Canon Hf R400 Instruction Manual

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Basic Shooting and Playback
This chapter covers how to easily record video and photos in  mode, play them back, and how to use other basic func-
tions. To enjoy full access to menus and more advanced func-
tions, refer to  Advanced Shooting  (A 60) and  Advanced 
Playback and Editing  (A 92).
Basic Recording
Shooting Video
With   mode, you can take great-looking videos by letting the cam-
corder automatically adjust settings based on the recording situation.
Operating modes:
POINTS TO CHECK
• Before you begin recording,  make a test recording first to check that 
the camcorder is operating correctly.
1 Open the LCD panel to turn  on the camcorder.
•6 /4  By default, 
movies are recorded in the 
built-in memory. You can 
select the memory that will 
be used to record movies 
( A 63).
• You can also press  .
2 Slide the lens cover switch  down.
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3 Set the camcorder to   mode.• This step is not necessary the first time you use the camcorder.
• To change the movie format, refer to 
Selecting the Movie Format 
(AVCHD/MP4) ( A 60). 
4Press 
Y to begin recording.
• Press 
Y again to pause the recording.
• The ACCESS indicator will flash from time to time while the scene is  being recorded.
When you have finished recording
1 Make sure that the ACCESS indicator is off.
2 Close the LCD panel to turn off the camcorder. You can also press  .
3 Slide the lens cover switch up.
 (shooting mode button)  > [N  Auto]  > [OK]
Shooting mode button
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About AUTO mode
• Only the following functions are available in   mode.- Zoom ( A47).
- Video snapshot ( A74).
- Face detection and tracking ( A76) to get beautiful shots of 
people every time, tracking the subject even if the person moves.
-Decoration ( A69) to add a fun personal touch using stamps, 
drawings, image mix and more.
About the Smart AUTO function
In   mode, the camcorder will automatically detect certain 
characteristics of the subject, background, lighting conditions, etc. 
It will then adjust various settings (focus, exposure, color, image 
stabilization, image quality, among others), selecting the best set-
tings for the scene you want to shoot. The Smart AUTO icon will 
change to one of the following icons.
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Smart AUTO icons 
* The icon in parentheses appears under backlight conditions.
Background  →
(color of the icon)Bright* (gray)Blue skies*(light blue)Vivid colors* (green/red)Sunsets
(orange)
Subject  ↓
People (stationary) (   ) (   ) (   )—
People (moving) (   ) (   ) (   )—
Subjects other than people, 
such as landscapes
(  )(  )(  )
Close objects/
( / )/
( / )/
( / )—
Background   →
(color of the icon)Dark 
(dark blue)
Subject  ↓SpotlightNight scene
People (stationary)——
People (moving)——
Subjects other than people, 
such as landscapes
Close objects/——
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IMPORTANT
• To protect the lens, keep the lens cover closed when you are not  recording movies and when you are not using the camcorder.
• Observe the following precautions while the ACCESS indicator is on or  flashing. Failing to do so may result in permanent data loss or damage 
to the memory.
- Do not open the memory card slot cover.
- Do not disconnect the power source or turn off the camcorder.
- Do not change the camcorder’s operating mode.
• Be sure to save your recordings regularly ( A107), especially after 
making important recordings. Canon shall not be liable for any loss or 
corruption of data.
NOTES
• About the power saving mode: If    > q  >  [Auto Power Off] is set 
to [ i On], the camcorder will shut off automatically to save power 
when it is powered by a battery pack and is left without any operation 
for 3 minutes. Should this happen, turn the camcorder back on.
• When recording in bright places, it may be difficult to use the LCD  screen. In such cases, you can adjust the LCD backlight with the    > 
Intelligent IS
Intelligent IS allows the camcorder to select the best image stabilization option 
based on your shooting method. During   and   mode, the Intelligent 
IS icon will change to one of the following icons. In other shooting modes, you 
can set the image stabilization manually ( A75).
* You can use the    > p  >  [Intelligent IS] setting to change whether 
Powered IS is available when Intelligent IS is activated.
Shooting methodIcon
Most general situations; Zooming out (zooming toward T); Following subjects at a distance moving left or rightÄ (dynamic IS)
Zooming in (zooming toward  S), while remaining 
stationary, on subjects at a distanceÈ (Powered IS)*
Close-up of a subject  (Macro IS)
When using a tripodà (tripod mode)
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 >  [LCD Backlight] setting or adjust the brightness of the LCD 
screen with the    >   > [LCD Brightness] setting.
• If you plan on making a long recording while the camcorder is in a fixed  position, such as on a tripod, you can record with the LCD panel closed 
in order to conserve the battery’s power. In such case, make sure   
>  q  >  [Power On Using LCD Panel] is set to [Off].
