Hitachi VM-E625LA manual

For Your S afety - 1 - Instruction Manual 8mm Video Camcorder VM-E625LA Hitachi Home Electronics (A merica), Inc. HITACHI (HSC) CA NA DA INC 3890 Steve Rey nolds Blvd., Norc ross, G A 30093 3300 Trans Canada Highway, Pointe Claire, Tel. 770-279- 5600 Quebec, H9R 1B1, CANADA Tel. 514-697- 9150 HITACHI SA LES CORPORATION OF HAWA II, INC 3219 Koapaka [...]

For Your S afety - 2 - TABLE OF CONTENTS For Your Safety ......................................................................................................................................... 3 IMPORTANT SAFEG UAR DS ................................................................................................................. 4 IMPORTANT SAFE[...]

For Your S afety - 3 - Simple Pr ogramma ble Edit ( Edit remote c ontrol is opti onal accessory ) .................................... 41 Contro llin g Your T V with the Camco rd er's Remote Co ntrol ........................................................ 44 Using Audio/Video D ubbing ..........................................................[...]

IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS - 4 - as colored brig ht dots. T his does not indicate a fault as the LCD panel stretches the limits of current technolog y. Warning: This device com plies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Oper ation is subjec t to the following two conditions: (1) This devic e m ay not cause harm f ul interferenc e, and (2) this devic e mus t ac[...]

IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS - 5 - 2 Retain Instructions -- T he safety and operating instructions should be retained f or future r eference. 3 Heed Warning s -- Com ply w ith all warnings on the video product and in the operating ins tructions . 4 Polarized Plu g -- T his video product is equipped with a polarized alternating-current line plug (a plug hav[...]

IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS - 6 - with a cart, stand, tripod, brac ket, or table r ecom mended by the manuf acturer, or s old with the video product. Any mounting of the product s hould follow the m anufacturer 's instruc tions, and should us e a mounting ac cessor y recom m ended by the m anufacturer . 11A An appliance and cart c om bination should [...]

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUC T IONS FOR AC ADAPTER/CHAR GER - 7 - e. If the video produc t has been dropped or the cabinet has been damaged. f. W hen the video product exhibits a distinct change in per form ance - this indicates a need f or servic e. 19 Replacement Parts -- W hen replacem ent parts are requir ed, have the service technic ian verify tha[...]

Before Y ou Begi n - 8 - • A quick index for the inf orm ation you use most of ten (this page). • A detailed table of contents directing you to specific inform ation quick ly (page 10). Get to know your video camcorder by using this manual, and get to k now Hitachi. W e appreciate your bus iness. Quick Index Charging the Battery .....12 Making [...]

Before Y ou Begi n - 9 - 6. DC cord 7. Remote c ontrol 8. Lens cap str ing Optional RF A dapter If you wi sh to connec t this cam corder to a television that does not have audio/video input jac ks you will need to use the optional RF adapter m odel VM-RF 86A (R). The RF adapter can be purchas ed by calling the telephone num ber below. For your conv[...]

Getting Star ted - 10 - Using the lens cap str i ng: Pass the str ing through the lens cap and grip belt and attac h it as shown in the figure. Removing the lens cap Alway s attach the lens cap to pr otect the lens when carrying or storing the cam cor der. During shooting attach the lens cap as s hown in the figure to prevent it f rom being lost. G[...]

Getting Star ted - 11 - temper atures operation tim e decreas es, while at high temper ature the battery may be damaged. After c harging set the m ark switch to red so that you may quickly identify w hether the battery is charged or unc harged. Note: The m ark er switch does not guar antee the batteries charge s tatus. A ddi ti onal Infor mati on T[...]

Getting Star ted - 12 - A djusting the Electronic View finder The elec tronic viewfinder adj usts sim ply by pivoting it to a position where it is c om fortable and easy to see through. Place the viewfinder bac k in its original position befor e storing the cam cor der in its cas e or carr y ing the cam era recor der around to avoid dam aging the v[...]

Getting Star ted - 13 - Loading Batteri es Install the batteries to pr event misplacing them. Clock Battery 1. Pull out the battery holder. 2. Insert the battery with the "+" terminal f acing up. 3. Fully insert the battery holder into the cam cor der. Remote Control Battery 1. Push the tab to the right of the r emote c ontrol and hold it[...]

Getting Star ted - 14 - Note: Keep the batteries in a dark , cool, dry place. Camcorder Batteries Using Battery Pack Before you install the batter y for the firs t time it must be fully char ged. Refer to "Charging the Battery" on page 12 for details. 1. Lift the OPEN lever and pull it up. The power supply attachm ent cover will open. 2. [...]

