Adobe CS3 VS FCP Studio 5

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Nik Manning

Well-known member
Okay I am a certified FCP editor and I attend the LAFCPUG regularly. Thursday Adobe stopped by the LAFCPUG meeting and gave a demo of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium preorder $1699. All I have to say is it was amazing! The integration between all of the programs was phenomenal!

Now comes the question now that Premiere is back on the mac. Premiere or FCP?

If you look at the price it seems anyone just starting in this field should consider the Adobe route. FCP studio 5 is $1299 and includes some very good programs but what it doesn't include is Photoshop or After Effects. If you were to buy After Effects new that is $999 and Photoshop Extended is $999 that is already over the preorder price of CS3 Premium $1699. You could honestly walk up and buy the premium CS3 for $1699 and have a complete production studio.

FCP studio 5 $1299 buy after effects $999 and even if you get photoshop standard it is $699 that is still the price of the CS3 package. I just don't see the point in buying FCP studio anymore as someone starting as an editor.

Now remember this is the new Adobe package and FCP is due to release Version 6 so this could all change, but I think FCP studio 6 would have to include Shake 4 or a 3d program to even compete and make some serious improvements to Motion to make it seem like more than a particle plugin for after effects. I like Motion by the way just to clarify.

All I am saying is I am considering getting into some freelance work and I would need to purchase my own system apart from work so I think I am leaning toward Adobe CS3 Premium Package. Spending that $1699 one time would save some serious cash.

If anyone wants to jump in an give me their opinion I would appreciate it. Thanks
 
Adobe CS3 is looking pretty attractive to me as well, even if I only want After Effects and Photoshop. But I think I'll hold off on deciding until NAB, just to hear what Apple has to say about Final Cut Studio 6.
 
Probably the biggest thing to consider is Premiere's (in my opinion) biggest weakness compared to FCP. Which is the lack of ability to edit HD video fluency without the need for third-part plugins. I'm not sure exactly how much has change in Premiere's CS3 in terms of using plugins such as cineform and raylight, but we all know that FCP can handle pretty much any format very well.

So I guess if you edit mostly HD video then you might be annoyed if you have to go purchase some third-party plugins, but the benefit of the integration of the fellow adobe apps (which are all pretty amazing on their own) outweighs the cons.
 
Yeah I will wait for NAB to see what Apple has up their sleeve. Hopefully Motion will be updated with 3D and some other useful features plus FCP will need some amazing features to compete with OnLocation,clip notes, Ultra CS3 and Photoshop integration. I wonder what the price will be for CS3 after the preorder can't be more than $1999. I am rooting for you FCP! Bring it home.

Maybe FCP Studio will have a price drop. If FCP 6 was $999 and Motion was updated alot then it would be worth it to just buy Photoshop for $699. You would have a mid range Video Production Bundle for $1699. Even then it is the same price as CS3. MAN times have changed.
 
I'll be sticking with FCS... but I will be getting After Effects and PS Extended. I'm hoping that FCP6 brings some major improvements. I may play around with Premiere, just so that I'm familiar with it. But I don't see myself changing over full-time, though.
 
WesCoughlin said:
Probably the biggest thing to consider is Premiere's (in my opinion) biggest weakness compared to FCP. Which is the lack of ability to edit HD video fluency without the need for third-part plugins. I'm not sure exactly how much has change in Premiere's CS3 in terms of using plugins such as cineform and raylight, but we all know that FCP can handle pretty much any format very well.

So I guess if you edit mostly HD video then you might be annoyed if you have to go purchase some third-party plugins, but the benefit of the integration of the fellow adobe apps (which are all pretty amazing on their own) outweighs the cons.
Click to expand...

This is a list of what is supported by Premiere Pro 2. Don't know if more has been added for CS3 but I know it does 24f hdv and 24p hdv. It doesn't say anything about DVCPROHD support so I guess HVXusers wouldn't be to happy. Thanks for the heads up Wes.
 
bigbossbmb said:
I'll be sticking with FCS... but I will be getting After Effects and PS Extended. I'm hoping that FCP6 brings some major improvements. I may play around with Premiere, just so that I'm familiar with it. But I don't see myself changing over full-time, though.
Click to expand...

That is my point After Effects is $999 and Photoshop is $999. You should just buy the preorder for $1699 and get both plus premiere. And premiere has unbelievable integration with after effects and photoshop. Would you still use DVD Studio Pro? Encore has the ability to export your DVD as a flash DVD for the web. This really could be another sales pitch for folks making DVD's for clients.
Check out the after effects new features tour if you haven't.
 
Nik Manning said:
Would you still use DVD Studio Pro? Encore has the ability to export your DVD as a flash DVD for the web. This really could be another sales pitch for folks making DVD's for clients.
Click to expand...

