Compatible HD Camcorder?

Ok, I'm considering buying a new HD camcorder, but am worried that whatever I buy won't work on my Mac. Even though I have iMovie 07 (I think that's what it is...), I prefer my good old iMovie HD. I know that application inside and out. My Mac is two years old and I'm still on Tiger OS, not Leopard. I have been looking at reviews for high def camcorders and have encountered lots of terms, such as resolution, some with an i or a p after them; format, media, HDV, AVCHD, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. I am familiar with some of these words, but not all. Also, if I were to get a high def camera and it was compatible with my iMovie, would I be able to burn it on a DVD using iDVD? Some of the information I've read online makes it sound like I won't be able to unless I have a blue-ray burner, which I guess are rare due to cost. Any words of wisdom? Right now I have a Sony miniDV camera I'm using and it works out nicely, but I'm starting to take video of more and more things at work (I work at a middle school), such as plays, and could really use a better picture.
Thanks
PS - If your best advice is to upgrade or update my Mac in order to use a high def camera, please give specific details on what I need and how to do it. I don't have a clue about that stuff.

To add to catspaw's good response:
The newer card/disk based camcorders have benefits (smaller, less moving parts), and card is definitely the way the industry is moving, but you will be pushing your iMac because the format used for recording to card is very processor-intensive (just so you know, HD tape cameras record in a format called HDV; card HD is recorded in AVCHD; the main difference is that AVCHD compresses more than HDV, which means the computer has to work harder to uncompress it).
I suggest you find a store that has both tape and card/disk recorders, and play with them - you can get a lot out of feel. For tape, as well as Sony, Canon do the HV30/HV40. For card, look at Canon and Panasonic.
If you like card recorders, but worry about your iMac being able to cope, you can get cheap/free software that will take AVCHD and 'transcode' it to something easier for the iMac to deal with.
Catspaw's point about archiving back to tape is well made, but you can archive AVCHD as well, simply by using the Finder to make copies.
If you can, upgrade the memory in your iMac - 1GB is very low for video editing. Also, invest in an external disk to store all this stuff - as catspaw said, it takes up a lot of space.
Couple of other points:
You can burn to DVD: ding so downconverts High Def to SD, but the quality is still excellent.
Ignore resolution - if it's HD, it's fine; but beware of the really cheap 'HD ready' camcorders. Stick with Sony, Canon, Panasonic.
i and p - i is for interlaced and it's left over from the world of old-style TVs. If you live in the US, video runs at 30 frames per second. Camcorders offer 30 full frames per second (p for progressive), or 60 half-frames (i for interlaced). All decent camcorders offer both. The differences are esthetic, not functional, when you're not a pro.
Some camcorders also offer a 24 frames per second mode (24p or 24f depending which maker), which exists solely to try and look a bit more like film (which is shot at 24 fps).
If you decide to go for a new iMac, get the biggest screen you can and at least 4GB memory.
Hope this helps, but just keep asking.

Similar Messages

I am look for a compatible minidvd camcorder

I am ready to buy a camcorder and I want one that I can import into imovie, of course. Where can I find a list of compatible cameras. Or what am I looking for exactly. Does it only need a firewire? or a certian file type?
Or maybe a camcorder that records to DVD. I do have a stream clip converter that I am a little bit experienced with. But I do want a camera thats going to let me edit my films on my mac.
Any guidence please.
thank you for your time
powerbook g4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

To the best of my knowledge there is no comprehensive list available. Even Apple's list leaves off many older camcorders than many of us know work fine with iMovie. Best thing to do it post your short list of possible buys and see if anyone here has one and can verify it works. For the most part, most DV format camcorders with Firewire ports tend to work.
iMovie is designed to only import from camcorders via a Firewire connection and DV format video. To the best of my knowledge, all MiniDV and Digital8 tape based camcorders conform to both of those things. Unless you have old Hi8 and/or 8mm video tapes you need to import, MiniDV is probably the better choice for most people over Digital8.
If you plan on doing a decent amount of work in iMovie, then you really want to stick with a tape based MiniDV type camcorder and avoid DVD or flashbased cameras as these record in a compressed format (typically MPEG2) that would have to be converted back to DV for iMovie use. As you mentioned MPEG Streamclip will do this for you, but why not start out with the better quality of DV format rather than a lossy compressed format?
Patrick