Getting Star ted - 15 - Note: If the OPEN lever is flat, the c over will not close. Note: Alway s rem ove the battery from the c amc order after use. Note: W e cannot guarantee against m alfunctions of the cam corder which occur when you use battery pac ks other than those spec ified. Note: Alway s attach a battery by the proc edure descr ibed here[...]

Getting Star ted - 16 - y ou cannot view a picture on the LCD s creen. 1. Lift the OPEN lever and pull it up. The power supply attachm ent cover will open. 2. Lift the battery holder plates at the center of the attachm ent holder. 3. Insert six alkaline batteries with the correct polarities . 4. After ins talling the batteries, close the c over. Ho[...]

Getting Star ted - 17 - • Do not use old and new batteries at the sam e tim e. Note: If the liquid leak s, rem ove the batteries im m ediately and ask your nearest dealer to inspect the cam corder ( this will be at y our own expense). Note: Do not let the batteries or the term inals of the cam corder get dirty . If they are dirty, use a dry c lot[...]

Getting Star ted - 18 - 1. Plug the car battery cord into the car's cigarette lighter soc ket. 2. Connect one end of the DC c ord (provided) to the DC IN jac k of the cam corder. Connect to other end of the DC cord to the DC OUT PUT of the car battery cord. Note: Only use the car battery cord with cars having 12/24 volt negative ground system [...]

Getting Star ted - 19 - Note: If T APE flashes in the viewfinder, rem ove the cass ette and check that the tape is not dam aged, is not slack or no dust adheres to it, etc. After m ak ing sure that there is no abnorm ality , reinsert the c assette. If TAPE reappear s, see "T roubleshooting" on page 59. Removing a Cassette Slide the EJECT [...]

Getting Star ted - 20 - Note: The tape r emaining dis play appears 10 sec onds after the tape starts to run. Note: W hen the remaining tape tim e becom es less than about three m inutes, TAPE END f lashes in the viewfinder or LCD m onitor. Setting the Date and Time Take the time to set the date and time now. T he date and time can be recorded on y [...]

Getting St arted, Id entify ing Contr ols - 21 - Correcti ng the Date and Ti me 1. Press the DAT E/TIT LE button while pressing the ST OP button. The f lashing curs or appears at the m onth. 2. Move to where y ou need to m ake the cor rection with the STOP button and us e the F.F and REW to correct. 3. Press the DAT E/TIT LE button to set the cor r[...]

Getting St arted, Id entify ing Contr ols - 22 - approxim ately 9 times norm al playback speed. Als o use this button to set date and tim e.  - STO P Button Use this button to stop playback, f ast f orward, or reverse. Als o use this button to set date and tim e. - REW Button Use this button to f ast rewind tapes or f or visual searc h. During v[...]

Getting St arted, Id entify ing Contr ols - 23 - • POW ER: Turns the T V on and off. • AVX: Used f or recor ding picture and sound f rom an auxiliary input. • VOLUME: Increas e ( ) or decr ease ( ) the volum e. • CHANNEL: Top ( ) button switches to the next higher c hannel, bottom ( ) button switches to the nex t lower channel. For thes e t[...]

Getting St arted, Id entify ing Contr ols - 24 - 2. Use the BRIGHT control on the side of the LCD monitor to adjust the brightness of the LCD sc reen. Range in w hic h the LCD M onitor can be moved v Cautions on LCD Monitor Screen • Do not touch the LCD screen w ith your fingers as the scr een could get dir ty and the picture will not be seen cle[...]

Basic Techniq ues - 25 - and that no water or dust enters the camcorder thr ough the gap as it coul d cause a malfunction. Basic Techniques The batteries are in plac e and charged, the date and time are s et, and you are familiar with the contr ols. Is time to make a recor ding. Basic rec ording is easy and s imple. Hooking up the camcor der to you[...]

Basic Techniq ues - 26 - 2. Press the REW button to the position where you w ant to start playback. 3. Press the PLAY button and play back the tape. To adj ust the volum e for the inter nal speaker , adjust the VOLUME control at the bottom of the cam corder. 4. Press the ST OP button when you have finished. Note: W hen the LCD monitor is tur ned on[...]

Basic Techniq ues - 27 - Using Forw ard and Reverse Search W hen looking for a par ticular point in your videotape use the F.F button and REW button to find the spot quick ly. • Press F .F button during playback to play the tape forward at approxim ately 9 times norm al speed. Pr ess PLAY button to return to norm al playback. • Press REW button[...]

