Firewire Cable for XL1s
 

When purchased the XL1s didn't come with a firewire cable. The port on the camera looks smaller than a normal firewire port.
Do I need a 4 pin to a 6 pin cable? I looked on Canons site and they had both listed for the camcorder...

David,
For a camera to camera connection you will need a 4 pin to 4 pin cable. For a camera to computer connection you will need a 4 pin (camera) to 6 pin (computer) connection. For something like the iPod you would need a 6 pin to 6 pin cable. So all cables have their specific uses, but for connecting your XL1s to your computer you will need a 4 pin to 6 pin. Good luck, and have fun with your XL1s!

Although this is mostly true, it is now always! My laptop (on which
I do the video transfers at least) has a 4 (!!) pin connector
(probably due to space considerations). I suggest you look at
your computer port first before buying the cable. I got myself
a 4-to-4 pin cable. I'm also thinking about getting a 4-to-6 pin
just to be on the safe side if I need to use the camera on any
other computer.

Do you have a Sony Vaio laptop? They come equipt with a iLink port, which is a sort of firewire for the Sony cameras. I really dont get why they have it thought because it works with all cameras.

No, I have a DELL Latitude laptop (comes with my job), it has a
plain IEE1394 compatible firewire port. It just uses a the smaller
connector, that is all.

FireWire and iLink are the same connection and follow the same specifications as set forth by IEEE1394. iLink is the Sony trademark for that connection. FireWire is Apple's trademark but they allow the other members of IEEE 1394 to use it. Apple Computer is the principal inventor of FireWire and is paid a royalty for every use.

Jeff

firewire question
 

does anyone know what the 4 pin to 4 pin firewire cable is worth
canon dealer says is a $50.00 US cable.
The regular firewire for a device to computerb is way cheaper

I do know that my 4-to-4 was pretty expensive. Around $50
might be correct indeed (althought I think I payed slightly less).

This one instance where I would be certain to have a name brand cable. Dropped frames and other capture problems have been traced to cheap cables. It's not worth the headaches to save a few bucks.

Jeff

Canon Firewire cable is expensive probably because they offer it as a convenience, not as a major product line, thus the level of sales do not support going to a lowr price. Any reasonable quality firewire cable should do fine, it need not be the "Monster" or other premium brand for most normal uses. You can find long cables, and for long runs better cable construciton is required. Note however that the firewire connectors are not very robust, and for long life careful use is indicatred.

Common needs are a 4-pit to 4-pin for copying between camcorders and/or VCRs. A 6-pint to 4-pin is common for firewire connection from camcorder to PCs. But as noted above, variations do occure.

Firewire cables seem to cost more than the camera itself. That;s an exaggeration, but they are expensive (it's friggin wire) because of the royalty payments described above.

THey cost what the market will bear, and since mostly it's still a speciality cable that you need desperately when you need it, it's easy to price high.


A good serial cable used to cost a lot too, now they come for free with microwave ovens.

You could buy a 4-4 cable, and a 4-6 adapter for if/when you need one.

Expect to pay around $6-10 for a generic 6-foot firewire cable, and to pay $30 or more for a higher end brand name.

I've been using a $6 generic with no problems.

Same here. I have been using a cheap cable for 3 years with no problems.

cutting a fire wire cable
 

does anyone know if the firewire is 4 or 6 wires and like the vhs-s cables one could cut them and slice on a 6 or whatever section is fire wire this simple.