Q: Why do my video clips become blurred or shaky at some spots once I import them into Final Cut Pro X? It only does this with video from my Nikon d5200.

Blurry and shaky? How so? As in artifacts or interlaced combing?

This camera shoots a variety of formats. What are your clip properties? Open one of them in QuickTime and hit Command+i to bring up the Inspector. Post a screen shot of the information.

Russ

DSLR footage does have a tendency to tear with pans; you may have heard it referred to as the jello effect.

Could you post another screenshot – this one of your project settings? Select the project in your Project Library and then click on the wrench icon on the far right.

Russ

That's no good. Your project is interlaced. I'm sure the video isn't interlaced. What are you trying to do? Is there some reason your project doesn't match your media?

So your project is interlaced. But the frame rate of your clip and the project don't match. The clip frame rate is 50.94 59.94 so I assume that it is 1080P60 (progressive).

Were the project settings set automatically from the first clip, or did you create custom settings?

Russ

What was the very first thing you put into the project? One of these clips? If that's the case the application is not reading the format correctly. Check the info inspector for the clip that the application is reading the same as the QuickTime movie inspector.

Well, unless there is something unusual about these mov files that isn't apparent, FCP should correctly set the project to 1080P60. That said, I recently had a situation where FCP automatically kept setting new projects for 29.97 despite dropping 23.98 clips into them. Finally I gave up and chose Custom – just to get it right. (After that, BTW, automatic started mysteriously working again).

So that's what I suggest you do. Create a project with correct settings by using Custom in the new project dialogue box.

Russ

If you want the Nikon video to set the project properties it has to be the first clip you put in the timeline. You don't have to leave it there, but it has to be the very first thing into the timeline.

It's not good that FCP is seeing the clip properties differently from the QT player. Wonder if this was changed when the media was imported.

Select one of the clips in the event browser, right click to reveal in Finder, then open in Quick Time Player and bring up the movie inspector to see if it tells you anything different or whether it also sees it as 59.94 progressive.

Russ