Canon GL2 Instruction Manual

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Preparations
The tally lamp lets you know that the camcorder is recording.
However, its flashing may be reflected into the lens during
close-up recording, or when recording through glass.
You may therefore decide to turn it off.
TALLY LAMP•• ONSYSTEM(20)
1. Open the menu and select TALLY LAMP.
2. Select the OFF setting and close the menu.
•The tally lamp no longer flashes during recording, but it will still light up when the camcorder
receives a signal from the wireless controller.
+
,+
,+PLAY
(VCR)CARDPLAY
(VCR)TAPECAMERATAPE
Turning Off the Tally Lamp 
						

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Preparations
The date and/ time display forms part of the data code. You can choose to display or hide it during
playback ( 90).
Set the date and time display when you first start using your camcorder. Install the backup battery
before you begin ( 138).
•Before you start setting the date and time, select your home time zone from the menu.
T.ZONE/DST•• N.Y.SYSTEM
(20)
1. Press the MENU button.
• The main menu appears.
2. Pull the SELECT dial up or down, select SYSTEM and press the SELECT dial in.
• The SYSTEM submenu appears.
3. Pull the SELECT dial up or down, select T.ZONE/DST and press the SELECT dial
in.
•The time zone settings appear.
•Your camcorder’s time zone is factory-preset to New York. If you are at another time zone,
select your time zone first and daylight saving time (DST) setting if necessary.
4. Move up or down the list of time zones by pulling the SELECT dial up or down.
Press the SELECT dial in to set the time zone that represents your time zone.
•If you are in daylight saving time, select the time zone with the daylight saving time mark U
next to the area.
5. Press the MENU button.
+
,+
,+
,+PLAY
(VCR)CARDCAMERACARDPLAY
(VCR)TAPECAMERATAPE
Setting the Date and Time
Setting the Time Zone/Daylight Saving Time 
						

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Preparations
Time zone
LONDON
PARIS
CAIRO
MOSCOW
DUBAI
KARACHI
DACCA
BANGKOK
H. KONG (Hong Kong)
TOKYO
SYDNEY
SOLOMONWELLGTN (Wellington)
SAMOA
HONOLU. (Honolulu)
ANCHOR. (Anchorage)
L.A. (Los Angeles)
DENVER
CHICAGO
N.Y. (New York)
CARACAS
RIO (Rio de Janeiro)
FERNAN. (Fernando de Noronha)
AZORES
No.
Time zone No.
Notes:
•After you have selected your time zone and set the date and time, when you travel to another
time zone, there is no need to reset the date and time. Just set the time zone to your destination
and the camcorder’s clock will automatically change to display the correct time for your
destination.
•The camcorder automatically accounts for the number of days in a month and leap year.
1
24 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
2
3
5
679
8
10
4
12
11
13
24192018
17
21
23
22
15
14
16 
						

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Preparations
1. Press the MENU button.
•The main menu appears.
2. Pull the SELECT dial up or down, select SYSTEM and press the SELECT dial in.
•The SYSTEM submenu menu appears.
3. Pull the SELECT dial up or down, select D/TIME SET and press the SELECT dial
in.
•The year display starts to flash.
4. Pull the SELECT dial up or down to change the year. Press the SELECT dial in to
move to another part of the display.
•Once you move from the year, the next part of the display starts flashing.
5. Set the month, day, hours, and minutes in the same way.
6. Press the MENU button when finished to start the clock.
•The date can be set to any year between 2002 and 2030.
•When you press the MENU button during the setting, the seconds become set to zero, the
menu closes and the clock starts.
•If you press the SELECT dial in after having set the minutes, you can set date and time again
from the start.
D/TIME SET•• JAN.1,2002
             12:00 AMSYSTEM
(20)
You can choose to display or hide the date and time display during recording. When the date and
time display is set to ON, the date and time appear in the lower left-hand corner of the display but
the time zone disappears in about 4 seconds. Date and time will not be superimposed on your
recordings.
GUIDE INFO•• OFFDISP.SET UP
(20)
To turn it on, open the menu and select DISP.SET UP. Then select GUIDE INFO, set
it to D/T DISPLAY and close the menu.
After you set the date and time, the date/time and home time zone will be displayed for about 4
seconds each time you turn the power on (in TAPE CAMERA and CARD CAMERA mode).
+
,+
,+
,+PLAY
(VCR)CARDCAMERACARDPLAY
(VCR)TAPECAMERATAPE
+
,+CAMERACARDCAMERATAPE
Setting the Clock
Date and Time Display 
						