Need compatible MiniDV Camcorder for imac

I am in need of a compatible Mini DV Camcorder? Does anyone know what camcorders are compatible with the imac? Camcorder that records on the little tapes. Currently I have a Sony Mini DV DCR-TRV27. It is not recognized. I have the correct firewire cables. 4 pin to 9 pin. MySony DVD player/burner does recognize so I know the Sony is outputting a signal. I have a ton of movies that I want to import to imove and cannot. Is this a Sony model issue or is it the mini DV format issue. Any help or suggestion would greatly be appreciated!!!
Jed

Hi
Sony Mini DV DCR-TRV27
Is supposed to work. My list on this.
*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

Can anyone recommend a compatible DV camcorder for use with iMovie3?

This will be my 1st camcorder and only need to know if certain brands will/won't work with iMovie3 for simple family use. Any help will be much apprieciated! i'm on an Emac G4. thanks!

Welcome to the discussions.
iMovie 3 is the buggiest version ever. See it you can get hold of iLife '04. iLife '04 contains iMovie 4 and iDVD 4. iMovie 4 is much more stable than iMovie 3. iDVD 4 has better picture quality than iDVD 3.
For both iMovie 3 and 4, you must have a "DV" camera that uses mini-DV tapes. None of them comes with a Firewire cable, so you must purchase one separately. Firewire is also called i.Link, IEEE1394 or DV.
You can buy any currently selling DV camera as they will all work.
If you are looking on the "used" market, avoid Samsung.
Finally, don't ever empty iMovie's trash in iMove 1-4. You may lose your project.
Good luck.

Recommend iMovie-compatible HDD camcorder in $400-$800 range???

With apologies if this question has been asked before, I recently bought a Sony DCR-SR42 camcorder with HDD because I typically record for several hours at a time, making tape, MiniDVD and MiniDV inadvisable for my purposes. I'm about ready to tear my hair out trying to view the file: I was able to use VirtualPC to download the video to my hard drive via USB, but still can't view the video.
Would be happy to get this system working, buy a different HDD camcorder, upgrade to Leopard... but would appreciate it if anyone could offer recommendations. Is there an HDD camcorder that works well with iMovie? Does Leopard handle HDD camcorders better than Tiger? Should I just give up and buy a low-end PC for this purpose?
Thanks for your help!

I just got a canon HG-10, works well, image is good, and although announced as $1000+, I found it for only 750 bucks @
butterflyphoto.com/1/HG10/HG1040GB_Hard_DriveCamcorder
Just in case, I have no interest or connection with that company. I also just have a few days with the device. I am not sure why so cheap, but there are other places that is also cheaper that the 1k announced in the apple website and cannon website.

FCP compatible camcorder

I'm looking for a Final Cut Pro 7 compatible professional camcorder.
With FCP compatible I mean a camcorder that has native file recording which records in MOV or MP4, so no conversion or transcoding is needed. That way I should be able to edit videos on the fly. I want this to save time, because I work with a very close deadline.
I'll use the camera mostly for interviews.
I though the JVC GY-HM100U would be too small, I want a solid shoulder camera. At the other hand i'is very low priced, which is nice and it has all the features I need.
The JVC GY-HM700 or the JVC GY-HM700UXT would be perfect, but they're too expensive.
My budget is around $ 6000 or € 5000,-.

I have the Sony DCR HC96. It suits me fine, but your requirements are likely to be different (I'm an amateur), so I will keep to facts. It has a relatively low min. lux level (ie.., it can shoot in relatively low light). I find it does well outdoors when it is definitely getting quite gloomy. In fact, I took a shot at 5.20 am in about August and it looks just like daylight, spoiling the effect of early dawn that I wanted! It produces good images indoors with natural light.
The quality of the image is rated by reviewers as good, with good colour. Controls are easy to use and the creation of a custom menu makes accessing features easier. The Nightshot feature (infra-red light for shooting in complete darkness works well, with a throw of about 20 feet). It is totally reliable, including when Capturing. The still camera (built in) is surprisingly good - more than adequate for including in video for DVD.
The only disadvantages that I can find are that the LCD screen is difficult to see in bright sunlight - no surprise there - (I am thinking of making a hood), and the only add-on mikes available are the three offered by Sony, that work only on the hotshoe - there is no external mike socket.

