XDCam newbie...computer not seeing camcorder
 

howdy. just got the rented camera (350) here and trying to do some download tests. i'm using Final Cut Studio 2 on a G5, have downloaded XDCam Transfer, plugged in ye olde FW 400 cable...and not sure what to do next. tried FCP's "log and capture/transfer", but no control of camcorder there. no camcorder (showing as a drive or anything) showing on the desktop. i'm stuck...

Make sure that in the menu, you have iLink set to FAM (file access mode). This will make the camera appear as a disc storage device to the computer. If it is set to AV/C, it will behave like other cameras in firewire mode. However, the only streaming AV from the camera will be HD downconverted to DVCAM or no change if you shot in DVCAM mode. There is no streaming HD material over firewire, only file transfer for which you will use the Sony XDCAM Transfer Tool. Within FCP, use Import, then select XDCAM. This will invoke the transfer application and will pass all material you select for import back to the bin in FCP.

-gb-

Thanks Greg. I'll give it a shot in a little bit. Where exactly does the XDCam Transfer come into play? Is it just a codec or something that automatically loads into FCP, or is it a separate program that i go into to do something? I suppose all this will become clear when i swithc the menu settings, but thanks for the reply. I appreciate it.

To clarify what Greg said...

He means make sure the camera is set to use the FW port on the camera in FAM mode, not AV/C mode. This is in the "Operation" section of the camera menu.

THEN, in FCP, you invoke the XDCAM Transfer program by File/Import/XDCAM. This will bring up the Sony software running as a program separate from FCP. You then select which clips you want to import, and then they get copied to disk, and then passed to FCP as well.

I'm glossing over a lot, you should read the Help file with the transfer software.

thanks guys. you've been a big help already! i'm dumping some HDV into the system now, so i'll do some more reading and try the XDCam transfer shortly. thanks again...