Canon Hf R500 Instruction Manual

							Advanced Shooting Š 71
Decorating Scenes during Playback
You can decorate scenes while playing them back. Decorations added 
during playback are not recorded with the scene. You can also load 
and apply a canvas with previously saved decorations.
Operating modes:
1 From the index screen (A46), play back the scene you want to 
decorate.
To use the various decorations especially designed for   mode, 
play back a scene from the baby album ([ 9] index screen).
2 Touch the screen to display the playback controls.
3Touch [ Ò] to open the decoration screen.
4 Decorate the scene using the tools from the toolbar as explained  in the previous sections.
NOTES
• The image mix frame cannot be selected during recording or playback.
Video Snapshot
Record a series of short scenes. When you play back your video snap-
shot scenes, you can even set them to your favorite music ( A87) to 
create your own fun music video. You will be surprised how by chang-
ing the background music, you can give your scenes an entirely new 
feel. 
Operating modes:
1 Activate video snapshot.
• Touch [OFF] instead to deactivate video snapshot.
• A blue border appears on the screen.
SCN
SCN
[2 ] >  [¦ Video Snapshot]  > [ON]  > [X ]
COPY  
						

							72 Š Advanced Shooting
2Press Y .
The camcorder records for a few seconds (the blue frame serves as a 
visual progress bar) and then automatically returns to recording 
standby mode.
NOTES
• You can change the length of the video snapshot scene with the  1 >  
p  >  [Video Snapshot Length] setting.
• Any of the following actions will deactivate video snapshot. - Turning off the camcorder.
- Pressing  ]. 
- Changing the movie format (AVCHD/MP4), video quality or frame rate.
Face Detection and Tracking
The camcorder automatically detects people’s faces and uses this 
information to select the optimal settings for beautiful videos and pho-
tos. You can use tracking to tell the camcorder to track and optimize 
settings for a different person. You can also use tracking to always 
keep in focus other moving subjects, such as pets or moving vehicles.
Operating modes:
* Face detection and tracking are always activated in   and   modes.
POINTS TO CHECK
• When the shooting mode is set to  , select a Special Scene mode  other than [ J Night Scene], [ N Low Light] or [ P Fireworks].
• By default, face detection and tracking are activated so you can skip 
step 1 in the following procedure. If the function was turned off, perform 
the following procedure starting from step 1.
1 Activate face detection and tracking.
**SCN
SCN
0  >  [1  Other Settings]  > p  >  
[Face Detection & Tracking]  > [i On}] >  [X ]
COPY  
						

							Advanced Shooting Š 73
2 Point the camcorder at a person.If there is more than one person in the picture, the camcorder will 
automatically select one person it determines is the main subject. The 
main subject is indicated by a white face detection frame and the 
camcorder will optimize the settings for that person. Other faces will 
have gray frames.
3 Touch a different face on the touch  screen to optimize the camcorder’s 
settings for that person.
• You can also touch other moving objects, such as a pet.
• A white double frame will appear  around the subject and track it as it 
moves.
• Touch [Cancel  £] to remove the frame and cancel the tracking.
NOTES
• The camcorder may mistakenly detect the faces of non-human sub- jects. In such case, turn face detection off.
• When face detection is activated, the slowest shutter speed used by the  camcorder is 1/30 (1/24 if the frame rate is set to 24P).
• Touching somewhere with a color or pattern unique to the subject will  make it easier to track. However, if there is another subject in the vicinity 
that shares similar characteristics to the selected subject, the cam-
corder may start tracking the incorrect subject. Touch the screen again 
to select the desired subject.
• In certain cases, faces may not be detected correctly. Typical examples  include:
- Faces extremely small, large, dark or bright in relation to the overall 
picture.
- Faces turned to the side, at a diagonal or partially hidden.
• Face detection cannot be used when the shutter speed used is slower  than 1/30 (1/24 if the frame rate is set to 24P), when the digital zoom is 
activated at more than 228x zoom or when using a smartphone or tab-
let to remotely control the camcorder.
• In certain cases, tracking may not be able to track the subject. Typical  examples include: 
- Subjects extremely small or large in relation to the overall picture.
- Subjects too similar to the background.
Main subject
COPY  
						

							74 Š Advanced Shooting
- Subjects lacking sufficient contrast. 
- Fast moving subjects.
- When shooting indoors with insufficient lighting.
Faders
The camcorder offers two professional looking transition effects to 
fade-in or fade-out scenes.
Operating modes:
* You can preview the transition effect on the screen.
• The icon of the selected fader appears.
• Repeat, selecting [j Off], to turn off faders.
• You can also change the fader settings while recording (for example, 
to apply only a fade out).
To fade in/out
Press  Y  in record pause mode to start recording with a fade 
in. Press Y  while recording to fade out and stop recording.
NOTES
• When you apply a fader, not only the picture but also the sound will fade  in or out.
• Faders cannot be used in the following cases: - While using the [Old Movies] cinema-look filter in   mode.
- When recording scenes with decorations.
- When recording video snapshot scenes.
- While pre-recording is activated.
- When the video quality is set to 60P or 35 Mbps.
SCN
[2 ] >  [R  Faders]  > Desired fader*  > 
Desired fade screen color*  > [X ]
COPY  
						

