Can't import from Canon Optura 10 into iMovie

I just bought a MacBook Pro 15 inch specifically for making/editing movies. I connected a 9pin-4pin DV Firewire Cable to my Canon Optura 10 (set in Play/VCR mode). The other end of the cable was connected to the Firewire port on the MacBook Pro. I opened up iMovie. Nothing pops out. I tried importing but only the MacBook Pro's built-in camera pops out.
The DV Firewire Cable I'm using is one year old. I never used it until now. Since I bought it (1 year ago), it's been stored safely in its package. It has a lifetime warranty.
Can someone please suggest or help me? Thanks. I am very disappointed right now because I bought this MacBook Pro for only one reason --- to edit my movies --- and that doesn't seem to work so far.

Hi
May be You find help in my list.
*NO CAMERA or A/D-box*
Cable
• Sure that You use the FireWire - USB will not work for miniDV tape Cameras
FireWire - Sure not using the accompany USB-Cable but bought a 4-pin to 6-pin FW one ?
• Test another FW-Cable very often the problem maker.
Camera
• Test Your Camera on another Mac so that DV-in still works OK
• Toogle in iMovie pref. Play-back via Camera (on<->off some times)
• Some Cameras has a Menu where You must select DV-out to get it to work
• Camera connected to "charger" (mains adaptor) - not just on battery
Does Your Camera work on another Mac ?
Sorry to say it is to easy to turn the 6-pin end of the FW-cable 180 deg wrong.
This is lethal to the A/D-chip in the Camera = needs an expensive repair.
(Hard to find out - else than import/export to another Mac ceased to work
everything else is OK eg recording and playback to TV)
Connections
• Daisy Chaining most often doesn’t work (some unique cases - it’s the only way that work (some Canon Cameras ?))
Try to avoid connecting Camera <--> external HD <--> Mac but import directly to the Mac then move
the Movie project to dedicated external hard disk.
Mac
• Free space on internal (start-up) hard disk ? Please specify the amount of free space.
(Other hard disks don't count)
I go for a minmum of 25Gb free space for 4x3 SD Video - and my guess is 5 times more for 16x9 HD ones
after material is imported and edited.
SoftWare
• Delete iMovie pref file may help sometimes. I rather start a new account, log into this and have a re-try.
• Any strange Plug-ins into QuickTime as Perian etc ? Remove and try again.
• FileVault is off ? (hopefully)
Using WHAT versions ? .
• Mac OS - X.5.4 ?
• QuickTime version ? (This is the heart in both iMovie and FinalCut)
• iMovie 8 (7.1.?) ?
• iMovie HD 6 (6.0.4/3) ?
*Other ways to import Your miniDV tape*
• Use another Camera. There where tape play-back stations from SONY
but they costed about 2-4 times a normal miniDV Camera.
• If Your Camera works on another Mac. Make an iMovie movie project here and move it
over to Your Mac via an external hard disk.
(HAS TO BE Mac OS Extended formatted - USB/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange WILL NOT DO)
(Should be a FireWire one - USB/USB2 performs badly)
from LKN 1935.
Hi Bengt W, I tried it all, but nothing worked. Your answer has been helpfull insofar as all the different trials led to the conclusion that there was something wrong with my iMovie software. I therefore threw everything away and reinstalled iMovie from the HD. After that the exportation of DV videos (there has not been any problem with HDV videos) to my Sony camcorders worked properly as it did before. Thank you. LKN 1935
from Karsten.
in addition to Bengt's excellent '9 yards of advice' ..
camera set to 'Play' , not rec/computer/etc.?
camera not on battery, but power-line?
did your Mac 'recognize' this camera before...?
a technical check.
connect camera, on, playback, fw-connected...
click on the Blue Apple, upper left of your screen ..
choose 'About../More..
under Firewire.. what do you read..?
More
• FileVault - Secure that it’s turned off
• Network storage - DOESN’T WORK
• Where did You store/capture/import Your project ?
External USB hard disk = Bad Choise / FireWire = Good
If so it has to be Mac OS Extended formatted
----> UNIX/DOS/FAT32/Mac OS Exchange is NOT Working for VIDEO !
mbolander
Thanks for all your suggestions. What I learned is that I had a software problem. I had something called "Nikon Transfer" on my Mac that was recognizing my Canon camcorder as a still camera and was preventing iMovie from working properly. After uninstalling Nikon Transfer and doing a reboot, everything worked great.
I never liked the Nikon Transfer software anyway--I guess I'll get a cheap card reader and use that to transfer photos in the future.
*No Camera or bad import*
• USB hard disk
• Network storage
• File Vault is on
jiggaman15dg wrote
if you have adobe cs3 or 4 and have the adobe bridge on close that
or no firewire will work
see if that halps
DJ1249 wrote
The problem was the external backup hard drive that is connected, you need to disconect the external drive before the mac can see the video camera.
Yours Bengt W

Similar Messages

Trouble importing from canon t4i into imove

So I have a canon t4i and I've been having trouble importing my videos from my memory card to imovie, and iphoto wont even let me upload it. I tried converting it to AVI (which took a few hours) and It's still not doing anything. I don't know what to do and it's really frustrating.

