PDC-800 Camera Quick Start Guide Quick Start Guide Polaroid PDC-800 Camera Contents Introduction Using this guide What you need If you need help Safety precautions Familiarizing yourself with the camera controls Setting up the camera Taking pictures Viewing pictures you have taken Transferring pictures to your computer Connecting the camera to your computer Starting the PhotoStudio application Downloading (copying) still pictures to your computer Downloading still pictures and audio Downloading continuous mode pictures Enhancing pictures with PhotoStudio software Importing pictures to other applications Importing still picture files directly Using the Windows clipboard for all picture types Erasing pictures from the camera Erasing pictures individually Erasing all pictures at once Picture storage capacity 3 3 3 3 3 4 6 7 9 10 10 11 11 14 14 15 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 1 Selecting and using memory cards Purchasing memory cards Memory card capacities Inserting and removing memory cards Initializing (formatting) memory cards Changing the camera date and time Selecting the image quality mode Selecting the recording mode Installing PhotoStudio software Other camera features Important operating tips Extending battery life Holding the camera Taking still pictures in rapid sequence Pausing at off when moving the camera main switch Camera care and troubleshooting 19 19 19 20 20 22 22 23 24 24 25 25 25 25 25 25 PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 2 Quick Start Guide Polaroid PDC-800 Camera Introduction Using this guide Use this guide to perform the basic tasks of taking pictures with your PDC800 camera and downloading (copying) them from the camera to your computer with PhotoStudio software. For more detailed information about the camera and PhotoStudio software, refer to the PDC-800 Operation Manual and the PhotoStudio User Manual. What you need To perform the tasks in this guide, you need the following PDC-800 components: · PDC-800 camera · PDC-800 serial cable · Four AA batteries · AC adapter · PhotoStudio setup diskettes · PDC-800 LCD monitor (optional) · Memory card (optional) To use Polaroid PhotoStudio software for downloading and processing PDC800 pictures, you must also have a computer meeting these requirements: · IBM-compatible with 486 processor (Pentium recommended) · 4 MB of RAM (16 MB recommended) · 20 MB of available disk space (40 MB recommended) · 640x480 screen resolution (800x 600 recommended) · 256-color display (true color, 16 or 24 bit, recommended) · Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 operating system If you need help For technical assistance, call toll-free from within the U.S.A.: 1-800-432-5355, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Eastern time). Safety precautions Before using the PDC-800 for the first time, review the safety precautions recommended in the PDC-800 Operation Manual. PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 3 Familiarizing yourself with the camera controls Before setting up or using the PDC-800 camera for the first time, review the camera controls and connections shown below and on the next page. PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 4 + PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 5 Setting up the camera 1 Insert four AA alkaline batteries. 2 If you are using the optional LCD monitor, attach it to the camera. 3 If you are using the optional AC adapter, connect it to the camera. The adapter is highly recommended for conserving battery power during picture viewing and downloading, especially with the optional LCD monitor. 4 If you are using an optional memory card, insert it into the camera. A new card may also require initialization ("formatting"), described on page 20. 5 Set the correct date and time on the camera, if necessary. (See page 22.) PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 6 Taking pictures 1 Slide the camera main switch to REC. 2 If you're using the optional LCD monitor, turn its power switch to ON. 3 Choose either internal memory or a memory card for picture storage by pressing and holding the Select button until IN or CARD appears on the display panel. Internal memory selected Memory card selected 4 Select the image quality mode by pressing the PIC button. For most picture-taking, select N (normal) or F (fine). See page 22 for more details about image quality choices. NORMAL MODE ECONOMY MODE FINE MODE PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 7 5 Select the desired recording mode by pressing the REC MODE/ERASE button until the desired recording mode symbol appears on the display panel. For most pictures, use the Still Picture mode ( ). See page 23 for more information about recording modes. Still Picture Mode Still Picture & Audio Mode Continuous Mode Document Mode Audio Mode 6 Hold the camera properly for picture taking. Do not block the lens or flash with your fingers. 7 View the scene through the viewfinder (or press the LIVE button on the camera to view the scene on the optional LCD monitor) and compose the picture. 8 Select standard or wide-angle view by moving the Bifocal switching lever. PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 8 9 Press the shutter release button half-way to activate autofocus, then continue pressing the shutter release button smoothly all the way down to take the picture. Note: When taking several pictures in rapid sequence while in the Still Picture mode, wait at least 1 second between pictures to prevent recording errors. Viewing pictures you have taken You can use the following steps to view the pictures in the camera with television or the optional LCD monitor. If possible, use the AC adapter while viewing pictures to conserve battery power. 1 If you are using television, attach the camera to the television video-in and audio-in connectors using the camera AV cable. Turn the television on. (If necessary, refer to the television instructions for using the video-in connector.) 2 Slide the camera main switch to PLAY. If you're using the optional LCD monitor, also turn its power switch to ON. PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 9 3 Choose either internal memory or the memory card as the source by pressing and holding the Select button until IN or CARD appears on the display panel. Internal memory selected Memory card selected 4 Press the FWD or REV button to move forward or back through the pictures. Transferring pictures to your computer Before using the procedures in this section for the first time, install the PhotoStudio software on your computer as described on page 24. Connecting the camera to your computer 1 Slide the camera main switch to POWER OFF. PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 10 2 Attach the serial cable provided to the RS-232C/AUX connector (a) on the camera. Attach the other end of the cable (b) to a serial (COM) connector on your computer. 