[DM-MUG] question about camcorders and transfering to Mac

[Darcy Baston]

I'm in the market for a camcorder and am attracted by the low prices (<$300, like the Samsung SC-D372) of minidv. If anyone's in the know, can you help me have these questions answered? 

1-Is that a tape media where there are two spools that require rewinding/fastforwarding, like a VHS? 

2-When you want to transfer that to the Mac, does it have to play in real-time to be captured or being digital information can it just spool real fast? 

3-Is iMovie the only means of doing this on the Mac or are there other tools you like better? Have you tried this in the *new* iMovie with the different interface?

Thanks!