Canon Optura 600 Camcorder

I have tried to connect to two Macs a desktop and laptop and neither will recognize that I have connected the camcorder to transfer a movie. I looked at Canon's site and there were no downloads available for drivers etc...I am running Leopard and both macs are updated fully.

Hi Steven,
iDVD does some strange things with aspect ratios. It basically stems from the way it deals with the aspect ratio flag that your DVD player uses to set the screen resolution. iDVD internally sets the aspect ratio of the project to 16:9 auto pan & scan and letterbox. In essence this means that the output is contolled almost totally by the settings on you DVD player and TV.
In an ideal world iDVD would give you the option to set the aspect ratio to 16:9 letterbox therefore forcing the picture to letterbox on a 4:3 TV. This would give more consistent results across varying equipment.
Added to this, some TV's and DVD players will by design cut off some of the edges of the available picture. This is normal and should be allowed for when creating your DVD. You can use the Show TV Safe option (apple T) to show the safest area to place titles and menus in.
The way DVD's work and the method by which aspect ratios are handled is a complicated subject for which there's not enough space here but if you're really interested in having a little more control over the way your DVD works then I can highly recommend myDVDedit:
http://www.mydvdedit.com
It's free and a great tool. It even has a guide to fix exactly your problem. Downside is you need a little bit of a learning curve to fully understand the way a DVD works.
Basically you could create a disk image on you hard disk and edit the results to set the aspect ratio to force a 16:9 letterbox therefore ensuring more reliability.
Alternatively you could create your DVD's as normal (ensuring that you set the project correctly to 16:9 to match your footsge) and adjust the settings on your DVD player to 16:9 letterboxed. That might work but you'd have to ensure that this is set correctly on all of the DVD players you use your disks on.
I hope I haven't confused the living daylights out of you.
David.
PowerMac G4 Dual 1.25Ghz / 1GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.5) PowerBook 12" 1Ghz / 768MB RAM

Similar Messages

Canon Optura 600 - work with the Intel Core Duo?

I am thinking of investing in a Canon Optura 600 miniDV camcorder. Does anyone know if this will be compatible or not with the new intel range?
I am planning on buying the 20" iMac later this year, when more software has been ported over, but I want to buy a miniDV camcorder at the moment.
Does anyone know if this model is compatible?
Thanks in advance guys!!!
sunomata.

I have a Canon Optura 400, and it works just fine
with my iMac G5. I see no reason why anything in the
Optura line would not work with the new iMac. I was
at the Apple Store at the Mall of America the other
day, and they were giving a demonstration of the new
iMac (specifically iLife 06), and the presenter was
demonstrating the use of a Canon MiniDV camera with
iMovie. I did not notice which model she was using,
but suffice it to say that Canon has an excellent
reputation of working well within a Mac environment.
Thanks very much!
How do you rate the Optura 400 as a camcorder?
Do you recommend me buying it?
I have had my eye on it for a while now and was wondering if that was the best of the affordable Canon range.
I think I will buy it now, but I was wondering what your thoughts on your camcorder are. Pros? Cons?
Thanks again,
sunomata.

How do I export video from a Canon Optura 30 camcorder to my iMac/ iMovies? I've tried a Firewire cable but imovies doesn't seem to recognise the camcorder.

I've been trying to export video from my Canon Optura 30 camcorder to imovies with a firewire lead, however nothing happens and imovies doesn't semm to reconise the camcorder. Can anyone help please?

Here is a compatibility chart for iMovie:
http://help.apple.com/imovie/cameras/en/index.html?lang=en_US
I did not see yours; however, as long as it has firewire, it should work. Did you read the instructions in both your camcorder manual and in iMovie on the steps needed?
If you can't get it to work after following the steps, what format does it record in? Is it on a memory card? If so, it'd be easy: just use a USB card reader, plug it in and import your footage that way.