Hello Samantha3232,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
For more information on this, take a look at:
Some video clips may not import into iMovie when using the Camera Import window
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4485
From the File menu, choose Import > Movies.
In the dialog that appears, select your camera from the sidebar.
Locate and select the video clips on your camera that you would like to import.
Click the Import button.
Best of luck,
Mario

Can't import from Canon Rebel into Yosemite iPhoto.

Updated to Yosemite 10.10, iPhoto 9.6, which recognizes my Canon Rebel T5i and shows a video but won't import because "there's a problem downloading" which tells me nothing. Any ideas?

I had posted this issue in multiple spots so I'll answer in general and paste everywhere for others to learn what's taken me hours to figure out. I've spent nearly a work day dealing with his issue, needed the video for a work project. Anyway, short answer to a known problem, call Canon (or your camera manufacturer).
Turned out my video wasn't corrupt. I had to take the card out of the camera and insert into Mac's SD slot (which is a card reader so you could go the USB card reader route) and imported directly into iMovie. Downloading into iPhoto, Image Capture and even dragging onto my Desktop still wouldn't work for some unknown reason (probably related to my old laptop) but I was able to finally import the video as a .mov file directly from the card.
For newer Canon cameras, there is no communication setting of Normal and PTP in the menu settings as both the Canon rep and another commenter reported. The Canon rep said they are updating their utility to Yosemite OS 10.10, that it wouldn't take 6 months but he couldn't commit a timeframe. You don't need the camera software anyway if you're tethering and importing into iPhoto.
Seems the easiest solution is inserting card into computer SD slot or using a USB tethered card reader. Hope this helps save others some aggravation although I've learned my lesson about early adoption and "upgrading" to new Apple OS. If it ain't broke.....wait, then wait some more.

Can't import from my camcorder into iMovie

I have a SonyHDR-XR150E camcorder but imovie will not import video when I've connected it to the computer.

One thing to double-check when you connect the camera to the Macintosh is to always strictly follow these best practices.
Get the power adapter for the camera, plug it into the Mains, plug the camera into the adapter
Reboot the Macintosh
Power on the camera, place it into Playback/VCR mode
Connect the camera to the Mac using the USB cable supplied by Sony
Launch iMovie
Go File Menu > Import from Camera and see if it recognizes the camera
These aren't hard and fast rules, but a way to help troubleshoot where in the chain of events things may be going wrong.

Video clips imported from an iPhone into iMovie ver 6 are rotated 90 degrees; how can I fix this or avoid it?

Video clips imported from an iPhone into iMovie ver 6 are rotated 90 degrees; how can I fix this or avoid it?

iMovie works best with uncompressed audio. If your track is MP3 or AAC, you may get better results by converting your track to the AIFF format and then using that in iMovie.
You can do this in iTunes. Go to iTunes/Preferences and click the General button. On the General page, click the Import Settings button. Choose IMPORT USING: AIFF ENCODER.
(note: remember what you changed it from so you can change it back later, before you import another CD)
Now, in iTunes, select your track. Then click FILE/CREATE NEW VERSION/AIFF VERSION.

Re user tip: How can I import a homemade DVD into iMovie for editing? - I've followed instructions so far so good, until I get to "You can then FILE/EXPORT USING QUICKTIME and choose Apple Intermediate Codec as your video codec. " How do I do that?

Re AppleMan 1958 excellent user tip: How can I import a homemade DVD into iMovie for editing? -
I've followed instructions with success until "You can then FILE/EXPORT USING QUICKTIME and choose Apple Intermediate Codec as your video codec. " How do I do that?
I installed MGEG Streamclip 193b8 and used their utility to install quicktimempeg2 and got a message stating it was successfully installed. (I'm on latest Maverick 10.9.2 on iMac) Then I dragged the VIDEO_TS file from my home DVD into the streamclip app. It asked which of 4 files to use, and I selected the first one. Streamclip played the video with the sound. so far so good. but now I cannot figure how to use quicktime player 10.3 to export this vob file out of streamclip.

Thank you for your quick reply and for clearing up my confusion. I'm exporting the first section now. I choose the smallest size, 3x4 but I'd prefer to go higher as this DVD was originally a VHS home movie. I'm wondering if after three conversions (VHS,->DVD->MPEG) the resolution will be so poor as to not support a larger size frame? If it can, what size should I select when I export?

Running LR 5.6 on OSX 10.9.4. Can't import from Canon 7D. Any ideas?

Running LR 5.6 on OSX 10.9.4. Can't import from Canon 7D. Any ideas?

For future reference, if there is an error message, you should probably quote it in your original message on the subject.
"Could not be read" indicates that you do not have WRITE permission to the destination directory when you try to import, so change your permissions.
"not recognized" might indicate the camera card itself is corrupted or the card reader is failing ... or the problem might go away if you change your permissions.

