Canon Hf R400 Instruction Manual

							Advanced Shooting Š 81
Operating modes:
POINTS TO CHECK
• Adjust the zoom before you start the procedure.
1 Open the manual focus screen.
2 Touch a subject that appears inside the   q  
>  [Displayed Units] setting.
• The center of the screen will be magnified to help you focus more  easily. You can also turn off this function with the    > p  >  
[Focus Assistance] setting.
• If you wish to focus on faraway subjects such as mountains or  fireworks, touch and hold [ F] until the focusing distance changes 
to G .
4Touch [ X] to lock the focus at the selected distance.
During manual focus, [ D] will appear on the screen. 
• Reflective surfaces
• Subjects with low contrast 
or without vertical lines • Fast moving subjects
• Through wet windows
• Night scenes
SCN
 
>  [< Focus]
COPY  
						

							82 Š Advanced Shooting
NOTES
• When you use [ E] and [ F] to adjust the focus manually, you can touch 
inside the frame to automatically focus on that spot.
Pre-Recording
The camcorder will start recording 3 seconds before you press 
Y , ensuring you do not miss important shooting opportuni-
ties. This is especially useful when it is difficult to predict when to start 
recording.
Operating modes:
* Pre-recording is always activated in   mode.
1 Activate the pre-recording function.
•z  will appear on the screen.
• Repeat, selecting [OFF], to turn off pre-recording.
2Press  Y . 
The scene recorded in the memory will start 3 seconds before 
Y  was pressed.
NOTES
• The camcorder will not record the full 3 seconds prior to pressing  Y  if the button was pressed within 3 seconds of having 
turned on pre-recording or having finished the previous recording.
• Any of the following actions will deactivate the pre-recording function. - Leaving the camcorder without any operation for 5 minutes.
- Changing the operating mode.
- Activating video snapshot.
- Touching the [ Ä White Balance] or [ R Faders] control button in the 
[  Main Functions] panel.
- Opening the [  Other Settings] menus.
*SCN
  >  [z Pre REC] >  [ON] > [X ]
COPY  
						

							Advanced Shooting Š 83
- Changing the shooting mode.
White Balance
The white balance function helps you to accurately reproduce colors 
under different lighting conditions so that white objects will always look 
truly white in your recordings.
Operating modes:
* When you select [ Å Custom WB], set the custom white balance with the fol-
lowing procedure before touching [ X].
To set the custom white balance 
Point the camcorder at a white object, so it fills the whole screen, 
and touch [Set WB].
When the adjustment is completed,  Å stops flashing and disappears. 
The camcorder will retain the custom white balance even if you turn it off.
Options
( Default value)
NOTES
• When you select the custom white balance: -Set   > [Zoom Type] ( A48) to [  Optical].
- Reset the white balance when you change locations or the lighting or  other conditions change.
SCN
[Ã  Automatic]The camcorder automatically sets the white bal-
ance for natural looking colors.
[ ¼  Daylight]To record outdoors.
[É  Tu n g s t e n ]To record under tungsten and tungsten-type 
(3-wavelength) fluorescent lighting.
[ Å  Custom WB]Use the custom white balance setting to make 
white subjects appear white under colored lighting.
  >  [Ä White Balance]  > Desired option*  > [X ]
COPY  
						

							84 Š Advanced Shooting
- Depending on the light source, Å may keep flashing. The result will 
still be better than with [ ÃAutomatic].
• Custom white balance may provide better results in the following cases: - Changing lighting conditions
-Close-ups
- Subjects in a single color (sky, sea or forest)
- Under mercury lamps, certain types of fluorescent lights and LED 
lights
Self Timer
Operating modes:
* For movies only.
• < will appear on the screen.
• Repeat, selecting [ jOff], to turn off the self timer.
Movies: In record pause mode, press Y .
The camcorder starts recording after a 10-second countdown. The 
countdown appears on the screen.
Photos: In record pause mode, touch [PHOTO].
• The camcorder will record the photo after a 10-second countdown. The  countdown appears on the screen.
• Photos cannot be recorded while the camcorder is set to   mode.
NOTES
• Once the countdown has begun, any of the following actions will cancel  the self timer.
- Pressing  Y , when recording movies.
- Touching [PHOTO], when recording photos.
- Turning off the camcorder.
- Changing the camcorder’s operating mode.
*SCN
  >  [ Other Settings] >  p  >  [Self Timer]  > 
[ i On   [X ]
COPY  
						

							Advanced Shooting Š 85
Frame Rate
You can change the frame rate (the number of frames recorded per 
second) to change the look of your movies.
Operating modes:
Options for AVCHD movies
( Default value)
Options for MP4 movies( Default value)
Te l e  M a c r o
Using tele macro, the camcorder can focus at a shorter distance (up to 
50 cm (1.6 ft.) from the subject at full telephoto), allowing you get 
closer shots of small subjects like flowers and insects. This function 
also adds a soft focus to the background, so the subject not only looks 
larger but it also stands out more.
Operating modes:
* In   mode, tele macro will be activated automatically when you zoom in to full telephoto and bring the camcorder up close to the subject.
SCN
 >  [  Recording Setup] >  [Video Quality] > [I ]  >  
Desired frame rate  > [K ] >  [K ] >  [X ]
[´]60 fields per second, interlaced. Standard frame rate of 
NTSC TV signals.
[·]Shooting at 30 frames per second, progressive*. Use this 
frame rate to easily edit your recordings, for example, to post 
them on the Web.
* Recorded as 60i. 
[ ½ ]30 frames per second, progressive.
[»]24 frames per second, progressive.
*SCN
COPY  
						

