Canon FS100 and MacBook

[GuyanaBoy]

Hi,

I just purchased a Canon FS100 and am trying to use it with my MacBook. Can't seem to download the videos.
Anyone got any ideas. . . I have been working on this all day and can't seem to figure it out.

Thanks,
GuyanaBoy

[digitalfrog]

I'm going to pick one up tomorrow, and I also have a macbook so I should be able to give it a try very soon.

Are you happy with the camera so far ?

Thx

Ralph


Hi,

I just purchased a Canon FS100 and am trying to use it with my MacBook. Can't seem to download the videos.
Anyone got any ideas. . . I have been working on this all day and can't seem to figure it out.

Thanks,
GuyanaBoy

[GuyanaBoy]

I LOVE this camera. In fact, I think it is my favorite camcorder of all time.

I like the SD card recording, I like the size of the Camera, I like the quality of the pictures it takes, and several other details.

I am glad you will have the same thing. . .maybe you can figure out how to download the video and then tell me. LOL I still haven't figured it out.

Please let me know when you make some headway. And let me know what you think of the camera.

GuyanaBoy
"Steve"

[I3eXa]

cant you just hook up the camera and run image capture???

[digitalfrog]

Good, glad to see some great feedback about his camera.

How about using a SD card reader versus plugin the camera to the macbook, can you read the files then ?

[GuyanaBoy]

Well. . .I haven't figured out how to do a video capture (and it seems to save it into a format that iMovie doesn't recognize.)

When I remove the card and put it in a card reader, all it does is download still images.

I know there is a way to do this. . .I just haven't found it yet.

GuyanaBoy
"Steve"

[GuyanaBoy]

Well. . . for whatever reason, when I plug the camera into the computer, then plug into the A/C cord, then turn on the Camera. . . the Camera Image Window opens. . .but stops responding.

I mean it has been plugged in for hours. . to no avail.

Hope someone comes up with a solution.

GuyanaBoy
aka Steve

[digitalfrog]

I won't be able to help for a few days..... Canon screwed up and did not deliver the shop... I will have to wait until at least Tuesday to pickup mine :-(

[S P]

Hey all, first post.

I just picked up an FS100 on Friday myself and was having trouble too, so Googled and found this thread, and saw questions but no answers. Bummer! :o So I just fiddled around and figured it out.

The files that the camera makes are .MOD, which of course no computer has any idea of what to do with.

Tried renaming them to .MPG. Nope
Tried renaming them to. .MOV. Nope.
Tried renaming them to .AVI. Bingo! :D

I have the free VLC player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) installed and they cranked right up on that after renaming them to .AVI.

Even easier though, just plug the camera into the computer with a USB cable (you must have the DC adapter plugged in too even on a fully charged battery which is annoying), then open up iMovie (not iMovie HD) and it automatically imported all of the stuff on the camera for me. Pretty slick! I've never used iMovie either and it's pretty intuitive and easy to figure out. I was able to select a specific portion of a video, rotate it 90 degrees, and export it as a Quicktime for emailing after like 5 minutes of fiddling. So easy, this is why I switched over to Apple coming up on 2 years ago now! Awesome! :)

Don't bother with the Canon software. I installed the Mac related stuff but it's basically useless and does nothing, unless it just happened to install a driver that allowed iMovie to see it and import the files off of it. Who knows. I'm planning to junk bin all of the Canon stuff though.

Is anybody a member over here? http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7085835

That poor fellow was completely misled but I don't feel like registering over there too. No need at all to return it. :confused: In case it matters, I have a newer iMac with 10.5 installed, and iMovie 7.1.1. The guy over there was probably correct that iMovie HD is setup for miniDV and Firewire (it appeared to be quite useless with my FS100) but certainly no need to return it. iMovie not-HD works just fine.

I've been into digital photography for a few years and have a few DSLRs, but the FS100 is my first foray into digital video. It's great! Honestly have no idea how it compares to the other rigs out there, but it's exceeding my expectations as far as quality so I'm happy. Love the small size and compactness. I specificially wanted this one just because it's small enough to squeeze into the lens slots in my DSLR bag. The other hard drive and DVD based ones were all too big and clumsy, so then I'd just end up leaving them at home if they're a pain to carry around and miss stuff. Not with this one though! :cool:


- Steve from the DC burbs

[comptr]

Do All of you have imovie 08 or the latest final cut express. :confused::confused:

[GuyanaBoy]

Okay Steve. . . I feel like I am getting closer.

So tell me what I need to do to rename the files. Where do I go to do this and how do I do this. . . .

Then maybe I will be where you are in terms of this.

I do like this camera, but if I can't use it, it really isn't going to help me alot.

Thanks for the input.

