Use with Video and Digital Still Cameras
By connecting a Sony video or digital still camera to the PC, photographic
images can be transferred between PictureGear and the camera.
Use a “Memory Stick”
You can view and save slides on a PC that has been equipped with a Memory
Stick Slot. If the PC you are using does not have a Memory Stick Slot, you can
view and save slides by connecting a serial port adaptor (for MS) from Sony.
zHint
The on-line help shows which image formats are supported by PictureGear.
Note
The functions described in this document are only applicable to the devices with which
this software is bundled (or with the devices for which the accessory kit bundle is
intended).

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Precautions for Use
About the Operating Environment
The hardware and software requirements for using PictureGear are as
follows:
❐IBM PC/AT or compatible with the following capabilities.
– Minimum 90 MHz Pentium CPU (166 MHz or faster recommended)
– Minimum 32 MB main memory (64 MB or more recommended)
– Minimum 30 MB available hard disk space (for Standard installation)
– Minimum 640 ×480 pixel Hi Color (16-bit colour) display driver
capability.
❐Operating System
Microsoft®Windows 95/98/98 Second Edition, or Windows NT 4.0 (with
Service Pack 3 or greater).
About Using with Windows NT4.0
• PictureGear must be installed with a supervisory-level login user name,
such as “Administrator”.
• PictureGear may require about 150 MB of real and virtual memory
combined. If PictureGear is run under Windows NT4.0 with too little
memory, a message such as “Your system is running low on virtual
memory. Please close some applications.” may appear. In this case, close
PictureGear immediately, login with a supervisory level user name, double
click the System icon in the Control Panel and increase the maximum size
of virtual memory with the Performance setting.
Note
To view movies with PictureGear Version 4.1 Lite, the Microsoft DirectX Media
Runtime Version 5.2 (or later) movie support library is required. If no movie support
library is present, it can be installed from the PictureGear CD-ROM. See page 10 for
details.
About Colour Display Settings
• When using PictureGear, the colour palette of the screen should be at least
Hi Color (16-bit colour) for proper display.
• The display colour settings are made by double clicking the Display icon in
the Windows Control Panel.

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Before Use
How to Use this Manual
This manual describes how to get PictureGear up and running. Refer to the
PictureGear on-line help to learn more about specific programme operations.
Help is accessible by running PictureGear and selecting How to Use
PictureGear in the Help menu.
Information too new to be included in the operating manual is available in
the ReadMe file located under Start menu - Programs - PictureGear 4.1Lite.
Please be sure to read it.
Displaying the Help Contents
PictureGear on-line help is displayed by clicking How to Use PictureGear in
the Help menu, or by clicking the button on the toolbar.
• Double click to display the items within it.
• Double click to display the description of that item.

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Installing PictureGear
1Insert the PictureGear CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.
When the CD-ROM drive access lamp turns off, the Choose Setup
Language dialog box appears.
Note
If this dialog box does not appear when the CD-ROM is inserted, start the
Windows Explorer and double click on the installation file (SETUP.EXE) on the
CD-ROM.
2Click to select the language to use from the displayed
language list, and click [OK].
The Question dialog box appears.
3Make sure all other applications are closed and then click [Yes].
The Welcome dialog box appears.
4Click [Next].
The End User License Agreement appears. Please read it before
proceeding to the next step.
5Click [Yes] after reading the End User License Agreement and
agreeing to the terms.
The Choose Destination Location dialog box appears with
“C:\Program Files\Sony\PictureGear4.1Lite” as the installation
destination.

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Before Use
6Click [Next] if the displayed destination folder is acceptable.
If you want to change the destination folder, click [Browse], change the
destination folder, and then click [Next].
The Setup Type dialog box appears.
7Click [Next] if you want to perform the Standard setup.
To change the setup type, click either [Minimum] or [Custom], and then
click [Next].
• Custom: either the PictureGear programme or sample data can be selected to be
installed.
• Minimum: only the PictureGear programme is installed.
• Standard: the PictureGear programme and sample data are installed.
The Select Program Folder dialog box appears.
8Click [Next] if the displayed programme folder name is
acceptable.
If you want to change the programme folder name, enter the new name
for the folder, and click [Next].
After the required files are copied from the CD-ROM to the hard disk,
the Question dialog box appears.
Continued

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9Click [Yes].
The Setup Complete dialog box appears.
After Installation is complete a Read Me document is displayed with the
latest information about the programme. Make sure you read this
document before running the programme.
10 Click [OK].
The ReadMe document is displayed. After reading the document, close it
and click [Finish] in the PictureGear Setup dialog box.
Installation is now complete.
Installing the Movie Support Library
Microsoft DirectX Media Runtime Version 5.2 or later is required to play
movies with PictureGear Version 4.1 Lite.
If you have a problem playing movies, install the Microsoft DirectX Media
Runtime provided on the PictureGear CD-ROM. Start up the installation
programme (ENDUSER.EXE) contained in the DirectX folder on the
PictureGear CD-ROM.

