HDD Camcorder, imovie compatible - recommendations please!

[jclaydon]

Hi

My tape based Sony camcorder seems to have died, so am now looking for a replacement and thought this might be a good time to explore the world of HDD camcorders, however this seems to be easier said then done!

The camera is basically just for shooting footage of the two kids, which is then edited on imovie on a unibody macbook, for viewing on apple tv / dvd (for family members).

From what I can understand there seems to be some problems with the avchd format in terms of editing with imovie.

So really just after some suggestions or recommendations, budget is probably around £500 or less, don't mind HD or SD, but as I said needs to be easily used with imovie.

Thanks

[A n d r e w]

Greetings.

Given that your MacBook doesn't have FireWire, you're restricted to camcorders that use USB to transfer video, but pretty much all hard drive or memory card based camcorders use USB so no worries there.

iMovie '08 and iMovie '09 support a large number of high definition camcorders that use the AVCHD format. There are lists of compatible camcorders here: iMovie '08: Camcorder Support and here: iMovie '09: Camcorder Support.

As far as conversion goes, contrary to the previous post there is no need to manually convert to another format as iMovie does the conversion for you (assuming the camcorder is supported, and most are). iMovie will detect the camcorder when you connect by USB and open an import pane, much like the process involved when importing photos from a digital stills camera in iPhoto, allowing you to select which clips you wish to import, and will then convert your selected clips to AIC (Apple Intermediate Codec) format video. This will still be in high definition resolution, but in a format which iMovie can edit more easily than native AVCHD (which is a real resource hog).

More information on importing from a USB camcorder here: Apple - iLife - Tutorials - iMovie

Any of the recent high definition AVCHD offerings from Panasonic, Canon, and Sony will be supported in iMovie '08 or '09.

[tmurphy]

JVC GZ-HD6 and the HD30/40 can all record HD in MPEG2-TS format which iMovie should be able to handle with ease.

The 30 or 40 can also record in AVCHD if preferred.

Tony

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by tmurphy

JVC GZ-HD6 and the HD30/40 can all record HD in MPEG2-TS format

Do mean the Canon HV30 / HV40? If so, they use FireWire, which the OP hasn't got.

[tmurphy]

No, not the Canon units but the JVC GZ-HD30 and GZ-HD40, both have USB, the HD40 has a dock which adds firewire to this model only, but both have native usb connectivity.

Tony

[A n d r e w]

My bad.