GuyanaBoy
AKA Steve

[GuyanaBoy]

Well. . . .the latest development.

I used the card reader that came with my memory card. . .

I had iMovie up and running. As soon as I plugged it in, iMovie asked if I wanted to capture, and downloading the file. I can use it with ease. (I DID NOT RENAME THE FILE EITHER.)

This is odd, and I don't know what I did, but it is working.

Interestingly, if I am using the CAMERA, plugged into the USB, the Canon program opens, but then freezes.

Anyway, i can finally use it and it downloads just fine.

Don't know what happened.

I will keep you posted.

And by the way, the video is EXCELLENT. I really like this camera.

WOW!

GuyanaBoy
aka Steve

[S P]

You can manually rename the files using the Finder and just change xxxxx.MOD to xxxxx.AVI and it'll run through that VLC player in its native format. iMovie converts them to a Quicktime format I think, and there may or may not be some quality loss from that, but I'm pretty pleased either way.

[GuyanaBoy]

Well. . .
Thanks everyone! I finally have all the issues taken care of, and really do like this camera. I knew that a solution would be found. . . I just wondered how.

Now. . . off to enjoy the camera!

Thanks again!

GuyanaBoy
aka Steve

[digitalfrog]

have fun with it.

Canon can't deliver them in volumes here in the Netherlands, so I will have to wait longer :-(

[berkleeboy210]

I just got this delivered a few days ago. I just went out and picked up a 4gb SDHC card and a reader together for $29 at best buy.

Shot some test footage and removed the card from the camera, inserted it in the reader, opened iMovie '08 and it recognized it and imported all my videos.

Surprised at how well it works with the Mac, and the quality is pretty darn good for Standard Def.

Haven't tried with the supplied USB cable, but I know with a Card Reader, just open iMovie '08 and your set to go.

[grabula]

Hello! I also just bought a new Canon HF100 (PAL-version, I'm in Finland, Europe) and I'm very happy with the quality of videos and photos with it. From my LCD-tv everything looks fine, but problems will appear when trying to transfer video into my MacBook.

Before the purchase I studied many websites and found lots of positive information about compatibility and success with HF100 and iMovie '08/Final Cut Express 4.0. Even the official Apple document informs about the compatibility.

But now after trying to transfer my own footage to my brand new Intell MacBook 2.4 GHz, I have found that videos will transfer but are all messed and pixelated when inside iMovie or FCE4. I have tried using both ways: using card-reader and connecting camcorder via usb-cable. Both ways will work similarly: videos will play perfectly when watched via capture-window of iMovie or FCE4, but videos got corrupted after transfer. It looks almost like my MacBook had a bad video-codec; sound is ok, but the video is full with artifacts.

I have also tried both available framerates (25p and 50i), but the problem stays the same.

Now I would like to know If anyone had similar experiences with HF100 and iMovie? Is there someone who's using succesfully PAL-version of HF100 with iMovie or Final Cut Express 4? Any help and advice is greatly appreciated!

[digitalfrog]

the HF100 is different to the FS100, so what applies to one may not to the other.

[digitalfrog]

Well, I could finally locate a FS-100 which I picked up earlier today.

I'm very disappointed so far by the image quality. I'm a professional photographer but a video noob.

Not sure what's wrong, there are few settings to play with that I can feel would improve the quality. Yes, I'm the highest quality mode at 9Mb/sec.

It seems there is too much contrast, but the worse is a huge interlacing which actually is almost like jagging. It's very poor in my opinion and I really hope this a user error because otherwise I will bring it back on monday - byte the bullet and take a hv-30.

What I describe here is with a direct connect from the camera to the TV. I checked the videos on my laptop (after using sdcopy) and it's about the same.

There is a kitesurf competition tomorrow, I will do more testing and try to upload some clips....

[grabula]

My bad! Naturally FS100 and HF100 are different beasts. Sorry for the mix-up!:o

Luckily I managed to find a solution for my problem. After removing all the unnecessary (non Apple) video codecs from the QuickTime library, everything went fine when transferring video from the camcorder/cardreader to iMovie '08 or FCE4. So no problems here anymore!:)

[fitz07]

I also am having problems with the fs100. when I use my card reader to load video to IMovie08...only some of the thumbnails are showing up. Can anyone offer any suggestions. I'm really frustrated. I've used the camera on 3 separate occasions to record video. The first recording shows up no problem...it's the second and third recordings that show an empty thumbnail.

[digitalfrog]

For the record, I gave my fs100 back and bought a Canon HV-30 instead. Not the same price range, but oh boy it is a different world...

[yorkieroyal]

Hello everbody.