Canon optura 600

if you are using a canon optura 600, would you please give me your comments. I of course am very interested in how the video imports into FCE. thank you joanlvh

Hi -
I am of no help either but interested in the very same because I'm having the same problem! Have you tried saving a movie on an SD card instead of tape? I wonder if it would read a movie in that format? That is my next step. Of course, I want to make it work with taped movies too! I will keep watching to see if any real answers come your way.
Is it possible to get a hold of that guy that said he got it to work and ask how?
Thank you!
mT
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

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

Canon Optura 50 capture won't connect

I have new Canon Optura 50; great camcorder, BUT my Mac will not connect/see it via 1394 in any application (FC HD/iMovie/istopmotion). I know it's not a cable etc. issue, since it sees my junker ZR10 just fine.
DV setting is set to "Basic". Please help; this is VERY aggravating.
thanks,
Christopher
Dual 2.0 G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6) LaCie 250 GB HD (Firewire 800)

The Optura 50 should be the ONLY external FW device
connected to your Mac. The Canon cams in particular
don't like any other FW device on the FW bus at the
same time. Your Easy Setup should be DV-NTSC and
your camera should be cabled (while turned off) and
then turned on in VCR mode before you start FCE.
Your ZR10 is an old camera and Canon may have changed
their FW circuitry since then.
Thanks for the specific reply. Does this mean my new external drive (connected via Firewire 800) can not be used? (This would suck, frankly, since I bought it to use with video, and it's USB 2.0 connection is not quick enough for video, I suspect)
Does the G5 Dual 2.0 have a single Firewire bus, or are the front and rear ports on a different bus?
thanks again!
(BTW, I never use that Canon ZR10 as a camcorder; it's "beater" to just use for dubs/ as a cheap deck).

Camera question: Canon Optura 50

Like others among you, I'm preparing to buy a camcorder to use with my Mac, either with iMovie or one of the Final Cut versions. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with the Canon Optura 50. I consulted Consumer Reports, and found it to be the only model they tested that was a) tape based (a propos of a valuable pointer elsewhere in these discussions that only tape-based cameras will allow post-production editing), and b) have all four of the following features, which I desire: 1) A/V input, 2) external mic input (very important to me), 3) headphones output, and 4) firewire capability.
Any feedback on this model (Canon Optura 50), or other suggestions/pointers? Thanks.

Welcome to the forum.
You don't say what program you'll be using nor what computer you have nor your mode of shooting nor your artistic goals - but here's some generic advice.
1. Canon cameras are notorious for their weak implementation of firewire and timecode - two significant issues when working with Final Cut.
2. Their implementation of the firewire protocol is non-standard. Be sure to use FIREWIRE BASIC (a reduced instruction set) as the device control protocol when working with them.
3. Canons don't play well with other devices on the same bus. Since all firewire ports on a Mac connect to the same bus, if you are using an external hard drive, you may need to install a firewire card (PCI, PCMCIA or Expresscard34 depending on your machine) to create a second bus for the camera. This isolates the camera from the hard drives. Once this happens, they may work flawlessly. If you have a computer model that lacks the capability of adding a second firewire bus, you could be SOL
4. Some Canon cameras have never had an issue connecting and capturing. Some have major issues. In fairness to the brand, other cameras have connection issues as well but not to the same extent (as it would seem from the posts on these boards).
5. Inexpensive cameras have inexpensive tape drive systems that will cost nearly as much as the camera to fix if they blow up. These cameras do not like the hammering of jog and shuttling when used as capture device.
Good luck,
x

Canon Optura 50

I have a Canon Optura 50 that will not power up. Because I have two of these camcorders I also have back up batteries and the ac adapter chargers that will interchange. The faulty camcorder is completely dead and will not indicate it is charging when plugged into either charging unit. This camera was working in the card mode and tape mode and suddenly went dead. Has anyone out there experienced a similar problem?? Can anyone help other than tell me to scrap the unit..
Ed

Hi Edward74,
Unfortunately, because the service life for this camcorder has expired, Canon no longer offers the service required to repair it. For options available to you, please contact us.
Did this answer your question? Please click the Accept as Solution button so that others may find the answer as well.

Optura 600 w Final Cut Express HD

Has anyone been able to make it work? I can use the camera fine with iMovie but Final Cut Express won't take it. At this point I feel like I need to get a new camera.

I have MVX4i that is the PAL version of the Optura 600.
It works very well, and I tried many different connections with FCE 3.5.1: capturing, playback, A/D and D/A conversion. So probably your problem has to do with FCE settings, not with the camcorder.
Piero

How to import video files from Canon HG20 HD camcorder to iMovie 09?

