Does someone use FCE together with Sony SR10, SR11 or SR12?

I've tried to get a YES or NO in some discussions here and since I'm not alone with the FCE/AVCHD rendering issue, I'm kind of hoping that someone using Final Cut Express (or any other good Mac software) have got this to work. I've just tried FCE together with my camcorder once in a Mac store and the person working in the store, who showed me the new Macbook Pro didn't know anything about this either. The problem I noticed was that after import of the media from camera everything looked just fine but once I dragged one clip down on the timeline FCE had to render the clip before I could watch the project. This is not news but I wonder what settings one should use in FCE together with the Sony SR12 camcorder. Is there a way to setup the project so that FCE doesn't have to render all the time using full quality AVCHD clips? If it's not possible, is there any other Mac program that will work with AVCHD natively? Maybe the solution is to switch the camera to SD instead? What happens if I do that? If I shoot in highest MPG quality, does FCE handle those clips on the timeline without rendering the clips after every change I do?

My thoughts about this is to get a howto/check-list from someone who know and then visit this Mac store once more with my camera and try it out.


Regards
Robert Nilsson
(PC owner who really would like to use the new Macbook Pro)