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Shooting Modes

There are four main shooting modes:

P - This is your standard automatic mode, which also sets the focus, exposure, gain, and white balance.

Tv- Shutter Priority - when you set the shutter speed, the camera automatically sets the exposure.

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To control the aperture, shutter, and gain settings in Manual mode, press the CUSTOM switch to highlight the individual settings on the LCD screen. Then turn the knob at the front of the camera to change the setting.

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When you shoot in Manual mode and zoom in, the f-stop changes automatically. The image gets darker because you narrowed the field of view and less light can reach the imaging sensor. You either need to adjust the ND filter or the gain to get the exposure right. In Av or P mode, when you zoom in the gain will adjust automatically along with the f-stop to keep the proper exposure.

There are four different looks on this camera:

Standard – the normal way we might see the image

Neutral – produces an image that’s a bit more flat, but a more natural sense of perceived resolution.

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Recommended settings for the camera:

Shoot at 1920 x 1080 and 60 fps

Use Wide DR Gamma, which achieves a wide dynamic range of 800% to produce almost seamless tone gradations, resulting in smooth detail, accurate color and virtually no blown-out highlights. It’s the closest thing to have RAW footage in a camcorder, and great for popping out detail when the footage gets color graded.

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Av- Aperture Priority - when you change the aperture settings, the camera will automatically apply the best shutter speed and gain to get the exposure right.

M - All exposure settings are in manual.

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Look Settings: to access them, tap the FUNC and then scroll to the symbol illustrated here:Ìý

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Wide DR – applies a gamma curve with a wide dynamic range, which can deliver brighter highlights – essentially it takes and then combines several different exposures of the same subject matter producing a better range of luminosity; this can produce an image that looks a bit soft. The lowest available gain setting is 9dB. This setting is the closest thing to RAW

In old school cameras, the more gain you apply, the more noise or graininess appears in the image. But with the XA50, you can up the gain quite a bit without distracting noise. Shooting in low light isn’t that bad.

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Accessing the Menu to adjust the camera settings

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At the back of the camera, press the MENU button.

Above the MENU button is a joystick control, which enables you to scroll through the menu pages. Push the joystick to make a selection. Or you can tap the screen where you want to make a selection.

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To find Wide DR Gamma, X out of the MENU screen and return to the Home screen.

• Tap the FUNC button

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Where to change the resolution?

Tap the symbol for Recording Setup. Page 1 shows Movie Format at the top.

You want the following settings:

• Movie Format - MP4
• MP4 Resolution - 1920x10800.
• MP4 Frame Rate - 59.94P
• Audio Format - 2CH

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• Scroll to locate the Looks options
• Tap on the #3 Looks setting

Inserting and Removing SD Card

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Make sure the camcorder is powered off

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Insert the card with the label facing away from the camera straight down into the slot until it clicks.

Close the card cover – cover must be closed for the camera to operate.

To remove, press down on the card. When it springs up, remove the card the rest of the way.

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Slide the SD Card switch to open the cover.

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Initializing the Card

When you use a card, whether for the first time or not, it’s best to initialize so that the camera’s firmware can communicate easily with the card. Failure to format the card to the camera’s firmware may result in corrupted data or problems with recording.

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Setting the White Balance

White balance tells the camera what is white under different color temperatures. Under sunny skies, the colour temperature appears blue to the camera; in most indoor lighting,

the color temperature to the camera appears reddish. Point the camera at something white, and zoom in to fill the viewfinder with white.

Press Button 2, located on the flip out LCD screen. Hold the button until the white balance is set. You will see the white balance symbol in the LCD screen flash until it locks onto the proper white balance.

Focus Guide

Under Camera Setup in the MENU, the Focus Guide is set to ON. The Focus Guide gives you an intuitive visual indication of the current focus and the amount of turning the focus ring until the image is sharp. When used in combination with face detection, the Focus Guide will appear in your viewfinder near the eyes of the person that's detected, or when the camera determines the main subject of the image. If necessary, you can touch the Focus Guide grid and move it to other parts of the image.

When the main subject is in focus, the Focus Guide will turn green.

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Another option that will assist you in focussing your shot is Peaking. Press Button 3 (PRE REC) to turn on PEAK, which will then apply a red highlight where the image is in focus.

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Using Focus Assist (Peaking)

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Zoom in all the way to your image, press Button 1 to switch on Auto Focus, and once critical focus is achieved, turn off the Auto Focus and zoom out to compose your shot.

Recording Audio

You can record audio using the following options:

Built-in (Internal) Microphone

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The Top Microphone (or Shotgun Mic)

NOTE: For interviews, use of an external microphone, such as a wireless lavalier, is required. Never use the camera’s internal microphone or the top (shotgun) microphone for interviews as they will record voices that sound distant and echoey.

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Connect the XLR cable that goes to the receiver in the INPUT terminal on the camera, e.g., INPUT 2 (when disconnecting to press the PUSH release button under the XLR cable and then pull it out).

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Selecting the Input Type for the MIC Terminal.

• In the camera’s MENU, go to Audio Setup > then scroll to page 4 where you will see MIC Input below
• Select MIC when using a wireless.

NOTE: The Armory Vault will set the Audio Menu to support the shotgun microphone in INPUT 1, and an external microphone (wireless) that can be connected to INPUT 2. Hopefully, you’ll simply be able to plug in the microphone and start recording with minimal changes to menu functions. However, the instructions below will guide you through what needs to be switched in the menu should the need arise.

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Selecting the Audio Input Source for Audio Channels

• In the camera’s MENU, go to Audio Setup > Audio Input Selection > [CH1/CH2]
• Select INPUT Terminals (for wireless mic)
• Press CANCEL to return to the previous screen.
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CH1 and CH2 can be adjusted separately using the thumbwheels. Set the levels during sound checks. For interviews, ask the person to speak in their normal voice (don’t have them countdown from 10), but ask them what they had for breakfast or the last movie they watched.

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External – via INPUT terminal/MIC terminal.

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Connecting an External Microphone (wireless lav)
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NOTE: Before you connect the wireless receiver to the shoe, open the LCD viewfinder first. Otherwise, once connected, the wireless receiver will block movement of the flip open LCD.

Attach the wireless receiver to the shoe accessory from back to front and tighten the wheel so that the connection feels solid.

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Select the Input Type for the INPUT 1/INPUT 2 Terminals – Switch to the desired microphone for the device that you’re using. For example, if the wireless is connected to INPUT 2, switch the input type for INPUT 2’s audio settings to MIC.

NOTE: When using a microphone that requires phantom power (a shotgun microphone requires power from the camera), then set the audio switch to MIC+48V. Do not connect or disconnect microphones and other audio devices from any INPUT terminal when the corresponding INPUT switch is set to MIC+48V as this may cause damage to the camera and/or audio device.

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NOTE: A quick way to access the Audio Menu is to press the AUDIO STATUS button in the CH1/CH2 audio level switches compartment. Then press the joystick and the Audio Menu will come up.

Adjusting the Audio Record Levels

The audio levels may be adjusted in the CH1/CH2 audio level switches compartment located at the rear of the camera. You can select Automatic or Manual control of the audio levels. At Automatic, the camera will adjust the levels automatically. But for more control over the settings, use Manual for each channel.

Use headphones to monitor the quality of the audio as well. Don’t rely on the meter to gauge if the audio is being recorded. For all you know, the audio is static. The quality depends on whether the audio is free from distortions and interference, such as static, fabric running against the mic, and even sounds like air conditioning vents that could ruin a good interview.