camcorder on or off 1394
 

If my camcorder is on and is connected to my 1394 firewire when I start up my pc will it be bad for the cam or computer? Or should I have it off anytime before I start up my pc?

good question for me to hear the answer. I do both. I doubt it matters but thats just a guess.
Has anyone blown their camera this way? has anyone blown their computer this way? has anyone blown their connection this way?
Let us know!

Often, my nle requires that the connected device be on so that it can recognize the device at application start. Most times, my transport device is on at boot so that the editing can begin right away. I use a cheap camcorder as do many users here because minidv decks have never become mainstream and inexpensive. Just as others use firewire direct to disk solutions with their cameras, the need for camera on at boot has become a(n) SOP.

Generally when starting up premiere I have cam off before capture. After premiere has loaded I flip on my cam and use the manual way or device control, to operate my cam when I am ready to capture..

It really doesn't matter! I've tried it both ways, no difference. Your PC will recognize the camcorder as an external drive and list it under "My Computer". Having a front video bay, I am disconnecting it when I don't use it. When reconnecting (with the camcorder already on), a message window pops up and asks me what do I want to do... I simply close that window and then press F5 in Premiere Pro to start capturing.

Electrically - as long as there are no defects - the two units have the same voltages and clock/data lines so they can work together.

Ervin