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Recording
•Attach a power source ( 16).
•Load a cassette ( 18).
•Fasten the grip belt ( 15).
•Attach the lens hood ( 14).
•Choose the display: viewfinder ( 14) or LCD screen ( 43).
•Adjust the viewfinder or the LCD screen.
You may also want to install the backup battery ( 138) in order to set the date and time display
(32). For setting the movie mode, see “Selecting the Movie Mode” ( 50).
1. Slide the POWER switch to CAMERA and the TAPE/CARD switch to TAPE.
2. Turn the standby lever to STANDBY.
•The camcorder power indicator lights up red and PAUSE appears in the display — the
camcorder is now in “record pause mode”.
•For recording still images, see “Recording Still Images onto a Tape” ( 48) and “Recording
Still Images onto a Memory Card” ( 118).
3. Turn the program selector to [Easy Recording mode.
• This selects the camcorder’s Easy Recording program. It allows you to simply point and shoot
without making any manual adjustments ( 53).
4. Press the start/stop button to begin recording.
•There are two start/stop buttons, to give you control from both gripping positions.
•The tally lamp flashes rapidly and REC appears in the display.
•When you start recording, the camcorder counts from 0 SEC. to 10 SEC. Recordings shorter
than 10 seconds may be difficult to edit later.
5. Press the start/stop button again to pause recording.
•The camcorder returns to record pause mode and PAUSE reappears in the display.
•You can stop and restart recording as often as you like by pressing the start/stop button.
The camcorder is also designed for low-angle recording. The handle is equipped with start/stop
button, PHOTO button and zoom controls. The speed of the zoom controls on the handle can be
set to low, medium or fast in the menu ( 42).
Slide the LOCK lever into the direction of the arrow to lock the handle controls to prevent
accidental operation.
Before You Start Recording
CARD TAPELOCKSTANDBY
LOCKSTANDBY
START
STOP
2
3 114
Basic Recording
Recording
Low-Angle Recording 
						

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Recording
As long as the POWER switch is set to CAMERA, you can use the STANDBY lever to turn the
camcorder on and off. This saves battery power and prevents accidental operation of the start/stop
button.
Turn the STANDBY lever to LOCK or STANDBY to enter/leave the standby mode.
The camcorder automatically turns off if you leave it in record pause mode for more than 5 minutes
to protect tape and video heads.
You can select whether to turn off the camcorder (SHUT OFF) or only the recorder section (VCR
STOP).
At VCR STOP, the camcorder remains turned on, so that the camcorder settings such as aperture
and shutter speed are retained. Press the start/stop button to start recording from the VCR STOP
state. Press the VCR STOP Custom Key to go into record pause mode ( 58).
If you have selected SHUT OFF and the camcorder turns off, turn the standby lever to LOCK and
back to STANDBY to turn the camcorder on.
VCR STOP
Select VCR STOP as the function for the Custom Key button in the menu. Pressing the Custom Key
will then only turn off the recorder section while the camcorder remains on. This will enable you to
change the camcorder settings without being interfered by the automatic shut off.
To start recording, press the VCR STOP button and the camcorder will go into record pause mode.   
•Close the LCD panel.
•Unload the cassette.
•Turn the standby lever to LOCK.
•Slide the POWER switch to OFF.
•Disconnect the power source.
•If you have used the viewfinder, return it to its lowered and retracted position.
Notes:
•To check that the camcorder is recording correctly, make a test recording first.
•Before making important recordings, clean the video heads using a Canon DVM-CL Digital Video
Head Cleaning Cassette or a commercially available digital video head cleaning cassette.
•To close the LCD panel, rotate it vertically until the screen faces you, then push it in flat against
the side of the camcorder.
•You cannot monitor the sound from the speaker when recording.
•For tips on how to make better videos, see page 40.
•For extra recording time, see “Changing the Recording Time” ( 37)
•The flashing of the tally lamp may be reflected into the lens during close-up recording, or when
recording through glass. You may therefore decide to turn it off ( 31).
When You Have Finished Recording
Using the STANDBY lever
The Power Save Function 
						

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Recording
You can record and play back a tape in SP (standard play) and LP (long play) modes. LP extends the
tape usage by 1.5 times.
You cannot add sound (audio dubbing) or images (AV insert) to a tape that has been recorded in
LP mode. If you plan to use either of these functions later, record in SP mode.
To change to LP mode, open the menu and select VCR SET UP. Then select REC
MODE, set it to LP and close the menu.
Notes:
•When recording and playing back tapes in LP mode, the nature of the tape and usage conditions
may affect recording, mosaic-like noise may appear in the image and the sound may be distorted
during playback of tapes recorded in LP mode. For important recordings, therefore, set the
camcorder to SP mode.
•If you record in both modes on the same tape, the picture may become distorted during playback
and the time code may not be written correctly.
•When the camcorder is set to LP mode, pausing between recordings may produce mosaic-like
noise.
•A tape recorded in LP mode on another camcorder may produce mosaic-like noise when played
back on this camcorder, and vice versa.
REC MODE•••• SPVCR SET UP
(20)
+
,+
,+CAMERACARDPLAY
(VCR)TAPECAMERATAPE
Changing the Recording Mode (SP/LP)
16:9 (Wide-Screen TV Recording)
Produces images in the 16:9 format for playback on wide-screen TVs.
1. Open the menu and select DISP. SET UP.
2.  Select 16:9, set it to ON and close the menu.
+
,+PLAY
(VCR)TAPECAMERATAPE
16:9•••••••• OFFCAM.SET UP
(20) 
						

