Transferring Files From Your Flash Memory Camcorder
If you’ve got a flash memory camcorder you’re probably wanting to make some DVD’s of your video, or at least share it online. You might also want to do some editing, cut out some scenes, add titles etc. You’ve got several options on how to do this, the first and (usually) easiest is use the software that came with the camera after connecting it with a cable. You might not want to use the software that came with the camera because it’s clunky, or doesn’t work with your computer, so another option is to connect the video cable to your computer and drag the video over manually in case you want to use your own software. The third way is to take the SDHC card from your camera and put it into a card reader and drag the video over to your computer and edit it with your own software.
There are several reasons not to use the video cameras own software, the main reason is that it’s usually pretty simple, and not very powerful. Some of it isn’t the easiest to use, although most camcorder makers try to make it as painless as possible to transfer video. The Flip Mineo series (and others) even have software that can automatically upload your video to sharing sites like YouTube. Again most of the software is simple uploading and organizing software not editing software. There are dozens of editors out there so we won’t get into which is the best (which is a matter of personal preference anyway).
Most cameras once connected to a computer will show up as an external device, like a thumb drive. You can open them up, find the file you want and drag it to your computer. Some of the names are cryptic, so you might have to open a few before you find the one you want. You can also view them by date, and pick out the one you want if you remember the order you shot the video. Once you’ve got the video on your computer you can open it with your favorite editor and do what you want with it. Keep in mind that some Macintosh computers will only see a Firewire connection as a video camera so if you have a USB connection it won’t automatically transfer it. That’s not a big problem with a flash camcorder but it is with a tape style like a MiniDV. With a Mac, a little hard drive icon will appear on your desktop when your camera is connected, that’s your video camera. Open it and drag the files you want into iMovie. They’ll appear in the iMovie scene boxes and you can edit them.
Another way to transfer your video is take the card out of your camcorder and put it in a card reader. This is basically the same as using the cable. My brother was told that using the cable to transfer video is harder on the camera and will cause it to wear out faster. I don’t know if it’s true or not, I use the card reader because it’s a pain having the cables all over. If you decide to do it this way with your Mac you might have a problem with file types. Some camcorders use files that the Mac can’t use (more specifically iMovie can’t use). You’ll need to convert them somehow. If you need to convert file formats on a Mac you can use a file conversion program like ffMpegx. It’s fairly easy, you drag your file onto the program, then select what format you want and it converts it. Using a .mov file is the best way to do it, then you can drag that file onto your iMovie software.
Flash memory camcorders make a lot of things easier, you don’t have to wait for your video to play all the way through to get into your computer. You will have to do things differently though. Again, by using the software that comes with the camcorder is probably the easiest thing, but not always the best thing if you want to edit your video.
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