Digital Camcorders

[chriskleeman]

My wife and I are looking for a digital Camcorder, and we've decided that a mid-line priced HD model is the way to go for us.

Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with either JVC or Panasonic camcorders and how well they interface with the Mac? I'm researching manuals for the models we're looking at, but they don't always tell the tale of truth!

They're all USB 2.0 compatible, which is no problem, none of them have Firewire, but I'm wondering if they work well with iDVD, iMovie, etc.

TIA,

Chris K

[iGuy]

I own a Panasonic PV-GS250 camcorder.  Have only had it connected to my intel iMac a couple of times.  It worked fine with iMovie.  It has been awhile since I've had it connected, but I believe I have a firewire cable around here that I bought as an extra.  Between keeping track of all my digital photos and now movies it would be a full time job.

[dolphin]

Hi Chris,

I've got a JVC GR-D250, which I've had for about a year and a half. I like it very much. It works GREAT with my iMac  2.1 ghz 20 inch G5. It works very well with iMovie and iDVD using a firewire cable. Here is a link to a movie I made and put on my HS class website which I designed and run.

Enjoy...Visit My Website

[chriskleeman]

Hi Roy,

Nice quality, good sound! funny video!

We bought a Panasonic SDRH-200 that's supposed to work well with just about everything... found one on deal at Circuit City while we're out here on the left coast, lot's of good bells and whistles, and pretty cost-effective.

So, we'll see how it goes!

Thanks,

Chris K

[hingyfan]

I am interested too. I'm in a band and want some stuff to post on the net. The tiny Canon that has a movie function is not cutting it.
I am concerned about sound quality, although the band isn't!

[chriskleeman]

Well, so far I've been playing around with the software that came with the Panasonic Camera, seems adequate, but far, I've had no success getting iMovie to import the video files.

The software that came with the camera is ImageMixer3 for Panasonic, and the basic problem is that it appears that the video from the camera is in MPEG-2 format, and iMovie wants MPEG-4 formatting. I tried creating a disc image in Toast to see if that would import into iMovie, but I keep getting the same error message trying to import either file "Quicktime can't parse the file..."

But, as I said, it looks like the proprietary sofware that comes with the camera will do an adequate job editing and creating DVD's.

Be aware that this camera is USB 2 enabled, not Firewire, so if you're thinking about directly importing into iMovie, it won't do it, because iMovie will only directly import from a Firewire interface. The video loads very quickly from the camera to the computer, as USB 2 is a bit faster than Firewire.

There's gotta be a way to convert the format, I just haven't found it yet.

But picture quality and sound on this camera seem very, very good!

Chris K

EDIT: Found a program called "HandBrake", but it's very slow to convert the file formats, I'll keep looking...

[Jack W]

Hi Chris,

Another you might check is AddMovie. It is shareware, but if I remember right, it is inexpensive.

- Jack