iMovie Not Recognizing Canon ZR800 Mini DV Camcorder for Import

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Level 1

8 points

iMovie Not Recognizing Canon ZR800 Mini DV Camcorder for Import

I just purchased a Canon ZR800 camcorder so that I could import old MiniDV tapes of family videos into my Macbook Air using iMovie. I have a DV to Firewire 9PIN cable as well as a Firewire to Thunderbolt adapter that I am using to connect the camcorder. When I plug in the Camcorder and click Import on iMovie, the camera does not appear as an option under the import window. The Camcorder appears to recognized that it is connected because it properly displays the DV In message on it's screen.

Does anyone have any insight on how to get this to work properly? I am using the most recent version of iMovie and my Macbook Air is from 2015.

Thank you.

Posted on Oct 10, 2019 6:52 AM

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Answer 1

Rich839

Level 8

47,736 points

Oct 10, 2019 8:03 AM in response to jgoods1021

Hi,

Most digital tape based camcorders work with iMovie. To cover the bases, you might find it helpful to read this link on how to import from a tape based camera:

https://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.1/#/mov6af9c94c1

An Apple Thunderbolt to firewire adapter should be fine. If your computer has a firewire port you could try using that and see if it makes a difference.

Sometimes it helps to start the camcorder running before attempting the import.

If still having trouble, instead of importing directly into iMovie you might try importing to your desktop using the Image Capture app on your Mac. You then can drag the clips from your desktop or use the import button to get the clips into iMovie.

Another way would be to try importing into the Photos app. You will be able to access your clips with iMovie via the Photos item in the sidebar of an iMovie project. This is actually the recommended way.

-- Rich

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Answer 2

jgoods1021 Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 11, 2019 8:44 AM in response to Rich839

Hello Rich,

I tried all the options you suggested and the camera is still not being recognized by my computer. For example, when I open image capture, under the Devices side bar menu there are no options for the camera that is connected. Very confusing. Do you have any other suggestions? Is there any reason why my computer wouldn't be able to recognize this camera at all?

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Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

47,736 points

Oct 11, 2019 10:04 AM in response to jgoods1021

It's possible that you have a defective socket or defective cable/adapters. You could try changing out your cable/adapters, and changing to a different socket on your computer.

You might also check your camcorder's user manual, under trouble shooting, and see if there is any answer there.

-- Rich

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iMovie Not Recognizing Canon ZR800 Mini DV Camcorder for Import

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