Sony Handycam DCR-SX73E Operating Manual Download

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4-171-514-

(1)

Digital Video Camera Recorder

Operating Guide



2010 Sony Corporation

DCR-SX73E/SX83E

Table of contents

Getting started

Recording/Playback

Making good use of your
camcorder

Saving movies and photos
with a computer

Saving images with an
external device

Customizing your
camcorder

Additional information

Quick reference

Summary of Contents for Handycam DCR-SX73E

Page 1: ...ation DCR SX73E SX83E Table of contents 9 Getting started 11 Recording Playback 18 Making good use of your camcorder 27 Saving movies and photos with a computer 29 Saving images with an external device 36 Customizing your camcorder 43 Additional information 50 Quick reference 57 ...

Page 2: ...e or injury may result AC Adaptor Do not use the AC Adaptor placed in a narrow space such as between a wall and furniture Use the nearby wall outlet wall socket when using the AC Adaptor Disconnect the AC Adaptor from the wall outlet wall socket immediately if any malfunction occurs while using your camcorder Even if your camcorder is turned off AC power source mains is still supplied to it while ...

Page 3: ... waste batteries applicable in the European Union and other European countries with separate collection systems This symbol on the battery or on the packaging indicates that the battery provided with this product shall not be treated as household waste On certain batteries this symbol might be used in combination with a chemical symbol The chemical symbols for mercury Hg or lead Pb are added if th...

Page 4: ...tial installation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be dete...

Page 5: ...s white red blue or green in color that appear constantly on the LCD screen These points are normal results of the manufacturing process and do not affect the recording in any way Exposing the LCD screen or the lens to direct sunlight for long periods of time may cause malfunctions Do not aim at the sun Doing so might cause your camcorder to malfunction Take images of the sun only in low light con...

Page 6: ...remely low you may not be able to record or play back on the camcorder due to the protection features of the camcorder being activated in such situations In this case an indicator appears on the LCD screen Carl Zeiss lens Your camcorder is equipped with a Carl Zeiss lens which was developed jointly by Carl Zeiss in Germany and Sony Corporation and produces superior images It adopts the MTF measure...

Page 7: ...ere is a difference in specification between models Confirm the model name on the bottom of your camcorder The main differences in specification of this series are as follows Recording media Capacity of internal recording media USB jack DCR SX73E Internal memory memory card 16 GB Output only DCR SX83E Input output Notes on use Do not do any of the following otherwise the recording media may be dam...

Page 8: ...photos p 21 Playing movies and photos Playback on the camcorder p 22 Playing images on a TV p 25 Saving images Saving movies and photos with a computer p 29 Saving movies and photos in external media p 36 Saving images with a DVD writer recorder p 38 Deleting movies and photos p 27 If you delete the image data that has been saved on your computer or a disc you can record new images on the free med...

Page 9: ...ry card 17 Recording Playback Recording 18 Playback on the camcorder 22 Playing images on a TV 25 Making good use of your camcorder Deleting movies and photos 27 Saving movies and photos with a computer Preparing a computer Windows 29 When using a Macintosh 29 Starting PMB Picture Motion Browser 32 Creating a disc with one touch One Touch Disc Burn 32 Importing movies and photos to a computer 33 C...

Page 10: ...amcorder Using menus 43 Getting detailed information from the Handycam Handbook 49 Additional information Troubleshooting 50 Precautions 52 Specifications 54 Quick reference Screen indicators 57 Parts and controls 58 Index 60 ...

Page 11: ...ding it in the direction of the arrow until it clicks 3 Connect the AC Adaptor and the power cord mains lead to your camcorder and the wall outlet wall socket Align the mark on the DC plug with that on the DC IN jack The CHG charge lamp lights up and charging starts The CHG charge lamp turns off when the battery pack is fully charged 4 When the battery is charged disconnect the AC Adaptor from the...

Page 12: ... screen and make sure that the Movie Photo lamps p 13 the access lamp p 17 are turned off The CHG charge lamp flashes during charging under the following conditions The battery pack is not attached correctly The battery pack is damaged The temperature of the battery pack is low Remove the battery pack from your camcorder and put it in a warm place The temperature of the battery pack is high Remove...

