I cannot connect my canon xm2 to my mac or to my pc. neither computer will recognise the connection. Its a usb connection into the computer and at the other end is a smaller connection into the camera. (not sure what its called) I have the camera turned on and to the setting VCR. The message on both computers is.There are no video capture devices detected. I have also tried another wire with different connections. Its like a usb but has a bigger connection 1394 is written on the lead.

SOURCE: Vista and firewire 1394?

Firewire works fine under Vista, but it's quite possible your USB to Firewire bridge doesn't have proper Vista drivers. You wouldn't expect Vista to include these, they would be installed from a disc that came with your adaptor. USB to Firewire is a questionable option at best... there are often problems with it. You may be better off with a PC-Card or ExpressCard solution, if the laptop is your only computer.

Also, when the camera says "DV IN", it's expecting video from the PC to be sent to it, it's not in capture mode. Most camcorders must be in either "play" mode, or a special "link to PC" mode in order to even be recognized by Windows (any version) as a video input device.

However, until you resolve the issue of supporting your Firewire device in Vista, nothing the camcorder does will be an issue yet. You should check the documentation that came with your USB to Firewire device, the driver disc, etc. for information on Vista support.

SOURCE: Camera not detected by XP

Are there any settings in the camera's menu to tell it to switch to PC Mode?

SOURCE: hi i ahve a mac and an XM2 canon canera and need

Yep! Canon Usa has free downloads on their support pages!

Put this in your browser and enter camera information in the pulldown menus.. then look for the download tab.


http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=SupportIndexAct

SOURCE: I have connected my canon

It looks like the USB port on this camera is used to transfer stills only. The camera has a DV port for a "Firewire" connection to stream video to a computer, but most PCs don't have such a port (Macs do). You can add Firewire ports to a PC using an add-on card. You will need a cable too. These things are available cheaply on eBay or Amazon.

The software needed and manuals for this camera are available for download from

this page