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Basic Operation
Continued
Basic Operation
Starting the Programme
PictureGear can be started by the following procedure.
1Turn on the PC and load Windows.
2Click the Start button on the task bar.
The Start menu appears.
3Point to Programs on the Start menu, and click PictureGear 4.1
Lite of PictuireGear 4.1 Lite from the list of programmes.
PictureGear starts and the main window appears.
Sample slides are displayed automatically in the View Area.
A slide selected on this screen can be magnified by the menu and tool
bar, and moved in the Tree View.
Tool Bar
View Area
Tree View Slides

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Closing PictureGear
PictureGear can be closed by either of the following methods:
• Click File in the menu bar, and then click Exit PictureGear.
• Click the Close button at the top right corner of the PictureGear main
window.
zHint
While running PictureGear you can press the F1 key or select How to Use PictureGear
from the help menu, or click to display PictureGear on-line help.
Note
Some time is required before the sample slides appear.
zIf the programme fails to run:
Try again from step 1.
If the programme still does not run properly, there could be a problem with the
PictureGear programme files on the hard disk. Try re-installing PictureGear.

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Basic Operation
Continued
Viewing Slides
Displaying Sample Slides in the View Area
When PictureGear is run the first time, sample slides installed on the hard
disk are displayed automatically.
To display other slides, specify the folder containing the slides you want to
view (page 14).
Initial Folder List
The Samples folder icon in the folder list indicates that it is the open folder
when PictureGear is run the first time. The slides in the Samples folder are
therefore displayed.
The Samples folder is in the PictureGearLite folder, which is clearly shown to
be in the Sony folder.
Samples folder

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Display Slides other than the Samples
Locate the folder in the PictureGear folder list in the Tree View containing the
slides you wish to display, and click it.
Locating a Folder
Manipulate the folder list as follows to locate the desired folder.
Folder List Indicators
The drive and folder icons are displayed in the folder list.
A or mark appears at the left of most icons.
When you
click
Scroll Bars
Drives and folders with a
mark The drive or folder contains other folders that are not currently displayed.
Drives and folders with a
mark The drive or folder contains other folders that are displayed under the drive or folder icon, shifted to
the right.
Drives and folders without a
or mark This drive or folder contains only files, or is empty.

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Basic Operation
Using the Folder List
To display the folders within a drive or folder with a mark, click the
mark. It changes to a mark.
To display parts of the list that are not displayed in the folder list, drag the
scroll bar up and down or left and right.
• Clicking on the mark changes it back to as the folders within it are
no longer displayed.
zContents of the View Area:
Only slides in the folder selected in the folder list are displayed.
Other items that may be in the selected folder are not displayed. Also, despite their file
extension, images that cannot be displayed with PictureGear are indicated as non-
displayable slides.
zWhen slides are not displayed
The selected folder may not contain any images that can be displayed by PictureGear.
Check the contents of the folder list and select a folder that contains displayable files.
Viewing a Slide Enlarged
Double click the slide image in the View Area that you want to display
enlarged.
The Single-Image View window opens with the enlarged slide. To close the
window, click Close in the File menu, or click the window’s Close button.
Refer to Displaying a Single Image in the on-line help for more details.
Note
Up to 8 Single-Image View windows can be opened at one time.
Playing a Movie
Click the movie slide in the View Area that you want to play, and
click Play in the View menu.
Refer to the on-line help for details.