							Advanced Shooting Š 75
Adjusting the Exposure
The camcorder determines the optimal exposure of a scene based on 
the average brightness of the whole picture. When you want to record 
a subject that is much brighter or darker than its surroundings, the 
automatic exposure obtained by the camcorder may not be best for 
that specific subject. 
To correct this, you can compensate the exposure to make the whole 
picture brighter or darker, you can use Touch AE to tell the camcorder 
to optimize the exposure for a selected subject, or you can use a com-
bination of both.
Operating modes:
POINTS TO CHECK
• When the shooting mode is set to  , select a Special Scene mode  other than [ P Fireworks].
1 Open the exposure adjustment screen.
Exposure Compensation
2 Touch [ n].
• The exposure is locked and the exposure compensation dial appears  with the compensation value set at ±0.
•Touch [ n] again to return the camcorder to automatic exposure.
3 Touch [ Ï] or [Ð ], or drag your finger along the dial to compensate 
the exposure.
• + values will make the picture brighter; – values will make it darker.
• The compensation range may vary depending on the initial  brightness of the image, and some values may be grayed out.
4Touch [ X] to apply the selected shooting mode and exposure 
compensation value.
SCN
SCN
[ 2 ] >  [y Exposure]
COPY  
						

							76 Š Advanced Shooting
• During exposure lock, y and the exposure compensation value will 
appear on the screen.
Touch AE
2 Touch a subject that appears inside the  y frame.
• The Touch AE mark ( I) will flash and the exposure will be optimized 
automatically for the subject you selected.
•Touch [ n] to return the camcorder to automatic exposure.
3Touch [ X] to apply the selected shooting mode and adjusted 
exposure.
• Using Touch AE also locks the exposure (the exposure  compensation dial appears with the compensation value set at ±0). 
Before touching [ X], you can compensate the exposure further 
(steps 3 and 4 in the previous procedure).
• During exposure lock,  y and the exposure compensation value will 
appear on the screen.
NOTES
• If the shooting mode is changed du ring exposure lock, the camcorder 
will return to automatic exposure.
• By default, the camcorder corrects for backlight conditions. You can  turn off the automatic correction with the  1 >  p  >  [Auto Back-
light Correction] setting.
Adjusting the Focus
Autofocus may not work well on the following subjects. In such case, 
focus manually.
Operating modes: • Reflective surfaces
• Subjects with low contrast 
or without vertical lines • Fast moving subjects
• Through wet windows
• Night scenes
SCN
COPY  
						

							Advanced Shooting Š 77
POINTS TO CHECK
• Adjust the zoom before you start the procedure.
Manual Focus
1 Open the manual focus screen.
2Touch [ D].
Touch [ D] again to return the camcorder to autofocus.
3 Touch and hold [ F] or [ E] to adjust the focus.
• The focusing distance displayed will change as you adjust the focus.  The focusing distance will be displayed for about 2 seconds. You can 
change the units used for the distance display with the  1 >  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  1 >  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. 
To u c h  A F
1 Open the manual focus screen.
2 Touch a subject that appears inside the    [< Focus]
[2 ] >  [< Focus]
COPY  
						

							78 Š Advanced Shooting
3Touch [X] to lock the focus at the selected distance.
During manual focus, [ D] will appear on the screen.
NOTES
• When you use [ E] and [ F] to adjust the focus manually, you can touch 
inside the frame to automatically focus on that spot.
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)
SCN
[ Ã  Automatic]The camcorder automatically sets the white bal-
ance for natural looking colors.
[ ¼  Daylight]To record outdoors.
[É  Tungsten]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.
[ 2 ] >  [Ä White Balance] >  Desired option* > [X ]
COPY  
						

							Advanced Shooting Š 79
NOTES
• When you select the custom white balance: -Set [ 2] >  [Zoom Type] to [  Optical].
- Reset the white balance when you change locations or the lighting or  other conditions change.
- 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.
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)
SCN
0  >  [3  Recording Setup]  > [Video Quality]  > [I ]   >  
Desired frame rate  > [K ] >  [K ] >  [X ]
[
´]60 fields per second, interlaced. Standard frame rate of 
analog NTSC TV signals.
[ · ]Shooting at 30 frames per second, progressive*. Use this 
frame rate to easily edit your AVCHD movies, for example, to 
post them on the Web.
* Recorded as 60i. 
[ ½ ]30 frames per second, progressive.
[»]24 frames per second, progressive.
COPY  
						

							80 Š Advanced Shooting
NOTES
• When the video quality is set to [60P Recording] (60P or 35 Mbps), the  frame rate is automatically set to 60P and cannot be changed.
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 to 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.
POINTS TO CHECK
• When the shooting mode is set to  ,  select a Special Scene mode  other than [ P Fireworks].
1 Activate tele macro.
* Touch again to turn off the tele macro function.
• The camcorder will automatically adjust the zoom to the telephoto  end. 
2Touch [ Ü].
•Touch [ Ñ] to stop recording.
3Touch [ X].
*SCN
SCN
[2 ] >  [ZOOM] >  [W ]* (tele macro)
COPY