Sony HDR-XR500V Hard Drive Camcorder Instructions

These instructions apply to the Sony Handycam Hard Disk Drive camcorders that are available for checkout from the ATC.

Inserting the Battery

The XR500V uses a NP-FH60 battery. To insert the battery, slide the pack in the direction of the arrow until it clicks. To charge the battery, attach the AC Adapter to the DC IN jack in the lower left corner of the camera. The light will turn on to indicate that the battery is charging.

Tip

If you are filming something that does not require the camera to move, we reccommend using AC power so that your batteries remain charged for times when you need them!

Turning the Power On/Off

There is generally no need to use the Power button on the Sony HDR-XR500V Hard Disk Drive Camcorder. To turn the camcorder on, simply open the LCD panel on the left side of the camera. To turn the camera off, close the LCD Panel. There is also a Power button located on the side of the camera, beneath the LCD panel--this is used if you need to turn the camera off while the screen is open.

External Settings

No tape is required for this camcorder. The hard drive is built into the camcorder and will automatically record and save your media (HD: MPEG4 AVC/H.264; SD: MPEG2).

You can switch between recording video and still images by pressing the Mode button.
Press the Start/Stop button to Record
Press the zoom control joystick left and right to zoom out to a wide shot or zoom in to a tight shot
If you are using an external microphone
- There is a plug for your microphone near the back of the camera.
- If you have a "shoe-mounted" microphone, slide the top panel of the camera to reveal the port.
The lit symbol under Mode indicates whether the camcorder is in movie mode or photo mode.
Directly above the mode button is the photo button, which allows you to take still images when in photo mode.

Internal Camera Settings

Important

We recommend setting this camcorder to Standard Definition before recording. You may have trouble playing the High Definition format on your computer, and editing this format is currently slow and challenging on all but the most advanced editing machines.

Press the Home button to enter the menu. The Home button displays a house in a blue-colored box. The bottom of the display gives you five options: Camera, View Images, Others, Manage HDD/Memory, and Settings

Changing the Movie type from HD to SD in the XR500V Model

To ensure that you can view and edit your videos, you should switch to standard definition (SD), unless you are very certain that you have the hardware and software to work with the HD format. To switch modes, enter the Home menu and choose the Settings tab

Choose MOVIE SETTINGS, then HD/SD SET, and choose SD QUALITY

Please note--some of the menus shown above may have additional options, depending upon whether the camera is operating in its default "Easy Mode" or in manual control mode.

VIEW IMAGES

VISUAL INDEX allows you to view videos and photos.

Use the arrows to navigate through the pictures and videos.
Select the video or picture you want to view. The video will automatically play. You can play, fast forward, rewind, or jump to the next video or picture.

Retrieving Media from the Camera

Note

You may need to download and install audio drivers on your computer prior to retrieving media. WPI users can retrieve them by mapping to \\shares.wpi.edu\applications\Windows\Administrative_Software\WindowsMediaEncoder and installing ac3filter_1_11.exe. For assistance on mapping a network drive, visit: http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/CCC/Help/Network/Mapping/.

Tip

Always copy anything that you need from the camera before doing any editing work (and certainly before returning it to us!).

Connect the supplied USB cable to the mini USB port near the front of the camera:

The LCD screen will update. From this menu, you can connect the HDR-XR500V to your computer by choosing the USB Connect option that has a picture of a short cylinder beside it. This indicates that you will connect to the camera's Hard Drive. If you had recorded to a memory stick (not supplied with the HDR-XR500V), you would choose the other USB Connect option.

Once connected, you can browse to the device on your computer and copy your files to another device. The LCD screen will indicate that you are connected, and will provide a way to disconnect. Once you are done, press the END button and follow the onscreen instructions to remove the camera from your computer.

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Last modified: Nov 09, 2011, 14:35 EST