Maintenance/Cleaning

Battery Pack Handling Precautions

Cassette Handling Precautions

Protecting Tapes from Accidental Erasure

Using the Camcorder Abroad

Camcorder Handling Precautions

• Do not leave the camcorder in places subject to high temperatures, such as a sun-heated car, and high humidity.
• Do not use the camcorder in places subject to magnetic or electric fields such as near the TV transmitters or portable communication devices.
• Do not point the lens or viewfinder at strong light sources. Do not leave the camcorder pointed at a bright subject.
• Do not use the camcorder in dusty or sandy places. Dust or sand getting inside the cassette or camcorder may cause damage. Dust and sand can also damage the lens. Attach the lens cap after use.
• The camcorder is not waterproof. Water, mud or salt getting inside the cassette or camcorder may cause damage.
• Do not disassemble the camcorder. If the camcorder does not function properly, consult qualified service personnel.
• Handle the camcorder with care. Do not subject the camcorder to shocks or vibration as this may cause damage.
• Avoid sudden changes in temperature. Moving the camcorder rapidly between hot and cold temperatures may cause condensation to form on its surfaces.

Storage

• If you do not intend to use the camcorder for a long time, store it in a place free of dust, in low humidity, and at temperatures not higher than 86^o F (30^o C).
• After storage, check the functions of your camcorder to make sure that the camcorder is still working properly.

Cleaning

Camcorder Body and Lens

• Use a soft, dry cloth to clean the camcorder body and lens. Never use chemically treated cloth or volatile solvents such as paint thinner.

LCD Screen

• Clean the LCD screen using a commercially available cleaning cloth for glasses.
• Condensation may form on the surface of the screen when the temperature changes suddenly. Wipe it with a soft dry cloth.

Video Heads

• When the message "HEADS DIRTY, USE CLEANING CASSETTE" appears, or when the playback picture becomes distorted, the video heads need to be cleaned.

• To maintain the best picture quality, we recommend cleaning the video heads frequently with the Canon DVM-CL Digital Video Head Cleaning Cassette or a commercially available dry cleaning cassette.

• Tapes already recorded with dirty video heads may not be played back correctly even when you clean the video heads.

• Do not use wet type cleaning cassettes as this may damage the camcorder.

Condensation

Moving the camcorder rapidly between hot and cold temperature may cause condensation (water droplets) to form on its surfaces. Stop using the camcorder if condensation is detected. Continued use may damage the camcorder.

Condensation may form in the following cases:

When the camcorder is moved from an airconditioned room to a warm, humid place	When the camcorder is moved from a cold place to a warm room
When the camcorder is left in a humid room	When a cold room is heated rapidly

How to avoid condensation:

• Unload the cassette, place the camcorder in an airtight plastic bag and let it adjust to temperature changes slowly before removing it from the bag.

When condensation is detected:

• The camcorder stops operating, and the warning message "CONDENSATION HAS BEEN DETECTED" appears for approx. 4 seconds and "" starts flashing.

• If a cassette is loaded, the warning message ?REMOVE THE CASSETTE? appears and "" starts flashing. Remove the cassette immediately and leave the cassette compartment open. Leaving the cassette in the camcorder may damage the tape.

• A cassette cannot be loaded when condensation is detected.

Resuming use:

• It takes about 1 hour until the water droplets evaporate. After the condensation warning stops flashing, wait for 1 more hour before resuming use.

Battery Pack Handling Precautions

DANGER! Treat the battery pack with care. Keep it away from fire (or it might explode). Do not expose the battery pack to temperature higher than 140o F (60o C). Do not leave it near a heater or inside a car in hot weather. Do not try to disassemble or modify it. Do not drop or knock it. Do not get it wet.

• Charged battery packs continue to discharge naturally. Therefore, charge them on the day of use, or the day before, to ensure a full charge.

• Attach the terminal cover whenever a battery pack is not in use. Contact to metallic objects may cause a short circuit and damage the battery pack.

• Dirty terminals may cause a poor contact between the battery pack and the camcorder. Wipe the terminals with a soft cloth.

• Since storing a charged battery pack for a long time (about 1 year) can shorten its lifecycle or affect performance, we recommend to discharge the battery pack fully and to store it in a dry place at temperatures no higher than 86^o F (30^o C). If you do not use the battery pack for long periods, charge and discharge it fully at least once a year. If you have more than 1 battery pack, perform these precautions at the same time for all battery packs.

• Although the battery pack?s operating temperature range is from 32^o F to 104^o F

• (0^o C to 40^o C), the optimal range is from 50^o F to 86^o F (10^o C to 30^o C). At cold temperatures, performance will temporarily decline. Warm it in your pocket before use.

• Replace the battery pack if the usable time after full charge diminishes substantially at normal temperatures.

Cassette Handling Precautions

• Rewind tapes after use. If the tape becomes slack and damaged, it may cause picture and sound distortion.

• Return cassettes in the case and store them upright.

• Do not leave the cassette in the camcorder after use.

• Do not use spliced tapes or nonstandard cassettes as they may damage the camcorder.

• Do not use tapes that have been jammed as video heads may become dirty.

• Do not insert anything into the small holes of the cassette, or cover them with cellophane tape.

• Handle cassettes with care. Do not drop or subject them to severe impact as this may damage the cassettes.

• Rewind tapes from time to time if they are stored for a long time.

• With cassettes equipped with a memory function, metal plated terminals may become dirty with use. Clean the terminals with a cotton swab after about 10 times of loading/unloading. The memory function is not supported by the camcorder.

Protecting Tapes from Accidental Erasure

To protect your recordings from accidental erasure, slide the tab on the cassette to the left. (This switch position is usually labeled SAVE or ERASE OFF.)

If you load a protected cassette in recording mode, the message "THE TAPE IS SET FOR ERASURE PREVENTION" appears for approx. 4 seconds and "" starts flashing. If you wish to record on that cassette, slide the tab back to the right.

Using the Camcorder Abroad

Power Sources

You can use the compact power adapter to operate the camcorder and to charge battery packs in any country with power supply between 100 and 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz. Consult the Canon Service Center for information on plug adapters for overseas use.

Playback on a TV Screen

You can only play back your recordings on TVs with NTSC system. The NTSC system is used in the following countries/areas:

American Samoa, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Greenland, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, Venezuela, Virgin Islands.