hi i bought a new camcorder recently its sony pd 170 i wonder if i have to set up anything before use sorry for my english
I have owned a PD170 for a year now. Did you buy it new and did you get a user manual with it. Read the book. If you cant read english I can help you get through the book. You need: Battery, battery charger, and a tape. Only DVCAM tapes will work for sure. Some other tapes might work but with less functioning. What country are you in? and what is the voltage in your house? If its the US then: Step 1 Put the battery into the camera and Plug the battery charger into the wall and into the camera. After a few minutes the window on the left side with camera pointing away, will tell how many minutes are available on the battery. The camera is ready to use. You can take movies even while the battery is charging.If this is not enough help let me know. Hei lung 11/7/05
thnx for reply.i boyght it new i have read the manual i uderstund everything about charging shooting end general use. i wonder if there are some tips for taking a realy impressive picture. i mean some tips about seting the contrast level the shuter speed or whatever makes my movie look realy differend and profesional. thank you anyway
It sounds like you are off to a good start. Especially starting out, let the camera do the work. You will be very pleased. Set the auto lock switch to the green line. This sets the camera to automatic mode for shutter, lens aperature and gain. It works very very well. Set focus to auto. Set ND filter (Neutral Density for bright days)to whatever shows in the screen. Put in the correct DVCAM tape,set the Red Button to camera and START SHOOTING! You can rewind the tape and record over it many times until you get what you want. Digital zoom (see menu)is usually not good. MOST important tip: Use a sturdy tripod. Good telephoto shots are impossible without a sturdy tripod or rest the camera on your knees while stooping. The menu settings require some study, but dont worry, start shooting and learn them as you get more familiar with the menu lists in the book. Its easy to play the tape through modern TVs with ordinary stereo-type RCA plug wires. Avoid using the camera as VCR, too much wear on the camera. I use the Firewire connection port (must buy proper cable)and put my movies on a digital hard drive.Heilung