Page 13: ...s POWER 2 Select the desired geographical area with then touch NEXT To set the date and time again touch MENU Show others CLOCK LANG under GENERAL SET category CLOCK SET When an item is not on the screen touch until the item appears 3 Set SUMMERTIME date and time then touch The clock starts If you set SUMMERTIME to ON the clock advances 1 hour Touch the button on the LCD screen MODE lamp POWER but...

Page 14: ...GENERAL SET category BEEP OFF If the button you touch does not react correctly calibrate the touch panel To turn off the power Close the LCD screen The Movie lamp flashes for a few seconds and the power is turned off Tips You can turn off your camcorder also by pressing POWER When POWER ON BY LCD is set to OFF turn off your camcorder by pressing POWER Changing the language setting You can change t...

Page 15: ...ng operations on the selected medium Tips See page 56 for the recordable time of movies Selecting the recording media for movies Touch MENU Show others MEDIA SETTINGS under MANAGE MEDIA category MOVIE MEDIA SET The MOVIE MEDIA SET screen appears Touch the desired recording media Touch YES The recording medium is changed Selecting the recording media for photos Touch MENU Show others MEDIA SETTINGS...

Page 16: ...order In this manual Memory Stick PRO Duo media and Memory Stick PRO HG Duo media are called Memory Stick PRO Duo media and SD memory cards SDHC memory cards and SDXC memory cards are called SD memory cards Notes MultiMediaCard cannot be used Images recorded on SDXC memory cards cannot be played back or imported on non exFAT compatible computers AV components etc connected to this camcorder by USB...

Page 17: ...e data may be damaged Notes If Failed to create a new Image Database File It may be possible that there is not enough free space is displayed initialize the memory card by touching MENU Show others MEDIA FORMAT under MANAGE MEDIA category MEMORY CARD YES YES To eject the memory card Open the cover and lightly push the memory card in once Do not open the cover during recording When inserting or eje...

Page 18: ... When you finish recording or when you play back images close the lens cover 1 Fasten the grip belt 2 Open the LCD screen of your camcorder Your camcorder turns on To turn on your camcorder when the LCD screen is already open press POWER p 13 You can switch recording modes by pressing MODE Press MODE to light up the desired recording mode lamp Movie When recording a movie Photo When shooting a pho...

Page 19: ... switching the recording movie photo playback modes To display the icons and indicators again touch anywhere on the screen except the rec zoom buttons on the LCD Notes If you close the LCD screen while recording movies the camcorder stops recording The maximum continuous recordable time of movies is about 13 hours When a movie file exceeds 2 GB the next movie file is created automatically It will ...

Page 20: ...e recordable time estimated remaining capacity etc by touching MENU Show others MEDIA INFO under MANAGE MEDIA category The LCD screen of your camcorder can display recording images across the entire screen full pixel display However this may cause slight trimming of the top bottom right and left edges of images when played back on a TV which is not compatible with full pixel display In this case s...

Page 21: ...g mode and the screen aspect ratio becomes 4 3 Press PHOTO lightly to adjust the focus then press it fully You can record photos also by touching on the LCD screen When disappears the photo is recorded Tips To change the image size touch MENU Show others IMAGE SIZE under PHOTO SETTINGS category a desired setting You cannot record photos while is displayed You can check the recordable number of pho...

Page 22: ... 13 2 Press VIEW IMAGES The VISUAL INDEX screen appears after some seconds You can display the VISUAL INDEX screen also by touching VIEW IMAGES on the LCD screen 3 Touch Movie a desired movie to play back a movie Touch the Photo a desired photo to view a photo Movies are displayed and sorted by recording date Switches operating button display To MENU screen Displays the screen to select the index ...

Page 23: ...k movies slowly As you repeat touching during playback movies are played as fast as about 5 times about 10 times about 30 times about 60 times You can display the VISUAL INDEX by touching MENU Show others VISUAL INDEX under PLAYBACK category The recording date time and shooting conditions are recorded automatically during recording This information is not displayed during recording but you can dis...

Page 24: ...g photos Your camcorder displays the selected photo Tips When viewing photos recorded on a memory card playback folder appears on the screen Previous To the VISUAL INDEX screen To start stop slide show Next OPTION ...

Page 25: ...th an S VIDEO cable sold separately higher quality images can be produced than with an A V connecting cable Connect the white and red plugs left right audio and the S VIDEO plug S VIDEO channel of the A V connecting cable with an S VIDEO cable sold separately The yellow plug connection is not necessary Connecting only the S VIDEO plug will not output audio Set the input selector of the TV to the i...

