Canon ZR950 + iMovie 5.0.2 (111)

[montanachad]

I am bidding on this Cannon Mini DV Camera and was wondering if it will work with my version of iMovie. Anybody have any experience with this camera and my version of iMovie? I have FCE 4 too, but don't know how to use it. Since the only video work I've done is with my digi camera (motion JPEG) and iMovie, this is a big step for me.

 

[huntercr]

I am bidding on this Cannon Mini DV Camera and was wondering if it will work with my version of iMovie. Anybody have any experience with this camera and my version of iMovie? I have FCE 4 too, but don't know how to use it. Since the only video work I've done is with my digi camera (motion JPEG) and iMovie, this is a big step for me.

I can't confirm 100%, but I can give you some supporting facts that might help you. the 950 is a standard miniDV camera, and all other Canon Z series cameras work fine with iMovie, so this one probably does too.

Why such an old version of iMovie? you might want to just buy the latest iLife and even if you don't like iMovie 08, download the free iMovie HD ( version 6 )

 

[montanachad]

I can't confirm 100%, but I can give you some supporting facts that might help you. the 950 is a standard miniDV camera, and all other Canon Z series cameras work fine with iMovie, so this one probably does too.

Why such an old version of iMovie? you might want to just buy the latest iLife and even if you don't like iMovie 08, download the free iMovie HD ( version 6 )

Thank you! I was unaware that iMovie version 6 was free. I read numerous bad reviews about iLife 08 on the Apple Store Website.

I'm an expectant father and want to record my new babies life.

 

[huntercr]

Thank you! I was unaware that iMovie version 6 was free. I read numerous bad reviews about iLife 08 on the Apple Store Website.

I'm an expectant father and want to record my new babies life.

Hey congratulations!!!

Its a free download if you buy iLife 08.

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html

You may want to buy iLife 08 and .Mac ( and then download iMovie HD ) because I can tell you fist hand as a parent of a 2 and a half year old, iWeb is addictive as heck for how easy it is to quickly post movies and pictures for your friends and family.
Good luck!

 

[montanachad]

Hey congratulations!!!

Its a free download if you buy iLife 08.

http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html

You may want to buy iLife 08 and .Mac ( and then download iMovie HD ) because I can tell you fist hand as a parent of a 2 and a half year old, iWeb is addictive as heck for how easy it is to quickly post movies and pictures for your friends and family.
Good luck!

Thanks for the kind words and advice. Even though iWeb looks fun, I'm an HTML coder and the code that WYSIWYG editors generate gives me nightmares. I am starting a family Website here: http://chadtudor.org, but I may decide to give the rest of iLife a try. My relatives in remote, rural Montana would appreciate an iPhoto photo book. A friend is showing how his band edits their music in Garage Band, et cetera.

Take care!

 

[ftaok]

No one has mentioned it yet, but you will need to get a Firewire cable. For the miniDV camcorders, you'll need a 4-pin/6-pin cable. The ZR950 will have a port labled DV and you're Mac will have one (or more) FW ports.

That is the port to use. The USB port on the ZR is for downloading still pictures off of the card, not for video transfer.

Firewire cables are relatively inexpensive. Apple used to sell one that was a little overpriced, but it was nice because it was more flexible than most other ones that I have. Personally, I wouldn't spend more than $5 on a FW cable.

Here's a LINK to a cable from Monoprice. I'm not recommending this particular cable (although everthing from Monoprice that I've bought has been perfect), just showing the type of cable you'll need.

ft

 

[montanachad]

No one has mentioned it yet, but you will need to get a Firewire cable. For the miniDV camcorders, you'll need a 4-pin/6-pin cable. The ZR950 will have a port labled DV and you're Mac will have one (or more) FW ports.

That is the port to use. The USB port on the ZR is for downloading still pictures off of the card, not for video transfer.

Firewire cables are relatively inexpensive. Apple used to sell one that was a little overpriced, but it was nice because it was more flexible than most other ones that I have. Personally, I wouldn't spend more than $5 on a FW cable.

Here's a LINK to a cable from Monoprice. I'm not recommending this particular cable (although everthing from Monoprice that I've bought has been perfect), just showing the type of cable you'll need.

ft

I'm buying this camera off eBay, it comes with Firewire and USB cables.

 

[OrganMusic]

I have a ZR-800 and it works fine with imovie. Yes be sure to download iMovieHD 06 as iMovie 08 is TOTALLY USELESS.

 

[montanachad]

I have a ZR-800 and it works fine with imovie. Yes be sure to download iMovieHD 06 as iMovie 08 is TOTALLY USELESS.

I ended up with the ZR-800 - won another auction. Thanks for the information and advise.

 

[OrganMusic]

I like my zr-800 pretty well. Good lens range for a cheap camera and enough manual modes to get by. The manual white balance came in handy on something I shot the other day with really bad lighting.

I chose it partly because it was about the only consumer DV camera I could find with a mic jack.