							86 Š Advanced Shooting
POINTS TO CHECK
• Select a shooting mode other than the [ Fireworks] Special Scene  mode in   mode.
1 Activate tele macro.
* Touch again to turn off the tele macro function.
• The camcorder will automatically adjust the zoom to the telephoto  end. 
2 Touch [START]. • Touch [STOP] to pause the recording.
3Touch [ X].
NOTES
• Any of the following actions will deactivate the tele macro function. - Turning off the camcorder.
- Pressing .
- Zooming out toward  T (wide angle).
- Setting the shooting mode to   mode,   mode or the  [ Fireworks] Special Scene mode in   mode.
• Tele macro cannot be turned on/off while recording.
Audio Scenes
You can have the camcorder optimize the audio settings of the built-in 
microphone by selecting the audio scene that matches your surround-
ings. This will greatly enhance the sense of “being there.” 
Operating modes:
* In   mode, the audio scene is always set to [ ‘ Standard].
SCN
 >  [ZOOM] >  [W ]* (tele macro)
SCN
*SCN
COPY  
						

							Advanced Shooting Š 87
Options( Default value)
Audio Recording Level
You can adjust the audio recording level of the built-in or an external 
microphone. You can display the audio level indicator while recording.
Operating modes:
Manual Adjustment of the Audio Recording Level
1 Open the manual audio recording level adjustment screen.• The audio level indicator and current audio recording level will appear on the screen.
•Touch [ m] (automatic) to return the camcorder to automatic audio 
recording levels.
[  Standard]To record most general situations. The camcorder 
records with standard settings.
[ Music]To vibrantly record music performances and singing 
indoors.
[  Speech]Best for recording human voices and dialog.
[  Forest and Birds]To record birds and scenes in forests. The 
camcorder clearly captures sound as it spreads.
[  Noise Suppression]To record scenes while reducing noise from 
wind, passing vehicles and similar ambient sound. Ideal for 
recording at the beach or in places with a lot of noise.
  >  [  Audio Scene]  > Desired audio scene  > [X ]
SCN
 >  [ä Mic. Level] >  [n ](manual) 
COPY  
						

							88 Š Advanced Shooting
2 Touch and hold [Ï] or [ Ð] to adjust the audio recording level as 
necessary.
As a guideline, adjust the audio recording level so that the audio level 
meter will go to the right of the -12 dB mark (yellow area) only 
occasionally. 
3Touch [ X] to lock the audio recording level at the current level.
To display the audio level indicator
Usually, the audio level indicator will be displayed only after activating 
the manual adjustment of the audio recording level. You can choose to 
display it also when the audio level is adjusted automatically.
NOTES
• When you are using a microphone connected to the MIC terminal,  including the WM-V1 Wireless Microphone, the audio level indicator will 
be displayed automatically.
• When the audio level meter reaches the red point (0 dB), the sound may  be distorted.
• We recommend using headphones to check the sound level while  adjusting the audio recording level.
Audio level indicator
Audio level adjustment bar
Manual audio level adjustment 
Current audio level
 >  [ä Mic. Level]  > [m ] (automatic) >  
[Audio Level Indicator]  > [X ]
COPY  
						

							Advanced Shooting Š 89
Using Headphones
Use headphones for playback or to check the audio level while record-
ing. The headphones are connected to the AV OUT/× terminal, which 
is used for both the headphones and the audio/video output. Before 
connecting the headphones, follow the procedure below to change the 
function of the terminal from AV output to  × (headphones) output. Do 
not connect the headphones to the AV OUT/ × terminal if the  Ó icon 
does not appear on the screen. The noise output in such case may be 
harmful to your hearing.
Operating modes:
1 Change the function of the terminal to headphones output.
2 Connect the headphones to the AV OUT/ × terminal.
3 Adjust the volume as necessary.
* You can also drag your finger along the [Headphones] bar.
• Ó  will appear on the screen.
SCN
 >  [  Other Settings]  > q  >  [AV/Headphones] 
>  [Ó Headphones]  > [K ]
[Volume]  > [Ô ] or [ Õ]* to adjust the volume  > [X ]
COPY  
						

							90 Š Advanced Shooting
To adjust the volume during playback
In   mode, and in   mode during slideshow playback, adjust 
the headphones volume the same way you adjust the speaker’s vol-
ume (A52, 101).
IMPORTANT
• When using headphones, make sure to lower the volume to an appro- priate level.
NOTES
• Use commercially available headphones with a  ∅3.5 mm minijack.
• Even if [AV/Headphones] was set to [Ó  Headphones] in a playback 
mode, the function of the AV OUT/ × terminal will return automatically to 
AV output when you turn off the camcorder.
• Audio will not be output from the AV OUT/ × terminal while Wi-Fi func-
tions are in use.
Using an External Microphone
When recording in very quiet surroundings, the built-in microphone 
may pick up the sound of the camcorder’s internal machinery. In such 
case, we recommend using an external microphone.
Operating modes:
SCN
COPY