Canon HF-10 and MacBook

Hi,
I have a brand new Canon HF-10 and a brand new White MacBook 2.4 gHz with integrated graphics (last years model). Although it may be funny, I don't really know how to use either one yet. I am going on a trip to Disney tomorrow and am looking for advice. I have an additional 16 GB SDHC in addition to the 16 GB of internal memory. I can't see that as being an issue. What I need to know is what the best way is to dump my footage each day onto the hard drive. I have iMovie 08 on the Mac. I want to clear the footage of the camcorder each day. I understand that the AVCHD codec can be hard to work with. What is the best way to load the files onto my hard drive each day? I intend to burn each days footage to a DVD in AVCHD format when I get home. What is the maximum time I can burn onto each dual layer DVD in 1920x1080 format? What is the easiest way to do this? I need to be sure to transfer my video onto my computer in such a way that it will not change the format or the quality of the resolution to something that will be worse when I go to burn it later.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Thanks for the response and the advice. I understand what you are saying about testing first. I have that link you provided saved in my Bookmarks. I read it a few times and am still confused. I guess my question is this. If I record footage and hook up the cam to the computer via USB, will iMovie import the files in the AVCHD format or will they convert them to another format? If they convert them, how much more space does the new format use? I have a 160 GB hard drive and figure that in full HD mode, 1 hour is about 8 gigs in AVCHD format. If I record 10 hours or so of footage that will be around 80 gigs of space. I need to know what the easiest way is to transfer the files to the hard drive in raw format so that I can do some small editing and burn them later. Thanks again for any and all help.

Thanks very much for the help. It is certainly appreciated. I had some trouble following the directions but they did get me close enough to get the job done I think. What I ended up doing was Disk Utility>File>New>Disk Image From...and then choose the AVCHD file and name it whatever and sent it to my desktop where it shows up as a DMG file. One thing I am unsure about is the fact that when I connect the camcorder I get 2 icons on the desktop. One is CANON and the other has the USB pic, which is how I am connecting it. Is the AVCHD file, which is found in both, the same? The sizes were not quite the same. The CANON icon led me to a larger AVCHD folder so I used that one. Also, I assume that I need to "eject" all of these icons before I disconnect the computer, but I am not sure why. Again, I am brand new to Mac. As far as burning these disk images I am creating to DVDs, is there a preferred method? I plan on using iMovie unless there is an easier or better way. Thanks again for the help. For my settings on the camcorder, I am using the "P" mode, recording in 60i (I am hoping that I am not making a mistake with this choice), with FXP resolution, image stabilization on, and everything else on auto. Another question about the Canon...is there any way to have the camcorder switch automatically from the SDHC card to the internal memory? It wouldn't be good if I was taping and it got cutoff because I ran out of one type of memory. Is this something that can be done with a setting or do I just need to keep an eye on how much memory I have left on that medium at all times? Thanks again for all the help.

Another point of confusion...when I first open the link to the files on the desktop after connecting the camcorder the first folder is named PRIVATE. What is this for and do I need to do anything with it? Thanks