Page 26: ...plug to the audio input jack of your TV or VCR If your TV VCR has a 21 pin adaptor EUROCONNECTOR Use a 21 pin adaptor sold separately to view playback pictures Notes When you set TV TYPE to 4 3 the image quality may deteriorate Also when the recorded image s aspect ratio switches between 16 9 wide and 4 3 the image may jitter On some 4 3 TVs the photos recorded in 4 3 aspect ratio may not be displ...

Page 27: ... screen from OPTION MENU To delete all images recorded in the recording media and recover all the recordable space of the media format the media Reduced size images which enable you to view many images at the same time on an index screen are called thumbnails 1 Touch MENU Show others DELETE under EDIT category 2 To delete movies touch DELETE DELETE To delete photos touch DELETE DELETE 3 Touch and ...

Page 28: ...28 GB Touch to select the recording date of the desired movies photos then touch Touch the image down on the LCD screen to confirm the image Touch to return to the previous screen Touch YES ...

Page 29: ...sary when creating DVD discs Display Minimum 1 024 768 dots Others USB port this must be provided as standard Hi Speed USB USB 2 0 compatible DVD burner CD ROM drive is necessary for installation 1 Standard installation is required Operation is not assured if the OS has been upgraded or in a multi boot environment 2 64 bit editions and Starter Edition are not supported Windows Image Mastering API ...

Page 30: ...ully If you agree to the terms change to and then click Next Install Turn on your camcorder then connect the camcorder to the computer using the supplied USB cable The USB SELECT screen appears on the camcorder screen automatically Touch the one of the media types displayed on the camcorder screen to make the computer recognize your camcorder USB CONNECT Internal memory The displayed recording med...

Page 31: ... the installation You may install Image Mastering API v2 0 for Windows XP in response to the message displayed when you try to start those functions To disconnect your camcorder from the computer Click the icon at the bottom right of the desktop of the computer Safely remove USB Mass Storage Device Touch END YES on the camcorder screen Disconnect the USB cable Notes Access from the computer using ...

Page 32: ...9 for the type of discs you can use If any other software than PMB starts automatically shut it down 2 Turn on your camcorder then connect the camcorder to the computer using the supplied USB cable 3 Press DISC BURN Starting PMB Picture Motion Browser Double click the PMB short cut icon on the computer screen Notes If the icon is not displayed on the computer screen click Start All Programs PMB to...

Page 33: ...utlet wall socket using the supplied AC Adaptor for this operation p 12 1 Turn on your camcorder then connect the camcorder to the computer using the supplied USB cable The USB SELECT screen appears on the camcorder screen 2 Touch the recording media that contains the images you want to save on the camcorder screen USB CONNECT Internal memory USB CONNECT Memory card The displayed recording media d...

Page 34: ... side in the window and select the date or folder then select the movies To select plural movies hold the Ctrl key down and click thumbnails 4 At the top of the window click Create DVD Video Format Discs STD The window used to select movies appears To add movies to the previously selected ones select the movies in the main window and drag and drop onto the window for selecting movies 3 Click Impor...

Page 35: ...sc Copier help on the operation Editing movies You can cut out only necessary parts from a movie and save it as another file Double click the movie to be edited on PMB then click Show Edit Palette on the right side of the screen Trim Video or select the Manipulate menu Edit Trim Video See PMB Help p 32 for details Capturing photos from a movie You can save a frame of a movie as a photo file Double...

Page 36: ...f media utilizing the FAT file system Operation is not assured with every device satisfying requirements for operating Connect your camcorder to the wall outlet wall socket using the supplied AC adaptor p 12 Refer to the instruction manual supplied with the external media For details on available external media go to the Sony support website in your country region Tips You can also import images r...

Page 37: ...ing movies PHOTO COPY when selecting photos Follow the on screen instructions to select the recording media and image selection methods When you selected DUB by select touch the image to be saved appears When you selected DUB by date select the date of the images to be dubbed with then touch and go to step Press and hold the image down on the LCD screen to confirm the image Touch to return to the ...

Page 38: ...et p 12 Turn on your camcorder and connect the DVD writer to the USB jack of your camcorder with the USB cable of the DVD writer Insert an unused disc into the DVD writer and close the disc tray The DISC BURN screen appears on the camcorder screen Press DISC BURN on the DVD writer Movies recorded on the internal recording media that have not been saved on any discs will be recorded onto the disc R...

