Panasonic Sdr S26 Operating Instructions Manual

							31LSQT1488
Recording
Recording (Basic)
1
Before recording
∫Basic camera positioning
It will make an optimal setting automatically depending on the objects and recording conditions.
¬Rotate the mode dial to select   or  .



1Hold the camera with both hands.
Put your hand through the grip belt.
Do not cover the microphones.
2Keep your arms near your body.
3Separate your legs for better balance.
≥When you are outdoors, record pictures with 
the sunlight behind you. If the subject is 
backlit, it will become dark in the recording.
≥When recording, make sure your footing is 
stable and there is no danger of colliding 
with another person or an object.
Intelligent auto mode
Intelligent auto button
Press this button to switch on/off the 
Intelligent auto mode.
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It is automatically set to the following modes 
depending on the objects and recording 
conditions.
≥Due to conditions, a different mode may be 
identified for the same subject.
≥Modes are selected automatically by the unit, 
so it may not choose desired mode depending 
on the recording conditions.
≥Brightness may change suddenly or flicker 
when set to on.
≥Optical image stabilizer function (l40) is set 
to on in all modes.
≥If this is turned to on, the guideline function is 
disabled.
∫When the Intelligent auto mode is 
set to off
The auto mode icon [ ] appears.
Color balance (white balance) and focusing will 
be adjusted automatically.
jAuto white balance (l101)
jAuto focusing (l101)
Depending on the brightness of the subject etc., 
the aperture and shutter speed are automatically 
adjusted for optimum brightness.
(When set to the video recording mode:
The shutter speed is adjusted to a maximum of 
1/350.)
≥Color balance and focus may not be adjusted 
automatically depending on light sources or 
scenes. If so, manually adjust these settings. 
(l49)
ModeScene/Effect
Portrait When the object is 
a person
Faces are detected 
automatically, and 
the brightness is 
adjusted so it is 
recorded clearly.
Scenery Recording outdoors
The whole landscape 
will be recorded 
vividly without whiting 
out the background 
sky, which may be 
very bright.
Spotlight Under a spotlight
Very bright object is 
recorded clearly.
Low light Dark room or 
twilight
It can record clearly 
even in a dark room 
or twilight.
Normal Other situations
Brightness and color 
balance are adjusted 
automatically for 
clear image.
AUTO
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							33LSQT1488
Recording
Recording (Basic)
2
Recording motion pictures
≥Open the lens cover before turning the unit on.
1Rotate the mode dial to select   
and open the LCD monitor.
2Press the recording start/stop 
button to start recording.
To end the recording
Press the recording start/stop button again.
≥[¥] and [;] are red during recording. Do not 
move this unit until [;] is green.
≥The images recorded between pressing the 
recording start/stop button to start recording 
and pressing it again to pause recording 
become one scene.
The scene is automatically divided when the 
recorded data exceeds 3.9 GB. (The recording 
will continue.)
≥When about 5 minutes have passed without 
any operation in recording pause, the unit 
automatically turns off to save battery life. 
To use the unit, turn it on again.
This economy feature can also be set to [OFF]. 
(l26, [ECONOMY])
∫Screen indications
ARecording mode
BRemaining time left for recording
When the remaining time is less than 
1 minute, [R 0h00m] flashes red.
CRecording time elapsed
Each time the unit enters the recording 
pause mode, the counter display will be reset 
to “0h00m00s”.
≥While motion picture recording is in progress, 
the recording will not stop even if the LCD 
monitor is closed.
≥Do not disconnect the AC adaptor or remove 
the battery if the unit is in recording mode. This 
may cause a repair message to appear when 
powered up again. (l91, About recovery)
R  12h45mR  12h45mR  12h45m
0h00m10s0h00m10s0h00m10s
 

