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BEFORE READING THE MANUAL

IBM PC, PowerPC and IBM are registered trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation.

Apple, Macintosh and QuickTime are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc.

Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

CompactFlash is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation and handed over to CFA (CompactFlash
Association).

All other company and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective
owners.

Regarding the data storage media

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This digital camera can use both CompactFlash and microdrive cards for data storage. This
manual is written with the premise that CompactFlash cards are used. In this manual,
CompactFlash and microdrive cards are both referred to as “card.”

Caution

œ

It is forbidden to copy this manual, whole or in part, without prior written permission.

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Actual specifications are subject to change without prior notice and therefore may differ from
the contents of this manual.

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Sanyo Electric shall not be held responsible for any problems resulting from the use of this
digital camera.

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Sanyo Electric declines all responsibility for damages due to improper use of the camera, failure
to adhere to the instructions given in this manual, or repairs or changes done by those other
than a technician authorized by the manufacturer.

œ

Sanyo Electric shall not be held responsible for any damage caused by optional devices or
consumable items used with the digital camera other than those supplied with the digital
camera or those specified by Sanyo Electric.

œ

Sanyo Electric shall not be held responsible for any losses or loss of revenue resulting from the
loss of data caused by the malfunction, or the repairing of a malfunction, of the digital camera.

œ

The images captured with this camera will differ in quality from pictures taken with a standard
film camera.

Symbols used in this manual

NOTE

Points giving some extended instructions or special points to pay attention to.

HINT

Points that may prove useful when using the digital camera.

HELP

In case of problem, this may help in certain situations.

[page xx]

Refer to the page indicated in brackets for detailed information.

1

 English

Summary of Contents for VPC SX 550

Page 1: ... manual explains how to safely operate the VPC SX550EX and VPC SX550 Any information regarding only one of these products will be labeled as such Please read these instructions carefully before using the digital camera Make sure to read and understand the section USING YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA SAFELY AND CORRECTLY from page 3 to 12 Keep this manual in a safe place for later reference I index ...

Page 2: ...ed to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected Consult the dealer or an experienced radio TV technician for help Changes or modifications not expressly approved ...

Page 3: ...FOR CANADIAN USERS This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES 003 English ii ...

Page 4: ...c shall not be held responsible for any problems resulting from the use of this digital camera Sanyo Electric declines all responsibility for damages due to improper use of the camera failure to adhere to the instructions given in this manual or repairs or changes done by those other than a technician authorized by the manufacturer Sanyo Electric shall not be held responsible for any damage caused...

Page 5: ...HE COMPRESSION RATIO 53 EXPLANATION OF AUTO AND MANUAL SHOOTING MODES 54 CAPTURING IMAGES 56 SEQUENTIAL SHOT 58 VIDEO CLIP 60 USING THE AUTOFOCUS 62 USING THE VARIOUS SHOOTING FUNCTIONS 63 MANUAL MODE SETTINGS 71 PERFORMING AN AUDIO RECORDING 77 PLAYBACK DATA SETTING THE PLAYBACK MODE 79 PLAYING BACK STILL IMAGES 81 PLAYING BACK SEQUENTIAL SHOTS 84 PLAYING BACK VIDEO CLIPS 85 ENLARGING ZOOMING IN ...

Page 6: ... a vehicle Doing so may cause an accident Be careful where you put down the digital camera inside an automobile During sudden stops or turns it may fall behind the brake pedal and prevent braking When using the digital camera while walking be very careful of your surroundings and especially the traffic to avoid accidents Be aware of your surroundings when using the digital camera Pay close attenti...

Page 7: ...sun or any other strong source of light Doing so may seriously injure your eyes Do not use the flash close to a person s face To prevent possible eye injury do not use the flash near a person s face especially young children or babies If the flash is used close to a person s opened eyes there is a risk that it may damage that person s eyesight Do not use where there is risk of explosion Do not use...