Page 39: ... Press the play button on the DVD writer You can also operate by the camcorder screen Touch END EJECT DISC on the camcorder screen and remove the disc after the operation is completed Touch and disconnect the USB cable Notes Do not do any of the following when creating a disc Turn off the camcorder Disconnect the USB cable or the AC adaptor Subject the camcorder to mechanical shock or vibration Ej...

Page 40: ... the DC IN jack of your camcorder and the wall outlet wall socket p 12 Turn on your camcorder and connect a DVD writer etc to the USB jack of your camcorder with the USB cable supplied The USB SELECT screen appears on the camcorder screen If the USB SELECT screen does not appear touch MENU Show others USB CONNECT under OTHERS category Touch the recording media that contains the images on the camco...

Page 41: ...ith S VIDEO sold separately When connecting to another device via the S VIDEO jack by using an A V connecting cable with an S VIDEO cable sold separately higher quality images can be produced than with an A V connecting cable Connect the white and red plug left right audio and the S VIDEO plug S VIDEO channel of the A V connecting cable with an S VIDEO cable If you connect the S VIDEO plug only yo...

Page 42: ... SETTINGS under GENERAL SET category DISP OUTPUT LCD PANEL the default setting To record the date time or camera settings data touch MENU Show others PLAYBACK SET under PLAYBACK category DATA CODE a desired setting In addition touch MENU Show others OUTPUT SETTINGS under GENERAL SET category DISP OUTPUT V OUT PANEL When the screen size of display devices TV etc is 4 3 touch MENU Show others OUTPUT...

Page 43: ...s for recording media p 48 GENERAL SET Other setup items p 48 Menu items are described in more details in the Handycam Handbook Setting menus Touch MENU Touch Show others on the MY MENU screen See the next page for details on MY MENU Touch the central part in the left side of screen to change the display Touch the menu item to be changed After changing the setting touch To finish setting the menu ...

Page 44: ...ms more easily by registering the menu items you use most often on MY MENU You can register 6 menu items on each MY MENU of the MOVIE PHOTO and PLAYBACK Example deleting SPOT MTR FCS and registering FADER Touch MENU Touch MY MENU SETTING Touch MOVIE Touch SPOT MTR FCS Touch Touch FADER under MANUAL SETTINGS category When MY MENU is displayed touch Repeat the same steps above to register menu items...

Page 45: ...ENU You touch and the menu items you can change in the context appear Touch OPTION Touch the desired tab the item to change the setting After completing the setting touch Notes Grayed out menu items or settings are not available When the item you want is not on the screen touch another tab There may be no tab The tabs and items that appear on the screen depend on the recording playback status of y...

Page 46: ...hot function when recording movies CONVERSION LENS Sets the type of an attached conversion lens sold separately Optimizes the SteadyShot function and focus according to the attached lens LOW LUX Records bright color images in the dim FACE DETECTION Adjusts the image quality of the face s automatically PRIORITY SETTING Select the subject that has priority for the face detection and the smile shutte...

Page 47: ... CAPTURE Captures photos from desired scenes of movies MOVIE DUB DUB by select Selects movies and dub DUB by date Dubs all movies of a specified date DUB ALL Dubs all saved movies in a playlist PHOTO COPY COPY by select Selects photos and copy COPY by date Copies all photos of a specified date PLAYLIST EDIT ADD Adds movies in a playlist ADD by date Adds movies recorded on a same day at one time in...

Page 48: ...e brightness of the LCD screen LCD BL LEVEL Adjusts the backlight of the LCD screen LCD COLOR Adjusts the color intensity of the LCD screen DISPLAY SET Sets the duration that icons or indicators are displayed on the LCD screen OUTPUT SETTINGS TV TYPE Converts the signal depending on the TV connected p 25 DISP OUTPUT Sets whether the on screen displays appears on the TV screen or not CLOCK LANG CLO...

Page 49: ...splayed click Handbook 3 Select the desired language and the model name of your camcorder then click Install Install by following the instructions on the screen The model name of your camcorder is printed on its bottom surface To view the Handycam Handbook double click the short cut icon on the computer screen When using a Macintosh open the Handbook GB folder in the CD ROM then copy Handbook pdf ...