• Under certain conditions, the Smart AUTO icon that appears on the  screen may not match the actual scene. Especially when shooting 
against orange or blue backgrounds, the Sunset or one of the Blue 
Skies icons may appear and the colors may not look natural. In such 
case, we recommend recording in   mode ( A68).
Taking Photos
You can easily take photos with the camcorder. You can even take pho-
tos simultaneously while recording a movie.
Operating modes:
1 Open the LCD panel to turn 
on the camcorder.
•6 /4  By default, 
photos are recorded in the 
built-in memory. You can 
select the memory that will 
be used to record photos 
( A 63).
• You can also press  .
2 Slide the lens cover switch  down.
3 Set the camcorder to    mode.
• This step is not necessary the first time you use the camcorder.
4 Touch [PHOTO] to take a photo.
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  >  [Shooting Mode]  > [N  Auto]  > [OK]
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A green icon ( ) and {æ& (6 /4  only) or  {æ  will 
appear momentarily on the screen and the ACCESS indicator will flash as 
the photo is recorded. However, if you record a photo while recording a 
movie, 
 will not appear.
When you have finished taking photos
1 Make sure that the ACCESS indicator is off.
2 Close the LCD panel to turn off the camcorder. You can also press  .
3 Slide the lens cover switch up.
IMPORTANT
• The information in the sidebars ( A43, 44, 45), IMPORTANT section 
( A 45) and NOTES section ( A45) on the previous pages also apply 
to photos. 
NOTES
• Photos are recorded as JPG files. The photo size is 1920x1080*. At this  size, a 1 GB memory card can hold approximately 660 photos. How-
ever, the actual number of photos that can be recorded will vary 
depending on the subject and shooting conditions.
* When the video quality is 4 Mbps for MP4 movies, the photo size is 1280x720. 
At this size, a 1 GB memory card can hold approximately 1,490 photos.
• Photos cannot be recorded while fading in or fading out a scene.
Zooming
There are two ways you can zoom in and out: using the zoom lever on 
the camcorder or using the zoom controls on the touch screen. You 
can also select the zoom type (optical, advanced or digital).
Operating modes:
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Using the Zoom Lever
Move the zoom lever toward T 
(wide angle) to zoom out. Move it 
toward  S (telephoto) to zoom in.
By default, the zoom lever operates 
at a variable speed – press gently 
for a slow zoom; press harder for 
faster zooms.
 Using the Touch Screen’s Zoom Controls 
1 Display the zoom controls on the touch screen. 
• The zoom controls appear on the left side of the screen. 
2 Touch the zoom controls to operate  the zoom. 
Touch anywhere within the  T area to 
zoom out or anywhere within the  S area 
to zoom in. Touch closer to the center for 
a slow zoom; touch closer to the  V/U  
icons for faster zooms.
3 Touch [START] to begin recording. Touch [STOP] to pause the recording.
4Touch [ X] to hide the zoom controls. 
Selecting the Zoom Type
The camcorder offers three types of zoom - optical, advanced and 
digital. 
WTWT
T  Zoom out
S Zoom in
 >  [ZOOM]
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Operating modes:
* In   mode, [Zoom Type] will be set to [ Optical].
Options
NOTES
• Keep at least 1 m (3.3 ft.) away from the subject. At full wide angle, you  can focus on a subject as close as 1 cm (0.39 in.). Using tele macro 
(A 85), you can focus on a subject as close as 50 cm (1.6 ft.) at full 
telephoto.
• You can also set    > p  >  [Zoom Speed] to one of three con-
stant speeds (3 is the fastest, 1 the slowest). When [Zoom Speed] is set 
to [ Y Variable], the zoom speed will be faster in record pause mode 
than when actually recording, except when pre-recording ( A82) is 
activated.
• When you turn off the camcorder, it “remembers” the zoom position so  the next time you turn it on, the zoom position will be the same. You can 
activate this feature using the    > p  >  [Zoom Position at Star-
tup] setting.
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  >  [Zoom Type]  > Desired zoom type  > [X ]
[ Optical]For optical zoom, the camcorder uses the optical 
magnification ratio of the lens.
[ Advanced]For advanced zoom, the camcorder processes 
the image beyond the range of the optical zoom to obtain a 
larger zoom without any deterioration in image quality. At full wide 
angle, the angle of view with advanced zoom is wider than the 
angle of view with optical zoom.
[ Digital] For digital zoom (light blue area on the zoom bar), 
the image is processed digitally so image quality will deteriorate 
the more you zoom in. 
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Basic Playback
Playing Back Video
Operating modes:
1Press .
2 If necessary, change the index screen.6 /4
7
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Index screen 
button 
(next to [ ])
[ &  · ] (index screen button)  > Select the memory 
with the desired scene ( & or  ) and the movie format of 
the desired scene ( · or ¸ ) >  [OK]
[  · ] (index screen button)  > Movie format of the 
desired scene ( · or ¸ ) >  [OK]
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