Sony HDR-FX1E incompatible with OSX 10.6.4 ???

[DavidFreeRose]

I've had problems getting my new 27' quad core iMac OSX 10.6.4 to recognise my Sony HDR-FX1 Camcorder (SN 1410243) --> it does not show up in the System Profiler under Firewire, and it does not show up iMovie or Final Cut Pro.

One thought was that the camera was not compatible with FireWire 800. This seems unlikely and a message to Sony on this matter has yet to be answered.

Hardware problems have been ruled out ---> the Camera successfully captures in iMovie 6.0.3 (267.2) under OSX 10.4.11.

Can anyone please verify that this camera is recognised under OSX 10.6.4 or 10.6 at all. Do you have experience of this camera working under this system version ???

 

[coldsweat]

Yes they do work together, we use FX1E's with both a 27" iMac Quad (FW800) & a MacPro (FW400), both running FCP 7.0.3 on OSX 10.6.4

Although I'm not technical, so can't offer any real help (other than confirming that it 'should' work), my settings in FCP under Audio/Video Settings are......

Capture Preset - HDV
Device Control Preset - Sony HDV 1080i50 FireWire

& the camera settings are....

VCR HDV/DV - AUTO
iLink Conv - OFF
A/V->DV OUT - OFF

The above settings obviously assume that you filmed in HDV. & don't forget to keep it PAL/50fps all the way!

Hope you get it sorted!

 

[DavidFreeRose]

Thank you Coldsweat - it works on your 10.6.4 not mine

It is really helpful to know that the system recognises the camera elsewhere. I'm wondering if there might be a quirk with my camera firmware. There was a batch with faulty firmware effecting an audio setting issue, though the serial number of my camera is not it that list. Maybe there is a batch that won't connect to OSX 1.6 !!!!

Thank you for your kind thoughts.

 

[DavidFreeRose]

Double checked the Coldsweat settings

Yes, I shot in HDV. Camera settings are the same as Coldsweat's - the camera is still not showing up under Firewire in the System Profiler. It reads:

FireWire Bus:

Warning: Unable to list FireWire devices.

Coldsweat, do you connect directly from the FX1 camera into the iMac, or do you go through a hub or external HDD ???

 

[coldsweat]

Coldsweat, do you connect directly from the FX1 camera into the iMac, or do you go through a hub or external HDD ???

Directly from the cam into the iMac with a FW800 9pin to 4pin cable. I wouldn't even attempt it with a hub or daisy chained through a drive as I've heard it can be a little flakey on occasions that way. (dropped frames etc.)

 

[DavidFreeRose]

Problem SOLVED

I plugged a Firewire 9 To 6 Pin IEEE 1394a-b 800-400 Adapter http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170541053968&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT into the back of the iMac and then used my old FireWire 400 cable to connect it to my camera.

The camera now appears in the System Profiler under FireWire and I have successfully captured HDV 1080i footage in FCP 6 !!!!

Thanks for you help everyone.