Dead iSight. Will ANY DV camcorder work?

My iSight died. And at $164.89 to repair, I'm really giving serious consideration to shelling out a few extra dollars and just going with a firewire DV camcorder. I know they have the obvious drawbacks of size and complexity (but I can also make videos away from my computer, which is a plus), so I guess my question is, will ANY DV cam with a firewire interface work? If so, does the cam put a heavier load on the processor than an iSight or a USB cam would? Any minimum hardware or software requirements to make something like this work? My tower is a G4 DA with 1.5 gigs of RAM and a 1.5 GHz processor from OWC. It runs the latest version of 10.5. I also have an older Dual USB iBook, which didn't meet the minimum specs for the iSight. Think a firewire camcorder would work at all on that? It's just 500 MHz with 320 gigs running 10.4.11. Anything I need to consider, or any brands/features I need to give consideration to or, conversely, avoid? Anyone have experience doing this and has an idea of the advantages/disadvantages? Thanks!

Hello again, garygg
Will ANY DV camcorder work?
Some, perhaps even most, will.
However, if you mean EVERY when you say ANY, the short answer to your question is no.
Any Mac compatible DV camcorder that connects to your computer via Firewire will work.
My old Sony DCR-TRV17 and DCR-TRV70 both work great. However, for a time after my now-discontinued models were available, Sony sold a different camcorder called "micro-DV" camcorders that were notoriously Mac-unfriendly. These Sony micro-DVs did NOT claim compatibility with Mac, and they were not.
There may be other makes and brands that won't work, too. Check the documentation that is packaged with any camcorder of interest to be certain it claims to be "Mac Compatible" and that its instructions show how to use the camcorder with a Mac. Camcorders whose manuals or other documentation do not explain how to use them with Macintosh computers are probably NOT Mac compatible.
Of course, the best way to be CERTAIN is to try the camcorder you are considering with your very own Mac before you buy. If a DV camcorder will download the video it has recorded to your iMovie, it will work on your Mac with iChat.
If you don't know someone who will let you test his camcorder with your iChat or test a short download from his camcorder on your Mac, buy from a trusted merchant that will give you written full-price refund or exchange privileges if the camera you choose does not work for you.
As for system requirements, whether you mean requirements for a particular software application that you intend to use (such as iChat system requirements) or the requirements for a specific DV camcorder, YOU must carefully compare the stated minimum requirements with the capabilities of YOUR system. If you do not KNOW how to interpret both sides of that information, having a knowledgeable and trusted retailer is even more important.
Video streams contain a LOT of data that requires a LOT of processor power. Storing captured video requires a LOT of disk space. Transmitting video requires a LOT of bandwidth. Among other possible issues that Firewire video can raise is possible hardware or software conflicts with other Firewire or AV hardware and software. Unless you are CERTAIN, you may be best served by buying from an Apple Store or a knowledgeable Apple VAR who can answer your questions authoritatively for your personal system configuration.
I began "iChatting" with my Sony webcams before I got my iSight. My rationale for changing to iSight is show in iSight versus DV Camcorder or other web-cam, which was written years before iSight was discontinued. However, the comments about the advantages of a webcam (whether iSight or some other webcam,) still apply today.
I chose the Sony brand of camcorder because the quality and features met my amateur needs. Moreover,I was using a Sony still camera and all cables, memory cards, batteries, chargers, and cables worked on both my still camera and the new video camcorders, thus saving considerable money on ancillary items. However, you needs and budget may be different. Pick the brand, quality, features, and cost that work for you. The only thing I know to specifically avoid is any DV camcorder that is not Mac compatible.
If you have other questions, we will be happy to respond to your specifics.
EZ Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.11) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5.2) External iSight

'Source play' and 'audio-video sync' problems with PE8 on fast WIN7 64 bit computer

