Hello @Ohilio227. Since it is rather hard to get firewire to work under Windows 10, I personally would recommend to use a so called 'Video Capture Card' - preferrably the one offered by MAGIX, since it comes with a rudamentary editing software. Since you own a Mac you probably need to look into other options though (which are around 20 pounds on amazon) or lend a Windows PC for that (if you.
by Brian Fisher • Jun 18,2019 • Proven solutions
Yes, it is possible for Mac users to connect their camcorder to Mac. Connecting your camcorder to Mac for importing Video from Camcorder to Mac or photos to Mac might be a piece of cake if your camcorder is compatible with Mac. I mean, as long as your Mac can recognize your camcorder, you can do that easily. That’s to say, you can directly connect your camcorder to iPhoto, iMovie and more for transferring the camcorder file to iMovie and more for further use.
Part 1: How to Connect Camcorder to Mac
To check whether your cam is compatible with Mac or not, you can read the documentation that came with your cam to see the requirement of the camcorder – some manufacturers required you to install software to access to the cam on your computer. Practically speaking, many camcorders from Cannon, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and JVC have been included in the Apple’s list. For these camcorders, you can follow simple steps to have them connected to your Mac:
- Power off your camcorder and plug the camcorder into your Mac via a proper FireWire cable;
- Turn on your cam, and after a few seconds, iMovie will be opened automatically;
- Follow the on-screen instruction on the Mac and transfer the cam video to iMovie. If you want to transfer photos from camcorder, open iPhoto instead.
Part 2: How to Fix 'Fail to Connect Camcorder to Mac' Issue?
If your camcorder is incompatible with Mac and you fail to connect it to Mac via FireWire cable, you can do it alternatively. You can directly insert the camcorder SD card to the SD card slot on Mac. The SD card will appear on your desktop as a hard drive icon. Double click the icon to open it and you can videos/photos from your camcorder to Mac.
However, there is one thing you have to acknowledge: camcorder videos are saved in AVCHD (MTS/M2TS) or DV which are not compatible with Mac. Take AVCHD for example, if your cam video is not in standard AVCHD (MTS/M2TS) format, you may have to convert your camcorder video to compatible formats for iMovie or Final Cut Pro. You are unable to play the camcorder video on QuickTime, neither can you organize them in iTunes or transfer them to other Apple devices unless you change the camcorder AVCHD to Apple supported formats first. Here, we recommend to you this powerful UniConverter for Mac. You can convert your camcorder videos to Mac supported format so that you can enjoy them on your Mac.
UniConverter - Video Converter
Key Features of UniConverter:
- Compatible with 150+ video/audio formats – UniConverter can convert more than 150 formats of standard and high definition video. It also converts several audio formats.
- Fast conversion speeds – this tool will convert video and audio at speeds of up to 90X.
- Inbuilt video editor – you have an inbuilt editor which you can use to sharpen your video, add watermarks, text, etc.
- Lossless video conversion – you do not lose any quality, even if the conversion happens at high speeds.
- Download video – you can download video from several sites on the Internet. Use these for your projects before conversion.
- Compatible with macOS 10.15 Catalina, 10.14 Mojave, 10.13 High Sierra, 10.12 Sierra, 10.11 El Capitan, 10.10 Yosemite, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.8 Mountain Lion and 10.7 Lion.
Step-by-step Guide to Convert Camcorder Videos to Mac Compatible Formats with iSkysoft
Step 1. Import Camcorder Videos
First of all, you need to import your camcorder videos to this program. You can do it by dragging and dropping them directly to the app. Or you can go to the main menu then choose 'Add Files' to do this.
Step 2. Set Output Format
Sony Camcorder Handycam
Select an output format for your video from the format tray. Here you are highly recommended to choose 'MOV' which is a format supported by QuickTime and iMovie on Mac.
Step 3. Convert
Press 'Convert', and the UniConverter will do its job.
They’re not as popular anymore, but you still may own a camcorder that employs MiniDV tapes, DV, or HDV. These connect to a Mac through FireWire, but remember that fewer and fewer Mac models have FireWire connectors, so you may need an adapter.
Apple sells a Thunderbolt–to–FireWire adapter. And if you happen to have an Apple Thunderbolt display, it has a FireWire port. For the moment, though, let’s assume that you have a Mac with FireWire and a FireWire–capable camcorder. Proceed with the following steps:
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Connect one end of the FireWire cable to your camcorder and the other to an available FireWire port on the Mac.
Switch the camcorder to VTR (shorthand for video tape recorder)mode.
Camcorders vary; some devices call this Play or VCR mode.
Click the Import button on the toolbar or choose File→Import Media.
Choose your camcorder by clicking its name in the Camera section of the iMovie Sidebar.
The import viewer shows the image from the current position of the tape in the camera.
Use the mouse or trackpad to position the pointer in the upper portion of the import window.
If you want to advance from one clip to the next, or go back to look a clip that comes before the one you’re viewing, click the Next button or the Previous button, respectively.
If you happen to be more than 5 seconds deep into a clip, clicking the Previous button takes you to the start of the clip that you’re currently in. To fast-forward or rewind rather than jump from one clip to another, position the pointer over the Next button or Previous button, and hold down the mouse or trackpad button.
Do one of the following and then click OK:
If you want to choose an existing event to import clips into, choose the event from the Import To pop-up menu at the top of the import event.
If you’d rather place the footage in a newly created event, choose New Event from the Import To menu and name the event.
When you’re at the point in the tape where you want your movie to begin importing, click Import.
iMovie imports from where you are to the end of the tape unless you click Stop Import or Close instead.
When you’re done importing, click Close to close the Import window.