Can not connect the camera canon mv800 to my PC

SOURCE: can't conect through my firewire

try connecting the camera to the computer through your firewire then go to if you have windows xp click start then click on control panel, then click on printers and other hardware, then click on scanners and cameras, then below the back icon will be add an imaging device and with the camera hooked up to the computer through the fire wire and the camera turned on click the add an imaging device. then follow the prompts in the installation wizard. if this dont get your camera back on line then you will need to find the drivers and program for the camera. you might find it at the panasonic web site just check for down loads for the camera.

SOURCE: Canon ZR800 MimiDV Camcorder

I have the same problem, here's a 'sort of' solution. First check to see if your computer has a slot where you can plug in a PCMCIA card. (This is a thin slot about 2" wide, which probably came with a plastic blank inserted in it, which must be removed before using the connection. This type of connector is very common on laptops, less common on desktop computers. If your computer is a laptop, the PCMCIA slot is probably on one side or edge of the computer.) So, if you have a PCMCIA slot, you can buy a PCMCIA / Firewire card that plugs into the PCMCIA slot and provides you with one or two Firewire connections. Look on Ebay, these can be had for under $20. You would also need a cable with the tiny USB connector on one end (which plugs into the small female connector found uinder the gray plastic cover on the side of the ZR800) and a 6-pin Firewire connector on the other end (which you would plug into the PCMIA / Firewire adaptor card mentioned earlier.) When shopping, you may see IEEE 1394 terminology - this is the same as Firewire.) By the way, the adapter card may come with the necessary cable; see what you get before buying an additional cable separately. You will also need some software - I'm using Windows Movie Maker, which is probably already on your computer. If not, you can download it for free from Microsoft. Plug in the adapter card and turn on your PC. You should get a 'new hardware' message when it boots up. Wait for the boot up to finish, then connect the ZR800 via the cable to the PCMCIS / Firewire card and turn on the camera. You will get another 'new hardware' message as Windows recognizes the ZR800; wait a while until the 'Your new hardware is installed and ready to use' message appears. When the camera is recognized, you may see a window asking what program you want to use to capture video - select Windows Movie Maker. Once it (Movie Maker) starts up, get your camcorder tape ready, click 'Capture from video device' on your PC, then click 'Start Capture'. It will create a file (you pick the name) on your PC from the camera. You can use Movie Maker to edit, re-sequence the scenes, etc. (You can also buy video editing software if you want fancier features than Movie Maker provides.) Now here's the catch - why my initial statement says this is a 'sort of' fix. I hooked up my ZR800 as described here to a one-year-old Gateway model W323-UI1 laptop, and the video captured from the ZR800 contained many ramdonly blinking colored pixels superimposed on the movie and the audio has lots of static. When I hooked it all up to an older Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop, it worked great. Hope this helps, good luck!

Tim Babcock

• 2794 Answers
• Posted on Jun 09, 2008

SOURCE: Canon ZR800 won't connect

Your saying 4 pin USB firewire. Which one is it?

It should be 4 pin firewire.

What is the error message that you are getting?

SOURCE: Canon MV800 - FireWire connection

I have the same problem. Same camera. I got a new Dell Inspiron - which has a 4 pin firewire input. The canon came with a 4 pin to 6 pin cable. So I got a 4 pin to 4 pini cable but my comp still doesn't recognize it. Using Vista.

SOURCE: my pc doesn't reckognize the canon xl2 when connected by firewire

Well, I hate that when it happens so we changed test-bed computer to Mac. The software runs as soon as two hardware, pc and XL2 is connected physically. I do not have knowledge on prem pro 1.5. but from technician's point of view, if both machines I/O hardwares are ok rest of the reponsibility depending on the program. This is how I would do it. 1. Restart the computer 2. open only the related program and have it ready for connect. 3. turn on XL2 on VCR mode, test make sure it plays few second. 4. connect the firewire. Hope this works otherwise, I will re-install the program and try. Beyond that point, it's good to consult with a local technician for diagnostic of your XL2 first. -James