Page 8: ...the terminals wet Always stop the recharging after the prescribed recharge time even if the batteries are not fully charged Do not remove or puncture the external wrapping Do not use if there is leaking swelling temperature rising discoloration or any other abnormal condition Keep out of the reach of children Do not drop hit or submit the batteries to strong shocks Do not use recharged batteries t...

Page 9: ...nferior products may cause a fire injury or burns The batteries may be warm immediately after the digital camera is used If removing the batteries turn off the digital camera and allow for the batteries to cool down before removing them If a battery is leaking and the electrolyte gets on your skin or clothing immediately rinse with clean water If the electrolyte gets into your eyes you risk losing...

Page 10: ...long period of time there is a risk of fire In particular if the batteries are recharged continuously for more than two days 48 hours they may generate heat leak or explode Cautions when plugging in the battery charger Securely plug the power cord all the way in the power outlet when using the battery charger If the battery charger is used with the power cord not fully plugged in heat may generate...

Page 11: ...s to touch the inside of the battery charger Doing so may cause a fire or electric shock Do not use the battery charger as a direct current generator Do not get the battery charger wet Make sure the battery charger does not get wet for it may cause a fire or electric shock Do not use the battery charger in a bathroom If the battery charger gets wet immediately unplug it from the power outlet and r...

Page 12: ...sure to avoid the following locations to avoid damages Places in direct sunlight Places where humidity and temperature are high Places that may get wet Places close to an air conditioner or heater Inside a car Places where there is dust and dirt Places where there is a fire burning Places where volatile products are stored Places subject to vibrations Temperature 0 to 40 C operation Humidity 30 to...

Page 13: ...e digital camera any of its accessories or its software Cautions concerning copyrights The images you capture with your digital camera are for your own private use any other use may violate the rights of copyrights owners Cautions when cleaning the digital camera Do not use benzene or thinner products to clean the digital camera Doing so may cause deformation discoloration or paint peeling When us...

Page 14: ...se their ability to be recharged again Cautions concerning condensation Using the digital camera with condensation inside it may damage the digital camera Be careful of condensation under the following conditions When moving the digital camera suddenly from a cold place to a warm place When the ambient temperature changes drastically such as when a heater is turned on to quickly heat the room When...

Page 15: ...actFlash and microdrive are precision devices Do not bend drop or subject them to strong forces or shocks Be especially careful with the microdrive for it is easily damaged by vibrations Avoid using or storing the CompactFlash and microdrive in places with extremely high or low temperatures subject to direct sunlight in a completely closed vehicle near air conditioners or heaters or in humid or du...

Page 16: ...nd recorded voice memos on the storage media card inserted inside the digital camera The number of images and amount of recording time that can be stored on one card depends on the capacity of the card used and the recording conditions The types of card that can be inserted into and used with this digital camera are given below CompactFlash Microdrive There are special precautions that must be fol...

Page 17: ...nd strap Bend the looped extremity of the strap and slip it through then strap holder on the digital camera Using the Soft Case Slide the hand strap into the opening on the side of the case for carrying the digital camera It can also be worn on a belt or the like NOTE Even if the digital camera is inside its soft case if it is subjected to strong shocks or impacts it may fall out of its soft case ...

Page 18: ...ied batteries Make sure the polarity of the batteries is as indicated on the battery charger During recharge the recharge indicator on the battery charger will light When the batteries are recharged the indicator will go off The recharge time is approx 200 minutes Caution First recharge the supplied batteries Do not recharge other batteries with the supplied battery charger To ensure safety read C...

Page 19: ...ose battery compartment cover 4 Push cover in the direction shown by arrow until it clicks 4 Insert the card Use the card supplied with your digital camera Before installing the supplied card be sure to first format it with the digital camera see page 118 Make sure not to insert the card with it facing the wrong direction 1 Open card slot cover on digital camera bottom 2 Insert card all the way 3 ...

