Is iMovie 08 support Panasonic PV-GS320 3.1MP 3CCD MiniDV ?

Yes it does work. I have the PV-GS320 and it works nicely with imovie. I am however running into an issue importing 16:9 footage (since it shoots in either 16:9 or 4:3). When I create a widescreen session the video shot in 16:9 still imports as 4:3. This can be fixed with letterboxing but its a pain. Anyway I don't know if that is the camera's fault or imovie's but it is something to consider.

I have been waiting for this thread. I too have a Panasonic PV-GS320 MiniDV. However, iMovie '08 keeps crashing as I try to import the moview. Is there some sort of secret to avoid the sudden crashing of the program?? Importing the video footage through iDVD is ok though. Whats going on?

I've got a GS320 as well. It doesn't import in iMovie 6. I can connect and use iMovie to play what I've taped directly on the camera screen, but the iMovie screen remains blue and fails to import any clips. I'm hoping once I upgrade to iMovie 8 this problem might go away, but looking at support, it doesn't appear to be that way.

Hello bkendall,

Welcome to Apple discussions.

You are doing something wrong because your Panny will definitely work with iMovie 06. Did you buy a Firewire cable? Are you setting the cam to playback and not PC when trying to import? iMovie 08 is NOT an "upgrade", as you will soon find out if you buy it. It is a different programme for different uses than previous iMovies. Anyone , like all the people in this thread, with a nice cam like the 320 would be wise to stick with iMovie 06 to get the most out of your movie making experience with the quality video you will have. Do some research before jumping into iMovie 08.

Forest

hi -- I also just bought this camera. Are you saying that the USB cable won't work and neither will the PC setting if one wants to import video into iMovie? The way I am reading the post, it seems that you need a firewire (to what sort of input?) and have camera set to playback. I am trying to figure it all out, so bear with me, please!

ahhh -- never mind, I have it figured out. One does need the firewire, which I have, but the input is under the battery, a minor design flaw IMO, And it does need to be in playback mode.

Thanks.

The USB cable will work for transferring still photos to the Mac, but not for movies. A USB-2 port on the Mac is preferred.

To transfer movies, you need to buy a Digital Camcorder to Firewire cable like the Belkin AV22001-06 (list price $35, street price $15). There are other brands; for example, Monster cable has one. One end of this cable goes into the DV connector on your camcorder; the other (firewire) end plugs into a firewire port on the Mac.

In camera mode setting (round wheel) should be playback; "Card playback mode" for still photos or "Tape playback mode" for movies.

Since you have remove the battery from the camera to get at the connectors, you have to supply power to the camcorder via the DC cable that came with it. One end of this cable goes to the camcorder connector marked 7.9V DC, the other end is plugged into the side of the battery charger, which must be connected to 110-120 VAC with the power cord.

When you set things up as above and turn the camcorder on, iPhoto starts on the Mac if the camcorder mode is "Card playback" or iMovie starts if the mode is "Tape playback." These programs can download still images and movie clips from the Camcorder.

Setting the mode switch to PC mode and connecting the camera via a USB cable mounts the SD card (still photos) as an external device on the Mac. If you do this, you'll see a file structure like that shown on page 62 of the manual. I haven't experimented with this, but it could probably be useful if you have some application other than iPhoto or iMovie that needs to see the SD card this way.

Further, I ordered a Firewire -6 -4 pin for less than $5 at Monoprice.

Thanks -- Bill