Canon MD120 help

[blobofblue]

So I have this Canon MD120, and my main goal is to connect it to my laptop.

I need to stream the video (not concerned about audio) pretty much like a web cam, so I can use it to make stop motion films via a frame grabber.

My computer is an Acer 3830t-6849 with windows 7 home premium. These are the following ports:
- 2 USB 2.0
- 1 USB 3.0
- HDMI
- VGA
- Ethernet port

There is no room for a PCMCIA card or anything to be installed externally.

I tried out a 6 pin to usb converter with a 4 to 6 pin cable in it, but it did not detect the MD120.

I have been struggling with this problem for over a year now, and in that time the internet has told me
-There is no working cable for firewire to usb, all the ones for sale online do not work
-Every thread ends in "install a pcmcia card"

I have 3 questions.
-Is it possible to connect firewire to USB 3.0?
-Is it possible to stream the video through the AV output on the MD120 to my laptop?
-If my situation is hopeless, can you recommend an inexpensive camera or camcorder that would be able to stream to my laptop?

Thank you,

-blobofblue

[hech54]

If the camera cannot be used as a webcam type of device....that is the end of the story. I have a MiniDV camera with Firewire and a Firewire port on my computer and my camera was not designed to function as a webcam would function....The End.

[blobofblue]

Well I'm not using it specifically as a web cam, what I would like to do is have what is on the screen of the camcorder is showing up on my laptop, so I can grab still frames and save them as jpgs.

I tested it out on the family desktop via firewire port and it works perfectly for what I am trying to do.

My main question is how can I achieve the same effect on my laptop?

[Cornucopia]

Your best choices: either get a different camera (one that uses flash card, etc) or get a different PC (one that has firewire port or allows expansion). All other choices are kludges and quite risky.

Scott

[hech54]

Well I'm not using it specifically as a web cam

Long story short.....yes you are.
Same thing only different.
"Live View" - "WebCam Function".....etc etc etc.