Is it possible to transfer video from an old Panasonic Palmcorder to a Macbook?

Question

The model number is PV-DC252C. I'm sure it's old because I can't find any support on Panasonic's website.

The video is recorded onto Mini DV Cassettes and the Camcorder has a 4-pin "i-Link" "DV Interface" socket... (not sure if it's in/out or both)

I've got a year old Macbook with a Firewire port running Tiger.

Well, Tech Wizards... is it at all possible to upload my video to my Mac? If so what cables and/or software and/or incantations would I need?

Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

The Panasonic PV-DC252 is indeed a miniDV based camcorder.

That 4-pin firewire (DV, i.LINK, IEEE1394a are all the same thing) interface connects to your Mac's 6-pin firewire 400 port. Firewire 4-pin to 6-pin cables are pretty common

http://shop4.frys.com/product/4338375?si...

With the camcorder plugged into AC power and the firewire cable connected to your Mac - and the camera in "Play" or "VCR" mode, launch iMovieHD. The iMovie screen should oren to a blue "Camera connected" screen. Using the controls on the camcorder or the iMovieHD window, rewind the tape if needed - then click "Import"...

Head's up: Standard definition video uses ~ 14 gig of hard drive space per hour of imported video.

Standard defintion video is imported at real time - that is, 1 hour of video on the tape will take 1 hour to import.

I *think* this camcorder can also take stills saved to a memory card. You will use the USB port for transferring that - or a card reader... NEVER connect the camcorder to the computer with the fiewire cable and the USB cable at the same time. Bad things can happen.

From what I can tell, this is an awesome standard definition miniDV camcorder that was originally made in 2002.

I found the manual here:

http://safemanuals.com/user-guide-instru...

Kind of an odd site, but after you put the 4 digit code in, the manual downloads and is a regular pdf...