Brand: Canon
Category: Camera
Document Type: Manual
Language: EN
Available Languages: EN , ES
Manual for ES50/ES55
Uploaded: April 20, 2026, 7:48 p.m.
Manual Publish Date: 2000-01-01
Warranty Information
No explicit warranty information is provided in this document.
Basic Operation
Powering Your Camcorder: Provide power from an AC outlet or charge a battery pack. Connect the AC cable to the power adapter, open the terminal cover, connect the adapter to the camera's DC IN terminal, and plug into an AC outlet. Always turn the camera off before connecting/removing the power source.
Charging the Battery Pack: Set the POWER switch to OFF. Attach the battery pack to the camera, aligning the triangle with the line. Plug the adapter into an AC outlet. The charge indicator flashes to show progress (single for <50%, double for 50%-75%, triple for >75%). It glows steadily when fully charged. Disconnect after charging.
Loading and Unloading Cassettes: Press the EJECT button. Insert the cassette gently with the window facing out. Remove by pulling straight out. Press the PUSH mark until it clicks to close the compartment.
Basic Recording: Turn the program selector to the A (Auto) position. Open the STANDBY cover (PAUSE appears). Press the start/stop button to begin recording (tally lamp flashes, REC appears). Press again to pause. The camera turns off after five minutes in pause mode.
Zooming: Turn the zoom control towards W to zoom out, T to zoom in. Move the control slightly for slow zoom, farther for faster zoom. Press W/T buttons on the wireless controller for picture angle. Turn digital zoom on/off with the D.ZOOM button.
Playing Back a Cassette: Attach power, turn program selector to PLAY. Load cassette. Press the button to start playback. Use the FFWD (►►) and REW (◄◄) buttons for fast forward/rewind.
Troubleshooting and error codes
| ? Problem | Possible Solutions |
| Nothing appears when pressing buttons. | - Camera not powered (p. 15). - No cassette inserted, or cassette protected (p. 13). - Tape has ended. - Battery depleted or not secured (p. 11, 54). - Different recording program needed (p. 38). |
| Camera disconnects by itself. | - Left in recording pause mode for over five minutes (p. 15). - Battery depleted (p. 11, 54). |
| Start/stop button does not function. | - Program selector not set to camera mode (p. 15). - No cassette loaded or cassette protected (p. 13). - Tape has ended. |
| No image in viewfinder. | - Program selector not set to camera mode (p. 15). |
| Video light does not turn on. | - Program selector in PLAY mode. - STANDBY cover closed. - Bulb has reached end of service life. |
| Play button does not function. | - Program selector not set to PLAY (p. 19). - No cassette loaded (p. 13). - Tape has ended. |
| Bright stripe on screen. | - Bright scene light may cause a vertical stripe during recording. |
| Playback image is bad. | - Clean video heads (p. 62). |
| No image on TV screen, though tape is running. | - Video heads need cleaning (p. 62). - TV/VIDEO selector not set to VIDEO (p. 21). |
| Wireless controller does not function. | - Remote control sensor is off (p. 29). |
| Indicator lamp does not flash. | - It is off (p. 30). |
| Power indicator is flashing. | - Check viewfinder indicators (p. 68-69). |
| Malfunction. | - External interference may cause temporary malfunction. Reinsert power source and backup battery if necessary. |