A neutral density filter (ND) is useful when shooting in bright light, and you can use the camcorder’s built-in ND filter for this purpose. However, sometimes, a higher density or external ND filter is required. If you have an external ND filter, this can be attached to the camcorder lens. If an external filter isn’t available, you can compensate for this by using the Tv (Shutter-Priority) mode and setting a high shutter speed, or using the Av (Aperture-Priority) mode to set a small aperture value.

If the audio level is set too high, there’s a danger that the sound will become distorted. The audio level can be reduced by using the camcorder’s microphone attenuator (12dB with an internal microphone, 20dB with an external microphone). If you’re using the camcorder’s built-in microphone or an external microphone attached to the MIC terminal, then use the MIC ATT switch for this purpose. If you’re using an external microphone connected to the XLR terminal, use the XLR MIC ATT switch.

Sometimes the lighting conditions can change within a scene (for example, a tree may come into view and cast a shadow) and this can make it hard to maintain your exposure setting. The Exposure Lock functions lets you keep the exposure setting you want. Simply switch on the Exposure Lock function and you can then manually adjust the exposure setting, even when shooting in auto mode. When you're happy with your setting, press the Exposure Lock again to store it.

The zoom ring on the lens barrel is a servo-controlled system offering very fine control. It also includes a handy Position Preset function which lets you create a single fixed focal point and then jump to it with just a single touch of a button. The preset appears as a yellow square icon in the zoom menu display.

The XL H1, XH G1 and XH A1 are great camcorders but don’t forget that they can also be used as digital still image cameras. Using the Photo Mode enables you to record images up to 2MB in size onto an SD or SDHC Memory Card. A large SD card will let you store many hundreds of images and you can squeeze even more images onto the card by opting for a lower resolution – the camcorders can record images in sizes ranging from 1920 x 1080 pixels to 640 x 480 pixels. What’s more, you can record still images while shooting video footage at the same time. Still image recording can be very useful whilst on a location, where it can be used for checking continuity, storyboarding or simply as a visual record of the shoot.

You can control your camcorder the way you want - and even transfer your customised settings to other camcorders. For example, you can assign frequently used functions (such as time code, audio level and index write) to the custom keys and also save customised settings on a memory card and transfer them to another camcorder.

You decide what information the camcorder display shows. Just run through the display button options to see a full camera display, your presets or simply the picture.

To save time you can use the custom presets function on the XL H1, XH G1 and XH A1. These offer up to nine settings that include gamma curve, knee point adjustment, master pedestal, horizontal frequency adjustment, noise reduction, coring and matrix (R-G/R-B/G-R/G-B/B-R/G-B) settings. These settings can be saved on an SD/SDHC card and transferred to another camcorder. You can also find custom preset libraries on the internet, where you can find many presets to download and use.

Digital filmmakers can achieve a film-like result by switching to the camcorder’s 25F shooting mode. If the XL H1 is adapted for NTSC shooting, it can also shoot in 24F and 30F modes. The 25F (frame recording shooting mode) can be used in conjunction with the camcorders’ CINE gamma settings to produce footage that has the look and feel of film.

All memory cards have a small protective slider that prevents you from erasing any data on the card. This can stop you accidentally erasing any important images, but it also means that you can’t write any new ones to the card. A more convenient system is to protect individual images. You can do this by first selecting the image(s) you want to protect and then pressing the camcorder’s SELECT/SET dial to open the still image menu. Select the PROTECT option and then ON and a key symbol appears next to the selected image(s). This means that the image(s) cannot be erased. If you want to delete the image(s) at a later stage, simply go back to the menu and select the OFF option. You can also use this system to protect any Custom preset files stored on the card.

Don’t forget that you can also use your camcorder to record video from an external source, both analogue and digital. If you’re recording a digital signal, you can opt to copy the original time code by using the COPY option. If you want to add a new time code, select REGEN and the camcorder will generate a new one.

Your camcorder’s remote control handset doesn’t just allow you to operate the camera from a distance, it also offers a numbers of additional features including the ability to return to a pre-marked position on the tape by pressing the zero set memory button. You can also use it to find index points written onto tape, and search by date.

Not everyone you shoot will have perfect skin and sometimes there’s a need to conceal or reduce the impact of skin imperfections. A good make-up artist can help but so can your camcorder. The Skin Detail function helps mask skin imperfections by softening areas that have skin-tone characteristics. To use the feature, open the menu, select camera ‘set-up’, then ‘skin detail’ and ‘effect level’. Here you’ll find a series of options for adjusting the hue, chroma, area and Y level. These are adjusted by using on-screen sliders and then set by selecting the SELECT/SET dial. Close the menu and the camera is set up.

