I purchased a 400 optura ,mostly because of FOOBUSH, Thanks Foo! Now I am no camera jock and am having a heck of a time trying to figure out how to transfer the video to the computer. The guy I bought it from (ordered) said all I would need is the USB cable and to download the soft ware and then you are good to go,well as usual here I am and dont know what to do. It looks like the book says that I need a DV cable that connects to the ieee1394 DV terminal. is that correct?
Please help.
If someone would let me talk to them and walk me thru it it would be very much apprectiated
e-mail me a phone number and I can call you anasazi1@direcway.com, or my phone number is 1-406-642-6964.
Thanks so much for your kind support, I just cant find any other place to go
Dee Morris

What type of operating system are you working with? If it Windows XP, it is a pretty straight forward operation. What video editing program are you using?
The type of firewire needed to connect the camcorder is a 4-pin to whatever type of firewire connection is on your computer( usually a 6-pin). The Optura 400 connection is right below the viewer screen towards the front of the camera. It is a round cover that has DV on it. Once you have the firewire connected, make sure the toggle by the focus is switched to tape , and turn the camcorder to the playback mode. This should prompt your computer to ask you what program you want to use. Once you open your program, you should go to the capture part to transfer info from the camcorder to your computer. The computer will also ask you where you want your captured video to be stored- I always store my video in my documents- its easy to find. After you have captured what you wanted, go to editing and then to production. Keep in mind that the amount of computer RAM and hard drive space will determine the amount of video you are able to capture, and howe quickly. On an hours worth of tape , it very easy to tie up 8-10GB of hard drive space. Hopes this helps.

Thanks for the info,I finall talked to the company (BUTTERLY PHOTO, where I bought the camera) and one of the guys there is sendinging me a firewire which I didnt have so I hope this and your help will get me going I live in Montana and hope I get it this week. I really thank you foe the help and yes I am running XP.
Your friend,
Dee Morris

If your PC supports USB2.0 you can use USB (faster than Firewire)
Unless the Optura 400 is different in that respect.. As I have the 500 and I can tranfer Via USB.

Sorry, USB only for still's My video can only transfer VIA firewire. also.
I don't know why that is. (and I believe firewire2 is like...900mbps) vrs USB2 at 480mbps..

every step has been followed. "the toggle by the focus is switched to tape , and the camcorder is turned to the playback mode."

but the only problem is my computer doesn't recognize the DV.
Specs as follows:
1. Win Xp
2. Optura 400
3. Firewire (ieee 1934) cable (i think there is no problem with it.)
4. There is a sign, “DV in”, shown on the LCD when firewire connected.
5. The problem: Windows Movie Maker says: A video capture device was not detected. Verify that a device is turned on and connected properly, and then try again.

please give me a hand.
Thanks

the DV is ok when connected with USB.

i have the usb cable, i can transfer images from the camcorder to the pc. but when i switch to tape mode, it doesn't read it. do i need something else?

the box only came with the usb cable, and the other cable to connect with the TV.
please help.

thanks.

Hi, I too am having probblems getting what I recorded onto my computer. I have a Dell computer that is only 6 months old and Window XP. I also have Adobe Premier 1.5. A friend told me I would be able to capture my video footage with the supplied USB cable; however, when I open Adobe it's not recognizing my camera. Can anyone help?? Do I need to get the firewire cable?
Thank you so much!
This is driving me crazy and I just want to get my footage onto my computer so I can start editing...not like I know how to do that either.

The majority of camcorders require that you use Firewire to transfer full quality video. The few which output video through a USB 2.0 "High-Speed" terminal will work however you would have to use the software provided by the manufacturer as most editing software will not transfer the video. I believe the Optura 500 outputs full quality video through a USB 2.0 "High-Speed" terminal but I do not think the Optura 400 does.



Rich

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FireWire Survey

On a side note, I find it annoying that Canon doesn't include a firewire cable with at least the Optura 400. Maybe not the ZR's, but for the kind of money they charge for the Opturas, you figure they could throw in a $10 cable. If they need to save a few bucks, just get rid of the useless USB cable. I doubt there are many people who are only using this camera to download still pictures to their PCs.

I have not seen any MiniDV or Digital8 camcorders which come with Firewire cables. What should they provide? 4 pin to 4 pin or 4 pin to 6 pin, both commonly used. Then You have the Firewire 800 cables....



Rich

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FireWire Survey

That's a good point. I hadn't thought about the different connections. I was just thinking about the 4-6 cable I need. Just expressing my frustration I guess.

Laterally, I understand the frustration. It would be nice if the camcorder manuals were a bit more clear on the best way to transfer your video. It seems some manufacturers don't want to give you a clue.



Rich

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FireWire Survey

Totally agree about the poor documentation. I guess others do as well given the number of threads on this topic. I wish I had discovered this forum before investing all the time and effort I did trying to figure it out.

I'm new at this and not even sure how to create a new post....if someone could let me know..

I just bought a elura80 and want to start doing some low end editing.....I have a compaq Evo610c laptop Pentium 4 1.7GHz and 256 Ram and i was looking into buying a external HD so i can do the editing from there...Would i be able to transfer video straight to the external drive or would i have to hook it up to my laptop w/USB or FirewWire? and then transfer? What is the best card for a laptop to attach a firewire cable to? and the easiest editing software to use? Or what is the best thing to do in my case....the reason for the external hd is that the laptop only has 20gig...Please if any one can provide me with some options it would be greatly appercaited....