Page 20: ... the shutter release button all the way The image is captured In the still image shooting mode you can view the image captured on the LCD monitor by holding the shutter release button down The stand by indicator will flash in red while the image is being written to the memory Another image can only be captured when the stand by indicator lights green again HELP What if the digital camera turns off...

Page 21: ... current image 12When finished set the main switch to MONITOR OFF or CAMERA and close the lens cover Your digital camera turns off How was it Did everything turn out fine Of course what you have performed here is just a fraction of the many functions your digital camera is loaded with But before you continue using your digital camera any further be sure to read this instruction carefully PLAY CAME...

Page 22: ...d stand hole page 67 Card slot cover pages 25 26 Viewfinder page 56 Lens cover pages 27 28 Battery compartment cover page 24 Speaker œ For listening to sound recordings DC IN external DC power input terminal Terminal cover Slide downward and open USB terminal page 122 For connection to computer USB connectors DIGITAL AV OUT terminal pages 90 122 For data transmission and outputting sound and image...

Page 23: ... viewing the LCD monitor you may see some missing pixels seen as black and white dots This is normal and does not indicate a malfunction Close up correction marks page 63 Auto focus mark page 56 Stand by indicator red green pages 27 56 65 Red flashing When capturing an image charging the flash or storing an image or sound recording image or sound cannot be recorded Red steady When the memory is fu...

Page 24: ...S or HR 3U supplied with the digital camera or sold separately and the Ni Cd batteries N 3US or N 3U sold separately Before using the batteries for the first time or when the batteries remaining charge is low see REMAINING BATTERY CHARGE INDICATION on page 44 follow the steps below to recharge them 1 Insert the batteries into the battery charger Make sure the polarity of the batteries is as indica...

Page 25: ...4 When finished the recharge indicator turns off unplug the power cord from the power outlet 5 Remove the batteries from the battery charger Recharge indicator English 22 ...

Page 26: ...d and recharged again NOTE New batteries must be recharged before they are first used If recharged batteries are stored they will slowly loose their charge They must be recharged before they are used again If the batteries are used for the first time or if they have not been used for a long time they may not be recharged completely even when the recharge indicator goes off The supplied nickel meta...

Page 27: ...s is as indicated in the battery compartment 5 Close the battery compartment cover Slide the compartment cover in the direction of the arrow until it clicks NOTE Battery power is still used even when the digital camera is turned off It is recommended that you remove the batteries from the digital camera when it is not being used However when the batteries are removed for a long period the date and...

Page 28: ... digital camera see page 118 Installing a Card 1 Set the main switch to MONITOR OFF or CAMERA 2 Close the lens cover 3 Make sure the power is turned off then open the card slot cover on the bottom of the digital camera 4 Insert the card Make sure the contacts are facing downward and insert the card in the direction shown by the arrow l mark Be sure to insert the card all the way until it is fully ...

Page 29: ... then the digital camera is writing to the card Never remove the card at this time 4 Stand up the eject button 5 Push in the eject button and remove the card 6 Close the card slot cover NOTE By using the card together with a commercially available PC card adaptor for CompactFlash cards the card can be used as a PC card conforming to PC Card Standard ATA PLAY CAMERA MONITOR OFF Main switch Card slo...

Page 30: ...p 1 the LCD monitor will turn on and an image will appear To playback images 1 Set the main switch to PLAY The power is turned on An image appears in the LCD monitor Images can be played back whether the lens cover is opened or closed However to protect the lens we recommend that you keep the cover closed HELP If NO CARD appears If no card is installed in the digital camera then NO CARD will appea...

Page 31: ...once To restore power for viewing images 1 Close and open the lens cover or set the main switch to another position then back to PLAY NOTE When using the AC adaptor sold separately the power save function will become active after about 30 minutes of inactivity Also when using battery power and connecting the digital camera to a personal computer the power save function will become active after abo...