SP
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							34LSQT1488
This mode switches the method for recording 
audio to an SD card.
Select the menu. (l25)
[DOLBY] (Dolby AC-3):
This is a recording method suitable for creating a 
DVD-Video disc using the DVD burner. (l66)
[MPEG] (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 2):
This is a recording method suitable for playing 
back the SD card using a device conforming to 
the SD-Video standard.
≥This unit is not capable of converting the audio 
recording method after recording motion 
pictures. 
By using the supplied software, audio can be 
recorded in [DOLBY] mode on a DVD-Video 
disc and in [MPEG] mode on an SD card.
≥This function’s default setting is [DOLBY].You can record motion pictures of under 10 
minutes, suitable for uploading to YouTube.
1Press the WEB MODE button.
The web mode icon [ ] appears.
2Press the recording start/stop 
button to start recording.
Countdown of remaining time will start from 
“9m59s”.
≥Recording will pause automatically after 10 
minutes from start of the recording.
≥To upload motion pictures to YouTube (l85)
≥Web mode is canceled if you turn the unit off.
Audio recording modes
[SETUP] # [AUDIO REC] # [DOLBY] or 
[MPEG]
Record motion picture to be 
uploaded to YouTube
WEB MODE
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To change the picture quality of the motion picture
Select the menu. (l25)
≥The recordable times shown in the table are approximations.
≥This unit records in VBR (Variable Bit Rate). VBR recording automatically varies the bit rate (amount 
of data in a fixed time) depending on the subject being recorded. This means if a recording with a lot 
of movement is recorded, the recording time is reduced.
≥Mosaic-pattern noise may appear on a playback image in the following cases.
jWhen there is a complicated pattern in the background
jWhen the unit is moved too fast
jWhen a subject with sharp movements has been recorded
(Particularly if it has been recorded in [LP] mode.)
≥If you record still pictures on an SD card, the recordable time available for the motion picture will 
become shorter.
Recording modes and recordable time
[BASIC] # [REC MODE] # desired setting
Recording mode
XP
(High quality)SP
(Normal)LP
(Long play)
SD card
256 MB3min 6min 12min
512 MB6min 12min 25min
1GB12 min 25 min 50 min
2GB25 min 50 min 1 h 40 min
4GB50 min 1 h 40 min 3 h 20 min
6GB1h15min 2h30min 5h
8GB1h40min 3h20min 6h40min
12 GB2h30min 5h 10h
16 GB3 h 20 min 6 h 40 min 13 h 20 min
32 GB6h40min 13h20min 26h40min
Favours image qualityFavours recording 
time
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							36LSQT1488
Recording
Recording (Basic)
3
Recording still pictures
≥Open the lens cover before turning the unit on.
1Rotate the mode dial to select   
and open the LCD monitor.
2Press the recording start/stop 
button.
The unit automatically focuses on the subject at 
the center of screen (when auto focus is 
selected).
≥About the number of recordable still pictures 
(l106)
∫Screen indications
ASize of still pictures
BRemaining number of still pictures
Flashes in red when [R 0] appears.
∫To record still pictures clearly
≥When zooming in on the subject with a 
magnification of 4k or higher, it is difficult to 
reduce the slight shaking from holding this unit 
by hand. We recommend decreasing the zoom 
magnification and approaching the subject 
when recording.
≥When recording still pictures, hold the unit 
firmly with your hands and keep your arms 
stationary at your side so as not to shake the 
unit.
≥You can record stable pictures without shaking 
by using a tripod.
R 12345R 12345R 12345
 
