Good Ultra-Compact Digital Camera that takes iMovie compatible video?

[Unprocessed1]

I'm looking for a slim, light, digital camera that takes good quality (HD quality, if possible) videos that actually WORK on imovie '09. I really like the Samsung TL100 and Sony CyberShot T77, however neither seems to have videos that work with iMovie.

Anyone have a digital camera that they have that takes iMovie compatible videos? I really don't want/need a camcorder, but do like taking clips once in a while. Help is much appreciated!

 

[Unprocessed1]

Can anyone help?

 

[Pili]

So iMovie should be able to edit the mpeg-4 movies those camera's produce but my 5 seconds of google'ing says that editing those in iMovie can be iffy. I know that canon's p+s cams do avi (at least mine does) which iMovie has no problem with so I would take a look at those.

 

[Unprocessed1]

So iMovie should be able to edit the mpeg-4 movies those camera's produce but my 5 seconds of google'ing says that editing those in iMovie can be iffy. I know that canon's p+s cams do avi (at least mine does) which iMovie has no problem with so I would take a look at those.

I heard imovie doesn't recognize a lot of avi.

Anyone at least know of software that can fix the problem?

 

[leighonigar]

There is some discussion on the Apple website that suggests handbrake is good for transcoding, but I can't claim personal knowledge.

 

[holidaypf]

Kodak Zi6

I have the Kodak Zi6. I bought a refurb from Amazon for $99. It shoots in 720p H.264 in either 30 or 60 fps. There are also VGA and still photo options.

I shoot a clip, plug the camera's usb plug into my iMac keyboard and transfer the .mov files into my computer. I then open up iMovie '09 and select Import, file and can bring that clip into iMovie. You can edit as you wish from there.

You can also use Quicktime Pro to do all sorts of file conversions. I used it today to convert .wmv files into DV files that I can use in Final Cut Express. I've been working through Tom Wolsky's FCE 4 Editing Workshop book today.

 

[secretpact]

My Canon Powershot SD1100 works fine with iMovie. So did my Powershot SD800.

 

[Unprocessed1]

My Canon Powershot SD1100 works fine with iMovie. So did my Powershot SD800.

I was looking at the Canon SD 780, and it looks like a good camera. It seems Canon makes video that is generally compatible w/ imovie?

Will converting a movie to a DV file using a program like Squared5 also allow videos from Samsung and Song camera to be imported into iMovie?

 

[pdxflint]

My little Panasonic Lumix LZ8 takes decent video (not HD, but wide aspect ratio 16X9 format of 848x480 at 30fps) which is iMovie compatible. With the image stabilizer, it works surprisingly well. I'm sure the higher tier Lumix compact digicams will do better even.

 

[ftaok]

Panasonic ZS3

Take a look at the Panasonic ZS3. It may be a little bigger than you want, but the reviews have been great. It's a 10MP, 12x (25-300mm) P&S with an HD movie mode. (1280x720/30p)

The nice thing about it is that you can use the 12x zoom during video with IS.

Also, you can record in either M-JPEG or AVCHD-Lite. Apple recently updated iMovie'09 to work with the AVCHD-Lite.

 

[Unprocessed1]

Leaning towards the Canon SD 780, but the Sony T90 and Samsung TL 100 still own my heart. Would love to have either one, but I just don't know if I'll even be able to successfully convert the videos to a format imovie can use.

Maybe I should buy them at best buy and test them out?