Which Final Cut Studio

Final Cut Studio 3 would be the one you want in that catagory.

Final Cut Pro X (yes, Roman numeral 10, not the letter X) is a good app. It's an immature app and will grow over time. Most bad reviews are by people who either haven't used it, or haven't bothered to properly learn it. It's not an upgrade from FCP7, it's a whole new app, whole new workflow. But still missing a lot of features, and very buggy.

If you do heavy DVD authoring, chapters, etc, stick with FCS3.

What Ben fails to tell you is that Apple has discontinued sale of Final Cut Studio, which included the following Pro Apps; Final Cut Pro, Motion, DVD Studio Pro, Compressor, Soundtrack Pro and Color. In its place they offer FCP-X, which, as Ben states correctly, is an immature application. What that means is that many of the features of the old Final Cut Pro, is somewhat unstable (crashes often and sometimes loses your work). He claims that it will mature over time, but that is just an assumption on his part that Apple will continue to develop the product properly. Motion and Compressor are also still available as a download from Apple.

Since Apple has discontinued the old FCP and DVD Studio Pro, you will have to locate a used copy somewhere unless you are able to find a retailer that still has a new copy available. And it also means that Apple is no longer supporting those products in terms of updates or bug fixes. Essentially, you'd be buying obsolete software.

FCP-X might be what you need. But if you want a more stable, mature editing app with more professional features, you may want to consider Adobe Premier.

-DH

There is no FCS 3 HD. The only version that has ever been called HD was Final Cut Pro HD 4.5 .... but that was before Final Cut Studio. Are you mixing up FCS and FCE?

mish

Hey Kevtim.

If you want my opinion, I think you would be good with a solid "academic" version of the software off of ebay. There is a suite out there that has the most current (now all but dead) of each of the prosumer software such as livetype and dvd studio pro. Final cut studio 5.1 is going on ebay for a little over $150.00 and will be more than enough power for you. it has soundtrack pro 1.1, apple loops 1.0, Motion 2, livetype 1.0, dvd studio pro 4.1, and obviously Final cut pro 5.1

If you are buying "obsolete" software, why not get the cheapest most powerful option out there until this Final cut X craziness is fixed? I am 27 and have been in the professional video world since I was 15. I currently run a small studio out my home and have no plans to upgrade to X for at least 6 months. The reason I wouldn't FCS 3, is simply because the changes are great enough to justify spending the extra money for software that is probably done for anyways. And, the fact that DVD studio is pretty much gone for good, you would still be getting the latest version which you could use (for now) until they figure out how to let the "professionals" still mass produce DVDs for sale. Right now, there is no way a professional videographer can edit and burn a 4 hour dance recital DVD set with chapter markers and a custom dvd platform media without using the "outdated" dvd studio pro.....so, I feel these problems will certainly be taken care of...while we are waiting, go spend under $200.00 and become as powerful as a big time studio.

Just to emphasize what Mish said . . . . every version of FCP since FCP 4.5 has been capable of hi-def editing, though the current amateur favourite of AVCHD only started being catered for in FCP 6 and also required an Intel Mac.

Remember there are many different kinds of HD, just as there are numerous flavours of "digital" video.

You have to ensure that your software will accept the kind you shoot.

You cannot assume anything or you could make an expensive mistake.

If you go too many versions back, you won't be able to work with current camera technology. FCP 5 cannot work with AVCHD, AVCIntra, RED, H.264 from Canon DSLRs...it doesn't do ProRes of any kind. FCS 2 with FCP 6 would be the minimum I'd suggest.

Or Adobe Premiere Pro...

Extremely similar to FCP and it won't stop being made any time soon... Not sure if it will work with your SN (since it is academic), but they have a 50% off discount for persons with a FCP Serial #... CS 5.5 for $800, includes AE, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere plus a few others... darn good deal to take advantage of...

kevtim wrote:

Or there is this which is even cheaper with Final Cut Pro 5...

It looks like this is the first version of FCS (FCP 5.1?). I suggest you follow Shane's advice to go for at least FCS 2.

mish

I don't think you have mentioned which computer you use and we natuarally assume it is a fairly up to date model?

Exactly what is it and which OS are you using as this can sometimes affect which apps will work or not?

For example, if you have Lion, Photoshop CS2 will not work. Off the top of my head I don't know the details about the various FCS versions.

Yes. The Production Premium Suite includes Premiere Pro, After Effects, Encore DVD and Media Encoder.

http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/production.html

mish