Importing Canon HF R300 video into EXT HD (not using imovie)..??

You said you use an SDHC card? I'm puzzled why you cannot drag (copy) them. Does your Canon icon's contents on your desktop look similar to this:

Included in my folder are not only jpg's, but several video clips and I just tried: I can easily drag/copy them to my hard drive.

What are your settings for external disks, importing of photos/videos, etc? Check preferences in all of these: iPhoto, iMovie, Finder/view, Image Capture, System Preferences>CDs&DVDs, and any other photo/graphics/video application you have.

And, one more check: can you drag the video to your desktop and then copy it to the external from there?

Okay, I cannot make out anything in your screenshot - by the time I zoom in enough, it shows too pixelated and jagged. My Canon (a camera, not a camcorder) imports videos as .mov files. Can you check the tech specs of your model either in your manual or on Canon;s website and post a link to them so I can look at what the format is this camcorder uses.

If your videos are .mov files, that is the format. H264 is one of several possible compression processes used, it's not a video format. So your files are supported.

Are you referring to this list:

http://help.apple.com/imovie/cameras/en/index.html?lang=en_US

I never use iPhoto, so I'm not able to help with that at all.

Another thought: what are you trying to drag to the external - the individual files or the entire folder? Try dragging the entire Canon icon or at least the topmost folder to the external - does that work?

I'm going to try to get the attention of one of our exceptionally knowledgeable guys to look at your problem; with the time differences, it may be tomorrow though.

There's a free program out there called mpegstreamclip, have you experimented with it? It does a lot of video converting and may be able to import your files.

I thought about mentioning it since I use it, but it seems strange that s/he would need it when the files are .mov and a supported file format. I don't need it with my Canons unless I want to downsize my 1080p to 720p.

When I have videos that won't work or play, I just run it through different programs until I find something that works.

If I was having issues I'd even use Toast to see if I could import it, convert it to DVD, then rip it into something else.

If the OP has a set top DVD recorder, they could try that. Getting the video onto the recorder and burned to DVD, then rip it from there. I've occasionally had to go through a couple of conversions to salvage video files.

Have you tried using the Canon incuded software?

If the CD that came in the box only has the windows version of the software you can go the canon site at http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/camcorders/consumer_camcorders/v ixia_hf_r300#DriversAndSoftware

and download the OS X versions

Thanks, I've tried all sorts of things myself - what puzzled me here is that it can be dragged/imported into iPhoto, but not to the external drive. That is just strange.

And thanks to both of you for jumping in!

@ bms-lou:

Frank mentioned something about software. I hadn't even considered that - do you have some software installed for importing the camcorder files? Maybe that is causing a problem.

You really do not need any software to get footage off your SD card onto a Mac. None. You can use some, but unless it offers superb editing or other options you want to use, there is no need for it. So if you have something installed, can you drag it to the trash to test if it works better without it.

Also, did you check all your preferences in various places as I had suggested earlier? I have mine set so the icon simply shows up on my desktop. At that point, I can decide where it should go next. In your case, you should be able to copy it to the external then.