Can't Import Files from CF Card...Image Capture Keeps Popping Up

As I finish up some big jobs in FCP 7 I am starting a slow and measured transition into FCP X. And...of course...I am having a problem right off the bat. I have a CF card out of a 7D mounted in a card reader on the desk top. The card mounts...no problem. But I cannot seem to get FCP X to show me the import window. What is happening is that Image Capture keeps popping up on top of FCP X.

My gut tells me there is some sort of conflict and I tried to trash Image Capture to take that out of the equation but the OS won't let me trash it. Is that what is causing the problem or am I missing something. I am following Steve Martin's excellent tutorials btw so I am not just charging into this blindly.

Thanks...

Just queries are you using COMMAND "I" or SHIFT COMMAND "I" or using the menu?
And Image Capture opens up when hitting the commands in FCPX?

Apparently Image Capture is set to automatically open whenever you connect your card reader. To disable this function:

Connect your card reader.
Open Image Capture.
Select your device from the Devices list.
Click the Show Device Settings button in the lower left corner if Device Settings are not visible.
Select "No Application" in the pop-up menu in the Device Settings.

Best wishes,

Ronny

Guys thanks for the input but my frustration grows...

First, I went through the settings drill with Image Capture and did as advised.

Now here is the latest...

First and foremost - The card does show up on the desktop and I made a disk image (.dmg) for backup. So the OS is clearly seeing and recognizing the card.

Now since it is mounted in OS X shouldn't it be showing up in FCP X? Well it's not. So that seems to be problem # 1.

If I hit Command I the Camera Import Window does open but nothing happens and there is no indication in the Camera Import Window that the card is mounted.

Just for fun I clicked the Open Archive button to see if I could import from the .dmg I created from the card. Here's what happend...the damn Image Capture popped up again.

There seems to be something really amiss. FCP is clearly not seeing the card/reader. What could be causing this? It can't be a bum card reader...the OS clearly sees that card and i made a .dmg.

Baffling.

Make sure there are NO jpeg or RAW stills on the card. If the card contains any stills, remove them from the card folder on your desktop and put them inside a separate folder. Then re-open the fcpx Camera Import window and see if this works.

BTW having stills on the card could also explain why Image Capture keeps popping up.

Done...I just reformatted a card and shot 1 ten second sequence, and still have the problem described above. Stills on the card are a non issue.

Use the COMMAND SHIFT I to open up the Imprt File Window.

OK I used Command Shift I and it brought in the one sequence I had on the card but that brings in the whole file. What good does that do me??? All that does is bring in the raw files on the card just like if I was importing already processed files. Command Shift I works but is not the workflow for importing from a CF card in a reader.

I need (and should be able) to import using Command I...the conventional way to import sequences from an attached reader...so I can import what I want not everything that;s on the card.

The fundamental problem clearly remains that my CF card, in the reader, mounted on my desktop is not being recognized by FCP X. It is not showing up in the Import File Window. The question is why and how do fix it.?

Thanks for the input though.

For what you want to do (for my understanding) you would need a camera that is compataiboul with FCPX.

What specific camera are you using?

BTW, making a DMG of a CF card only makes a CF card image, not a hard drive. Cards don't mount "inside" of FCP X like hard drives. But you can see them just fine in the Import File window. Or you should. Sounds very odd.

In the DMG, on the Finder level, highlight a file, Cmd+i to go to the Get Info window, and change the app that file type is associated with, and click the button to change all files of that type. Associate it with either QT or FCP X.

I am using a 7D.

As I am just learning from another source...I cannot import from that camera or the card. Canon has not done what they need to do (or had the API) to make the 7D and other cams compatible.

So when it comes to creating a disk image of the card...how do I get the shots into FCP X...and do I have to take in the whole file and not have the option of only importing only selected sequences or segments within a given shot?

Thanks.

"Canon has not done what they need to do (or had the API) to make the 7D and other cams compatible."

Blatantly not true. We use a couple of 7D's in our studio, as do many of our friends, and they work just fine with FCP X.

No, you don't get to select segments of files with DSLR's, because it's already a QT movie file. I never found that to be a big deal anyway. I just make Favorite ranges inside the Event Browser, does the same thing. You just do it after import, rather than before.

Yes, we are waiting for Canon to make a new plugin for FCP X (like they did for Log & Transfer in FCP 7), because it's a plugin architecture like before, but it doesn't stop or slow you down with editing at this point in time.

For a 7D, use Import Image. Point to the "100EOS7D" folder, then Import. FCP X will say it doesn't recognize all of the .THM files, and that's just fine, click OK, and you're done. I do it pretty much daily.

Be sure to either Optimize them if you're on a laptop or want more performance out of FCP X, or just copy the native files into the Event Folder. Either way, you're good to go.

So much info...good and bad...floating around. Thanks for the info. I'll go give it a try.

BenB...Thanks for the input. That indeed got the files into FCP. But without having the Canon EOS plugin this is a real cluster (at least compared, in this context, to the ease and control one has in FCP 7)

The only point that I would take issue with is that not being able to rough in "segments" you want to keep is no big deal. If I have 50 shots, each being 30 seconds...and I only want to use 5 seconds from each shot, I have that other 25 seconds that I don't want and that takes up a hell of a lot of space on my drive unnecessarily.

If I have to bring in the whole dang clip it's probably easier to dump the files into Magic Bullet Grinder convert them to Pro Res LT in that software and at least have some control over file naming.

And my apologies to those I doubted who recommended using the import file command...Ben gave me a little more info so I could see the whole picture. Thanks to all.

You can rename files in FCP X, you know, right? And creating Favorite ranges, then setting the Browser clip filter to show only Favorites is WAY faster and easier than going to some third party app and spending time there. IMHO, that is. That's just me, everyone works different.

I'd like to have the logging abilities like in 7, and they're coming. Just not today, today can go to 7, ingest, and then take the resulting files into FCP X. Fast, easy, not a big deal for a workaround.

Lack of drive space, drive space should be part of what the client pays for when hiring us, thus it shouldn't be an issue. But, that's my own workflow. Anyway...

Well, that's the good news, even if a few months old 1.0.1 application can't do it now, one day very soon it will. It's up to Canon to make the plugin, just like with L&T in FCP 7.

Keep filling out the feedback page for FCP X, Apple actually reads and catalogs those. It's very important we tell Apple what we want, so then we'll get it.

Personally, I'd never want to edit without Roles again!

And don't forget Automatic Duck added FCP X support to their products, and are giving them all away for FREE now. There's another advancement for FCP X!

In the long run, FCP X will surprise a lot of folks. Big things are in the making...