I am transferring Hi8 videos, about 2 hours long, to my WIN7 64 bit computer with PE8. [Dell Mobile Precision M4400 Computer Workstation (Intel Core 2 Duo T9900 500GB/4GB); NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M, 512MB] I seem to have several problems:
First, after importing the file (.avi), I get a message about ‘dropped frames.’
Secondly, when I try to play the video in the source monitor, the audio plays but the video doesn’t; it only shows the first frame [this is after waiting until the video is ?recognized? ] I can use the shift-arrow key and see that the video is there.
Thirdly, I can play the .avi file in other players, e.g., avidemux or PE pro CS5 on another computer. There, I see that the audio and video are not in sync; the audio can be up to 300 ms ahead of the video (as determined using avidemux).
Questions:
1. Why doesn’t the source monitor play the video? Is this a problem with PE8 (latest update as of 3 March 2011) on aWIN7 64 bit computer (intel duo core. 3 GHz).
2. Is the audio-video sync problem the result of the ‘dropped frames?’ How can PE8 correct this? Avoid this? Or, is it coincidence?

"I think you're telling me you're using a backwards compatible Digital8 camcorder to capture your video as DV-AVIs. Is that right?" YES
"Are you using Premiere Elements to do this capturing?" YES, AS ABOVE PE8
"Go to the File menu and select Properties. It should show a standard DV codec being used for your video and audio."
WMP v12 is dumb. Under properties, media, it says 'video.' However, avidemux gave me the information state above: video -- Codec 4CC: dvsd, frame rate: 29.971 fps; audio -- codec: PCM, channels: Stereo, frequency: 48 kHz.
So, back to the Questions:
1. Why doesn’t the source monitor play the video? Is this a problem with PE8 (latest update as of 3 March 2011) on aWIN7 64 bit computer (intel duo core. 3 GHz).
2. Is the audio-video sync problem the result of the ‘dropped frames?’ How can PE8 correct this? Avoid this? Or, is it coincidence?

What's the best webcam for Mac with tilt/pan/zoom?

I am trying to find a good quality webcam to use for videoconferencing with my Mac (MacBook Air actually). The camera is to be positioned on the 60-inch screen on the wall in our boardroom so the built-in Facetime camera doesn't do the job. It needs to have tilt/pan/zoom (in software). When I started on this search I had no idea such a thing was going to be so hard to find. There is no shortage of such products for Windows but I can't find a single one for the Mac.
There are a lot of webcams that claim to support Mac but on closer investigation not a single one of them (that I've found so far anyhow) provides any conrol features like tilt/pan/zoom - nor even brightness and contrast control for that matter. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places because it's hard to believe the Mac world really is lacking such products. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Would be much appreciated.

You're most welcome, Julie.
dreamdoc wrote: ... I don't have a cam corder, but that's a great solution ...
If you are still shopping, you might be able to find a compatible used camcorder at a local store that sells used cameras or electronics. One with a failed tape mechanism that otherwise works would likely be very low priced. The same store may also have compact tripods.
Because your MBA is so portable, it is easy to take with you so you can test any camcorder before you buy to be certain it meets your needs.
dreamdoc wrote:... I also appreciate the reminder to close out my inquiry...
Per the Respond to answers tutorial page, you decide when to mark an answer that "solves your question."
I certainly did not intend any reminder. As a user like you, I have not authority to remind or otherwise instruct you about your participation in Discussions. As explained in ¶ 1.11 of Apple Support Communities - Terms of Use, the Apple Hosts would be the ones who would address any concerns with you if necessary.
Have fun shopping!
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac OSX 10.8.5

Built-in iSight Camera with iMovie

Since my upgrade to Mavericks, I've never been able to use the camera from my Macbook in iMovie. Because when I wanna import video (or record), it says "No Device Connected." Is this a problem? Thank you in advance.

