Does automatic creations work with import from camera?

It can take hours and sometimes days for new ACs to be created.  I'm not exactly sure what you are expecting to happen.  Importing new files to a catalog does not necessarily generate ACs for those files.  The ACs are generated from your entire catalog and there are various factors that the AC generator seems to look at, including the names of files and folders, and the content of the photos.

How many media files do you have in your old catalog?  What is the folder structure and naming conventions that you use to store your files?

OK.  So you have 36 auto-creations generated.  Are they all viewable in the Welcome Screen when you have your test catalog open?  Please confirm that there no auto-creations visible in your old catalog.  Your original question seemed to suggest that your catalog was generating ACs from files imported from folders but not from a camera.  Are you now saying that your old catalog is not generating any ACs?

BTW, the timestamps on your Creations folder indicates that the ACs were created very quickly.  For your information, the catalog will generate a maximum of 40 ACs.  If you delete an AC, it will be replaced by another.  The ACs are also available for a limited period.  They will then be automatically deleted and replaced by others.  (I think it is a 30 day recycle process, but I may be wrong about that.)

What OS are you using?

I assume you mean that you converted a catalog from a prior version of Elements.  Which version was the original catalog?

When you start a new catalog, there will be no auto creations generated and you will see the tile to Add Media until the first auto creation is generated.

As I understand you, you have created a new catalog, imported some files into it and some auto creations have been generated.  But your original converted catalog has no(?) auto creations or at least none from new files imported from your camera?

If you are on Windows, how many sub-folders do you have in the following folder: C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Elements Organizer\19.0\CAHeadless\Creations?  (You may need to unhide system folders to see them, and the sub-folders will have a bunch of random alpha-numeric names.) These folders contain copies of the media that are the source for the auto creations.  If you look at the date of creation for the folders, you will see whether the feature is generating any recent creations.

Auto creations works with all photos within your catalog no matter how they were imported.