Connecting The Panasonic AG-HVX200 Camera For Final Cut Pro

When working with P2 cards for use with Final Cut Pro, one way of transferring the video data recorded to the cards is to insert a P2 card in a P2 camera, like the HVX200, and then connect the camera to a Mac computer.

Connecting The Camera

1. Turn on camera and insert a P2 card with recorded video.

2. Connect camera to computer with a FireWire cable.

3. Make sure that menu setting is correct for transferring P2 data through a FireWire cable. This only needs to be done once. Once its set, it only needs to be reset if the camera options are changed.

    A) Press Menu button on top of camera.

    B) Using navigation buttons, scroll down to "9. Other Functions". Choose this.

    C) Scroll down to "PC Mode". And choose it. This will open up the available options.

    D) Choose 1394Device (1394 stands for FireWire).

    E) After making this selection, press Menu to exit.

4. On the back of the camera you will need to switch from camera mode to PC mode. Start by pressing the Mode button once.

The red light under the word camera (seen in the previous picture) will switch to a green light across from VCR (in the following picture).

5. Next, press and hold the Mode button for at least three seconds and let go. This switches you to PC mode and an orange light will come on across from the word PC. Note: If you do not hold down the Mode button for long enough, the camera will switch back to camera mode.

The card will mount on the Desktop as a generic disk icon with the words "NO NAME".

Now the camera is ready for P2 data transfer to the Mac.

Un-Mounting And Disconnecting Camera

1. When you are done transferring media, eject the P2 card from the Desktop by dragging it to the Trash or right-clicking on it and choosing "Eject". Alternately, from within Final Cut Pro, in the Log and Transfer window, you can click the Eject button in the upper right corner of the window.

2. Turn off camera and disconnect FireWire cable.