The VCamNow toy video camera works with OS X

I put an SD card (1GB, $30, ridiculous price drops in the past year) into my son's neglected VCamNow (sold via Target and Amazon). Then I put it in "play" mode and connected it to my iMac.

I was pleased to discover that the camera mounted and I could edit the jpg photos and AVI movies in iPhoto and iMovie. My son was delighted and the camera is now quite popular.

I noted my discovery in an Amazon review, then decided to ask Google if anyone else had noticed this. Not many it turned out, but one kindred spirit made the same discovery last December. Now there are two postings, so anyone who cares will find the answer to their worries.

My unsuspecting collaborator notes the bundled software (PC only) is quite horrid, but the software is not needed on XP anyway. There's no Mac software, so one must make do with iMovie and iPhoto :-). He notes the Mattel Vidster (not as good) also works with OS X.

Update 9/16/06: I think for this to work you have to first play a piece of one of the movies, and it may only work if you use the internal memory card to store data on. I think playing a part of one movie in the camera causes it to build a file system of some sort. Otherwise when you mount the camera the folder is empty. Also, here's info on the AVI format..

Update 10/15/06: iPhoto 6 will mount the VCamNow and import the videos.