Ok, I just picked up a Canon XL 1. I know its an oldie but a goodie. The camera works great, but what I need to know, What is the best way to transfer the video to the computer without a firewire port. I have the cables that came with the camera. My computers no longer have a firewire port. Lenovo All In One.
Is the Dazzle capture device a reasonable option>
I don't have a lot of money in the camera, so if I have to spend a few dollars to make everything work, Its not a deal breaker.
Thanks fro any and all information.

Change your computer to "having a firewire port".

For about $15 you can get a firewire adaptor card from a computer parts store and then install it yourself.

Andrew

Yeah Andrew, as I stated, I cant add a port on the Lenovo all in one computer, That would be too easy.

The "Dazzle capture device" you mention is likely a composite to USB converter. You're actually losing a lot of quality doing this, since MiniDV is digital, and composite video is analog.

The easiest way is to get a computer with a FireWire port. I think all Macs with Thunderbolt ports can connect via FireWire with the right dongles. Tower PCs with spare PCIe slots can be outfitted with FireWire PCI cards.

It be more cost effective to buy firewire card for his pc instead of buying a mac. Btw the party you missed was 20 years ago . ;-)

What is the best way to transfer the video to the computer without a firewire port.

"Best way" and "without a Firewire port" are mutually exclusive. The analog outputs won't have nearly the quality of the digital connection. I keep a couple of older XP machines around just for this purpose.

These days any old computer would be suitable for adding a firewire card to and will have enough sustained transfer speed to capture of digital copy of the footage.

Andrew

Hi Dan,

More of the same: those USB / FireWire adapters really need to be avoided. Not only do they *not* work well, but the potential exists for them to fry the FireWire port on your XL1.

Your single best option is to acquire an older PC to which you can install a FireWire card, or one which already has FireWire on it. Older PCs are definitely not in demand and it should be relatively easy and inexpensive to get one that's suitable. You might even be able to scrounge one for free. Something from the era of 2002 to 2006 would do nicely.

Wow, talk about memory lane! I think I still have my old XL-1 remote laying around here if you need one.

Chris’ advice is spot on as usual. An older PC or Mac would fit the bill and probably cost next to nothing.

FWIW, even though it was not an HD camera, I loved the imagery of the XL-1.

Good luck!

-gb-

Let me take a different tack and ask how much those minidv decks are going for these days? Or do those still attach via firewire to your machine (I never had one)?

I think any deck that reads those old tapes will also need a firewire port. I have an old Sony deck that I still use with a 2012 Mac Mini server. That computer has a firewire port, so it's easy. On any newer thunderbolt Mac, you can get an Apple firewire converter. I also have one of these and it works fine on my MacBook Air.

One thing about those firewire to thunderbolt converters though, mine gets REALLY hot when it's connected, even if no device is plugged into it. So you should probably unplug when not in use.

I'd also go with Chris' suggestion, you can probably find a friend or family member with an old PC or Mac in the closet that they would give or loan to you. Or, for that matter, just buy the Apple firewire converter and find any friend with a Mac, since it should be compatible. You could then transfer your tape on their computer and copy it to your own portable drive. Pretty sure that iMovie can still do that and it's included with every Mac.

Aside from that... IMO, you aren't "kinda late to the party", the party has been over for a long time. It will be an ongoing pain to use gear this old.

WOW, good information. Thanks. I do have an older Sony Viso XP computer, and it does have a firewire port. Im going to set it up tonight. I am kinda a pack rat with that stuff, glad I didn't just throw it out. So when I get it set up, do I need to download software????

Yes. Download a copy of HDVSplit and use that.

See https://www.videohelp.com/software/HDVSplit

Ignore the "beta" label as it's always been that. No point changing at this late stage. :-) The software works.

Andrew

Sony Viso XP computer

Did you mean a Sony VAIO XP? If so, that'll do nicely.

Something like this might work if your laptop has a pcmcia slot
https://www.neweggbusiness.com/product/product.aspx?item=9b-39-158-012
There maybe other brands available at a better pricepoint.

Did you mean a Sony VAIO XP? If so, that'll do nicely.

Yes, got it all working this morning,
Sony V A I O
Got it.

Outstanding. Keep us advised. Always happy to discuss the good 'ol XL1. It's what started this forum (eighteen years ago this month).

As far as editing the DV footage, Adobe gave away the CS2 "Creative Suite Production Premium" several years ago. I paid $1100 for it on discount back when CS3 came out so it's a great deal. It includes Premiere Pro 2.0 which edits Mini DV footage great. The free download links were on their site.

I still have 3 firewire decks. Two for Digital 8 and one for Mini DV. Yes those type decks will use 1394 firewire. A good old computer should do the job as said earlier

Adobe gave away the CS2 "Creative Suite Production Premium" several years ago.

Unless I'm mistaken, they didn't quite "give away" CS2, although the end result was about the same. They shut down the activation server for CS2, which made it impossible for registered users to re-install the software since it wouldn't recognize your serial number. So as not to lock out registered users of that old software, they still offered the installer as a download and posted a special serial number on their site that would activate any copy of CS2.

Somebody discovered this and word got out on various forums with instructions on how to get the software for free. So I don't think it was ever Adobe's intention to 'give away" CS2. I picked up a copy of Photoshop CS2 myself with this trick, but that was many years ago. I don't think Adobe still has this on their site today, but I could be wrong. :-)

Now, Photoshop CS2 has some very annoying bugs running on Windows 7, mostly related to disappearing/hidden windows and dialog boxes. Have never tried the other software in CS2, but you may find that it works best under Windows XP.

Adobe may or may not have learnt from that act of goodness that meant legit CS2 users wouldn't be stuck, and thus will never switch off authentication for CS6 users despite their wish to have everyone migrate to the software rental model.

