ok, so if i buck down for FCP will I be happy?

[shreddog]

Looking at final cut studio. $1200. ouch . this is gonna sting.
Used final cut before but never owned it. Was a big premiere user for a long time.
Last couple projects i did were punched out by IMOVIE 06. Cheap wins and this came with me IMAC. So now i have this wicked HMC-150 and can't get at my footy. i have tryed voltaic etc but wasnt impressed.
Will I be happy with final cut studio? I have shot all of my footy at 720 60p in the hopes of slowing down some of it later. Will this software run 720 60p ( after converting) on a 30p timeline as slowmo? What options do I have using my 60p footage as regular speed on a 30p timeline? I would go with FCE but I understand it doesn't work like final cut studio. Wasn't given the update as of yet?

ANY WAYS........ Should i buck down for the $1200 final cut studio? or is there an easier and cheaper way for my imac to edit the 150's footage.

Running out of card space and must dump footy soon. AAAAAHHH!

[VictorS]

Final Cut will import your footage and Cinema Tools (comes with FCP Studio) will turn 60p into 30p slomo.

How happy you'll be with it depends on you.

[grinner]

ouch my booty.
Your are loking at the most bang for the buck in the NLE world. Get it. Master it. then bill the dog out of it.
ouch is reserved for those of us who handed Avid six figures and got so little back for it.

[studio1972]

FCE does work like FCP, but it doesn't have the extra programmes with it such as color etc. I use FCE but I am planning to upgrade to FCS when FCS3 comes out. Main issue regarding the HMC is that it converts to AIC instead of pro res, and there are some glitches in PH mode with long cliips.

FCE is a good way to try out FCP though IMHO as the interface is almost identical.

[shreddog]

so in FCE would i just take my 720 60p footy and
Modify
- speed to 50% ( with no frame blending?)

should this give me smooth slowmo?
Thanks

[Thomas Lew]

Well personally I work with FCP all the time and I love it. If you will be happy is up to u lol

[JonathanS]

Of course, the other way of editing AVCHD footage is to buy the current version of iLife, '08. iMovie08 is, in some ways, a step back from the previous version, but for bashing stuff together quickly there's really nothing like it. Work within its limitations, and it can be tremendously quick. When you run headlong into things it can't do - well, that's what Final Cut XML export is for. You can push your timeline and media straight into Final Cut Express. I've only done this with MPEG2/.MOD video, but it's worked surprisingly smoothly.

All of this is assuming, of course, that you have an Intel-based iMac. If you're on an older PowerPC machine than Voltaic is your only option, I believe.

[JaviBUSA08]

Just a tip, which I am sure most of you know. if you are currently enrolled in school/university you can get FCP for half the price. I believe the academic one is $600 dollars. And yes its EXACTLY the same as the normal one, they just slap academic label on it...

[David Saraceno]

Toast 9 will convert MTS files from the HMC150 easily and much faster the Voltaic.

And unlike Voltaic or FCP, it will convert to any codec on your computer. We go to DVCProHD.

Also, the time controls in Motion 3 are absolutely fantastic -- uses Shake's algorithms. You also can ramp the clips.

[niugnep]

Just a tip, which I am sure most of you know. if you are currently enrolled in school/university you can get FCP for half the price. I believe the academic one is $600 dollars. And yes its EXACTLY the same as the normal one, they just slap academic label on it...

Isn't there a licensing issue when doing work-for-hire with an academic version of FC?

Plus, I do know that academic FC is not upgradeable to the next version.

-David