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Recording
Turning the Camcorder Recording Displays ON/OFF
You can change the display by pressing the
DISPLAY/DATA CODE button.
Each time you press the DISPLAY/DATA CODE button,
the display will change as follows:
*Appears when GUIDE INFO is set to D/T DISPLAY in the DISP. SET UP submenu (CAMERA menu).
Notes:
•The display becomes reset when you turn the power off by the POWER switch or standby lever.
•The same information will be displayed on a connected TV screen (TV SCREEN function).
•The audio level indicator can be displayed or hidden through the menu independently from the
DISPLAY/DATA CODE button. The 16:9 guides allows you to view the 16:9 wide screen composition while in the standard 4:3
aspect ratio. The 16:9 guides will not be superimposed on your recordings.
1. Open the menu and select DISP. SET UP.
2. Select 16:9 GUIDES, set it to ON and close the menu.
Notes:
•“16:9” is shown in the display when you turn the 16:9 effect on.
•If you play back a recording made for 16:9 on a normal TV screen, the image will appear to be
vertically “squashed” (compressed).
•If you connect the camcorder to a TV with an S1 terminal or the Video ID-1 system, recordings
made in the 16:9 mode for wide screen TVs will automatically play back in wide screen mode on
the TV screen.
+
,+PLAY
(VCR)TAPECAMERATAPE
16:9GUIDES•• OFFDISP.SET UP
(20)
DISPLAY/DATA CODE
Normal display 
Recording mode, operating mode, time code,
warnings, date and time*
Date and time* 
No display 
						

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Recording
The camcorder’s short operation confirmation beeps are indicated by `in the illustrations. Beeps
sound upon certain camcorder operations such as when you turn the camcorder on, during the
self-timer countdown, right before the camcorder’s automatic shut-off, and also upon any unusual
condition of the camcorder. Beeps are not recorded on the tape.
To turn the beep off, open the menu and select SYSTEM. Then select BEEP, set it
to OFF and close the menu.
You can see a demonstration of the camcorder’s main features. To see the demonstration, do either
of the following:
•With no cassette or memory card inserted, turn the DEMO MODE on in the CAM.MENU or
C.CAM.MENU and close the menu.
•Leave the camcorder with no cassette or memory card inserted for five minutes after turning it
on.
To turn the demonstration mode off, open the menu and select DISP. SET UP. Then
select DEMO MODE, set it to OFF and close the menu.
Notes:
•The opening animation will not appear when the demonstration mode is turned off.
•To cancel the demo mode once it has begun: push any button, turn off the power, load a
cassette or insert a memory card.
BEEP••• ONSYSTEM
(20)
DEMO MODE••• ONDISP. SET UP
(20)
+
,+
,+
,+PLAY
(VCR)CARDCAMERACARDPLAY
(VCR)TAPECAMERATAPE
+
,+CAMERACARDCAMERATAPE
Confirmation/Warning beeps
Demonstration Mode 
						

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Recording
Tips for Making Better Videos
For maximum stability, grip the camcorder in your right hand and keep your
right elbow pressed against your body.
If necessary support the camcorder with your left hand. With practice, you
will be able to operate the controls by touch, without taking your eye off
the action.
To prevent any unwanted movement, you can mount the camcorder on a
tripod, (or any flat surface at a suitable height) and operate it with the
wireless controller. 
•When you are using a tripod, be careful not to leave the viewfinder
exposed to bright sunlight as it may melt. (The light is concentrated by the
viewfinder lens.) Change the angle of the viewfinder so that the sun does
not shine into it.
•Make sure that the fastening screw of the tripod is no longer than 1/4
inch (5.5 mm), as it will damage the camcorder.
For greater creative control over audio recording, you
can connect an external microphone to the camcorder
via the MIC terminal. When using the MIC terminal,
use a microphone with a built-in power supply
(condenser microphone). It is possible to connect
almost any stereo microphone with a plug diameter of
1/8 inch (3.5 mm), however, their audio levels will be
different from that of the built-in microphone.
Holding the Camcorder
Using a Tripod
Sound Recording