Camcorder to Laptop.

[equator]

Hey guys. I want to transfer some videos from my camcorder to my laptop. I’ve never done something like this before, so my question is …What cables do I need, and how do I go about hooking them up?
My laptop is a Compaq Presario R3000
Camcorder (http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=11039458 )

After seeing the prices of the modern cams, mixers and video software the only thing I can say is: Thank God I am a guitarist and not a film maker. :D

Thanks guys.

[da_ardvark]

It's going to depend on the camera and the laptop. If you are lucky you'll just need a usb cable and you're good to go. Look on line for the manual and read to see what is recommended. If you need left/reight audio (RCA jacks) and yellow video RCA, you may not be able to get it on the laptop.

[Leedogg]

Unless the video card on your laptop already has video-in (pretty unlikely) you're going to need an external video capture device. This is because your camcorder doesn't have firewire or USB support. I'd suggest purchasing something like this from newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815100112). It'd allow you to get your video from your camcorder to your laptop via a USB port. If you decide to go this route and have any questions just let me know.

[equator]

Thanks Leedogg, you're the man.
If anybody has more ideas I would like to hear them.
Thanks again.