Advanced Techniques - 28 - television as you normally do to see the signal com ing from the VCR. 5. Hold down the red button on the CAM/OFF/VIDEO s witch while sliding the switch to VIDEO. 6. Press the PLAY button to begin playback. 7. Press the ST OP button when finished. Connecting to a Television w ith A udio In and Video In Jacks 1. Connect the[...]

Advanced Techniques - 29 - Note: You need the remote c ontrol to operate the cam corder . Recording an Image of Yourself w hile Monitoring the LCD Screen 1. Open the LCD m onitor ("Opening the LCD Monitor", p25). 2. Turn the LCD m onitor s o the monitor screen f aces the sam e direc tion as the lens. Press the ST ART /STOP button on the r[...]

Advanced Techniques - 30 - Note: The c amc order recor ds the sam e date when; - the cass ette is replaced. - you select  AUTO and date dis play again. - the recor ding is less than 10 s econds long. Note: If the date changes while recording continues over 10 seconds, the new date is r ecorded for about 10 seconds the nex t time you mak e a reco[...]

Advanced Techniques - 31 - W hen the pow er zoom s witch is operated, the zoom pos ition is displayed in the view finder or LCD monitor for about 5 seconds and then dis appears. T he zoom position is displayed in 10 steps. Using the Digi tal Zoom The digital zoom increases the magnific ation of the power zoom by 2 times. You must place the s ubject[...]

Advanced Techniques - 32 - Using A uto Focus The c amc order foc uses the subj ect in the center of the viewfinder or LCD m onitor autom atically unless the manual f ocus is engaged. If FOCUS appear s in the viewfinder or LCD m onitor, m anual f ocus is engaged. Pres s the FOCUS contr ol buttons sim ultaneously to return to auto focus. The auto f o[...]

Advanced Techniques - 33 - Dark obj ects Note: W ith the T zoom control you can use the auto focus with subjects that are 3.3 f eet away from the lens and further away to inf inity . W ith the W z oom contr ol y ou can use the auto f ocus with subjects 3/8 inches (1cm ) away from the lens and further away to infinity . Using M anual Focus 1. Press [...]

Advanced Techniques - 34 - Note: EIS m ay not function if you use a wi de or tele conver ter lens. Note: W hen the EIS function is engaged in the vicinity of the zoom range with ZOO M displayed in the viewfinder or LCD m onitor, when m oved from the wide-angle end, the im age size will change, but this is norm al. Note: W hen the EIS function is en[...]

Advanced Techniques - 35 - Using 16x9 Pressing the 16x 9 button during recording or recording pause fades the top and bottom of the picture in the viewfinder or LCD monitor to blac k. • "16x9" is disp lay ed in the viewf inder or LCD m onitor. • W hen the 16x9 button is pressed again, "16x 9" disappears and the norm al pic t[...]

Advanced Techniques - 36 - Using M acro This function allows you to shoot subjects as close as 3/8 inc hes (1cm ). Pr ess and hold the power zoom c ontrol W . The cam era foc uses on the subj ect autom atically. Check your lighting as it tends to be insuff icient when film ing close up. Date Search The date searc h function memorizes the start and [...]

Advanced Techniques - 37 - Using M emory The linear time counter memory stops a rewinding tape at approximately 0;00;00M. This feature helps in locating a specific point in the tape to whic h you wish to retur n. An example might be that you have r ecorded some tape that you have already watched, you continue r ecording but do not care to watc h th[...]

Advanced Techniques - 38 - Display on the LCD monitor in the CA M mode: • W hen a recorded tape is in the cam corder during the VIDEO m ode, "SEARCH" appears in the viewfinder . (Refer to "Date Search" on page 40). Note: The linear time c ounter with the mem ory feature and "SEARCH" in the viewfinder or LCD m onitor [...]

Advanced Techniques - 39 - Creating a Title 1. Connect the cam corder to a power source. 2. Hold down the red button on the CAM/OFF/VIDEO s witch and slide it to either CAM or VIDEO . 3. Press the T IT LE ON/OFF button on the r emote c ontrol and a flashing c ursor appears in the viewfinder or LCD monitor . 4. Use the ST OP button to place the curs[...]

Advanced Techniques - 40 - 1. Hold down the red button on the CAM/OFF/VIDEO s witch while sliding the switch to CAM. 2. Locate the point of the tape where you wish to record the title ("Using Quic k Edit," p39). 3. Press the T IT LE ON/OFF button on the r emote c ontrol. 4. Press the Star t/Stop button to start rec ording the title. 5. Pr[...]

Advanced Techniques - 41 - back through the tape without affecting the tape in the VCR. Use the F.FW D and REW buttons to search the tape. Press the PLAY button to resume nor mal playback. T o resum e recording on the tape in the VCR, pr ess the Start/Stop button and then the S.EDIT button. To f ast forward or rewind the tape, press the ST OP butto[...]

