display question on Canon Optura Xi (MVX3i)
 

In my old Sony cam I could turn off the lcd display information while in camera mode with a display button. I have read through the Xi manual and have found no way to do this on the Xi. I can turn it off on playback for lcd and tv but not when in camera mode.

Is there any way of doing this? There is a fair amount of information on the screen and it does get in the way. It would be very nice to turn that off (for video and stills).

I love this cam and this is about the only thing that bothers me (aside from not being able to adjust gain).

Thanks for any help!
Flip

Shut the LCD door and pull out the viewfinder.

huh?
 

Are you kidding?

This does not work. This information appears through viewfinder as well if that is what you mean.

Flip

Flip

The display menu will give you some options but, if you've completely checked through the manual, then there's probably no way to toggle off all of the info.

When you shut the LCD door and pull out the viewfinder the LCD monitor will de-activate, but it will activate the much smaller viewing area of the viewfinder. If the activated viewfinder still gets in the way, cut a piece of black electrician's tape and stick it on the viewfinder. I suggest this because you seem to want the screens "off" while running the cam. :-)

Frank -- he wants the display *info* toggled off, not the display itself. You can do this on higher-end cams such as the XL1S.

Sorry for the confusion Frank. Chris is correct, I want to toggle off the information displayed on screen.

My old Sony TRV10 had a "display" button that I can turn it off. I can also do this on my Canon S45 digital camera. The information is helpful but I do not need it displayed all the time and it gets distracting.

It is not a huge deal. Almost everything else I like about this cam.

Flip

Oh. I thought you wanted to save baterry power or shoot with the monitor's off for some reason. So, you cannot get rid of the displayed info on the Xi's screen? That's a bummer. I can do this with my older DVL9500's and MX300. Sorry about the confusion. :-)

Here's a chunk of my test of this camcorder for a British magazine:

The camcorder weighs 830g. It is compact and slim, largely because of the bottom-loading mechanism – but this makes tape-changing a pain for tripod work and no fun either when the camcorder is placed on a desk wired up to an editing PC. The load/unload mechanism is quiet and quick, though, and we could switch tapes in just 12 seconds.

We found the MVX3i easy to hand hold but noticed that the loudspeaker grille faces the palm of the hand, muffling sound during hand-held playback. The side screen swivels and turns but cannot be locked back down facing outwards from the camcorder body. The screen can get cluttered but all the spam can be turned off it it’s a nuisance. The supplied battery is a tiny BP 512, which is good for about 40 minutes of every-day shooting – so a larger-capacity battery is likely to be an early purchase. The battery is charged on camcorder, but only when the camcorder is powered down.

So there you have it. You can switch it all off.

tom.