Hi. I have no idea how to this. I have a Canon HG20 HD camcorder. It came with software that doesn't run on Mac. How do I import the videos I took in there into my iMovie? Do I need any special equipment? All I have now is the USB cable.
When I plug it in the computer sees it but the .MTS files cannot be clicked on and whenever I try to select a file and click "import" something bounces up and says it's not a camera archive.
Can someone please give me a step-by-step guide? I'm a confused newb here =)

There's no need to manually import files on a Canon AVCHD camera like that - iMovie should be able to connect and see them automatically.
Attach the camera, and set it to movie playback mode. Some cameras require that you connect them to power while you're transferring media. You may also have to choose "Connect to PC" on the camera menu itself.
Open iMovie (if it doesn't launch automatically). Click on the Camera Import icon to the middle-left of the window (or click cmd-i). YOu should get an Import window showing you the clips on the camera/card, which you can choose individually or import all.
Matt
Message was edited by: Matt Clifton

FIX for Canon MP 600 after leopard installation

I discovered a fix for the Canon MP 600 after the leopard installation. After many challenges and troubleshooting with no positive results I tried something that worked!
Go to Applications on the HD, choose Utilities, Choose airport Utility.app. It will open and ask if you would like an update to the Airport Extreme Utility. Choose 'update' and follow instructions. I then went into the System Preferences, removed the MP 600 printer, downloaded the MP 600 driver from the Canon Website and installed it. I then rebooted the computer, went back to System Preferences, added in the MP 600 and all was working well.
I hope this helps someone.

on the 'rinting' topics, someone suggested throwing away all the drivers and downloading from the websiet. And it worked.
thanks to all who thought about it

No laughing... I have a Canon ZR 300 camcorder. I can not see it when connected via firewire in system profile and iMovie doesn't see it either. Any suggestions?

I have an old Canon ZR 300 camcorder that I'm trying to connect to my 17" MBP via 9 pin firewire (its a 4 pin to 9 pin cable as the MBP doesn't have a 4 pin firewire - figured it was backwards compatible). Anyhow, iMovie 09 doesn't see the camcorder. I checked under System Profile and then under Firewire and it doesn't see it either. In fact I get some red letters about not seeing firewire devices. I'm running Lion. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
Greg

Should using mixed wifi and ethernet clients on a timecapsule work? if so is it a feature I can use out of the box so to speak?
Thanks
No a TC cannot do what you want.. it is now in dumb stupid wireless join mode.. and it turns off the ethernet ports.. in case you want to use the TC as a wireless bridge to multiple clients which is plainly wrong.. (only airport express is allowed to do this since it has only one ethernet port).
Welcome to Apple. (The plainly wrong above is a figment of Apple imagination.. of strict network protocols.. but unhelpful for a home device. maybe also to encourage sales of expresses.)

Canon MP 600 Printer not working after Leopard Install

I installed the Leopard OS and now my Canon MP 600 printer that purchased at the MAC store with my Mac in Aug of this year. It was working properly prior to the Leopard install. I tried re-installing the printer drivers, but no change. I can see my MP 600 as the only printer available. I am also unable to even print a 'test' page. When I run the Network Diagnostics everything is fine, but no printing.
Any suggestions?

I tried this. I also tried updating the CUPS config file as was noted elsewhere. The printer is a total no-show on Leopard.
It is being served by an older G4 whose only job is to serve the printer.
On Tiger it would just *be there* to print to. All the Panther computers see it as a "shared printer" in the printer box.
In Leopard.... not a &^^&% thing.
Not happy.
deviztate wrote:
Are you using a gimp driver? I had the same issue and gimp was the cause. I went to the Canon website and found the driver I needed. After the install and restart all was well. In fact, when I opened Print Utility, I saw that the system had already defaulted to the new Canon driver. Here's the Canon link...
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=182&mo delid=12892
Navigate to drivers and downloads... Hope this helps...
-d

Canon mp 600 won't scan.

I can not seem to scan in the Leopard OS on my Canon MP 600. I was able to scan in the Virtual xp os I'm using VM fusion. Printer is disconnected and is shutdown.
Fusion is closed, I've rebooted, I can print but can't scan.

Do you have the scanner driver installed? There are separate printer and scanner drivers; visit the canon website and check out the downloads for your printer (if it is not already installed)

How do I set high resolution on my Canon Pixma 600 printer?

How do I set high resolution on my Canon Pixma 600 printer? Also the copies from my computer look ok, but when I copy them from the printer, I can hardly read the print. Any help out there? Thanks , Martha

Hello mlshouse1758.
Additional troubleshooting will have to be done to narrow down the cause of your copy issue. Please contact our support group using the "Contact Us" link below for additional assistance.
This didn't answer your question or issue? Find more help at Contact Us.
Did this answer your question? Please click the Accept as Solution button so that others may find the answer as well.

Canon Optura 600 Camcorder

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