You're welcome,bimmerfan
I understand your frustration, but with the software changing and improving so much all the time, such problems are not uncommon. If you have one, in addition to importing video recorded on the camcorder, you can use a Mac-compatible DV camcorder that connects via Firewire as your direct recording source with iMovie HD 5.
Another alternative cheaper than upgrading your iLife would be to record with the latest QuickTime Pro and then import the QT file into iMovie HD 5 for easy editing.
BTW, Thanks for the !
Cheers,
EZ Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.11) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5.2) External iSight

SONY Digital Video Camera DCR-DVD 201 and iMovie

I have a sony Digital Video Camera
Posted: Aug 6, 2006 6:59 PM in response to: max Farina
Reply Email
Can I use this Digital camera with my MacBook Pro
it is a SONY DCR-DVD 201
I do not see a firewire port on the camera ONLY a USB.
How can I get my video from my DVD to iMovie?
I want to put my home video from this camera to iMovie, Can it be done?
I am going nuts, I paid alot of money for this camera and now I can't use it in my new Mac?
I am very new to Mac and this hurts!
PLEASE someone help me, I only see a USB, DO they sell some thing to help get the Video into iMOVIE?
Thanks......

Search this forum for "compatible, DVD camcorder" and you will find many threads where people lament this truth:
iMovie is for miniDV formatted video connected via Firewire.
Mini DVD camcorders are designed for you to do very light editing on the camera before you finalize the DVD and don't support being imported into a computer. Anyway, many of the experts here know of converters and workarounds, if you want to spend some more money. You could start with these threads:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2404104&#2404104
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2288697&#2288697
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2243781&#2243781
Somewhere I have read a pretty detailed thread describing what converter you need and how to do it. So just keep searching...

Poor photo quality in finished i movie

Hi,
I have just completed an i movie project that contains video and many still photos imported from i photo.
These photos were scanned in at 200 dpi - probably would have been better at 300 - but what's done is done. Now that the movie is burned to i dvd, the photos are grainy and noisy.
Do you have any advice that could help the quality - shy of rescanning and redoing the entire project?
thanks.

Yes there's a big difference between what you see on the iMovie screen and the TV screen. It usually looks better on TV but way cropped. Dang!
If you have a iMovie compatible digital camcorder with analog to digital pass-through (such as my Canon ZR40 and others) you can monitor it through the TV as you edit to see what it will look like. The signal can pass both ways.
Connect the camcorder to the mac by firewire (dv). Connect the camcorder to the TV using the S-Video (if it has it) or compostite video connection and L/R audio out. I know some newer camcorders don't have S-Video in/out but they should at least have composite, i hope, otherwise ya can't do it. I don't know about the other makes but that's why I like the Canon camcorders from 3 or 4 years ago (ZR40,45,50,60,65etc) -- they had the inputs and outputs needed like firewire(dv), svideo, compostite video, audio in/out, mic input, headphone output, and the all-important analog-digital/digital-analog pass through without having to record it to tape.
Open iMovie and in Preferences under Playback check the box that says "Play DV project video through to DV camera" (a "minor" detail I was overlooking myself until recently). When you turn the camera on and start working in iMovie it should play through to the TV.
Sometimes instead of the TV I connect the camcorder to the DVD Recorder (S-video) and record straight from the mac through the camcorder to DVD-R in the 1 hour XP mode on the set top recorder. Even though it goes analog it comes out better than iDVD or Toast at their highest settings and you don't have to take all that time encoding and burning. Only drawback no fancy menus just whatever ones the DVD Recorder has.

Sorting out freezes in Vista

I've been having multiple problems with Adobe Premiere Elements on Vista since i bought it about a week ago. i cannot do ANYTHING (even import video files) without the whole screen freezing and me having to restart the computer. bear in mind that I can still move the mouse, however ctrl+alt+delete fails to work and i cannot click anything.
okay guys, i am going to copy and paste the system requirements for you so that you can see if your computer actually meets them. I realised that whilst i'm having problems, I should at least attempt to help others too! to check, go onto (Vista) control panel/system and maintenance/system .
~ 2GHz processor with SSE2 support; 3GHz processor required for HDV or Blu-ray; dual-core processor required for AVCHD
~ Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2, Windows Media Center, Windows Vista®, or Windows 7
~ For Windows XP: 512MB of RAM (2GB required for HD editing, including HDV, AVCHD, or Blu-ray)
~ For Windows Vista and Windows 7: 1GB of RAM (2GB required for HD editing, including HDV, AVCHD, or Blu-ray)
~ 4.5GB of available hard-disk space
~ Color monitor with 16-bit color video card with up to date drivers
~ 1,024x768 monitor resolution at 96dpi or less
~ Microsoft DirectX 9 or 10 compatible sound and display driver
~ DVD-ROM drive (compatible DVD burner required to burn DVDs; compatible Blu-ray burner required to burn Blu-ray discs)
~ DV/i.LINK/FireWire/IEEE 1394 interface to connect a Digital 8 DV or HDV camcorder, or a USB2 interface to connect a DV-via-USB compatible DV camcorder (other video devices supported via the Media Downloader)
~ QuickTime 7 software
I realised that actually I only have 1.60MHz and 1015MB RAM and so that's probably a contributing factor. but any other help that can be offered would be gratefully accepted!
Kindest Regards, Lucy xx