Saw all of the issues mentioned above, but renaming the file didn't work and VLC also failed to play the camcorder generated file. Also iMovie'08 just sat there and failed to pickup the USB connected camcorder.

Managed to get imovie'08 to finally recognise the camcorder by updating iMovie'08, interestingly after the first update completed it asked me to check again and found another update for iMovie'08. After the second update iMovie'08 fired up and instantly recognised the FS100 that was connected directly via the supplied USB Cable (no Card Reader needed).

After that it all works a treat.:)

I hope this helps.

[gpt3]

just cross-posting an answer I found at discussions.apple.com (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7337061)

mpeg streamripper (http://www.squared5.com/) is a free program that converts mpeg clips. It supports Quicktime and DV formats which should work with Final Cut and iMovie. You may also need Apple's MPEG2 Playback software which is $20 from the Apple Store (http://store.apple.com/us/product/D2196Z/A).

[kblf]

We have had the same problems with our newly purchased Canon FS100 (had to leave it behind when we went on vacation because we couldn't figure out how to use it). iMovie was not recognizing the .mod format and was not importing the movies.

Here's what worked for us. We bought the new iMovie 08 and then went to the Apple site and found the update (http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovie714.html) (7.1.4). With iMovie 08 and the update it all works fine. I am thrilled that it was this easy because I am not a techie at all!

I have to say, though I like the camera, I find it unbearably annoying that the ac adapter has to be plugged in to import movies. It just makes it really cumbersome! Canon really needs to come up with a better way.

Also annoying that the supposed geniuses at the Apple store have no idea how to fix this problem.

[mynameisshawn]

I have to say, though I like the camera, I find it unbearably annoying that the ac adapter has to be plugged in to import movies. It just makes it really cumbersome! Canon really needs to come up with a better way.

I heard that if the camera is importing and the battery dies the files might become corrupt.

[aztec911]

I cannot seem to get these to work. I have a macbook and can'f figure out how to download the video off of the card onto imovie. I saw something about being able to use it with imovie but not imovieHD (which is what I have). Any suggestions? I am at a loss at this point!:confused:

[gpeden]

Hi there aztec911,

When I tried using iMovie HD it would not work, but works fine with iMovie '08.

Kblf,

I don't like having use the AC adapter to import movies as well, especially while camping. This is one of the reasons that I decided that the built-in memory in the FS-11 that I purchased was of no real value to me and partly why I returned it. Memory cards work very well to work around this, with either the FS-100 or the HF 100 I ended up getting. Per suggestions on another thread here:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=514751

.... I put the 8 gig card in a card reader and download directly to a disk image created for it on an external portable firewire drive (no AC for it either) for storage while I travel. Of course one could just import into iMovie direct from the card if one isn't into saving a copy elsewhere until later. Also, that size file will fit nicely on a dual layer DVD for archiving purposes. Using this method I can fill 3 of those memory cards that I have while shooting and download them to the hard drive at the end of the day and do any processing much, much later. The camera needs AC only for charging and that's bad enough :)

Cheers!

Glen

[aztec911]

Well.....I guess I need to probably upgrade to the ilife 08 stuff. I am just learning how to use most of this stuff. Is the 08 version pretty much the same? Pretty easy to use? Do you konw if the 08 and the older version can be used together to make one movie? Can some editing be done on the 08 and the older versions and still be put together to make one movie?

[eljuan]

It used to work like a charm - just connect canon hf100 to macbook pro but in the camera I switched to 24fps and now mac no longer recognizes the camera?

Can anyone help? I will very, very much appreciate it and will return the favor!!!

* I have the latest software, hardware, plugged in everything, checked mem card. Am stuck.:mad:

[shady825]

Please HELP!
I just got this video camera today. (FS100)
I have iMovie 08 but dont use it. I use iMovie HD. Is there any EASY way to get the movies off the camera? As of now im having to use iMovie 08 and save each individual clip as a .m4v movie THEN open them in iMovie HD and go about my editing business. This is a pain in the butt! I have a Canon digital camera that takes movies and i can simply use my SD card reader but NOOOO not on the video camera!
WHY CANON WHY!?!?!?!?!?

Any help will be greatly appreciated and probably keep me from killing myself! :)

[shady825]

Please HELP!
I just got this video camera today. (FS100)
I have iMovie 08 but dont use it. I use iMovie HD. Is there any EASY way to get the movies off the camera? As of now im having to use iMovie 08 and save each individual clip as a .m4v movie THEN open them in iMovie HD and go about my editing business. This is a pain in the butt! I have a Canon digital camera that takes movies and i can simply use my SD card reader but NOOOO not on the video camera!
WHY CANON WHY!?!?!?!?!?

Any help will be greatly appreciated and probably keep me from killing myself! :)

ANYONE? any tips on this situation??

