HELP! Connecting old mini dv-cams to new MacBook Pro

[Royston Coppenger]

Hi all:

I have a Canon XHA1S with firewire, and an old Panasonic DV-PV200D that I gave to my daughter. We both have MacBook Pros that only take USB-C input. The Panny has an ieee1394 output.

Using a daisy chain of cables and adaptors to connect the cameras to the laptops doesn't work, I get a "USB disabled" error message.

What do I do here? Would a powered USB hub help me? Is there any workaround besides trying to find an old Firewire-enabled Mac for downloading purposes?

Thanks!

Roy

[Boyd Ostroff]

I have heard an Apple ThunderBolt 3 to ThunderBolt 2 adapter connected to a Thunderbolt 2 to Firewire adapter works with Firewire hard disks. Is that what you tried? I know that the firewire to thunderbolt adapter works because I have used one on my 2013 MacBook Air with a Sony DVCAM deck. Have not tried this on my new Mac with USB-C ports, and probably won't, since I also have a 2012 Mini with firewire ports.

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/M...bolt-2-adapter
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1173741-REG/apple_md464ll_a_thunderbolt_to_firewire_adapter.html/BI/2855/KBID/3801

[Royston Coppenger]

No, I tried FireWire cable to FireWire/usb2 adaptor to usb2/3 adaptor. I was hoping to avoid paying 80 bucks for the two Apple Thunderbolt adaptors since I’ve read that some people don’t have good outcomes with that workaround. If I’m going to drop that kind of money I was hoping to find something more versatile that would also let me connect older external drives and the like

[Boyd Ostroff]

I don't understand how USB would work, doesn't your camera need Firewire? People are saying that the Thunderbolt adapters work here. Forgot, you would also need a Firewire 800 to Firewire 400 adapter, I also have one of those.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads...gital.2220281/

Otherwise, as you said, get an old Mac that has a firewire port. That might not cost much more than all those adapters!

[Jeff Donald]

OK, so I don’t often post on the forums here, but I’m a former admin on DVInfo and also a former Apple employee and currently a beta tester for Apple and Adobe. I’m just saying this to establish a little credibility, not to impress.

It’s pretty well documented that FireWire to USB adapters rarely work and even in some cases can cause damages due to voltage differences.

Are the adapters you’re using the Apple cables and adapters or something you got off Amazon etc.?

[Boyd Ostroff]

Wow, I never even realized there was such a thing as a USB to firewire adapter!

[Paul R Johnson]

I have one of these.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Firewire-...sAAOSwGIJeAkrK

It works on the windows 10 PC I use for editing, but refuses to work on two other PCs - both with windows 10. For the price - worth getting to try.

[John Nantz]

Did a little research about the cam and it appears to have the FireWire 400 connection.
One solution to consider is to use an external drive with FW400 and USB ports. Transfer the files to the external drive and then to the computer via a USB 2.0 > USB-C cable.

eBay had some external drives that had FW 400 and USB. One example was this:
G-Technology Firewire800+400/eSATA/USB 2.0 1TB Drive

After reading Jeff Donald’s post above about potential damage with aftermarket adapters I’d be concerned about taking that route.

On another note, you aren’t alone with the data transfer problem, you have company:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3961925
Canon XH-A1 Firewire 400 to 800 Capture Issue

https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-x...-question.html
I think the ports were not burned out but had damage to the connector itself from accidental tugging on the firewire

[Jeff Donald]

OWC/Mac Sales offers boxes and drives and enclosures the support FireWire 800. You can get FireWire 400 to FireWire 800 cables on Amazon.