With a minimal system, I would strongly recommend looking over the tips in this ARTICLE, which will help getting the very most from your computer, for an editing session.
There are several FAQ entries (accessed via the link to the right of the main forum screen), on optimizing Vista, one's computer, and also setup to help with video editing. I strongly recommend reading down those entries, as they are filled with great and useful tips.
Good luck,
Hunt

What's the best webcam

needs a 1080P HD Webcam for my macbook pro for video blogs that my company wants me to start doing from my computer.

You're most welcome, Julie.
dreamdoc wrote: ... I don't have a cam corder, but that's a great solution ...
If you are still shopping, you might be able to find a compatible used camcorder at a local store that sells used cameras or electronics. One with a failed tape mechanism that otherwise works would likely be very low priced. The same store may also have compact tripods.
Because your MBA is so portable, it is easy to take with you so you can test any camcorder before you buy to be certain it meets your needs.
dreamdoc wrote:... I also appreciate the reminder to close out my inquiry...
Per the Respond to answers tutorial page, you decide when to mark an answer that "solves your question."
I certainly did not intend any reminder. As a user like you, I have not authority to remind or otherwise instruct you about your participation in Discussions. As explained in ¶ 1.11 of Apple Support Communities - Terms of Use, the Apple Hosts would be the ones who would address any concerns with you if necessary.
Have fun shopping!
Message was edited by: EZ Jim
Mac OSX 10.8.5

Camera Graininess (video noise) on the iSight

Help- I have some really bad camera noise on the iSight and it seems to be in every application (iMovie, Quicktime, iChat). I'm wondering if my iSight is broken, or I'm doing something wrong?
I took a screen shot of it, with all the lights in the room on. It was very bright, and I'm still getting a lot of camera noise. help!
You can click on the image below to see the full sized screen shot.
Message was edited by: Fausto Fernos1

Hello Fausto Fernos1
What application did you use to capture and enlarge this image? Your full-sized image is 991x736 pixels. iSight's native resolution is 640x480. Any camera noise is exaggerated when you enlarge the image beyond the native resolution.
Considering the size of the webcam image you have made and the quality of your lighting, your picture does not look "really bad" to me. However, if you want higher quality images, consider using a compatible Firewire camcorder for your video webcam needs. Most 2MP or higher digital still cameras will deliver better still images than any webcam.
If you want to try for better quality than this with your external iSight, try making another image when you can use daylight to illuminate your location. As explained in Use good lighting for the best iSight picture, the KIND of light you use is as important as the AMOUNT.
For some other suggestions, consider the suggestions in Improving Your iSight's Picture.
If you want other ideas, consider the How to test your (external) iSight to ensure it is functional suggestions for taking your iSight to a different location or a different Mac to see if the image quality is the same.
Finally, operating temperature can also effect camera noise. If your location is unusually (uncomfortably) hot, or if your iSight's air vents have been blocked so its temperature has risen, consider a cooler environment or unplugging your iSight for an hour to let it cool before repeating your tests. If your location is subject to atmospheric dust, consider gently vacuuming your iSight to remove any dust that may be restricting the flow of air through the vent holes in iSight's case.
Please let us know how it goes.
EZ Jim
PowerBook 1.67 GHz w/Mac OS X (10.4.11) G5 DP 1.8 w/Mac OS X (10.5.2) External iSight

Compatible HD Camcorder?

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