Advanced Techniques - 42 - Note: If the channel on the VCR does not change with the above operation, y ou need to switch the rem ote control code of your VCR. Refer to the VCR's instr uction m anual. If the channel s till does not change after y ou have changed the VCR's rem ote contr ol code, the edit rem ote control cannot oper ate y ou[...]

Advanced Techniques - 43 - Note: If your VCR is connected to a T V, the program display will also appear on the TV scr een. 5. Press the button and use the or button to search for the s tarting point of the s egment you want to copy. Press and then to set the cam corder to the play pause mode. The linear tim e counter counts when searc hing for the[...]

Advanced Techniques - 44 - the stop button on the recor ding VCR to set it to the stop m ode. Note: If the CAM/OF F/VIDEO switch of the cam corder is set to OFF or CAM when the recording VCR is in the record paus e mode, the VCR enters the record m ode. Controlli ng Your TV w i th the Camcor der 's Remote Control The remote contr ol is designe[...]

Advanced Techniques - 45 - Controll i ng the TV Once progr amm ed, the cam cor der's rem ote control is ready to control the T V. • Press the button of the TV f unction that you w ant. Be aware that not all of your TV's f unctions m ay work even though the r emote c ontrol is cor rectly programm ed. Note: It m ay not be possible to cont[...]

Advanced Techniques - 46 - camcorder . Recording T elevision Program s Illustration 1. Connect the optional AV input cable to the VIDEO O UT and AUDIO OUT j ack s of your television or VCR. 2. Connect the fr ee plug to the AV IN/OUT j ack of y our cam cor der. 3. Connect the cam corder to a power source. 4. Insert a cas sette in the cam corder. 5. [...]

Advanced Techniques - 47 - 2. Connect a fully charged batteries or the AC adapter /charger ("Loading Batter ies; Camc order Batteries" p.15, "Using Alternative Power Source s" p.17). 3. Slide the DC cam era light onto the DC cam era light shoe with the cam era light lens f acing the sam e direction as the cam corder's lens.[...]

General Mai ntenance - 48 - 3. Install the new bulb by aligning the notch in the rim of the bulb's base with the " " mar k outside the s ocket. Avoid touching the bulb directly with y our f ingers. It m ay shorten the life of the bulb. 4. Reattach the fr ont of the cas e by placing the bulb in the hole of the r eflective plate, linin[...]

General Mai ntenance - 49 - 3. Fit the projec tion of the eye cup into the groove in the viewfinder and rotate the eye cup in the direction of the arrow . Periodic M aintenance A precision elec trom echanical devic e, the Hitachi VM-E625A requires ma intenance after a per iod of norm al use. W e expect that no other m aintenance other than head cle[...]

General Mai ntenance - 50 - Auto-focus does not operate. § Auto-Focus does not operate i f a special-effects filter is attached or the objects show n on page 35 are being r ecorded. The created title does not appear § Insert the clock batter y, then create a title. § Do not remove the cl ock battery after creating a titl e. The LCD monitor does [...]

General Mai ntenance - 51 - Picture bends at the top of the TV screen § TV receiver is of older type. It needs to be modified to wor k properly with camcorder. § Tape is damaged. Try another cassette. § Color of your TV screen is too bright, too faint or change § TV set has VIR circuit. Turn it of f during playback Date search function does not[...]

General Mai ntenance - 52 - TA PE DISPLAY Sy mptom Check Point & Co rrection TAPE appears in the vi ewfinder § Hav e you moved the camcorder or cassette from a cold place to a warm pl ace so that its temperature changed abruptl y? § If the temperature has changed, remove the cassette and set the CAM/OFF/VIDEO switch to OFF, then wait for abou[...]

Accessories Add Excitement - 53 - in the continental U.S.A. DIA L T OLL FREE 7 day s a week, 24 hour s a day 800 HITACHI 1-800-448-2244 Hitachi Home Electro nics (A merica), Inc. Hitachi has m ade every effort to as sure you hours of trouble f ree operation fr om your unit. However, should you require ser vice, a network of Hitachi Authorized Servi[...]

Accessories Add Excitement - 54 - HiTRO N is a subsidiar y of Hitac hi Home Elec tronics ( Americ a), Inc. HiTRON, Inc. 675, Old Peachtree RD. Suwan ee, GA 30174 Please allow two to three weeks f or delivery. If there is a curr ent back order status on the m odel(s ) you ordered, we will notify you. Thank you for allowing us (Hitachi and HiT RON) t[...]