Page 32: ...ng Playback W Still Image Shooting Setting Screen Still Image Playback Setting Screen Y Sequential Shot Shooting Setting Screen Sequential Shot Playback Setting Screen X Video Clip Shooting Setting Screen Video Clip Playback Setting Screen P Shooting Option Setting Screen Playback Option Setting Screen Audio recording Sound playback Date and time setting Date and time setting Operational sound set...

Page 33: ... see page 80 If this screen appears press the SET button and then the MODE button For how to operate the setting screens see SETTING SCREEN BASIC OPERATIONS on page 40 Exiting the Setting Screens Press the MODE button The Setting Screen disappears Exiting the Option Setting Screens Turn the selector dial to a mark other than P The Option Setting Screen is exited and either a shooting screen or pla...

Page 34: ...on 6 Focus menu page 63 Z Normal focus icon c Macro focus icon 7 Auto manual shooting menu page 55 B Auto shooting mode icon E Manual shooting mode icon 8 Exposure correction icon page 68 9 Zoom icon page 69 Only appears when the resolution is set to 4 F Exposure correction bar page 68 G Zoom bar page 69 Only appears when the resolution is set to 4 H Main switch setting Red when the main switch is...

Page 35: ... pressed and stops when it is pressed again 5 Self timer menu page 67 V Self timer off icon U Self timer on icon 6 Focus menu page 63 Z Normal focus icon c Macro focus icon 7 Auto manual shooting menu page 55 B Auto shooting mode icon E Manual shooting mode icon 8 Exposure correction icon page 68 9 Zoom icon page 69 Only appears when the resolution is set to 4 F Exposure correction bar page 68 G Z...

Page 36: ... menu page 63 Z Normal focus icon c Macro focus icon 6 Auto manual shooting menu page 55 B Auto shooting mode icon E Manual shooting mode icon 7 Exposure correction icon page 68 8 Zoom icon page 69 Only appears when the resolution is set to 2 or 0 9 Exposure correction bar page 68 F Zoom bar page 69 Only appears when the resolution is set to 2 or 0 G Remaining recording time available page 61 Disp...

Page 37: ...ays the shooting mode selected with the selector dial v Still image shooting icon page 31 x Sequential shot shooting icon page 32 w Video clip shooting icon page 33 4 Number of images recordings that can be taken page 46 For still image and sequential shooting this displays the number of images that can be captured and for video clip shooting this displays the number of clips that can be taken 5 V...

Page 38: ... the Still Image Playback Setting Screen 7 Print icon page 109 Only appears in the Still Image Playback Setting Screen 8 Volume icon page 81 Only appears in the Still Image Playback Setting Screen when an image with a voice memo appears Not displayed for the Sequential Shot Playback Setting Screen 9 Volume bar page 81 F Main switch setting Green when the main switch is set to PLAY G Playback mode ...

Page 39: ...Option Setting Screen 1 Playback of audio recordings pages 80 88 2 Date and time setting page 41 3 Operational sound setting page 70 4 Battery discharge function page 120 5 Language selection page 121 6 Card reformatting page 118 7 Roulette game page 113 8 Main switch setting Green when the main switch is set to PLAY A U D I O R E C C L O C K S E T B E E P D I S C H A R G E L A N G U A G E R E F O...

Page 40: ...oting see page 60 For audio recording see page 77 2 Press the info button The Information Screen appears To exit the Information Screen press the info button again Still Image Shooting Information Screen 1 Resolution setting page 51 2 Flash setting page 64 3 Voice memo setting page 66 4 Auto manual shooting setting page 55 For manual shooting E the settings for manual shooting appear 5 Self timer ...

Page 41: ...ng page 63 7 Compression setting page 53 8 Remaining recording time available min sec only appears for video clip shooting page 61 9 Number of images that can be taken sequential shot shooting or number of clips that can be recorded video clip shooting page 46 F Frame rate setting only appears for video clip shooting page 60 G Remaining battery charge page 44 Audio Recording Information Screen 1 R...

