Toshiba PDR-M81

When shooting the Auto Record mode you can quickly select one of the Program AE Scene modes if the color LCD is enabled. In the upper left is the SCENE icon, you press the center of the 4-way jog switch and it displays the Scene mode options. Move up or down to select Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night Scene or 16-shot mode.

You can change the image size or quality, the focus or flash mode but all other exposure settings are controlled automatically by the camera.

In Manual Record mode you have access to the full range of exposure control and capture modes. There's an onscreen histogram as well as display of the shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation.

Here's an animated look at the Manual Record options:

EXP - Program AE, Aperture or Shutter speed priority, full Manual

WB - White balance (Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent 1 or 2, Incandescent

AE - Metering mode, Matrix or Spot

S/C - Single, Continuous or AE Bracketing

Pressing the MENU button in Auto or Manual Record brings up this screen of options:

PREVIEW - Display pictured captured on LCD for 2 seconds

COLOR - Color mode: Standard, Vivid, Monochrome or Sepia

ISO - Normal (100), 2X (200), or 4X (400)

SHARPNESS - Normal, Soft or Hard

CONTRAST - Normal, Strong or Soft

DIGITAL ZOOM - On or Off

LCD* - Adjust brightness of LCD display

The PDR-M81 is capable of capturing motion video with audio at 15 frames per second. The image size is selectable between Full (320 x 240) and Half (160 x 120).

Turning the Mode Dial to the Setup position gives you access to:

AUTO POWER OFF - Settable for 1, 2 or 3 minutes

SOUND - Turn beep sounds On or Off

TIME&DATE - Set the internal clock

OSD LANGUAGE - Set the menu language

VIDEO OUT - Video out format: NTSC or PAL

QUALITY - Set the image size/quality

SYSTEM INFO - Submenu with Firmware version number, Card Info, Reset all camera parameters to default.