If you want to take low angle shots with an XH A1 or XH G1, two features will help to make this process much easier. The first is that recording and zoom controls can also be found in the carrying angle, so you can hold the camcorder towards the ground and still control the shoot. The camcorder’s LCD screen has a swivel design, so its angle can be altered to give you a good view of the shot whatever the position. Next to these extra controls is a lock switch which can be used to prevent accidental operation.

When you’re shooting a CRT screen or some other displays, the shot can be ruined by black bands or flicker caused by the camera and display scanning frequencies being out of sync. The Clear Scan Function on all Canon pro camcorders helps to eliminate this problem by allowing you to adjust the camcorder’s scanning frequency (from 50.2Hz to 200.3Hz). To activate Clear Scan, you need to switch the camcorder to Tv or M mode and then use the small shutter dial at the front of the camcorder to set the shutter speed to CS (this involves scrolling through a set of speeds in the viewfinder screen). Once this is set, you open the Camera Menu and select Camera Set. Scroll down the menu and then select Clear Scan. Then, adjust the frequency until the black band disappears and close the menu.

The built-in microphone on the XH series of camcorders has a number of settings that can help you make the best sound recording possible. If you go to the Audio Setup setting on the menu, you can select Normal mode (for everyday recordings), Voice (for recording speech) and WS (Wind Screen – for reducing wind noise). The WS setting is especially useful when shooting outdoors under windy conditions. Note that using the Wind Screen may suppress some low frequency sounds. You can also select the microphone sensitivity using the Audio Setup menu. There are two modes to choose: Normal, for everyday conditions, and High, for recording the audio at a higher volume. Simply select the setting you want, close the menu and your Canon XH camcorder is ready to record.

If you’re operating Canon’s XH or XL series camcorders in autofocus mode, you can quickly and easily revert to manual focus mode. This is useful when you’re in a situation where the AF system is finding it hard to stay in focus or fix onto a subject. To go into manual focus mode, you simply turn the focus ring and the AF mode is automatically overridden. To go back to AF mode, you simply release the focus ring.

Canon’s camcorders are designed to connect easily to a computer and are equipped with an IEEE 1394 (sometimes called a DV or Firewire connection) port. Many modern computers (PC and Mac) also have an IEEE 1394 port for transferring digital video at high speed. You’ll need a separate cable to connect both pieces of equipment and it pays to check that your camcorder and computer use compatible ports (there are four-pin and six-pin versions of the IEEE 1394 port, but adapter cables are available). Your computer will also need some way of capturing video, as well as editing software. Whenever transferring video to or from a computer, make sure your camcorder is set-up for the correct video signal, which could be HDV, DV or DV footage that has been down-converted from an HD source. You can do this by adjusting the settings in the SIGNAL SETUP menu.

The 16:9 format is the standard aspect ratio for most broadcast and video productions, and Canon’s XL and XH camcorders record pictures in this format by default. Their viewfinders are also optimised for 16:9 viewing. But there may be times when your footage is destined to be viewed on a 4:3 monitor or TV screen. In this case, you might want to switch the aspect ratio on your camcorder. If you’re using an XH A1 or XH G1, just go into the menu, select SIGNAL SETUP and then SIGNAL STD. Choose the SD 4:3 option and then close the menu. The XL H1S and XL H1 have a mode select switch which needs to be set to set to SD 4:3. Note that if you change the aspect ratio while recording, the aspect ratio won’t actually change until you have put the camcorder in the record/pause mode. A 4:3 picture viewed on a 16:9 viewfinder will have black side panels.

If you use an XH series camcorder the viewfinder is automatically disabled whenever the LCD screen is in use. However, there might be times when you want to use both of them at the same time and the camcorder is designed so that you can do this. Press the Menu button and then use the Select/Set dial to select Display Setup in the menu list; then press the dial. Now, select CVF+ LCD ON and press the dial again. Press the Menu button to come out of the menu, and you can now use the viewfinder and LCD screen together.

Canon’s camcorders offer useful features for times when you’re shooting in low light. The XL H1 series of camcorders has a Night mode function which works by using a slow shutter speed (between 1/3sec and 1/50sec) to improve exposure. The XH series of camcorders have three preset gain levels (low, medium and high), which the user can set between -3dB and 36dB. If you’re using the Night mode feature the autofocus system might not function as well as it does in brighter light, so you might want to switch to manual focus. Increasing the gain can also boost picture noise, so it’s best to take some practice shots and gradually adjust the gain level until you find the optimum setting.