Connecting camcorder to macbookpro

Joined
May 6, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi, can anyone tell me how to connect a Panasonic NV-GS11 camcorder to my MacBookPro. I know I probably need some sort of cable but as the camcorder is an older model I am not sure what cable will be compatible. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Without telling us which MacBook Pro you have (Model and year) we can't advise you about how to hook up the camera. According to the specs, your camera has a USB 2 and S-Video output. My guess is that you will have to attach it to your MacBook Pro via USB.
 
OP
A
Joined
May 6, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Sorry about that, MacBook Pro8,1 (13-inch, Early 2011). I have tried connecting with a usb cable but my mac doesn't recognise that it is connected. Have read somewhere that it should be connected through a firewire, but I think that your advice would be more reliable. Thanks for you time.
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Connecting via firewire would be preferable, but your camera does not have a firewire output port as far as I can tell from its specs. Your MacBook Pro does have a firewire input port but you can not convert the USB output from your camera to firewire.
 
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
1,551
Reaction score
102
Points
63
Location
Chicago
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro M1 • iPhone 14 Pro • iPad Pro • iMac Retina 27"
Your camera has what's called a "DV Terminal" connection according to the manual on this page.

This is what's also known as a mini Firewire connector. The cable you'll need for your early 2011 MacBook pro would be just like this one.

I would also advise you to look into a Mac app called LifeFlix, which makes transferring DV videos to Mac ridiculously simple. I just finished a month-long project where I converted years of home videos to Quicktime from my Canon DV recorder.

Good luck!
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Your camera has what's called a "DV Terminal" connection according to the manual on this page.

Nice find. I didn't bother to look up the manual - that will work to connect to his firewire input on his MacBook Pro.
 
OP
A
Joined
May 6, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thankyou Chscag and Caribiner23 for your time and expertise. I have ordered the cable from the site you put a link to Caribiner23 and I will check out LifeFlix. The Giro d'Italia is coming through our village on Sunday and I want to film it, now at least I will be able to download it to my computer. By the way I am a female, but please don't hold that against me...:)
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
By the way I am a female, but please don't hold that against me...:)

Absolutely not, ladies are always welcome. I wish we had more female members to participate in our forums. Have fun with filming and visit us often. :)
 
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
1,551
Reaction score
102
Points
63
Location
Chicago
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro M1 • iPhone 14 Pro • iPad Pro • iMac Retina 27"
You are welcome, no trouble at all. I knew there was a way that it could be done.
 
OP
A
Joined
May 6, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi, Its me again. I got my lead and it works brilliantly but I now have another question for you. When I want to export my movie to DVD what size should I pick. I don't want the quality of the movie to be blurry and as the camcorder is quite old the video isn't as crisp as it could be so I don't want to lose anymore definition. As the finished project is to be shared with my whole village I would like to do as good a job as I can.What do you suggest. Thanks
 
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
1,551
Reaction score
102
Points
63
Location
Chicago
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro M1 • iPhone 14 Pro • iPad Pro • iMac Retina 27"
Sorry for my delay in response.. I've been away from mac-forums for a few weeks.

You may have already tried both, but in the interest of time and disk space I transferred everything in the lower Quicktime format, and they turned out just fine. Considering the original source for many of these recordings was 8mm video the extra resolution would not have added much, in my opinion.

Hope it all worked out!
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top