okay heres a walkthrough, set the camera up at about 2.5-3ft for starters, turn the aiming light on and then stand in front of the aiming light to and try to get it to line up just below your waste. When you have done that go back and turn the camera to the on position. give it about 30secs and then hit the MODE button 1nce and the screen should change and it should be counting down from 30secs. Close the camera up and get out of the area before the time is up because when the time runs out the camera is live and working. Let me know if this helps or if you need more info