Just as a side note, if you have never tried using Encore 2.0 and are used to DVD studio pro, I would give it a try. I think the integration of Photoshop and Encore is often over looked, because they're probably Adobe's two most integrated apps.

If I were you, I would download the beta release of the CS3 apps on April 16 (i think) and then decide if your willing to ditch FCP.
 
Here's a list of new features for PP CS3. CS2 needed 3rd party tools to support DVCProHD, and CS3 brochure doesn't say otherwise (at least in the PC section). But I know DV Rack (now called On Location) has a DVCProHD codec, so I suspect that PP CS3 will probably support it.

It says they've added support for DVCProHD in the Mac section, but that's compared to Premiere 6.5 from 4 years ago. Then it says in small print that support for some formats require 3rd party capture cards. So I guess it's still unclear to me if they can support it natively on Mac.

www.mgla.org/content/invite_artwork/adobe/CS3/PremiereProCS3WhatsNew.pdf

 
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Well since I'm still on a PPC Mac, I'll have to wait until I upgrade to a Mac Pro to try out Premiere and Encore. But I won't be paying full price for the software, so the cost really isn't an issue (my friend works for adobe).
 
I have wrestled with this issue to since CS3 was announced, but the more I think about it, the more I realize I can't give up Final Cut Pro. FC Studio, yes, but not the editing app itself. If CS3 were to ditch Premiere and grab Final Cut and keep everything else (of course this will never happen, though maybe it should...) I'd be a happy camper. Most likely though, something from Apple at NAB will really impress me and I'll just end up shelling out for both, though I'm eligible for educational discounts so it would be FAR easier on the pocket to do that. We'll see...this competition is really getting exciting, because ultimatley we as the customer benefit.
Peace,

-Harry
 
You guys are aware that if you have just about any old copy of Preimer laying around, you can pay a very inexpensive upgrade fee to get one of the new bundles, right? So, which bundle do you get?
 
The Production Budle does look even more amazing, but I really need to see what Apple has in store for us at NAB (i think it will be much bigger than recent years). Not to mention I already own Studio 5.1, so the upgrade will be much cheaper than shelling out for the whole Adobe Suite.
 
I have Premeire Pro 2 at work and Final Cut Pro 5. I really can't notice much of a workflow difference between the 2. So far the major differences have been the short cut keys. I edit mostly mini-dv so that is the only workflow I can comment on.
If Premiere CS3 on the mac does edit DVCPROHD natively then I think I will seriously consider it. I am sure that I would do most of my work in DVCPROHD,mini-dv,DVCPRO50, and hdv. Does anyone know for sure if it handles these formats natively? Man I hope FCP Studio 6 is a killer! By the way the 8-Core Mac Pro is OUT!!!
 
I'm going to be making the move to mac soon... I'm currently running a laptop pc with most of Adobe's products. IE Photoshop CS2, Premiere Pro 2.0, After Effects 7.0, Encore DVD 2.0. The laptop just simply isn't providing enough power which is why I've decided to upgrade.

I'm wondering whether to get the Adobe package or Apple package. Apple is looking more attractive at the moment simply becaues I'm an HVX user and Adobe, as far as I can tell, still isn't supporting the DVCProHD format.

So as far as NLEs go, I think I'm happy to say that FCP is the winner for me.

But what of the motion graphics side of things? How hard would it be to make the switch from AE to Motion? Does Motion offer the same features as AE? What about Shake?

I like AE because of its similarity to Photoshop. It has made learning AE quite easy for me...

And what about Apple's DVD program? I like Encore because of its integration with Photoshop. How does DVD Studio handle the creation of menus etc.?

I think it's safe to assume that there is no alternative to Photoshop... so if I did go the Apple way, that would have to be an additional purchase.

I guess it depends how the motion graphics and dvd products stack up against each other as to whether I go Adobe or Apple... Now that I think of it, I may be better off going the Adobe route and using a thirdparty plugin for my HD work.

Is there anything else I should be considering?

Cheers.
 
Ill pass on Adobe - but thats for a personal reason and nothing to do with CS3 - that said I guess you cant live without photoshop, so thats all I got.

I havent seen new Motion yet, and it has brought in some features from shake, but it is a motion graphics programme not for composoting like AE.

DVD studio is set up to work with photoshop, and does rather well.

Can you upgrade your pc licence to a mac version? If so going adobe would be much cheaper for you.
 
After seeing what Final Cut Suite 2 has to offer, I don't think there's any way I'll be switching to Adobe. Personally, I think Apple hit a homerun with their upgrade. Add SHAKE for $499 for your compositing (which I already have)...
 
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