The sub-cam is a camera that records video from a first-person view. A minature digital camera is attached to a set of glasses, which the operator wears. The resulting video captures the head and body movements of an active participant, thereby recording what the operator is attending to. Used alone the sub-cam can provide powerful ethnographic data because it provides a first-person perspective of activity; it can also be used in conjunction with another digital camera to provide simultaneous first person and third person perspectives on an activity.

Make sure the two NP-F550 batteries and the NP-F950 battery are charged.
Check the day before you want to use the sub-cam that they are charged and if they are not charged, charge them overnight.

To check that the batteries are charged you can either: (i) put them in the charger and see if it denotes that they are fully charged; (ii) put them in the subcam (see step 1 below) and check the battery power (see step 7 below). The battery charger is in the DEW Hut.

(If you need extra help beyond this tutorial you may want to refer to the guide for the sub-cam in the equipment bag.)

1. Put the two NP-F550 batteries in the battery case of the control unit/camera. (Make sure that the arrows on the batteries face inward, towards each other.)
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2. Put the NP-F950 battery into the MiniDV player.

3. Plug in the red, white, and yellow plugs off of the control unit/camera into the MiniDV player. (There are color-coded entry jacks on the MiniDV player. Open the door on the right side of the MiniDV player to access the jacks.)
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4. Strap yourself into the sub-cam.
   • Attach the shoulder strap to the control unit; the plastic hooks on the strap fit into the slits at the ends of the battery casing on the control unit. (Make sure the hook and the slit with little red stickers fit together.)
   • Attach the clips on the shoulder strap to the MiniDV player.
   • Put the shoulder strap over your head so that it rests on your right shoulder and hangs diagonally across your torso. (Make sure that the cable attached to the sub-cam is coming out of the top of the control unit and the MiniDV cables are coming out of the bottom.)
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5. Attach the sub-cam to the glasses.
   • Remove glasses from case and open the earpieces.
   • Slide the clip of the sub-cam over the right earpiece. Push forward until firmly secured.
   • Take the cap off of the sub-cam lens.
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6. Put the glasses (with sub-cam attached) on.

7. Flip the metal switch on the top right hand side of the control unit to the right (away from the black switch). This turns the sub-cam on in auto-mode. (If you want to use manual-mode see the instruction book for the sub-cam in the equipment bag.) Red lights will appear under the transparent cover of the unit; these provide an indication of the battery power level. The red lights will diminish as the battery power decreases.
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8. Turn on the MiniDV player. You should see output from the sub-cam in the view screen of the MiniDV player. If not, check set-up and battery power levels.

9. Put the tape in the MiniDV player, if it is not already put in.

Center the field of view of the sub-cam.

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Once you are strapped into the sub-cam you need to center the field of view of the sub-cam: align it with your the field of view so that the center of your field of view is the center of the field of view of the sub-cam.

To do this, close your left eye and focus on a central point in your field of view. Hold the MiniDV player up next to that point and adjust the sub-cam (it rotates up and down and side to side) until your central point is in the center of the MiniDV player frame.

Now you are ready to record.

1. Simultaneously press the two red buttons, "Record" and the one next to it, on the MiniDV player until the red light turns on.(picture)

2. Close the screen of the MiniDV player. (It can be dstracting if open.)

3. Periodically evaluate (every 5 min. or so) the alignment of the sub-cam with the MiniDV player output by opening the screen of the player and following step 11 above.

4. Press "Stop" on the MiniDV player when done to stop recording.

1. Make sure to clean smudges off the glasses with the cleaning cloth stored in the glasses' case. Then replace the glasses into the case.

2. Make sure to detach the shoulder strap from the control unit.

3. Make sure to remove batteries from the control unit and the MiniDV player. Place the batteries in the charger for the next user.