Will a mini dv camcorder work with a mac?

Question

Will it work with a mac? And can someone explain what it really is, because i am really confused

Answer 1

MiniDV tape based camcorder work GREAT with Macintoshes. It is likely your camcorder did not come with a firewire cable in the box - I don't know why the manufacturers do this...

Using a 4-pin to 6-pin firewire (IEEE1394a, i.Link - all the same thing) cable, you need to connect the DV port on the camcorder to the firewire 400 port on your Mac. Neither iMovie nor FinalCut will recognize there is a camcorder on the USB port.

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The camcorder needs to be in "Play/Edit" mode. Launch iMovie, name the project, (I presume you aren't using FinalCut), and the blue "Camcorder Connected" screen will appear - click on import... or rewind (if you need to rewind the tape)...

All Macs made in the last 6 or 7 years or so have a firewire port. The only exception is the new Mac Air.

Generally, if the camcorder uses a memory card to store stills, you will use the USB cable (that did come in the box with the camcorder) to mount that mass storage device - and it will appear on the desktop like any other drive - if you have your preferences to automatically launch iPhoto when a camera is detected, then that will launch.

Never have the firewire cable and the USB cable connected to the computer and the camcorder at the same time. Bad things can happen.

Answer 2

What it really is, is something people buy because they've been fooled by it's weird look and false claims into thinking that it's inferiority is actually an asset.