QuickTime Pro? iMovie? iveZeen? BTV Pro?

I would like some input as to suitable software for my purposes. Eventually I want to make HD digital movies, but as a first step I simply want to explore the possibilities of digital movie making by using the iSight camera on my G5. This is what I want to do at the moment:
+1. Use my iSight camera to capture up to 90 minutes of footage in one go.+
+2. Edit and combine that footage with preexisting footage. Nothing fancy, just simple abrupt scene changes.+
+3. Sound is not essential, but would be good to have to explore the possibilities.+
It is surprising to me how difficult it is (for me) to do the first step. Here are the difficulties:
+* The iMovie (version 5) that came with my G5 doesn't recognize the iSight camera;+
+* BTV Pro accepts input from the camera but seems unable to capture more than a few minutes without problems (it was last updated in 2002 so I suppose its a wonder it works at all);+
+* iveZeen doesn't allow recording until you purchase a licence -- and I'm not buying sight unseen.+
So it appears I'm left with two choices (correct me if I'm wrong): buy Quicktime Pro or iLife 2009 so that I can get hold of a version of iMovie that works with my iSight camera.
For my simple requirements, which is the best way to go at this stage?

Hello Guy,
If your Mac is working correctly, QuickTime Pro will do what you want (and MUCH more). I include the caveat because of your statement that your iMovie does not recognize your built-in iSight camera and that you are having problems recording long clips with non-Apple Software.
All digital video recording places a heavy load on your Mac due simply to the size of the data stream that you are capturing and storing. Do everything you can to lighten your Mac's load while recording video:
  • Quit all apps before launching your digital recording apps.
  • Run only the one app while you are recording.
  • Add RAM if you have not already done so.
  • Make sure that your Mac OS X Maintenance is up to date.
   (10.5 does this for me automatically, but my 10.4 and earlier
   OSX Macs that do not run 24/7 require this maintenance.)
  • Make sure you have LOTS (50-75%) of free disk space
   so disk-writing does not slow your Mac.
Hopefully, the only reason that your iMovie will not recognize your built-in iSight is that you need a newer version of iLife. As stated in this Apple kBase article, To use the built-in iSight ..., use iMovie HD 6 or later. 
I think that Apple now sells iLife '09 only. iLife '09 requires that you use Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later, so you will need to look elsewhere for an earlier version of iLife unless you plan to upgrade your Mac OS. At this time, versions earlier than iLife '09 versions are still available from sources other than Apple if you so desire.
For example, iLife '06 (which contains iMovie HD 6) still shows as available from some internet sources.
Alternatively, iLife '08, which contains iMovie '08 (version 7.x), is still available at my local Apple resellers and VARs, so you may still be able to find this version in your area. Your iMac G5 (iSight) meets the iLife ’08 system requirements, so iMovie '08 (except for the AVCHD video and 24-bit recording functions, which require an iNtel processor Mac) will work with your G5 iMac (iSight).
EZ Jim
G5 DP 1.8GHz w/Mac OS X (10.5.6) PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11)   iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9)  External iSight

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    Message was edited by: Daniel Filice
    Message was edited by: Daniel Filice

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