Sony DCR TRV-9 Tutorial

Fittstaff

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• Publié par: Masang
• Nombre de lectures: 127
• Langue: English

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Sony DCR TRV-9

Tutorial

Operations Tutorial

Here is a tutorial about the basic functions of the Sony DCR TRV-9 digital

camcorder. While this tutorial doesn't aim to completely explain the camera and

all its functions, it should give a pretty fair understanding of the steps necessary

for basic operation. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact the

FITT Center

. Our information is above.

Sony DCR TRV-9

Attaching/Changing the Battery

Before you can use the camera, it must have a power source. This camera

has 2 options. The first option is to use the included battery. The other power

source is located in the bottom of the camera bag, the external power/battery

charger unit.

Attaching/Changing the Battery:

The battery is located at the back of the

camera, under the viewfinder. Please only use batteries supplied by the FITT

Center. To attach or remove a battery, the eyepiece/viewfinder must first be

lifted out of the way. The viewfinder pivots where it meets the camera body.

Merely rotate the viewfinder up and out of the way. If you need to remove a

battery to attach a charged one, press down on the BATT button. This button

is located to the right of the viewfinder, above the battery terminals. After

depressing the button, lift the battery up vertically, and then pull outward from

the camera. To attach a battery to the camera, the steps are basically

reversed. Place the battery so that the tabs on the camera enter the notches

on the battery. Then slide the battery down. There is no need to press the

BATT button to attach a battery.

Sony DCR TRV-9

Attaching the External Power/Charging the Battery:

We have also provided another way to power our Sony DV camera. In the bottom

compartment of the camera bag, there is an external power/battery charger. This

device has the two functions of running the camera off standard AC power and

serving as a charger for the batteries. Note; If powering the camera, the charger

will not simultaneously charge a battery. Hooking the external power source to

the camera is done in much the same way that attaching a battery is done. If

these steps have not been read, please review Attaching/Changing the Battery.

Running off the external power source:

If there is a battery attached to the camera, it must first be removed. Then attach

the part of the charger that looks like a battery to the camera. Of course, the

external power source must also be plugged into a standard outlet.

Charging the battery:

To charge the battery, make sure that the external power source/battery charger

is plugged into an outlet and that the camera is not running of the external power.

See the place where the battery goes on the charger? It looks just like the ones

on the camera. Attach the battery, just as you would attach it to the camera. The

lamp on the charger will light as the battery charges. When the lamp goes out,

the battery is charged. Although the charger says the process will take one hour,

times may vary.

Sony DCR TRV-9

Power/Camera Modes (VTR, Camera, Off):

This camera basically has three modes. VTR, Camera, and Off. Both VTR and

Camera modes are ON. Switching between the modes is handled by a rotating

control at the back of the camera, to the right of the battery. Notice that the main

button has two other buttons within it. The main button is locked by default. To

turn to other camera modes, depress the green button. While the green button is

depressed, rotate the main button to the desired mode. The red button is the

record toggle while in Camera mode.

Sony DCR TRV-9

VTR Controls

VTR (Video Tape Recorder) controls will be familiar to anyone who has used a

VCR. While in VTR mode, the user has access to standard tracking controls;

play, fastforward, rewind, pause, etc. Note that there is a record button in VTR

mode. However, this record will not tape from live sources, it is for line-in

functions. To record, you must switch to Camera mode. The VTR controls are

located on the top of the camera, and will illuminate when in VTR mode.

Sony DCR TRV-9

Basic Camera Controls

The Sony digital video camcorder, has many built in functions, however, the

average user will only need to understand and use the basic ones. Therefore,

I will leave the descriptions of more advanced controls out. If you really need

to know how to use them, please contact one of the FITT Staff.

Record:

If you want to record, first switch to Camera mode. To start recording,

press the red button in the center of the Camera Modes button. Note while

recording, the green STBY (standby) text in the viewfinder and LCD monitor

turns to a red REC. To pause the recording just depress the red button again.

The red REC readout turns back to a green STBY.

Zoom/Wide Angle:

The toggle control at the top of the camera, to the right of

the viewfinder, is the Wide Angle/Telephoto adjustment. Basically, W (wide)

zooms out from the scene and T (telephoto) zooms in. Play with these to get

the hang of it.

Nightshot:

When shooting in the dark, you may wish to use the Nightshot

mode. When in this mode, the camera does its best to illuminate a dark scene.

However, the process uses infra red and so gives a very green cast to the

shot. Try it out an see, perhaps not suitable for all things, but an interesting

effect in some uses.

Backlight:

When your subject just has to stand between you and the light, the

subject will become darker and detail will be lost. The backlight function does

its best to correct this.

16:9 wide:

If you like the widescreen look, use this 16 by 9 ratio. Same as

theatres use. Can be cool. Note that the black bars above and below are not

actually added to your video tape. It is up to the software that you use to

create that effect. If done improperly, the image will have a distorted

appearance.

Picture effect (using "Control" roller):

This camera has the ability to give

certain 'artsy' looks to your video. These picture effects are enabled (toggled

on and off) by pressing the Picture Effect button, under the fold out view

screen. To scroll through the available picture effects, use the Control roller to

the right of the Picture Effect button. While these effects may be interesting

and certainly have their uses, please note that once your video is captured this

way, there is no going back. Unless you reshoot the video. Many editing

programs will allow you to add effects like these without damaging your

original source footage. This may be a better way to go.

Sony DCR TRV-9

Ejecting/Inserting the Tape:

This camera uses Mini DV tapes. The camera will come with one tape at

checkout. Please return the tape with the camera. If you do want to keep the

footage though, consider buying your own tape to record on. The tapes are

available at many places, including the UO bookstore. Prices vary from about $9

to $25 a tape, so you may want to shop around.

To eject the tape, slide the eject button to the right of the tape door. The outer

door will open. After a moment, the inner lid will pop open. The tape can be lifted

straight out of the camera.

To insert the tape: Proper alignment of the tape is essential for the camera to

function and so as not to cause any damage. Gently slide tape into the inner

caddy. Make sure to place the sprockets facing in and the tape side facing down.

With the tape firmly seated in the caddy, close the inner caddy where it says

PUSH. At this point you will hear some whirring and buzzing and the outer door

may be closed.

Sony DCR TRV-9

Connecting the Camera:

The Sony TRV9 has several options for input/output form the camera. Although

the options will be explained briefly here, please feel free to contact the FITT

Center if you have any questions.

Firewire:

The newest and most likely the best option for connecting the camera,

is the firewire port. Of course, you have to have some sort of device that is

firewire enabled. If you do, you will find that the cable transfers the information in

real time without the need to transfer back and forth from digital to analog and

back. Firewire connections also allow the user to control the camera from the

computer. This is called Device Control. Firewire plugs directly from the camera

to the device being used to capture into.

S-Video:

S-Video is a step up in quality from standard RCA connectors.

However, most consumer VCRs will not have matching connections, as low end

RCA seems to be enough for the average consumer. S-Video is just also just one

cable. It runs from camera to the device you are using.

RCA:

Ok, if you have a stereo, you have probably seen these connectors. In this

case we have a 1 to 3 plug, meaning that the information is split up into three

channels, the video and left and right audio. If you are using this type of

connection, you may find that your VCR has only two plugs, audio and video. A

separate cord will need to be purchased. This cord is a 2 to 1 RCA cord, and it

will combine the red and white (audio left and right channels) cords into one cord.

This cord attaches to the audio plug and the yellow to the video.