Is an iMac running Snow Leopard incompatible with a Vixia HF R600 camcorder?

[BAKEinFL]

I have an Apple  iMac running Snow Leopard and just purchased a Vixia HF R600 camcorder and shot some MP4 video on it. I tried taking out the memory card and putting it into an USB2 port and it was not recognized. I printed out the manual and it says to go to canon.com/icpd/ and download and install CameraWindow. However, when I follow the instructions the site says that there are no downloads or utilities available for me. Why is that?

       Have I just wasted my money purchasing this camcorder? How can I get recordings from this camcorder into my computer. If I can get them in I believe the iMovie program will let me work with them. 

      I thought maybe if I took the memory card and formatted it for Apple it might work but I haven't tried this because I am afraid that the Camcorder might then not recognize the memory card.

[Richard]

Hi BAKEinFL,

The software for your camcorder requires Mac 10.8 or later to install. That said, you may be able to transfer movies by connecting your camcorder to computer. Before you turn the camcorder on, please power it with its compact power adapter.

When you turn it on, you'll want to turn it on in the playback mode.

iMovie does not natively recognize movies shot in the MP4 mode, so you'll want software for MP4 transfer.

When initializing (AKA "formatting") memory cards, please do this, only in the camcorder.

[BAKEinFL]

I selected the MPEG-4 mode because I read that using the AVCHD mode was difficult to work with. Are you suggesting that AVCHD might be better for me? I should note that I have been able to get the card reader to recognize the memory card. However, instead of importing to iMovie it imports to iPhoto and it is in Quicktime which I understand is poor quality. I really appreciate you responding to my inquiry. I was about to give up hope.

[Richard]

Hi BAKEinFL,

Thanks for getting back to us.

I mentioned AVCHD because iMovie, present on Mac Snow Leopard, natively handles the format.

As far as your movies, shot in MP4 are concerned, if iPhoto imports and can edit them, I'd use that. For playback, there are lots of media players available. I'd start with Apple's own QuickTime player.

[BAKEinFL]

Hi Richard,

        I will try shooting something using AVCHD and see how that works. It may be a little bit before I am able to complete this new trial. I will get back to you at that time to let you know how it went. Thanks again for your help.