Help - guide me in buying a camcorder for imovie HD 6 and iDVD

Troy,

Welcome to the Discussions and congratulations on your switch.

For the greatest ease of use and flexibility with your Mac, iMovie and iDVD, I recommend getting a miniDV camera that supports FireWire.

I think it's best to avoid cameras that record directly to DVD media or to a hard drive.

There are many out there. I particularly like Sony's DCR-HC line and Canon's similarly priced Optura 50, Elura 100 and ZR line.

Matt

Hi windoze:

Welcome to discussions (and the world of mac):

I have found that Sony has the best compatibility with mac. I currently have several but I have not purchased a new one in several years...just be sure to purchase a 4-pin to 6-pin firewire as I have never seen any camera come with one! (They usually just come with a USB...) Oh, and be sure to add a decent tripod to your list! 🙂

1 gig of memory should be sufficient for what you are attempting to create.

Sue

hi windoze,
welcome to the  board 😉

ive always been a "windows" guy but no more!
shouldn't be your nic "macboox"...? just an idea... 😉

in addition to Sue's recommendation: Sony!
I did used a Canon, worked fine with iM2.. (long time ago...), now for ~3years Sony TRV14, the low-level entry model to its time, excellent pic quality (Zeiss Optics, very good single-ccd, even under low-key situations, better then teh Canon), good sound, excellent power management... 101% compatible with Mac/iM....

aah, one more thing:
get a tripod
(internal joke... but get one!)

Welcome to Mac... if you're right brained, you'll never go back.

After five days of searching and comparing, I bought a Canon Elura 100. Great camera that does everything and does it well. Be sure to get a DV (Firewire) cable or you can't hook any camera to iMovie/Mac... Radioshack has them for less than $20.00.

Don't know the inside joke, but you must have a Tripod. Handheld isn't good enough for iMovies. Trying a Monopod now, to see how it does. It may be good enough.

Teach well.

Don't know the inside joke, but you must have a Tripod.

That IS the inside joke....
in many threads, listing dozends of features for a new camera... but finally, even a 3ccd HiDef 5k$ produces headaches, when shakey-shakey pics flood from the screen...

people invest in chips, but mechanics can improve pic quality dramatically...

and the "grey folks" here allways add "tripod" to the list of recommendations..

welcome to the club ;-))

Tried handheld, but video made me sick to watch. iMovie's high level of professional quality demands good clips! Get a Tripod (or Monopod)...

Get a Sony!

to summarize:
get a Sony with a tripod!

(that thread is fun.......) 😉

you're welcome!

… just read the specs of your new toy… good decision! be sure to get a 4/6pin firewire (Sony-speak: iLink) cable included! the included usb-cable doesn't work with iMovie.

and thanks for making use of the forum's marker feature!

PS: you allready have a superb tripod? perfect! 🙂
PPS: that tripod-thing reminds me of the "allways wear a towel" on HHGG… 😉

I have been comsidering buying a camera myself but I have to ask a dumb question but why are we forced to use firewire and not USB? Is the USB port just too slow? If so why are there so many camera with USB then.


thanks,
Randy

MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Randy,

FireWire allows more than just the data transfer from your camera.

It also allows you to control your camera with iMovie. Stop, play, fast forward etc.

You can't do that with USB.

So I really think it's an ease of use issue that limits iMovie to FireWire input.

Matt

So, why do you not recommend a DVD-R camcorder for the Mac ?

Do no firewire DVD-R camcorders exist ?

panamajack,

I view DVD as a delivery format for finished content.

Cameras that record to DVD, I think are best for users who plan to do no further editing of their movies.

They can be shooting on minute and playing the finished product on their DVD player the next.

(I'm no expert, but I think the quality of the footage you get recording to DVD is less than miniDV. But even putting that aside)

For those wishing to edit their movie before arriving at a finished product then you'll want to use a editing software such as iMovie. For these users I think recoding digital video directly to miniDV tape is still the best way to go.

It's also what iMovie is designed to work with. Plug in your camera, suck in your footage and then start editing. Once that's done you move on to placing your movie in some kind of deliver format such as DVD.

Matt

Fantastic information on this thread, had been holding off buying a camcorder till now. Just going on to the Apple store now and get a copy of iMovie 6

Thanks everyone!