Page 42: ...ge 79 v Still image playback mode x Sequential shot playback mode w Video clip playback mode 5 Resolution page 51 6 Compression type page 53 7 Protect mode setting page 105 Frame rate setting appears in the video clip playback mode 8 Voice memo page 81 only appears in still image playback mode and the protect mode setting appears in the video clip playback mode 9 Print setting page 112 only appear...

Page 43: ...ss l to select the lower display To enter numbers Press j to decrease the number Press l to increase the number To select a setting Press c to select the next icon item on the right Press d to select the next icon item on the left To finalize the selected setting Press the SET button to set the selected menu item At the Shooting Setting Screens the selected icon moves to the far left At the Playba...

Page 44: ...et the display format for the date To return to the Option Setting Screens press the MODE button or select EXIT and press the SET button NOTE If the date and time are not set January 1 2000 midnight is recorded as the date and time Consequently 2000 01 01 00 00 appears during playback Under normal conditions while the batteries are replaced an internal battery will maintain the date and time setti...

Page 45: ... press the SET button 4 Set the clock date and time 1 Press l to select the date setting 2 Press the SET button The year turns orange 3 Using the arrow and SET buttons change the setting to 2001 08 28 Year setting Ö SET button Ö Month setting Ö SET button Ö Day setting Press j to decrease the setting Press l to increase the setting 4 Press the SET button This completes the date setting 5 Press l t...

Page 46: ...e date display format setting 6 Select EXIT and press the SET button The date and time setting is completed and you return to the Option Setting Screen NOTE To correct the date and time settings After steps 1 and 2 press l to move the y mark to the line of the setting you want to change and press c to select that setting Then press j or l to set the new setting and the SET button to finalize the n...

Page 47: ...n is not displayed Indicator Remaining charge Information Screen When Information Screen is not displayed No indication Approx full No indication Battery power is low It will soon be impossible to capture or playback images The remaining charge is not sufficient to download the pictures to a computer 9 Flashing 9 Flashing If this icon flashes when the shutter button is pressed images cannot be cap...

Page 48: ...time will be much shorter Depending on the usage of the digital camera such as the number of times the flash is used the use of the LCD monitor etc or the environmental conditions temperature etc the number of images that can be saved on a set of fully charged batteries will vary greatly HELP If the LCD monitor goes off suddenly When capturing images using the LCD monitor and the battery charge is...

Page 49: ... shooting modes The remaining video recording time appears in the top of the LCD monitor and the remaining number of video clips appears in the upper right of the LCD monitor for the video clip shooting mode The remaining number of images and video recording time will differ depending on the resolution and compression settings When the remaining number of images or video clips that can be taken is...

Page 50: ... Select AUDIO REC 2 Press the SET button The Audio Recording Screen appears and the remaining recording time appears in the top of the LCD monitor and the remaining number of recordings appears in the upper right of the LCD monitor A U D I O R E C C L O C K S E T B E E P D I S C H A R G E L A N G U A G E R E F O R M A T Remaining number of recordings possible Remaining recording time min sec 47 En...

Page 51: ...deo clip you must first copy the data as a still image see page 108 If the image resolution is low depending on the print size the output image may not be high quality Data File Formats The format of the files saved on the card and the method in which the file names are determined are explained below Still image data Data format JPEG or TIFF format Design rule for Camera File system compliant File...

Page 52: ... playback the video clips QuickTime 4 Pro for Windows and Macintosh is supplied with the SANYO Software Pack To view images using MediaPlayer on a computer running Windows use the software included in the SANYO Software Pack supplied to change the images to the Windows compatible AVI format 100SANDS 101SANDS 102SANDS SANY1001 jpg SANY1002 jpg SANY1999 jpg SANY2001 jpg SANY2002 jpg SANY0001 jpg SAN...

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