Andrew

Unless I'm mistaken, they didn't quite "give away" CS2, although the end result was about the same. They shut down the activation server for CS2, which made it impossible for registered users to re-install the software since it wouldn't recognize your serial number. So as not to lock out registered users of that old software, they still offered the installer as a download and posted a special serial number on their site that would activate any copy of CS2.

Somebody discovered this and word got out on various forums with instructions on how to get the software for free. So I don't think it was ever Adobe's intention to 'give away" CS2. I picked up a copy of Photoshop CS2 myself with this trick, but that was many years ago. I don't think Adobe still has this on their site today, but I could be wrong. :-)

Now, Photoshop CS2 has some very annoying bugs running on Windows 7, mostly related to disappearing/hidden windows and dialog boxes. Have never tried the other software in CS2, but you may find that it works best under Windows XP.

My apologies. You are correct on all that and I had forgotten it was intended for those of us who had bought it originally.
Years ago I went ahead and downloaded all the software in case I ever needed to re-install it on my old Windows XP Matrox RT.X100 workstation. I also downloaded all the updates and patches and there were a lot for the whole collection.

Photoshop CS2 works good on my Wind 8.1 Laptop except sometimes the mouse pointer seems to disappear briefly. Don't know if it's an issue with the computer or software.
And I know someone who is running Photoshop CS2 on Win 10.

As far as CS6.... I've been using Adobe since 1999. As new cameras come out it's getting harder since Codecs are not supported so eventually I'll have to switch to different software but it won't be the Adobe rental.

I'm sticking with XDCAM in addition to CS6. :-)

Andrew

Photoshop CS2 works good on my Wind 8.1 Laptop except sometimes the mouse pointer seems to disappear briefly.

That's interesting. On my Windows 7 desktop (with Intel HD6000 integrated graphics), dialog boxes sometimes don't appear and the program appears to be frozen. This mostly happens with the "Save" dialog. But the real problem is that the dialog box is hidden behnd the document window, and it's waiting for input so you can't do anything except press ESC to cancel the operation.

The other issue is that it doesn't seem understand how windows are managed. When you open the program, your document appears inside a main Photoshop window. But if you re-size the document, it can go outside the bounds of the main Window, and that is apparently related to the other problem.

Anyway, I don't use it much anymore. I have CS3 on my Mac laptop, which still works under Sierra, with a few bugs. On my other Mac, I bought a copy of Photoshop Elements since I don't need anything fancy. In the past, Photoshop Elements was exactly the same as the full version, but it didn't have a few advanced features that I didn't need anyway. But the new Photoshop Elements has been further "dumbed down" and I really don't like it.

Eventually I'll need to upgrade to a new version... probably soon. When I looked at their subscription pricing a couple months ago, I was not at all impressed. OTOH, Microsoft has a nice deal for Office 365 where you get 6 licenses for a $100/yr fee, and each user also gets 1TB of OneDrive space and can use Office on 5 different devices. Adobe doesn't come anywhere near this unfortunately...

Not to be negative, but, I dont understand why you'd invest in a camera made to have its data captured via firewire when you dont have access to a computer with firewire. Granted the XL1 is a fantastic camera, but firewire is always and will always be the best way to capture... unless you have a DVCPRO HD deck like i do and capture via HD SDI into the computer which does a hardware based up res to 1080 which looks beautiful in its on right. :)

Best of luck though, hope you find a solution you're happy with :)

yeah, I have a very very old laptop that I only use for transferring mini-dv video to the computer. I then transfer that file to my newer laptop.

yeah, I have a very very old laptop that I only use for transferring mini-dv video to the computer. I then transfer that file to my newer laptop. Then, with all the issues with the newer mini-dv tapes (it seems to record fine, but then, when I play it or try to bring the video into the computer, it would do the run-freeze for a second or two- run - freeze again for a second or two, and it keeps doing this indefinitely).I decided to buy an FS-CF DTE. Now it records to a CF card, and I am soooooo much happier. Still using the MINI-DV Canon cameras, no problem.

My computers no longer have a firewire port. Lenovo All In One.


Dan.
Does your Lenovo all in one have a Thunderbolt port? If so I think all you will need is a Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter cable from Apple or some third party one to be able to ingest your footage in its native DV digital format. With something like Scenalyzer which is now free with an activation code.

Chris Young

FWIW, Dan hasn't been seen around here for a year and a half...

Right...!

Chris Young

Not to be a broken record but, all these people getting into MiniDV (which honestly has me so happy as I feel the format still has potential in storytelling and cinematography) I always tell them, either capture firewire at the bare min or capture on a tape deck via HD-SDI. The whole capture system you can get for under $300 at this point. Buy an old mac pro from 2007 or 2008 and a copy of final cut pro 7 for $50 on ebay and you are set for the bare min. The AJA Kona 3G card and a Panasonic HD1400 deck would set you back another $600 or so.

The advantage to shooting DV is getting a somewhat more unique and organic look that modern day CMOS cameras can't replicate. With the advancements in software available to all of us for editing, up converting and color timing, we can now do things with the DV format that was no where near possible 15 years ago when all of us were running around with XL cameras or DVX100s, etc, etc.

Here's something I shot on the XL1s(NTSC) with the 3x Wide and Stock 16x Lens a few months back (the whole video is made up of xl1s footage, all the shots not in my living room with the multi color lights was taken by me in 2009)
As It Was (Unofficial Music Video) - Harry Styles (2022) - Canon XL1s - YouTube

There are other options now for degrading your video footage, you know. :-)

Mini-DV was an exceptional advance at the time when you otherwise had Hi-8 and other analogue tape formats. It was so magical.

Andrew