Why wasn't a firewire cable included with my digital video camera kit?

Firewire ports (camera or computer) come in two configurations -- 4 pin or 6 pin. Canon's digital video cameras have a 4-pin DV (digital video) port, whereas most firewire capture cards are configured with a 6-pin port. A 4-pin to 6-pin cable would work for most users, but some may have a 4-pin port on their computer, and some may want to transfer their digital video to another digital device which is configured with a 4-pin port. Other users may not have a computer with firewire capability or the resources to process and edit digital video files, which are very large, and therefore they do not need the cable at all.

For these reasons, Canon has not packaged a cable with the camcorder. The proper cable (appropriate connectors) are widely available commercially at a nominal cost.