Hi, I have a fujitsu/siemens Amilo Li-2735 laptop. I want to take film off a JVC mini Dv camcorder via 1eee1394 port on camera. My problem is that I don't have a port on my laptop to take it, all there is are usb ports. I read the guide for my camera and it says no drivers are required to run off vista. Has anyone got any advice to help.

IEEE 1394 is also known as "Firewire". You need a "Firewire to USB" adapter. I suggest you Google that (put the quotes around it or you'll get a bunch of "USB to Firewire" adapters. Here's one I found. It's pretty pricey, however.

Pixela 1394 to USB 2.0 Capture Cable. Transfer your camcorder video to your PC or laptop via USB 2.0. One of a kind product! (http://www.pixela-1.com/captycable/)

I own a video and photo company. Your honest to god best bet is to buy a laptop with firewire installed. Or build a cheapy desktop and just use it for capturing (you can build one for under 400 that's decent). The date rate of firewire and USB is different and your taking something that is faster and making it slower. You won't be able to capture video that way. At least I've never seen it work.

But I've been wrong before!