I have OSX 5.8 and I used imovie to create a DVD. Can I import the DVD back into imovie?

I have OSX 5.8 and I used imovie 09 to create a DVD. I have deleted the project. Can I import the DVD back into imovie in order to edit it?

How to Import DVD to iMovie Free to Create Your Own Videos
http://www.macxdvd.com/mac-dvd-video-converter-how-to/import-dvd-to-imovie-free. htm

How can I import a powerpoint file into imovie?

I am trying to import a powerpoint presentation into imovie keeping the transition times. Can you help?

How to add a Powerpoint presentation to iMovie:
http://www.wikihow.com/Add-a-PowerPoint-to-iMovie

I can't import from my iPhone into Aperture anymore

Since upgrading last night to 10.10.3 and running the new Photos app, I'm unable to import from my iPhone into Aperture. My iPhone does not show up in the Import pane. Anybody else seeing this? or am I missing something?

I agree that Apple screwed Aperture users. I don't understand why. Over the last few years, Apple has dumbed down some applications which makes those apps much less useful. Then they slowly start adding some functions back in for a couple of years then nothing. Look at Pages. It still is missing features that the old pages had.
Apple should have simply given Aperture to everybody and maybe implemented a Simple User function for those people that don't need professional features. Here was an app ready to go and what does Apple do? Get rid of Aperture to come up with a "toy" replacement, as somebody on these discussion boards mentioned. I'm very disappointed in Apple and the direction that some of these apps are taking. I used to enthusiastically push Apple products to everybody but now I mind my own business. It's a sad state of affairs. The whole quality has gone down. All this reminds me of Apple before Steve Jobs took over. Somebody needs to crack the whip over there and focus on quality and useful apps AND listen to the users.

Problem importing 720p from Canon 7D into iMovie at "Full original size"

When I import 720p footage into iMovie from my 7D at "Full original size" , it seems to be reducing them to the "Large" size 960 x 540. When I try to export to QT file at 720p 16:9, it comes out 960 x 540. Any help much appreciated

You're right it should work .... but in practice not always.
You have the latest and greatest mac laptop but your camcorder is frankly a bit dated. So my suggestion is to give it the signal that it wants.
You might want to try this little puppy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812191015&nmmc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Adaptersand+gender+changers-_-SIIG+Inc--12191015
along with a standard 6 pin to 4 pin FW 400 cable. It might be choking on the faster FW 800. This is just a guess though.

How can I import from homemade DVD to iMovie ?

In converting VHS to DV in iMov I use the original 1988 camcorder for obvious tracking reasons. However, I have one tape that was left in the hot sun on my dashboard and, no surprise, is very flaky, but only in camcorder playback. This happened years ago and I had to transfer the (tape only) into a new cartridge. And since I was playing back from a newer VCR it did as well as could be expected. Then last year I put all my VHS tapes onto DVD thru a Panasonic HD/DVD recorder. Since my homemade DVD has no copy protection why can't I import into iMovie? My only other option is to copy from Panasonic to DV tape and then import to iMov and I worry about quality losses with only S video coupling. All my tapes went to HD and DVD in XP mode (1 hour per DVD).

Hi,
See this thread: QuickTimeKirk, "copying dvd to imovie project" #1, 08:53pm Oct 9, 2005 CDT
You'll need to convert the dvd back to a form iMovie can import, details are in that discussion. Hope that helps.
Vicki

Can't import ESP mode Video into iMovie...

I can't import video recorded in ESP mode into iMovie or Final Cut. Is there some trick to it, or am I kinda screwed?? PLease help me if you can..

If your camera has analog inputs, then yes. Unfortunately, today that's a big "if" as most cameras only has analog OUTputs (to play on a TV).
From VHS to DVD
Give New Life to Old Movies
http://www.macworld.com/2004/05/features/fromvhstodvd/

Importing from Sony DV into iMovie & getting Darker video image

Importing from Sony DV (Video quality looks great on video LCD screen) into iMovie & getting Darker video image. After I import into iMovie the video image is darker, making in harder to edit. I appreciate any help with understanding how I can improve the video quality when importing.
Thank you

Welcome to discussions!
You may just need to adjust your monitor.
http://www.danslagle.com/mac/iMovie/tips_tricks/6008.shtml
Plus, it will look better on a TV than your monitor.
Sue

Can't import from Canon GL2

Just bought a Mac in September. Used to Windows and I'm clueless. How do you get video to import to Imovie 09 from a Canon GL2? Do you have to use a firewire port or can you use the USB ports? The computer doesn't recognize my camera at all. Any and all help greatly appreciated.

The Best Buy guy is clueless.
You need no drivers from CAnon.
If it is a new Mac, it is FW800.
You can click on the apple logo at top left.
Then click About This Mac.
Then click Additional Information.
You should see a list of hardware.
Go down to the fire wire section.
You can tell from the speed.

Can't import from Canon Optura 10 into iMovie

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for