Anyone recommend a decent movie camcorder / movie software (something like iPhoto)

[troy14]

hi everyone,

my mother is NOT very good with technology. she is slowing learning how to use the iMac, but mostly in just "do this to get this" results and not actually learning how to fix/find things. that's fine for her. she has a digital camera but is slowly using her iPhone more and more.

i taught her how to plug in the camera and iPhone to import photos. (from there i have them backed up to a time capsule, mirrored NAS, and an online solution). this is a big accomplishment for her.

now, she is able to do all of this because iPhoto makes it so dang easy. (she never prints, edits, or does anything with the photos).

she currently has a sony camcorder and she knows how to use it but I haven't found a good way to transfer the movies over to the computer.

I am willing to buy her a new camcorder if needed - can anyone tell me any solutions so she can use a camcorder, easily plug it in to the mac, and if it take care of everything else? Also an interface to view the movies (she will NOT be editing them). And no, she doesn't/won't use her iPhone for movies, must be a dedicated device.

Thank you!!

 

[firedept]

hi everyone,

my mother is NOT very good with technology. she is slowing learning how to use the iMac, but mostly in just "do this to get this" results and not actually learning how to fix/find things. that's fine for her. she has a digital camera but is slowly using her iPhone more and more.

i taught her how to plug in the camera and iPhone to import photos. (from there i have them backed up to a time capsule, mirrored NAS, and an online solution). this is a big accomplishment for her.

now, she is able to do all of this because iPhoto makes it so dang easy. (she never prints, edits, or does anything with the photos).

she currently has a sony camcorder and she knows how to use it but I haven't found a good way to transfer the movies over to the computer.

I am willing to buy her a new camcorder if needed - can anyone tell me any solutions so she can use a camcorder, easily plug it in to the mac, and if it take care of everything else? Also an interface to view the movies (she will NOT be editing them). And no, she doesn't/won't use her iPhone for movies, must be a dedicated device.

Thank you!!

How about using iMovie for downloading the videos. She could then view them right in iMovie or do a quick Export of the video and have it in the iMovie Theater for viewing full screen on her iMac.

She could also view them in iTunes or use QuickTime. All of which are already on your moms iMac and would not cost her anything. If you want something a little better than iMovie, you could go with something like Adobe Premiere Elements 13 which is probably the next step up or FCP X. I mention Adobe because it is a little more affordable at $100 compared to FCP X at $300.

Just some suggestions.