No Firewire400 port on Macs -- How do I import footage?
 

Hi all --

I was just about to buy a new iMac and MacBook Pro but realized that none of the new Macs has a FireWire400 port needed to hook up my JVC HD100 (either directly or through a Firestore). All they have is Firewire800 and USB.

Is there a workaround other than keeping an old Mac to import footage?

adapter:
 

all you need is this adapter:

Amazon.com: Sonnet FireWire 400 to 800 Adapter (FAD-824): Electronics

greetz
Juergen

Cables To Go - 3m IEEE-1394B Firewire® 800 9-pin/4-pin Cable
Also a cable that goes directly from 4 pin to 9 pin. They also have 6 pin to 9 pin.

4 pin is Firewire 400 unpowered, what's usually on cameras. 6 pin is Firewire 400 powered, on the computer end and some hard drives. 9 pin is Firewire 800.

Cables To Go - 3m IEEE-1394B Firewire® 800 9-pin/6-pin Cable

you´re shure? i thought this one is the right one.

Well it depends on what you want to plug in. I don't know what plug the HD100 has, but I know that the Firestore has a 6-pin port. Most camcorders have 4-pin ports, so just buy accordingly. You can also go for the adapter if you already have a bunch of cables, but the adapter makes the plug a lot longer and prone to breakage, in my opinion.

The HD100/200/250 have 6-pin firewire ports. The new HM700 has 4-pin.

can you capture from a firewire camera to a USB/firewire external drive to USB computer back to a USB drive?

I don't have that problem. I got a FE-HD100 DTE drive, so I'm sure it will work, just slower. I'll probably still get a MacBookPro, but I could get a MacBook. But if someone didn't have a DTE drive, could they capture through the USB bottleneck?

No. Neither Final Cut nor iMovie supports USB video capture. Which is kind of a paradox, since the MacBook doesn't have FireWire, but comes with iMovie.

iMovie does not ' see' the JVC GRD-DF420E
 

I was referred to JVC by Apple support for this problem. I use Firewire400 on the camera and Firewire800 plugged in the iMac. I specifically bought the iMac for video-editing, and now I cannot use my tapes... Apple support says JVC should come up with a driver, JVC US says they never sold this model in the states, JVC in Europe says they don't have drivers, so I have to use my old HP Notebook as an in-between solution (which can only do low-res Quicktime import). Now here's a deadlock, or...?
I'd be soo happy if someone with Mac experience might come up with a workable solution!

This question is better off in Non-Linear Editing on the Mac Forum at DVinfo.net.