Page 50: ...e plug of the AC Adaptor to the wall outlet wall socket p 12 The camcorder does not operate even when the power is set to on It takes a few seconds for your camcorder to be ready to shoot after the power is turned on This is not a malfunction Disconnect the AC Adaptor from the wall outlet wall socket or remove the battery pack then reconnect it after about 1 minute If your camcorder still does not...

Page 51: ...u contact them give them all the numbers of the error code beginning with C or E C 04 The battery pack is not an InfoLITHIUM battery pack V series Use an InfoLITHIUM battery pack V series p 11 Connect the DC plug of the AC Adaptor to your camcorder securely p 11 C 06 The battery pack temperature is high Change the battery pack or place it in a cool place C 13 C 32 Remove the power source Reconnect...

Page 52: ... If sand or dust gets in your camcorder it may malfunction Sometimes this malfunction cannot be repaired Near windows or outdoors where the LCD screen or the lens may be exposed to direct sunlight This damages the inside of the LCD screen Operate your camcorder on DC 6 8 V 7 2 V battery pack or DC 8 4 V AC Adaptor For DC or AC operation use the accessories recommended in these operating instructio...

Page 53: ...te Procedures Connect your camcorder to a wall outlet wall socket using the supplied AC Adaptor and leave it with the LCD screen closed for more than 24 hours When disconnecting the power cord mains lead pull it by the plug and not the cord lead Do not damage the power cord mains lead such as by placing anything heavy on it Do not use a deformed or damaged battery pack Keep metal contacts clean If...

Page 54: ...ndards Movie recording format Video MPEG 2 PS Audio recording system Dolby Digital 2ch Dolby Digital Stereo Creator Photo file format DCF Ver 2 0 Compatible Exif Ver 2 21 Compatible MPF Baseline Compatible Recording media Movie Photo Internal memory 16 GB Memory Stick PRO Duo media SD Memory card Class 2 or faster When measuring media capacity 1 GB equals 1 billion bytes a portion of which is used...

Page 55: ...g 3 lx lux LOW LUX is set to ON shutter speed 1 25 second 1 The unique pixel array of Sony s ClearVid and the image processing system BIONZ allow still image resolution equivalent to the sizes described 2 STEADYSHOT is set to STANDARD or OFF 3 The focal length figures are actual figures from wide angle pixel readout Input Output connectors A V Remote Connector Video audio output jack USB jack mini...

Page 56: ...y Stick Duo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony Corporation InfoLITHIUM is a trademark of Sony Corporation BIONZ is a trademark of Sony Corporation DVDirect is a trademark of Sony Corporation Dolby and the double D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Microsoft Windows Windows Vista and DirectX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United...

Page 57: ...tor Meaning FADER 9999 9999 Approximate number of recordable photos and recording media Playback folder of memory card 100 112 Current playing movie or photo Number of total recorded movies or photos Bottom Indicator Meaning FACE DETECTION set to OFF SMILE DETECTION LOW LUX Manual focus SCENE SELECTION White balance SteadyShot off SPOT MTR FCS SPOT METER EXPOSURE TELE MACRO CONVERSION LENS INTELLI...

Page 58: ...k operations VIEW IMAGES button 22 Speaker RESET button Press RESET using a pointed object Press RESET to initialize all the settings including the clock setting USB jack 30 32 33 36 38 DCR SX73E output only MODE button 18 movie photo lamp 18 DISC BURN button 32 button POWER button 13 Power zoom lever PHOTO button 21 Battery pack START STOP button 19 DC IN jack 11 A V Remote Connector 25 CHG charg...

Page 59: ... 16 While the lamp is lit or flashing the camcorder is reading or writing data Tripod receptacle Attach a tripod sold separately to the tripod receptacle using a tripod screw sold separately the length of the screw must be less than 5 5 mm 7 32 in ...

Page 60: ...ternal media 36 Screen indicators 57 Self diagnosis display 51 Setting the date and time 13 Software 29 Specifications 54 Supplied items 5 T Thumbnail 27 Troubleshooting 50 Turning the power on 13 TV 25 TV TYPE 25 U USB cable 38 40 USB CONNECT 38 40 V VIEW IMAGES 22 VISUAL INDEX 22 Volume 23 W Wall outlet wall socket 11 Warning indicators 51 Windows 29 Z Zoom 19 Symbols 16 9 26 4 3 26 A A V connec...

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Page 64: ...GB Additional information on this product and answers to frequently asked questions can be found at our Customer Support Website http www sony net Printed in China ...

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