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Using with External Devices
This part describes PictureGear operation when connected with external
devices. See the PictureGear on-line help and the device manuals for more
details.
Using a Video Camera
With a Sony video camera connected to the PC, PictureGear lets you transfer
images between the PC and the camera.
Note
The video camera described here refers to the device with which the software was
bundled (or with the devices for which the accessory kit bundle is intended). Other
devices are not compatible.
Connections and Settings
1Turn off the video camera and PC power.
2Connect one end of the connection cable to a PC serial port, and
the other end to the DIGITAL I/O jack on the video camera.
3Turn on the video camera, and set it to communicate with the PC
(set the power switch to “Memory”, etc.).
Refer to the video camera operating manual for details.
4Turn on the PC and run PictureGear.
5In the Edit menu, point to Various Settings - Device Settings, and
click Video Camera.

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Using with External Devices
Continued
The Video Camera Settings dialog box appears.
zHint
• If the “Background Download” box is checked, images can be loaded by
background processing. Refer to the on-line help for details.
• If the check mark in the “limit size of images in memory to 640 ×480” box is
turned on, the size of images that can be loaded back into the video camera will
be limited to VGA (640 ×480). If this box is not checked, the size of the image
that is loaded back into the camera will vary from camera to camera.
Note
Settings cannot be changed during connection with the video camera. To change
settings, Right click the Video Camera folder icon and select Disconnect from the
menu to momentarily cut the connection.
6Make the desired settings, and click [OK].
Baud Rate: The default rate is set at 115200 bps. A slower rate may be
used if serial communications problems occur.
Serial Port: Select the PC port that corresponds to the connection in step
2. See the PC operating manual for the port number.
The settings are refreshed and the Video Camera Settings dialog box
closes.

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Using the First Time
1Check the connections and confirm that an image is stored in the
video camera’s internal flash memory.
2In the File menu, point to Connect to device, and click Video
Camera.
The Video Camera folder icon appears in the folder list, and images in
the folder appear in the View Area.
Video Camera folder icon
zHint
If a message box appears indicating a communications problem, refer to steps 5 and 6 of
Connections and Settings, and perform the following steps:
• Decrease the baud rate.
• Confirm that the port settings are correct.
Note
If an image has been read and any of the following actions taken, repeat the procedure
from step 1.
– The video camera has been turned off and back on.
– The cable has been disconnected.
– The “Memory Stick” for the video camera has been removed or inserted.
Notes
• After working with an image after viewing the List View, such as Single-Image
viewing, some time will be required to re-read the images.
• As the video camera and the PC are busy communicating until all image are read, do
not disconnect the cable during this period.
• If images are read in the background while using another application, connection to
the device may be lost. If this occurs, deactivate the “Background Download” option.
Storing Images
Please see page 21.

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Using with External Devices
Using a Digital Still Camera or
Memory Stick Serial Port Adaptor (for
Handycams)
With a Sony Digital Still Camera (DSC-F55, DSC-F505) connected to the PC,
PictureGear lets you transfer photo images between the PC and the camera.
Also, with the Sony Memory Stick (MS) Serial Port Adaptor (for Handycams)
Connected to the PC, PictureGear lets you transfer images between the PC
and “Memory Stick.”
Note
• “Memory Stick” means “Memory Stick” in which images have been stored by the
device with which the software was bundled. “Memory Stick” containing images
stored by other devices are not guaranteed to be compatible.
• To connect to a Sony Digital Camera, you will require the connection cable provided
with the Digital Still Camera PC Connecting Kit.
Please refer to the on-line help for information about saving images,
connection and settings.

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Using the Memory Stick Slot
If the PC you are using is equipped with a Memory Stick slot, you can set the
“Memory Stick” and load images from it, or save PictureGear images to the
“Memory Stick.”
Note
“Memory Stick” means “Memory Stick” in which images have been stored by the
device with which the software was bundled. “Memory Stick” containing images stored
by other devices are not guaranteed to be compatible.
Loading Images
1Click the folder assigned to “Memory Stick” on the drive.
The slides stored are shown in the view area.
zAbout the Drive Name for “Memory Stick”
Usually the drive assigned is drive “S:” however, when using “Memory Stick”
with a PC card adaptor, The drive name may vary depending on the computer
you are using.
Please refer to PictureGear help or the manual for your PC for more information.
Saving Images
To save a PictureGear image to a “Memory Stick” that has been set in the
Memory Stick Slot, you will have to convert the image to the Memory Stick
format (. JPG extension)
1Select the Slide from the List View.
2Click File Process in the File menu, and then click Still Format
Conversion.
The Still Format Conversion dialog box appears.
3Click the button of the Output Format and select
“MemoryStick (*.jpg)” from the list.