[blackluger]

I am having the same trouble with my Mac 24". Although I have windows installed, I have been successful in downloading on that side. But no luck in downloading the movies to Mac OSX.:confused:

[shady825]

I am having the same trouble with my Mac 24". Although I have windows installed, I have been successful in downloading on that side. But no luck in downloading the movies to Mac OSX.:confused:

yea this is ridiculous!! Apple sells this camera in there store!? There must be an easier way for this!

[kmonahan]

I've intently read all the posts installed all the required software to have my FS 100 files recognized on my powerbook G4 and I Movie 05. I have been able to successfully have all the files convert from streamclip then to I Movie. The issue is...degradation of the video...it looks nothing like played prior to transferring to streamclip then I Movie....lastly, the time...it takes me 15 minutes just to go through this whole process for a 2 minute clip...i hope i'm doing something wrong because that is way too long!

Any help would be appreciated.

[DPA]

I've intently read all the posts installed all the required software to have my FS 100 files recognized on my powerbook G4 and I Movie 05. I have been able to successfully have all the files convert from streamclip then to I Movie. The issue is...degradation of the video...it looks nothing like played prior to transferring to streamclip then I Movie....lastly, the time...it takes me 15 minutes just to go through this whole process for a 2 minute clip...i hope i'm doing something wrong because that is way too long!

Any help would be appreciated.

Whenever you compress and/or convert a video file, or audio file for that matter, to a smaller file size then you will lose quality. What are you converting the files too. If it is a QuickTime movie file (.mov) then what are your settings? Are you using H.264? What format are the video files before you convert them? Depending on the type of compression and exporting you are doing, it could very well take 15 minutes to just export the 2 minute clip out of MPEG Streamclip.

David

[gkarris]

I went online and looks like this video camera records to MPEG-2, just like my Sony MiniDVD Camcorder.

I use VisualHub (or in this case, Handbrake the DVD) to transcode to something iMovie HD recognizes, DV in the highest quality mode. No degregation here...

[gpt3]

.it looks nothing like played prior to transferring to streamclip ...i hope i'm doing something wrong because that is way too long!

MPEG Streamclip has a quality setting that you can adjust. It may be called bits-per-second or something like that.

It's a hassle but it's a workaround until you can upgrade to the new version of iMovie that is reported to work straight away.

[kmonahan]

I'll have to become more adept at the settings. I have NOT fooled around with them. I just converted the movie recorded on my cannon (video type escapes me since I don't have it with me) to MPEG-4. Not sure if that helps, this is all new to me. I guess the issue could be rectified if I could install the new version of IMovie, however I have looked at the specs and it will not work on my Powerbook G4...is that the case? Is there a work-around?

[gpt3]

I have looked at the specs and it will not work on my Powerbook G4...is that the case? Is there a work-around?

It wouldn't surprise me that new version of iMovie won't work on an older mac.

MPEG Streamclip is the workaround I use. After I capture/transfer the clips from the FS100 I use use Streamclip's batch mode to process them -- select the files and hit GO. It takes about an hour to process an hour's worth of clips.

Try increasing the quality settings. My mac mini is in the shop or I'd get a screen grab for ya.

I know it's a hassle but once the clips are converted they should work in Final Cut and iMovie.

[xwchriswx]

Hey guys, new to this. But i bought a FS100 Canon. And i have the Imovie 6.0.3. And i tried to upload it to Imovie but it wont work. I dont have the card reader, and i dont want to buy one. Is there any other ideas. I have the mac 10.4.11 Please any ideas. I read this whole forum and found nothing. HELP

Chris

[guitarchick2182]

yeap. just got an fs100 today. wanted to transfer some sample videos to test it out and now problems!

i've read through this thread a dozen times. So here are some questions i have:

1. I dl VLC player and converted it to H.264 but there's no audio. Any suggestions?? I tried converting it to mp4 but the video quality is horrible.

2. If i bought the mpeg2 codec off apple, would i just be able to rename the file from mod to mpeg and have it work fine?? (BY fine i mean able to use it on imovie).

3. Also, I tried looking around on where to dl imovie 8 but no luck. all i have is imovie hd. For imovie 8 (would i still need a firewire cable to be able to import my videos on to it)

Thanks! I really need some help on this matter asap

[Caplak]

moved

[drew2]

Do All of you have imovie 08 or the latest final cut express. :confused::confused:

For Final Cut users: if you have VisualHub installed, you can drop the .mod files into it and convert it to .dv.

If you don't have Visual Hub yet, then you're out of luck. Techspansion has discontinued the software.

UPDATE: I just saw somebody else address this above. Sorry for not reading to end of thread.