How to Learn to Use Your Video Camera
- 1). Locate the power-on switch. Learn what position it must be in to power up the camera system.
- 2). Find out if the power-on switch has two settings: one for recording and one for playback. Become thoroughly familiar with which is which.
- 3). Learn where the record button is on your camera. Some units have more than one.
- 4). Learn where the recording indicator (usually a red light) is located.
- 5). Practice inserting new tapes and ejecting used ones.
- 6). Read your camcorder's manual about color balance.
- 7). Learn how to zoom in and zoom out smoothly.
- 8). Learn the zoom capabilities of your lens. Become familiar with the widest (least zoomed) shot you can take, compared with the tightest (most zoomed) shot.
- 9). Look at a scene and try to figure out where the frame line of your shot would be for both a wide and a tight shot. Then take your camcorder and see how close you came.
- 10
Continue to practice matching your "mind's eye" margins with the actual ones your lens produces until you get it right most of the time. - 11
Use your manual to find out about other camera status indicators: what they mean and where they're located. - 12
Find out if you can control the sound level as you record. If so, learn how to adjust it as you shoot, so you don't interrupt a good shot to set volume. - 13
Rehearse switching from one battery to another, or from a battery to your battery eliminator. These are sometimes tricky, and if you don't get them in just right, they won't fit. - 14
Learn accessory control: It's just as important to know how to turn an accessory off as it is to turn it on.