Macbook Pro: no Firewire ports
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From: Jaimie Vandenbergh on 7 Aug 2010 06:02 On Sat, 7 Aug 2010 00:44:04 -0700 (PDT), pfgpowell <pfg.powell(a)virgin.net> wrote: >Hi, I am thinking of getting a secondhand Macbook Pro (secondhand for >financial reasons) and the one I have my eye on doesn't have Firewire. >In fact, I think Firewire was dropped from other laptops. I do a lot >video editing, so is there a way around this so that I can still use >my iLink Sony camcorder? Only the metal unibody 13" MacBook 5,1 (early 2009), the first and only metal MacBook before they were rebranded as MacBook Pro, and the plastic unibody 13" MacBook 6,1 (late 2009) do not have firewire. All MBP's do and did. Unless I've missed one. But you can check yourself at http://www.everymac.com/systems/by_capability/mac-specs-by-machine-model-machine-id.html Cheers - Jaimie -- Once I drove so fast that my friend, who was pregnant, started having Lorentz contractions. "Ahah," you might ask, "but how far apart were they?" - Adam Fineman, rgrn
From: David Empson on 8 Aug 2010 00:44 pfgpowell <pfg.powell(a)virgin.net> wrote: > On 7 Aug, 08:48, Chris Ridd <chrisr...(a)mac.com> wrote: > > On 2010-08-07 08:44:04 +0100, pfgpowell said: > > > > > Hi, I am thinking of getting a secondhand Macbook Pro (secondhand for > > > financial reasons) and the one I have my eye on doesn't have Firewire. > > > In fact, I think Firewire was dropped from other laptops. I do a lot > > > > It was dropped for one model/size a while ago, if memory serves, but > > exists on almost all others. > > > > > video editing, so is there a way around this so that I can still use > > > my iLink Sony camcorder? > > > > Choose a different MBP! > > > > The trend is towards AVCHD video cameras using USB, and away from FW. > > So you might want to consider switching your camcorder. > > I can trawl throurh Everymac to get this info, but to save time, can > anyone tell me when Apple dropped Firewire from laptops The MacBook Air never had Firewire. The MacBook dropped Firewire in the late 2008 aluminium unibody model, and the late 2009 polycarbonate unibody model. Earlier models in the original body design had Firewire 400. > i.e. which Macbook Pros I should be looking at. Any of them. Every MacBook Pro has Firewire. There are variations as to _which_ Firewire connector(s) are built in. The original (early 2006) 15" MacBook Pro only had Firewire 400. Later 15" MacBook Pros in the original body design and all 17" MacBook Pros in the original body design have both Firewire 400 and Firewire 800. Unibody MacBook Pros (any size) have Firewire 800 only. > The reason I want to hang onto this camcorder is that it is s digital 8 > which can still play my vast array of super-8 tapes. You can connect any Firewire 400 device to a Firewire 800 port using a connector adapter, or a cable with the appropriate mixture of connectors: 4-pin (Firewire 400 without power) for most cameras, 6-pin for Firewire 400, or 9-pin for Firewire 800. -- David Empson dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz
From: James Dore on 10 Aug 2010 09:40 On Sat, 07 Aug 2010 08:44:04 +0100, pfgpowell <pfg.powell(a)virgin.net> wrote: > Hi, I am thinking of getting a secondhand Macbook Pro (secondhand for > financial reasons) and the one I have my eye on doesn't have Firewire. > In fact, I think Firewire was dropped from other laptops. I do a lot > video editing, so is there a way around this so that I can still use > my iLink Sony camcorder? For a very breif period, Apple did a Unibody MacBook, (as opposed to MacBook Pro) which was as you state - a Pro without the Firewire. Then Apple thought "Oops, this is eating into our lucrative Pro sales..." and dropped it after about four or five months. The seller is trying to hoodwink you. Cheers, James -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/
From: James Dore on 10 Aug 2010 09:42 On Sat, 07 Aug 2010 09:10:26 +0100, Ian McCall <ian(a)eruvia.org> wrote: > On 2010-08-07 09:04:08 +0100, pfgpowell <pfg.powell(a)virgin.net> said: > >> I can trawl throurh Everymac to get this info, but to save time, can >> anyone tell me when Apple dropped Firewire from laptops i.e. which >> Macbook Pros I should be looking at. The reason I want to hang onto >> this camcorder is that it is s digital 8 which can still play my vast >> array of super-8 tapes. > > > Unibody 13" Macbook Pro, which was essentially the non-Pro version > beefed up in a new case. The rest still have them. No: the Unibody 13" Pro HAS firewire (I am looking at one now) - but there was a 13" Unibody MacBook (non-Pro) which didn't. Rapidly withdrawn from sale. Cheers, James -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/
From: James Dore on 10 Aug 2010 09:51
On Sat, 07 Aug 2010 08:44:04 +0100, pfgpowell <pfg.powell(a)virgin.net> wrote: > Hi, I am thinking of getting a secondhand Macbook Pro (secondhand for > financial reasons) and the one I have my eye on doesn't have Firewire. > In fact, I think Firewire was dropped from other laptops. I do a lot > video editing, so is there a way around this so that I can still use > my iLink Sony camcorder? A thought occurs: At some point Pros had the Firewire 400 port replaced with a Firewire 800 port which is rectangular. Make sure you're not mistaking this for something else, if the machine in question is definitely a Pro. You can plug FW 400 devices into an FW800 socket, with either an adapter or a 400-800 cable - either of which can be had quite cheaply. Cheers, James -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/ |