T2i with Final Cut

davidpula

davidpula

Well-known member
I'm a bit confused after googling about importing T2i footage into Final Cut Pro. I saw some bizarre process involving obscure text that needs to be altered, some strange plug-in that is needed, and how this plug-in doesn't work for the T2i.

I have an HMC and am used to connecting my SDHC card to my Mac with a cheap USB reader and having FCP import the footage and bam, I have prores files. No questions, no complications. I enjoy prores.

Can someone clarify this for me?

I appreciate any help. Thanks guys.

BTW I have FCP 6 not 7. Is the plug-in only compatible with 7?
 
davidpula said:
I'm a bit confused after googling about importing T2i footage into Final Cut Pro. I saw some bizarre process involving obscure text that needs to be altered, some strange plug-in that is needed, and how this plug-in doesn't work for the T2i.

I have an HMC and am used to connecting my SDHC card to my Mac with a cheap USB reader and having FCP import the footage and bam, I have prores files. No questions, no complications. I enjoy prores.

Can someone clarify this for me?

I appreciate any help. Thanks guys.

BTW I have FCP 6 not 7. Is the plug-in only compatible with 7?
Click to expand...

Hi, the plugin works fine for me. I just edited and followed Philip Bloom's link. I'm also using FCP 6. I think the editing part of the .plist is kind of confusing at first but if you follow the instructions carefully then you're good to go. Cheers!
 
Canon's plug-in needs to be updated to accomodate the T2i, so that's part of the problem. Once you edit the settings manually, it's painless to import into FCP.

As for blaming FCP, I'd look at the capture format for that. H.264 is a delivery codec, and isn't really designed for editing. Converting to ProRes or similar will provide far less headaches down the line.
 
Lastly, don't try to capture with the camera. It doesn't seem to recognize it even after you've edited the plist file. Use a card reader, and the L&T will import it just fine. No extra steps.
 
davidpula said:
So you're saying I can just import as prores without going through this weird text-altering process?
Click to expand...


You don't "import" as ProRes, per se. Here's what you can do if you don't want to use the EOS FCP Plug-In…

- Copy contents of T2i SD card to Mac.
- Use Compressor to transcode .MOV files into ProRes (flavor of your choice).
- Go out to dinner and/or a movie.
- Return home to find transcoded ProRes files ready to be imported into FCP for editing.
 
I understand. When I import/transcode footage from my HMC I simply plug in the card reader and FCP recognizes it and transcodes and imports. In one step. That's what I meant by "import".

OK sounds good. Am I able to transcode directly with the card reader attached like I do with the HMC cards? Or do I have to copy to hard drive and then transcode? I don't care about keeping original files from the card because I'm happy just having the prores ones. This is what I do now with the HMC.

BTW does anyone else here think some of the people who work at B&H are morons? I ask simple questions about DSLRs upstairs and they are often clueless. This guy told me that the T2i doesn't have any manual/custom white balance---only auto WB, and I had a heart attack. He arrogantly told me that "it's an entry level camera, what do you expect?" Because I almost believed him until I googled it.

thx for all the help guys!
 
stephenmick said:
I suppose you could transcode off the cards, but I always copy to a drive and then transcode.
Click to expand...

^^^ Always the better way, in my experience.

BTW, IDK about other setups, but Compressor is pretty fast when it can use multiple cores. So instead of dinner, I just grab a drink, have a smoke, and it'll be done by the time I come back (within reason, of course). :)
 
stephenmick said:
I suppose you could transcode off the cards, but I always copy to a drive and then transcode.
Click to expand...
Didn't really think about this before so I did a quick test.

A 2min 8sec long 1080p 24 file to encode to ProRes 422 LT:

Straight from card: 4mins 20secs
Copy of card on HD: 3mins 40secs

A little time saving there.
 
Hey guys. I just saw this post and just want to let you know right away to save you a TON of time. Do not use compressor. Really do not. Use MPEG Streamclip. I did tests on the first week when I had got my 7d and found quality wise Compressor and MPEG Streamclip to be the same in terms of quality. But the thing is that MPEG is WAY FASTER! Try it. It can literally take hours off your transcode. The workflow isn't much of a pain in the ass at all especially because you can make a batch list in MPEG Streamclip and just export out with the settings you set. But trust me on this one that compressor takes way longer.

So my workflow is as follows.
1. Copy 7d H264 files to a raid drive on my computer using a CARD reader at USB 2.0 speed. (this helps a whole lot!)
2. Transcode with MPEG Steamclip to another folder. (I actually do it to another drive for speed sake)
3. Import into FCP and edit.

Cool thing is you have the H264 files as a backup and the new transcoded clips as the ones you work off of.

People seem to miss how important it is to set up a raid for HD.
 
I look at the original H.264 files as my "original camera negative," if you will. They belong to the client, and my responsibility is to keep them safe for the client.

The ProRes files are "my" media. I transcode everything into ProRes, which can often be a lot of footage, then edit. When the project is done and ready to be archived, I can media manage and keep ONLY the ProRes footage I've used in the master edit, while blowing away the rest. This allows me to save a good amount of storage space while still having the original H.264 files for reference and (if needed) re-transcoding.
 
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