0.2
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							37LSQT1488
Select the menu. (l25)
≥This function’s default setting is [ON].
Select the menu. (l25)
≥Default [PICTURE SIZE] is set to [ ]. The 
sides of pictures recorded in a 16:9 aspect 
ratio may be cut when printed. Check before 
printing.
Recording with a shutter sound 
effect
[ADVANCED] # [SHTR EFFECT] # [ON]
Number of pixels
[BASIC] # [PICTURE SIZE] # desired 
setting
IconAspectNumber of pixels
4:3 640k480
16:9 640k360
0.3M
0.2
0.2
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							38LSQT1488
Recording
Recording (Basic)
4
Recording functions
You can zoom in up to 70k optically.
¬Rotate the mode dial to select   or 
.
Move the zoom lever.
T side:
Close-up recording (zoom in)
W side:
Wide-angle recording (zoom out)
≥The zoom speed varies depending on the 
range over which the zoom lever is moved.
≥If you take your finger off the zoom lever during 
zoom operation, the operation sound may be 
recorded. When returning the zoom lever to 
the original position, move it quietly.
≥When distant subjects are brought closer, they 
are focused at about 1.5 m (4.9 feet) or more.≥When the zoom magnification is 1k, this unit 
can focus on a subject approx. 2 cm (0.8z) 
away from the lens. (Macro function)
≥When the zoom speed is high, the subject may 
not be focused easily.
If the zoom magnification exceeds 70k , then the 
digital zoom function will be activated. The 
maximum magnification provided by the digital 
zoom can be switched.
¬Rotate the mode dial to select  .
Select the menu. (l25)
[OFF]:Optical zoom only (Up to 70k)
[100k]:Up to 100k
[3500k]:Up to 3500k
≥If [100k] or [3500k] is selected, the digital 
zoom range is displayed in blue while zooming.
≥The larger the digital zoom magnification, the 
more the image quality is degraded.
≥This function cannot be used in picture 
recording mode.
Zoom in/out function
707070
Digital zoom function
[ADVANCED] # [D.ZOOM] # desired 
setting
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							39LSQT1488
The zoom microphone is linked to the zooming 
operation so that far-away sounds with a tele-
shot and close-up sounds with a wide-angle shot 
are recorded more clearly.
¬Rotate the mode dial to select  .
Select the menu. (l25)
¬Rotate the mode dial to select   or 
.
Rotate the LCD monitor towards the 
lens side.
≥The image is horizontally flipped as if you see 
a mirror image. (However the image recorded 
is the same as a normal recording.)
≥When the LCD monitor is rotated towards the 
lens side, the icon will not be displayed even if 
you press the joystick.
≥Only some indications will appear on the 
screen. When [°] appears, return the 
direction of the LCD monitor to normal position 
and check the warning/alarm indication. (l90)This unit will resume recording/pause mode 
about 0.8 seconds after the LCD monitor is 
reopened.
≥When in Quick start standby mode about 
60% of the power used in recording pause 
mode is being consumed, so the recording 
time will be reduced.
¬Rotate the mode dial to select   or 
.
1Select the menu. (l25)
2Close the LCD monitor while the 
mode dial is set to   or  .
The status indicator A flashes green and the unit 
goes into quick start standby mode.
3Open the LCD monitor.
The status indicator A lights red and the unit is 
put into recording pause approx. 0.8 seconds 
after it is turned on.
To cancel Quick start
Select [SETUP] # [QUICK START] # [OFF]
≥The default setting is on.
≥Quick start standby mode is canceled if
jabout 5 minutes elapsed
jthe mode dial is switched
jthe battery is removed or the AC adaptor is 
disconnected
To use the zoom microphone 
function
[ADVANCED] # [ZOOM MIC] # [ON]
Recording yourself
Quick start
[SETUP] # [QUICK START] # [ON]

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							40LSQT1488
≥In the Quick start mode it may take some time 
for automatic white balance to adjust, if the 
scene being recorded has a light source 
different from the scene last recorded. (When 
the MagicPix function is used, however, the 
white balance of the scene last recorded is 
retained.)
≥In the Quick start mode, the zoom 
magnification becomes 1k and the picture size 
may differ from what it was before Quick start 
standby mode.
≥If [ECONOMY] (l26) is set to [5 MINUTES] 
and the unit automatically goes into Quick start 
standby mode, close the LCD monitor and then 
open it again.
Reduces the image shaking (jitter) due to hand 
movement when recording.
¬Rotate the mode dial to select  or 
.
Press the O.I.S. button.
O.I.S.: Optical Image Stabilizer
The image stabilizer icon [ ] appears.
To cancel the Optical Image Stabilizer 
function
Press the O.I.S. button again.
≥The default setting is on.
≥Set the Intelligent Auto Mode to off before 
turning the Optical Image Stabilizer function to 
off.
≥When a tripod is used, we recommend that you 
turn the image stabilizer off.≥In the following cases, the image stabilizer 
function may not work effectively.
jWhen the digital zoom is used
jWhen the unit is shaken greatly
jWhen you record a moving subject while 
tracking it
Optical image stabilizer 
function
O.I.S.
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