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  • Panasonic Cameras

    Best way to plug in HPX 170 for file download to PC

    Posted by Jack Niedenthal on November 14, 2011 at 9:56 am

    It usually takes a couple of tries to get my new HPX 170 camera to show up as “NO NAME” on my desktop (iMac 2011, OS X 10.7.2). What is the correct order for this to work?

    I typically follow this order:

    1 Computer on and Firewire plugged into computer but not plugged into camera.

    2 plug in Firewire cable into 1394 port on camera with camera off

    3 turn camera on, wait for green flashing light, then toggle to PC on camera.

    I guess one question is can I turn on the camera and then plug into the 1394 port on the camera?

    Jack Niedenthal
    Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands

    Andrea Napolitano replied 14 years, 1 month ago 4 Members · 15 Replies
  • 15 Replies

  • Steve Eisen

    November 15, 2011 at 10:35 pm

    Never have camera on and plug into firewire port! You can blow out your port.

    Set the camera to USB for better response and mount camera.

    The manual shows exactly how to do this.

    Steve Eisen
    Eisen Video Productions
    Vice President
    Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

  • Jack Niedenthal

    November 16, 2011 at 8:36 pm

    Thanks, Steve. I did read the manual, but I couldn’t get it to work right. Let me state what I have discovered and tell me if you think this is okay to do:

    My setup is as follows:

    I have an iMac with a 2 TB external hard drive.

    My FCP X has all of its files on the ext HD.

    What I do when I load files from the camera:

    1 turn off hard drive
    2 attach firewire 800 cable from camera (turned off) to ext HD (which is also turned off).
    3 turn on camera, get into PC mode
    4 turn on hard drive

    This gets the camera mounted onto the computer, then I open FCP X and import. Works fine, but I just want to know if any of these steps might damage anything.

    Thanks for your help.

    Jack Niedenthal
    Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands

  • Chris Tompkins

    November 16, 2011 at 11:39 pm

    Like Steve said, mount the cam via USB cable.
    Use P2CMS to transfer the card media to the comp.

    Chris Tompkins
    Video Atlanta LLC

  • Jack Niedenthal

    November 17, 2011 at 1:12 am

    Okay, for some reason I was thinking the USB port was only for Windows computers.

    Isn’t USB much slower than the 1394 port?

    Jack Niedenthal
    Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands

  • Jack Niedenthal

    November 17, 2011 at 3:38 am

    Actually, in Barry Green’s book about the HPX 170 he says: “While it may or may not function to use the camera in USB device mode with a Macintosh computer, it is not recommended or guaranteed; when connecting to a Mac, please use the 1394 terminal instead. The USB terminal is guaranteed to work only with Windows PCs.”

    Jack Niedenthal
    Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands

  • Chris Tompkins

    November 17, 2011 at 11:15 am

    Right Jack,
    But as experienced users are telling you; USB works better on MAC or PC!

    Try it and measure the results yourself.
    Use the FW port if you want.

    You asked for advise on hooking up the 170 to a mac.

    One last time:

    USE THE USB PORT FOR BETTER RESULTS!!!

    Chris Tompkins
    Video Atlanta LLC

  • Jack Niedenthal

    November 17, 2011 at 5:54 pm

    Thanks, Chris. Understood. I didn’t mean to sound dense. This is a huge investment for me, so when hearing one thing from experienced users on this website, and then reading a book that came with the camera that was written by another experienced user saying something completely different, it confused me. I just don’t want to break my camera.

    I have tried the USB port and it works fine.

    Jack Niedenthal
    Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands

  • Jack Niedenthal

    November 17, 2011 at 6:23 pm

    Sorry, another question for transferring in the field.

    If I have a Macbook Pro hooked up to the camera via USB 2.0, then have an external drive plugged into the Mac via the 800 firewire port, will this make a problem if I am transferring the files to the external drive from the camera using 2 different protocols plugged into the Mac (USB 2.0 and Firewire)?

    Thanks.

    Jack Niedenthal
    Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
    http://www.microwavefilms.org
    iMac i7 using Lion 10.7.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card

  • Steve Eisen

    November 18, 2011 at 4:20 am

    Nope. Both FW and USB have their own bus.

    If possible, look into getting a dedicated P2 card reader.

    Steve Eisen
    Eisen Video Productions
    Vice President
    Chicago Final Cut Pro Users Group

  • Jack Niedenthal

    November 18, 2011 at 4:55 am

    I understand they both have their own bus.

    But if the camera is plugged into the Macbook via USB and the HD is plugged into the Macbook via firewire, the files can’t go camera–macbook–HD using p2cms?

    Jack Niedenthal
    Microwave Films of the Marshall Islands
    http://www.microwavefilms.org
    iMac i7 using Lion 10.7.x, HPX 170 using only one 64GB card

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