Problems connecting XL2: neither Mac or PC see the camera... at all.
 

Hi!

Trying to connect XL2 to capture some footage to FCP.
Connecting through FireWire (4-pin in camera to 6-pin in Mac). The problem is - mac (10.5.2) doesn't see the camera.

When going to FCP (6.0.2) to capture files, it says that external Apple Firewire PAL (720x576) device is not connected; whe clicking 'log and capture' - "unable to initialize video deck".

Please note that this is the first time the XL2 is connected to this particular MacBook.

Weirdly the problem has stayed on Windos with Adobe Premiere as well - PC just doesn't see the camera.

What is the problem and how to solve it?

Thanks a lot in advance!
Edgar.

I've connected both of my XL2s to a MAC and never had any problems.

Did you verify if you firewire port on your XL2 camera was working correctly (do you have a signal). If you own a DVD recorder with a DV/i.link port just connect your camera to see if you have a signal.

I've tried and did not like to use FCP for direct recording on my MAC. I find better to use a software such as DV Monitor Pro which is especially made for recording onto a MAC. The files can be imported in FCP without any problems.

Good luck!

Hey Edgar,

The first thing that I would check would be the cable.

Ryan

Will try the DVD-Firewire thing. Thanks!

UPDATE and SOULUTION.

Basically, bought a third wire (golden (!) 6-pin to 4-pin Firewire). And it worked.

Thanks a lot!

Answer
 

i had an ibook g4 the camera worked perfect never had problems...i sold it and bought a new macbook which doesnt have a firewire port so i havent used my xl2 in a while but my girlfriend had an older macbook with a firewire port...so i started filming and used her computer and got UNKNOWN DEVICE...so i tried the battery/charger pull and then i plugged everything back in 20-30mins later and it started saying Warning: Unable to list the firewire devices so after a week of getting upset trying to fix it i decide to make a genius bar appointment at the closet apple store...before i went i tried my camera on a windows soame thing it didnt recognize the camera...so i then went to the apple store it worked on the macbook no problem and at this point i was a little frustrated and was like oh well at least it works now...i go home try it and it didnt work...then i tried it on another mac and it flickered working and not in imovie...i then realized its not the computer having the problem its the camera...the firewire port on the camera is not working right so i held the wire in the camera and gave it a slight pressure not to much and it has been working fine...


i noticed when it was plugged in to the computer it would say "DV IN" on the lcd of the camera but would be blinking...after i held the firewire on the camera it would say "DV IN" and it wouldnt blink...so thats something to look for to see if the camera is working or not...

i dont know why it started doing this but oh well i found the problem and it wasnt expensive to fix...i did try other firewire cables and even bought a new one and it kept doing this...so just keep in mind its not always the computer or the firewires fault some times its the cameras fault :(

Do you have any external hard drives daisy chained on your system? That seems to cause problems with Canon. I usually have to disconnect my extra drive to capture.