The Canon ZR830, like many DV tape recorders, has a very picky firewire setup. Failing to turn off the computer, attaching the device and turning it on, then turning the computer on … well, if you fail to do that you might (will?) fry the camera’s firewire circuits and never be able again to get your videos off the camera (I have to take the tape into a shop and they put it on DVD for me).
After looking for solutions to the problem I found a few to try, but first here’s the proper sequence for attaching the camera to the computer.
- Turn off the computer
- Attach the AC power to the camera
- Attach the camera to the firewire cable (4 pin to 4 pin only) already attached to the computer
- Turn on the camera (to Play)
- Turn on the computer
If that doesn’t work the best thing is to try the camera on someone else’s computer (that is known to work with a different camera) to test the firewire cable and the camera itself. Tough to do if you’re the only person you know who does video work.
Now, a few things to try if it doesn’t work
- Make sure you have the AC power adapter plugged into the camera
- Try putting the camera on “Record” and then booting the computer. If the camera is recognized then change it to “Play” to get your data off it.
- Make sure you are using a 4 pin to 4 pin firewire cable.
- Again, try it on another computer that is know to work (maybe at the camera store?)