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Appendixes
AF (Auto Focus)
A system that automatically focuses the camcorder lens on the subject. Your camcorder
uses the contrast to focus automatically.
Aperture
The aperture controls the amount of light that reaches the camcorder’s sensor.
Camcorder shake (Blur)
If the camcorder is moved while the shutter is open, the entire image may appear blurred.
This occurs more often when the shutter speed is slow. Prevent camcorder shake by
raising the sensitivity, using a faster shutter speed. Alternately, use a tripod, the DIS or OIS
function to stabilize the camcorder.
Composition
Composition in photography means arranging objects in a photo. Usually, abiding by the
rule of thirds leads to a good composition.
Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS)
CMOS is an image sensor producing images approaching the quality of CCD (charge
coupled device) sensors. It consumes less power, meaning a longer battery life on your
camcorder.
Digital zoom
A feature that artificially increases the amount of zoom available with zoom lens (Optical
zoom). When using the Digital zoom, the image quality will deteriorate as the magnification
increases.
Effective Pixel Count
Unlike the total pixel count, this is the actual number of pixels used to capture an image.
EV (Exposure Value)
All the combinations of the camcorder’s shutter speed and lens aperture that result in the
same exposure.
Exposure
The amount of light allowed to reach the camcorder’s sensor. Exposure is controlled by a
combination of the shutter speed, the aperture value, and ISO sensitivity.
Focal length
The distance from the middle of the lens to its focal point (in millimeters). Longer focal
lengths result in narrower angles of view and the subject is magnified. Shorter focal
lengths result in wider angles of view.
F. No (F-Number)
The f-number defines the brightness of lens. Smaller number lens has generally brighter
image. The f-number is directly proportional to the focal length and inversely proportional
to the lens diameter.
*F.No=focal length/diameter of lens aperture
MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 defines the latest video coding format standardized by the ISO-IEC
and the ITU-T, in 2003. Compared with the conventional MPEG-2 format, MPEG-4 AVC/
H.264 has more than twice the efficiency. Your camcorder employs MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
to encode high definition videos.
Optical zoom
This is a general zoom which can enlarge images with a lens and does not deteriorate
quality of images.
Quality
An expression of the rate of compression used in a digital image. Higher quality images
have a lower rate of compression, which usually results in a larger file size.
Resolution
The number of pixels present in a digital image. High resolution images contain more
pixels and typically show more detail than low resolution images.
Shutter speed
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time it takes to open and close the shutter, and it
is an important factor in the brightness of a photo, as it controls the amount of light which
pass through the aperture before it reaches the image sensor. A fast shutter speed allows
less time to let light in and the photo becomes darker and more easily freezes subjects in
motion.
Tele Macro
This feature allows you to capture close-up images of very small objects. When using the
Tele Macro feature, the camcorder can maintain a sharp focus on small objects at a near
life-size ratio (1:1).
White balance (color balance)
An adjustment of the intensities of colors (typically the primary colors red, green, and
blue), in an image. The goal of adjusting the white balance, or color balance, is to correctly
render the colors in an image.
Glossary