3 Follow your computer instructions to set up the serial port associated with the connector. Starting the PhotoStudio application 1 Start your computer and wait for the Windows desktop to appear. 2 If you are using the Windows 95 operating system: Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to PhotoStudio, and click PhotoStudio 2.0. If you are using Windows 3.1 or Windows NT operating system: Doubleclick the PhotoStudio program group, and double-click PhotoStudio 2.0. 3 Wait for the PhotoStudio application window to appear. Downloading (copying) still pictures to your computer 1 If possible, use the AC adapter to conserve the battery power. 2 Slide the camera main switch to PLAY. PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 11 3 Click the File menu and select Download Polaroid Files to display the Download Options box. 4 Select PDC-800 as Source. (Serial Port selection is automatic; you do not need to edit it.) 5 Click Add to Album and choose New Album as the album name. 6 Choose an image format (J6i, JPG, BMP, or TIF) from the Save Images As box. (BMP is the recommended format for applications running under the Windows operating system. See the PhotoStudio User Manual for more information about file formats.) 7 Click OK to display the Download from Polaroid Camera box. 8 To download all the pictures in the camera, click Select All. To download some of the pictures, advance from one picture to the next by clicking the >> or << button. When the number of a picture to be downloaded appears or the picture appears on the LCD monitor, click the Current Frame checkbox to select it. Continue advancing and selecting until you select all the pictures you want to download. PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 12 9 Click OK to start downloading the pictures from the camera to the computer. Each picture appears in an album frame after downloading. 10 Wait for a short audible tone from the camera, indicating that all the selected pictures have been downloaded. 11 If you want, type a description of the album contents in the Description box at the bottom of the Album window. 12 Click Save to display the Save New Album box. 13 Type a name for the album and click OK. The pictures you downloaded are visible in the Album window, and a file name appears below each picture. (The image files in the Polaroid subfolder of the Pstudio folder, on the drive with the PhotoStudio program files.) 14 To edit (rotate, retouch, crop, etc.) or print one or more of the album images with PhotoStudio software, go to Enhancing pictures with PhotoStudio software). To import the pictures to another application for editing, presentation or printing, go to Importing pictures to other applications on page 15. PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 13 Downloading still pictures and audio To download still pictures with audio (pictures taken in the Still Picture & Audio mode) from the PDC-800 camera to the computer, use the steps in the previous section. To keep the recorded sound with the file, however, you must choose the J6i format for saving the files. After saving the still pictures with audio in a PhotoStudio album, you can import them into other applications as AVI files. See Importing pictures to other applications on page 15. Downloading continuous mode pictures You cannot download (copy) continuous mode pictures directly from the PDC-800 camera to your computer. You must first record or copy the pictures onto a memory card. (If necessary, see the PDC-800 Operation Manual to copy pictures from the camera internal memory to a memory card.) Next, remove the memory card from the PDC-800 camera and connect the card to a PCMCIA adapter on your computer. After connecting the memory card to your computer as described above, use these steps to download the pictures from the card to your computer: 1 Start the PhotoStudio application. 2 Click the File menu and select Download Polaroid Files to display the Download Options box. 3 Select Disk Drive as Source. 4 Click Add to Album and choose New Album as the album name. 5 Choose J6i as the image format from the Save Images As box. 6 Click OK to display the Copy to Album box. 7 Select the drive letter representing the PCMCIA port to display all the files on the memory card. 8 Select files by holding the Control key and clicking on the file names you want to download. 9 Click Open to start downloading the pictures from the camera to the computer. Each picture appears in an album frame after downloading. 10 Wait for a short audible tone from the camera, indicating that all the selected pictures have been downloaded. 11 If you want, type a description of the album contents in the Description box at the bottom of the Album window. PDC-800 Quick Start ­ Page 14 12 Click Save to display the Save New Album box. 13 Type a name for the album and click OK. The pictures you downloaded are visible in the Album window, and a file name appears below each picture. (The image files in the Polaroid subfolder of the Pstudio folder, on the drive with the PhotoStudio program files.) 14 To import the pictures to another application, go to Importing pictures to other applications on page 15. Enhancing pictures with PhotoStudio software After you download pictures from the PDC-800 camera and display them in a PhotoStudio Album window as described in the previous section, you can use PhotoStudio software to edit or print one or more of them. To open an image file (picture) in the PhotoStudio application for editing or printing, double-click on the picture in the Album window. After the picture appears in its own PhotoStudio window, follow the instructions in the PhotoStudio User Manual to edit or print it. Importing pictures to other applications After downloading pictures from the camera to your computer, you have several ways to import them to other applications for enhancement, presentation or printing. Two effective methods are presented below, but you can also refer to your Windows documentation or application instructions for other techniques. Importing still picture files directly If you selected JPG, BMP or TIF file format when you downloaded the pictures to your computer, you can import the pictures directly into most graphics, presentation and word processing applic ...