Camcorder/Mac compatibility

IMovie Support page:
http://www.apple.com/support/imovie/

Here is a list of compatible cameras:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/camcorders.html

What to do if your video doesn't appear in the monitor:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=165369

Hope these pages help you. Basically the advise to to get the best you can afford.

iMary

If you stick with a major name brand, such as Sony or Canon, you shouldn't have any issues. I would stay away from proprietary formats (or de defacto proprietary formats) such as Sony's mini-DVD devices. I would stick with the standard mini-DV tapes.

I've been very pleased with my Sony HC-40, which I believe is now the HC-42. There's nothing to connecting your DV camera to your iMac. Just plug the Firewire cable into the iMac and the DV Camera and iMovie will open up. Then, you simply import the movie from the DV camera by pressing the "import" button in the application.

When you import the video, the first frame of each clip will appear in iMovie. Then, to make your movie, drag and drop the clips onto the timeline. You should be able to make a quick movie in 10 or 15 minutes. It's a piece of cake.

Captain Maniac,

I use the Canon Optura 60 Mini DV camcorder with my first generation iMac G5. I have used it only a couple of times with iMovie, and more often with Final Cut Express, and have had no problems.

Have fun,
Eric.

I bought an inexpensive Samsung SCD23 from Costco a year or so ago ($299) - works great.

my Sony DCR-PC1000 is...