Import Canon ZR 200 mini DV camcorder into M1 MacBook Air

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Import Canon ZR 200 mini DV camcorder into M1 MacBook Air

HI all. When I first purchased the MacBook Air I was able to import some mini DV tapes into the MacBook Air using a bunch of adapters and cables. I tried it again today and it is not working. I can see the camcorder in the import menu of iMovie, but I can't get it to import. Nothing happens when I click on it.

In looking at the supported camcorders it looks like Apple has dropped support for mini DV camcorders in iMovie 10.3.1. Is there anyway to roll iMovie back to an earlier version that supports it? Or could it be a Monterey issue? I saw where someone had the same issue recently with FCP.

Thanks.

MacBook Air (2020 or later)

Posted on Dec 29, 2021 4:15 PM

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Rich839

Level 8

47,280 points

Dec 29, 2021 6:51 PM in response to pwr26

Even though tape based cameras are not listed on Apple's supported list, in actual fact most of them are supported. You need a firewire cable coming out of the camera and the appropriate adapters to connect to the thunderbolt socket on your MacBook Pro, if it doesn't have a firewire socket. No guarantee that it will work, however. DV import into iMovie 10 is somewhat hit or miss.

Try getting the camera running before starting the import process, as sometimes that will kick start things.

Take a look at the thread in the link below for some info that may be helpful to you, particularly thesurreyfriends post at the end for a discussion as to what cables and adapters are required:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/252658303

I am not sure about iMovie 10.3.1. If import into iMovie doesn't work, but your camera is recognized, you can try importing into the QuickTimePlayer app. Or, import into the Photos app and then access your videos from the Photos item in the iMovie project sidebar. For the latter to work your Photos library would need to be designated in the Photos app general preferences as the system photo library.

-- Rich

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