HD Video from digital camera

asinclair · 03-02-2009, 10:48 AM

am planning to buy a pocket digital camera, considering the Canon IXUS 100 IS, which can also record HD 1080p video.

My question is that, form what I have read so far, OSX does not handle HD video yet. Is that accurate?

Will I be able to edit/use the video I record on my camera with, say, iMovie so that I may export to web, dvd or play it on my AppleTV ?

if relevant, have a 1-y-o iMac running Leopard and iLife 09.

wdympcf · 03-02-2009, 12:57 PM

Just in case you're being misinformed - according to Canon, the IXUS 100 IS only shoots 720p not 1080p. Also, be sure to examine sample videos first before buying (try out a floor model and check out the video on a large screen or computer before you go ahead and commit to the purchase). Digital cameras are notorious for producing less than satisfactory video (much the same as camcorders are notorious for producing less than satisfactory stills).

As far as your Mac handling HD video, there are numerous applications available for OS X which are capable of handling HD video - iMovie, of course, being the most ubiquitous of them. Just make sure that the camera shoots the HD video in a format that iMovie and/or Quicktime can handle.

asinclair · 03-02-2009, 01:04 PM

thanks for the reply.
the actual quality of the video is not ultimately THAT important. it's a point-and-shoot photo camera, that I might on occasion record video with.

I just want to be sure I can handle the video if I do buy it...

wdympcf · 03-02-2009, 01:28 PM

You could always email Canon's customer support and inquire as to iMovie compatibility. If they don't know the answer to that question (really they should), then be sure to ask them what format the camera records video to. Quite often, still cameras use different formats than the camcorders do.

matthewclower · 03-02-2009, 01:37 PM

There are also many software packages available, some for free like Handbrake, the do arbitrary video conversion between formats. VisualHub used to be my preference before they closed the project. Applications like that will help you bridge any compatibility/format/codec gaps.

asinclair · 03-02-2009, 01:45 PM

Thanks for all your replies.

A thorough search through Canon's web site revealed that the camera records in H.264 MOV at 30fps and 1280 x 720 resolutions which should be handled just fine by iMovie.

Just excellent for capturing the opportunistic movie moment !

Thanks again !

styrafome · 03-02-2009, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asinclair


	My question is that, form what I have read so far, OSX does not handle HD video yet. Is that accurate?

That's not totally accurate, but it probably doesn't apply to your situation.

The legendary friendliness of Macs with digital camcorders does not exist as much with the new HD camcorders that record in AVCHD. If I've properly understood what I've read, many Windows solutions can edit AVCHD natively, but require a lot of horsepower to deal with the relatively heavy interframe decompression required. Apple seems to have chosen to make you transcode AVCHD to another lossless format that requires less CPU to edit but makes you store a mega huge copy of the footage on your disk.

But I don't think point-and-shoot cameras are involved in that debate. They typically save in AVI, Motion JPEG, QuickTime, or H.264 and can be dealt with easily even if they save in one of the HD resolutions.

mclbruce · 03-02-2009, 06:03 PM

Video on point and shoot cameras is changing, and mostly for the better. In a year or two I think most new P&S cameras will be able to record decent HD video.

There are a couple of new Canon models that do have HD video and use H.264, which is good for Macs. I dont' know if you can actually buy one of these new Canons in the USA, but they will be out in April I believe. Canon has announced one camera, the PowerShot SX1 IS, that will do 1080p HD. It's one of their larger point and shoot cameras.

Panasonic has some new P&S cameras that feature HD video, but they use AVCHD lite, which may not be very Mac friendly.

Today Samsung announced some P&S cameras with HD video, using H.264.

03-02-2009, 10:48 AM	#1
asinclair Prospect Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 20	HD Video from digital camera am planning to buy a pocket digital camera, considering the Canon IXUS 100 IS, which can also record HD 1080p video. My question is that, form what I have read so far, OSX does not handle HD video yet. Is that accurate? Will I be able to edit/use the video I record on my camera with, say, iMovie so that I may export to web, dvd or play it on my AppleTV ? if relevant, have a 1-y-o iMac running Leopard and iLife 09.

03-02-2009, 01:37 PM	#5
matthewclower Triple-A Player Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Gilroy, Ca Posts: 138	There are also many software packages available, some for free like Handbrake, the do arbitrary video conversion between formats. VisualHub used to be my preference before they closed the project. Applications like that will help you bridge any compatibility/format/codec gaps. __________________ Matthew Clower MacBook Pro 3,1 - 4GB RAM \| iPhone 3G MB704LL - 16GB \| iPod Touch MB376LL - 32GB http://twitter.com/matthewclower http://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewclower

03-02-2009, 12:57 PM	#2
wdympcf MVP Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 1,183	Just in case you're being misinformed - according to Canon, the IXUS 100 IS only shoots 720p not 1080p. Also, be sure to examine sample videos first before buying (try out a floor model and check out the video on a large screen or computer before you go ahead and commit to the purchase). Digital cameras are notorious for producing less than satisfactory video (much the same as camcorders are notorious for producing less than satisfactory stills). As far as your Mac handling HD video, there are numerous applications available for OS X which are capable of handling HD video - iMovie, of course, being the most ubiquitous of them. Just make sure that the camera shoots the HD video in a format that iMovie and/or Quicktime can handle.

03-02-2009, 01:04 PM	#3
asinclair Prospect Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 20	thanks for the reply. the actual quality of the video is not ultimately THAT important. it's a point-and-shoot photo camera, that I might on occasion record video with. I just want to be sure I can handle the video if I do buy it...

03-02-2009, 01:28 PM	#4
wdympcf MVP Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 1,183	You could always email Canon's customer support and inquire as to iMovie compatibility. If they don't know the answer to that question (really they should), then be sure to ask them what format the camera records video to. Quite often, still cameras use different formats than the camcorders do.

03-02-2009, 01:45 PM	#6
asinclair Prospect Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 20	Thanks for all your replies. A thorough search through Canon's web site revealed that the camera records in H.264 MOV at 30fps and 1280 x 720 resolutions which should be handled just fine by iMovie. Just excellent for capturing the opportunistic movie moment ! Thanks again !

03-02-2009, 06:03 PM	#8
mclbruce Hall of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 3,878	Video on point and shoot cameras is changing, and mostly for the better. In a year or two I think most new P&S cameras will be able to record decent HD video. There are a couple of new Canon models that do have HD video and use H.264, which is good for Macs. I dont' know if you can actually buy one of these new Canons in the USA, but they will be out in April I believe. Canon has announced one camera, the PowerShot SX1 IS, that will do 1080p HD. It's one of their larger point and shoot cameras. Panasonic has some new P&S cameras that feature HD video, but they use AVCHD lite, which may not be very Mac friendly. Today Samsung announced some P&S cameras with HD video, using H.264.