Can you edit Canon HDSLR footage in Premiere Pro Cs4?

Mavoz

Well-known member
Am looking to buy a Canon 60D...and want to use my existing Premiere Pro Cs4.

Can this footage (h.264 codec I believe)...be edited succesfully?

Do you need an incredibly powerful pc....or some form of conversion software? Or do I need to upgrade to Cs5?

(Have googled away...but can't quite find a straight answer!)

Thanks
 
Am looking to buy a Canon 60D...and want to use my existing Premiere Pro Cs4.

Can this footage (h.264 codec I believe)...be edited succesfully?

Do you need an incredibly powerful pc....or some form of conversion software? Or do I need to upgrade to Cs5?

(Have googled away...but can't quite find a straight answer!)

Thanks


Well I've continued to research this one...

finally found a really useful link here:

http://crookedpathfilms.com/blog/20...e-edition-updated-for-cs5-and-firmware-2-0-7/

The author recommends converting the footage using:

Cineform Neoscene.

http://www.videoguys.com/Item/CineForm+Neo+Scene+PC/54E4543435F454E4.aspx

Sounds promising....and more efficient than the Cs5 upgrade method.

Does anyone know a place where you can download some sample Canon HDSLR footage in native format? (I'd like to actually try this before spending the cash on a camera and conversion software!)


 
I have edited footages shot from DSLR's before. They are either in .mov or .avi. Can't you just import them directly into Premiere CS4?
 
Yes you can. Just drop the files into the timeline like anything else. I used to do it before CS5 came out.
But you may get choppy playback.
 
I convert to Avid's DNxHD when I edit on Premiere Pro CS4 on my PC, which has worked as well as converting to ProRes 422 when I edit with FCP 7. And it is free. I'm not sure what you gain with NeoScene.
 
Here is my experience with 7d footages (60d footages should be the same):

Editing in Premiere CS4 - in the timeline, it's very choppy and sometimes it lags without rendering. Sucks. Rarely using it now a days.

Editing in Edius 5.1 - Flawsless. Real time playback on the timeline without rendering. No conversion, no lagging, no freezing... equals no frustration.

That's why edius is the underdog editing platform I'm using and loving it. But than again, I'm no expert on technical specs and what of, so don't take my words for it. Just my own experiences of using both of these editing programs.

My computer:

Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Quad core with 3.33 GHz
RAM: 6 GB
OS: Windows 7, 64 bit
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9800GTX+

Hard Drives: Just regular 7200 rpm SATA drives. Nothing special
 
Never had any issues with my T2i footage in CS4, it gives me the yellow render bar but still plays back pretty well without rendering - I'm sure there are better options out there but I have yet to seek any out since I don't need one at this time.
 
Thanks for all the replies...

I'll give the footage a try direct in Cs4...but will also try Neoscene...

Found a great set of instructions for CS4 over at:

http://techblog.cineform.com/?p=1230

I find all this codec stuff the most difficult part of the whole video filming and video editing process!

The old Mini DV tape days seemed relatively painless by comparison...but I guess it is just a case of getting your head around it all.
 
Thanks for all the replies...

I'll give the footage a try direct in Cs4...but will also try Neoscene...

Found a great set of instructions for CS4 over at:

http://techblog.cineform.com/?p=1230

I find all this codec stuff the most difficult part of the whole video filming and video editing process!

The old Mini DV tape days seemed relatively painless by comparison...but I guess it is just a case of getting your head around it all.


I say give PP CS4 a whirl with the native file. If it stutters on playback then perhaps you should get Neoscene or invest in the CS5 upgrade. Keep in mind PP CS5 can probably edit the raw file just fine if you have a decent Nvidia based graphics card. I want CS5 myself but I just don't have the cash flow right now : (
 
I say give PP CS4 a whirl with the native file. If it stutters on playback then perhaps you should get Neoscene or invest in the CS5 upgrade. Keep in mind PP CS5 can probably edit the raw file just fine if you have a decent Nvidia based graphics card. I want CS5 myself but I just don't have the cash flow right now : (

Thanks for the replies...

I've tried Neoscene...and it converts the file well...after some initial stuttery playback problems (which was fixed I by updating the graphics card) it seems to be working really well!

I'll try MPEG Streamclip with the AVID codec next...compare results...and figure out whether I need to buy Neoscene or not....

Thank you!

UPDATE:

Well I've done further testing using a sample clip from my 60D here are my results of importing into CS4....

Option 1:
Original File: 83.9 Mb
Result: Stuttery playback on preview in Premiere CS4

Option 2:
Streamclip MPEG export using Quicktime and Avid DNxHD Codec at 1920 x 1080 16x9 100p 25
185 10 bit = 345 Mb
120 8bit = 228Mb
36 8 bit = 73.1 Mb

Result: All versions play back stuttery in Premiere Pro CS4

Option 3:
Neoscene Export to AVI
File Size: 101 Mb

Result: Perfect playback in Premiere Pro Cs4

Conclusion of my research:
Neoscene is the superior method..exporting to AVI....unless of course there is some other way of getting MPEG streamclip to work......(there are more options in this thing than you can poke a stick at let me tell you!!)

For $99 it probably saves a lot of stress and experimentation to just buy neoscene.
 
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