I just recently purchased a Cannon Vixia HF10. I shot a clips and then saved them to the hard drive on my mac... anyone know how to get these files imported into iMovie08? These files are no longer on the camera's hard drive, they have been removed. Importing files that are currently in the camera work fine, iMovie sees them and will import them. When I open iMovie 08 and go to the others files (clips) saved on the mac hard drive, iMovie will not recognize them, they are "greyed out". Any suggestions for getting these files imported into iMovie would be most appreciated. Thanks!
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Importing AVCHD files (Cannon HF10) into iMovie08
- Thread starter fishhawkjack
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How big are the files?
Obviously iMovie wants them to be " in the camera ".
Is it possible in any way to fool iMovie into thinking the are in a camera?
When you hook the camcorder up, take note of how it appears to the system.
Does it show up as a Folder on the desktop?
Let's say it shows up as a folder named {Canon HF10}
Maybe the files are in subfolders.
If you were to take an EXTERNAL HDD and name it {Canon HF10} maybe iMovie would see it.
This probably won't work, but it is a suggestion.
You could create the same folder on the Desktop - but I suspect Mac/iMovie to be smart enough to realize it is not external.
Funny thing - I am a strong advocate of using HDV tape format - but find myself looking at a HD solution - the HF10 is a candidate so I will watch this to see if you get a working solution!!!!
Obviously iMovie wants them to be " in the camera ".
Is it possible in any way to fool iMovie into thinking the are in a camera?
When you hook the camcorder up, take note of how it appears to the system.
Does it show up as a Folder on the desktop?
Let's say it shows up as a folder named {Canon HF10}
Maybe the files are in subfolders.
If you were to take an EXTERNAL HDD and name it {Canon HF10} maybe iMovie would see it.
This probably won't work, but it is a suggestion.
You could create the same folder on the Desktop - but I suspect Mac/iMovie to be smart enough to realize it is not external.
Funny thing - I am a strong advocate of using HDV tape format - but find myself looking at a HD solution - the HF10 is a candidate so I will watch this to see if you get a working solution!!!!
I agree trying the external HDD solution, but if that does not work try creating a disk image in disk utility that is large enough to hold the files inside, name it whatever the name of the hf10's drive shows up on the mac, then mount it, add the files and see if they import.
Slightly off topic, how do you like the HF10? I am seriously considering purchasing one and have read plenty of awesome reviews but have not been able to see one in person.
Slightly off topic, how do you like the HF10? I am seriously considering purchasing one and have read plenty of awesome reviews but have not been able to see one in person.
Canon Vixia HF10 and iMovie08
I have not had that problem...yet...but I have had a problem importing clips into iMovie08, but they do not show up in the Event. However, when I browse to the folder I do see the clip - it just doesn't show up in iMovie08. Is this something that you have experienced as well?
BTW...I love the Canon HF10. It replaced my old Sony TRV-17 (MiniDV) and the difference is very obvious.
I have not had that problem...yet...but I have had a problem importing clips into iMovie08, but they do not show up in the Event. However, when I browse to the folder I do see the clip - it just doesn't show up in iMovie08. Is this something that you have experienced as well?
BTW...I love the Canon HF10. It replaced my old Sony TRV-17 (MiniDV) and the difference is very obvious.
HF11 and imovie
hi folks,
imovie doesn't see my cam at all. here's the setup:
macbook pro intel core duo 2.4 gig
imovie08 7.1.4
canon HF11 connected via usb
camera shows up on the desktop as a drive, I can copy files off of it, but when I go to the export video command in imovie, the only camera that shows up is the internal mac camera showing me my-stupid-self with a blank stare. meanwhile, I plugged the cam into a friend's last generation intel mac with imovie 08 the video popped right up!
any ideas?
does FCE work any better?
seriously frustrating in light of just having spent 4k on this junk.....
hi folks,
imovie doesn't see my cam at all. here's the setup:
macbook pro intel core duo 2.4 gig
imovie08 7.1.4
canon HF11 connected via usb
camera shows up on the desktop as a drive, I can copy files off of it, but when I go to the export video command in imovie, the only camera that shows up is the internal mac camera showing me my-stupid-self with a blank stare. meanwhile, I plugged the cam into a friend's last generation intel mac with imovie 08 the video popped right up!
any ideas?
does FCE work any better?
seriously frustrating in light of just having spent 4k on this junk.....
funkygh:
I have to wait sometimes 5 minutes before iMovie realizes that my hf10 is plugged into the computer. Once that's done it opens the capture screen for me automatically. Try just letting it sit there with the camera mounted FIRST then open iMovie and wait and see what happens after 10 minutes or so. Don't drag the contents off the camera though. Imovie looks for those mounted disks, and it reads the hierarchy of them to determine that they have AVCHD files in them that can be taken off.
Yes, FCE is a bit smoother on this aspect. It also has an option while you are in the importing video phase to make a disk image of the camera's internal/external card so that you can save that to your computer and come back later to import the files or if you really want a backup of them. I use FCE4 only, and have opened imovie 08 just a few times to work with these AVCHD files on my previous gen. 2.2 MBP.
Good luck.
I have to wait sometimes 5 minutes before iMovie realizes that my hf10 is plugged into the computer. Once that's done it opens the capture screen for me automatically. Try just letting it sit there with the camera mounted FIRST then open iMovie and wait and see what happens after 10 minutes or so. Don't drag the contents off the camera though. Imovie looks for those mounted disks, and it reads the hierarchy of them to determine that they have AVCHD files in them that can be taken off.
