Premiere Elements 11 doesn't recognize Canon Vixia M500 camc

[Elwood]

Hi, Steve & Co., I'm back with a newbie question.

I got a Canon Vixia HF M500 camcorder for Christmas and I can't figure out how to import my short test footage into Premiere Elements 11. I was able to import it easily into iMovie, which makes me think I may not be doing the import correctly in PE 11.

I have the camcorder powered up with AC and it's turned on. I have Premiere Elements open and when I try to get my footage via Add Media, a warning sign tells me it doesn't recognize my camera. I tried the HDV Camcorder and DV camcorder setting. I tried unplugging and plugging the USB back in to no avail.

I shot my test movie as AVCHD, not MP4 (my camera shoots both), but that shouldn't make a difference, right? I think I read somewhere that one could only import MP4s into iMovie (although it did just did that), but I was under the impression that one of Elements 11's strengths was to handle AVCHD files.

I used the IFC-300PCU/S cable. Canon also included an HTC-100/S HDMI Cable, though I'm not sure what that is--doesn't look like a Firewire cable.

Thanks,
-Elwood

[Gerlinde]

Hi Elwood,
I had a quick look at the manufacture's information on your camera. It is using a SD card to store the recorded footage. All you have to do is transferring the footage to your computer hard drive either by inserting the SD card into your computer's card reader ( if available) or connect your camera via USB cable and simply copy the footage over.
Open PRE 11 and ADD Media ... from Files and Folders....select your clips.

[Dave McElderry]

Using Gerlinde's method will result in PrEl telling you to use the Video Importer instead, and will offer you a button to take you to the Video Importer. Another way to get there is to use Add Media > Videos from Flip or Cameras. The Video Importer should find your camcorder in the connected devices, or you can navigate to it. If this doesn't work there are a couple of other ways.

There is some software that should have come with your camcorder to expedite the process of getting the files from your camcorder to your computer. One is called VideoBrowser, and the other is the Transfer Utility. You can use one or the other, but don't try to install both on your machine at the same time. VideoBrowser is a full program that has many features that I don't need, so I chose to install the minimalist Transfer Utility instead.

If all else fails, you should be able to see your camcorder using Computer or Windows Explorer and drill down to the folder that contains the video files. The path on my Canon is CANON > AVCHD > BDMV > STREAM. From there you can copy/paste to your PrEl project folder or wherever you want to store them. Canon doesn't recommend deleting files from Windows - always delete files or format the SD card using the camcorder menus. And no matter which of the above methods you use, be sure to use the Windows "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" function before disconnecting the camcorder.

[Elwood]

Thanks Gerlinde & Dave, I appreciate your quick response.

I did try inserting the SD card in a card reader, but since nothing showed up, I wasn't sure what to do. I use that method for my Canon Rebel T3i and my Canon Powershot Elph 300, but those open in iPhoto as .mov files, which are easy to work with in iMovie or Premiere. Dave, since I'm on a Mac, not PC, I didn't load any of the software, not sure if it would work with my computer. But I'll try the Flip/Camera suggestion, that might be perfect. I'll report in once I've had a chance to experiment. -Elwood

[Elwood]

Hey, fellers, I tried both Gerlinde's suggestion using the SD card (Open PRE 11 and ADD Media ... from Files and Folders....select your clips.) and Dave's first suggestion (Add Media > Videos from Flip or Cameras.) The SD card worked, but it was more convoluted than the Flip Camera suggestion, which was simpler. Anyway, it's solved and I can now get my AVCHD files. iMovie was infinitely simpler, but I realize that's because I'm on a Mac.

I know the AVCHD files are much better quality, but I'll try the MP4 to see if the quality if sufficient for my needs. My main use is making good quality movies for the web (Vimeo and YouTube), but I always harbor the idea the one day I might want higher res versions for some project demanding really good quality. I dunno why, since I'll probably never make real A. R. T. with my videos. Still, I'd love to hear your thoughts about MP4 quality vs AVCHD.

Thanks again,
-Elwood

[Dave McElderry]

Not ignoring your last post Elwood, but I have no experience in answering your question comparing AVCHD and MP4s, except to say that quality-wise you may not be able to see any difference in most cases. I do know that there are other factors involved in comparing the two, but those may not have any importance to you. I'm sure there are people here who will answer your question, but I think many are otherwise involved with holidays and family right now. Glad you found a solution to your file transfer problem. I should have realized that you were on a Mac when you mentioned iMovie. What many of us do is create a signature that contains system specs, which is often helpful to anyone answering questions, and keeps you from having to retype it every time it's needed.

[Elwood]

Thanks, Dave. I'll create that signature with my system specs. And I look forward to any other comments about MP4 quality.
Best Wishes,
-Elwood

[Elwood]

Hi, Dave, I think I successfully added my computer specs. We'll see if they show up in this post.

[Dave McElderry]

Hi, Dave, I think I successfully added my computer specs. We'll see if they show up in this post.

[Elwood]

Thanks again for all your help. I'll be back with hat in hand and soon.
Best, ES

[Bob]

And I look forward to any other comments about MP4 quality.

The issue here is avchd vs mp4 as recorded by your camera. According to the Canon HF M500 manual, the highest quality output is AVCHD MXP mode at 1920x1080 resolution. The next highest quality is AVCHD FXP mode at 1440x1080 resolution. The other AVCHD recording modes are also 1440x1080 but at a lower bit rate and thus lesser quality. MP4, on the other hand, is recorded by your camera at 1280x720 resolution. That's still considered high definition, but it's less resolution than 1920x1080 or 1440x1080.

You probably won't be able to tell the difference between MXP and FXP for average scenes. FXP at 1440x1080 does have lower horizontal resolution which will be most evident when there is prominant fine horizontal detail in the scene and you are viewing on a large HDTV screen.

[Elwood]

Thank you, Bob, that's helpful information. I guess I should try to determine ahead of time whether my project will be--or might end up--large and go from there. For things like fun family gatherings, I can go with MP4, for a more serious project, I can go whole hog. Or use one of the smaller hogs. --Best, E

[Steve Grisetti]

I just got my Canon Vixia AVCHD recognized by my Mac. But it wasn't quite as automatic as when I plugged it into my PC.

Make sure, when you plug it all in, that you have your display screen open and make sure the camcorder is set to Play rather than Record. Then follow the prompts of the camcorder's display screen, making sure to select the source card your video is coming from (or All). Should work fine after that.

[Elwood]

Thanks, Steve. I had done as you suggest, camcorder set for play, but I didn't use the camcorder display screen after than--I went directly to Elements 11, which, of course, was open. So, you're saying there are prompts on the camcorder screen that I should follow BEFORE I turn to my Premiere Elements 11 Importer, right? I confuse easily.

[Steve Grisetti]

Yes. Before you open the Video Importer, follow the screen prompts on your camcorder to set it up to share all of your media storage (hard drive and flash cards).