Yes, FCE is a bit smoother on this aspect. It also has an option while you are in the importing video phase to make a disk image of the camera's internal/external card so that you can save that to your computer and come back later to import the files or if you really want a backup of them. I use FCE4 only, and have opened imovie 08 just a few times to work with these AVCHD files on my previous gen. 2.2 MBP.
Good luck.
I'm having a similar problem, only when I plug in my HF10 (and the two drives appear), iMovie '08 immediately crashes or I get the rainbow wheel of death that spins forever. I've waited about a half hour when that happens, but it's pretty clear iMovie isn't recognizing it.
it's been sporadic -- I successfully transfered some of my footage from the internal memory into iMovie -- so I know it works -- but then it stops working and I get the crash above. I'm running the fastest iMac (bought two months ago), so it's not a performance problem. I also upgraded to iMovie '09 and the same problems occur.
Secondarily, I've had the same issues while reading footage from the card (while still in the camera), so I moved the footage from the card over to the internal memory -- still no dice. I've tried the USB card reader, making a disc image -- everything I could think of -- and iMovie '08 (and now '09) typically crashes outright or just hangs up on it.
Any suggestions there? Thanks.
Thanks - I tried the evaluation copy, but the quality was a lot less than the conversion iMovie was doing for similar files. i jacked up the bitrates and resolutions as high as they could go. You could see a lot of interlacing and the file sizes themselves for the .mov's were much smaller. Unless I'm doing something wrong, of course.
I'm still confused about the underlying problem -- when I mount the camera and load iMovie, iMovie '09 crashes. When I load iMovie '09 and then mount the camera, iMovie doesn't do anything -- doesn't recognize the HF10, doesn't recognize the Canon drives that appear on the desktop. Super frustrating, since I was able to download footage already through iMovie. I know the footage is still there, since I can play it off the camera no problem.
Is this an iMovie problem, or is the camera somehow corrupted?
I'm still confused about the underlying problem -- when I mount the camera and load iMovie, iMovie '09 crashes. When I load iMovie '09 and then mount the camera, iMovie doesn't do anything -- doesn't recognize the HF10, doesn't recognize the Canon drives that appear on the desktop. Super frustrating, since I was able to download footage already through iMovie. I know the footage is still there, since I can play it off the camera no problem.
Is this an iMovie problem, or is the camera somehow corrupted?
i use hf10 with final cut pro and it imports fine every time no problem
actually i am using the japanese version of hf10 so its different model numbers but exactly the same hardware/software
im pretty sure i did also import using imovie 09 just to check that it worked ok and it did....i didnt do anything special with it it saw the camera as usual once camera was in the right mode and plugged in
one thing there are other posts on this but....you need to import direct from the camera hd not from a copy of the files on your mac hd or something.....if you have deleted original from your camera hd you i think?????make a disk image with disk utility and put the files on that and then mount it and then imovie can import fine.....at least thats what i remember of other posts i read but i didnt do it myself so not really sure...try a search
if anyone wants the exactly process i use for final cut import ask and i will give a list of steps that works in my case but i didnt do anything special
last idea maybe no help but if you get imovie crashes i would try trashing imovie and all prefs and reinstall fresh
actually i am using the japanese version of hf10 so its different model numbers but exactly the same hardware/software
im pretty sure i did also import using imovie 09 just to check that it worked ok and it did....i didnt do anything special with it it saw the camera as usual once camera was in the right mode and plugged in
one thing there are other posts on this but....you need to import direct from the camera hd not from a copy of the files on your mac hd or something.....if you have deleted original from your camera hd you i think?????make a disk image with disk utility and put the files on that and then mount it and then imovie can import fine.....at least thats what i remember of other posts i read but i didnt do it myself so not really sure...try a search
if anyone wants the exactly process i use for final cut import ask and i will give a list of steps that works in my case but i didnt do anything special
last idea maybe no help but if you get imovie crashes i would try trashing imovie and all prefs and reinstall fresh
I'm still having the problems, so I moved all of the files over to a disc image (which iMovie still wouldn't recognize), did a full initialize on the internal camera memory, then shot some a few minutes of new test footage and voila! -- iMovie recognized the camera again and I was able to download the new shots.
So it must be something with that original batch of files that got corrupted. Even when I move them back to the internal memory, they play fine on the camera, but I can't get them off the internal memory! So frustrating, since it's not like the files are dead.
When it DOES work, it's seamless -- great camera, nice, high quality footage. The only negative is trying to use it as a still camera -- not very good images. So stick to the HD movies.
If anyone has a suggestion about how to salvage corrupted files (that play fine on the LCD display, but nowhere else), please let me know.
So it must be something with that original batch of files that got corrupted. Even when I move them back to the internal memory, they play fine on the camera, but I can't get them off the internal memory! So frustrating, since it's not like the files are dead.
When it DOES work, it's seamless -- great camera, nice, high quality footage. The only negative is trying to use it as a still camera -- not very good images. So stick to the HD movies.
If anyone has a suggestion about how to salvage corrupted files (that play fine on the LCD display, but nowhere else), please let me know.
Yes - no problems for me using it with both iMovie 08 and FCE
Cheers!
Glen
Great to hear!