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FCE or FCP?

W

w.dave.w

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 30, 2007
2
0
I'm getting a new mac soon, and I wanted to get either Final Cut Pro, or Final

Cut Express with it. I've used Final Cut Pro before, but not for anything too

fancy. I don't want to spend too much so I think I'm going to end

up getting Final Cut Express because of the price, but before I do, could

someone explain to me what major disadvantages FCE HD has compared to FCP?
 
Basically - FCP has a lot more options, in my experience. And just able to go in-depth within the video.

I'd get FCE from what you've said...
 
With FCE you mainly lose:
- Timecode
- Multicam editing
- XML project recovery
- Little things (no 3-way color filter, no setting a different default transition)
- Working with multiple video formats in the same timeline
- The other pro apps (Motion, DVD Studio Pro, Color)

I'm sure there are some other differences, but other than that, FCE is still Final Cut... and it works for what I do.
 
Another option to consider is instead of getting Final Cut Studio 2, get the first one at a discount price. A local university is selling the Academic version of FCS for $399. Check around and see what you can find. I'm also interested in seeing a direct comparison between FCE and FCP, So if there is anymore differences keep them coming.
 
Hmmmm, are there any difference between the academic and full retail versions of FCP?
 
I don't believe there is anything different. The only thing is you can't upgrade to a new version of final cut studio 2. They're non-upgradeable unlike the rest. But, you save enough on the academic version anyways its not really worth it.
 
w.dave.w said:
Hmmmm, are there any difference between the academic and full retail versions of FCP?
Click to expand...

There are absolutely no differences with the software itself (no features "cut"), it's simply an educational license instead of a "full" one, which simply limits you from buying discounted upgrades, as stated previously.
 
Get the express and get your feet wet. You can pick them up for pretty cheap on the used market, just make sure you get the original key and License. I don't condone piracy cuz dammit I pay full price cuz I love them apples :) If it works for all you need, wonderful, If you find you need more, you can always take it to the mattresses with ebay or the LEM swaplist.There are always people looking for any version of Final Cut.
 
To me, the most important difference is that packaged with FCP you also get Soundtrack Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Motion, Compressor, etc. Vastly superior over an FCE and iDVD combo. I have FCP, and I think I could do quite well with FCE if I still had all the other Pro apps that come with the Studio bundle. So for editing only, FCE is great. If you plan to do a lot of related tasks such as sound cleanup, DVD authoring, creation of titles and other graphics, you'll appreciate the FCP Studio package.

- Martin
 
You do get Soundtrack, not Soundtrack Pro with FCE I believe, so you can do basic audio editing.

Basically if you are just doing simple cut\fade types of editing and you're working with DV footage, save the cash and go with FCE.
 
FCP advantage

I believe it is still true that FCP allows you to edit native HDV, rather than going through the Apple Intermediate Codec. Judging from my experience editing HDV with iMovieHD, that would be important.

If you have a powerful-enough computer, you may get significantly better-quality edited HD video with FCP. I say may, because I do not actually have a side-by-side comparison to show -- just a pixellated iMovie project.
 
scamateur said:
I believe it is still true that FCP allows you to edit native HDV, rather than going through the Apple Intermediate Codec. Judging from my experience editing HDV with iMovieHD, that would be important.

If you have a powerful-enough computer, you may get significantly better-quality edited HD video with FCP. I say may, because I do not actually have a side-by-side comparison to show -- just a pixellated iMovie project.
Click to expand...

I can't think why anyone would want to edit native HDV, but people obviously do. For me the cons (against native HDV) outweigh the pros, so I prefer the intermediate codec workflow
 
ProRes 422, multi format timeline, Colour, Motion 3 and DVD Studio Pro are the main things that I will say FCP has over FCE. All the above are pretty indispensable if you want any sense of control over your video and its output.
 
FCE will not accept any 3rd party plugins as far as I know. But then again it comes down to the use, what are you going to edit?

iMovie can be good if not for the limited audio tracks, and video tracks if you're compositing.
 
Artful Dodger said:
One thing that I have been looking into but haven't found yet is how many sound tracks does FCE let you have? iMovie only has 2 but what can FCE do in that aspect compaired to FCP?
Click to expand...

Express says 99, Studio I think is unlimited. I have never used that many on either one, so I cannot be absolutely certain, but I think that is right. :)
 
Alican said:
I can't think why anyone would want to edit native HDV, but people obviously do. For me the cons (against native HDV) outweigh the pros, so I prefer the intermediate codec workflow
Click to expand...

In my case, the edited project had reduced picture quality compared to the unedited material. I assumed this was due to the intermediate codec step. If I had had a Mac Pro, instead of my Mini, I would have tried to do one each way and compare! Oh, I would have had to have FCP, too.
 
Royale w/cheese said:
Express says 99, Studio I think is unlimited. I have never used that many on either one, so I cannot be absolutely certain, but I think that is right. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you :D I think I'd need around 6-8 for a dvd but 99 :eek: great to see that. Last does FCE have any extras that will clean up the audio if it's to noisy/fuzzy? I know just make sure the audio is clean to begin with but a few older tapes/video's of some waterfalls are not the best :eek:
 
I wish I could just get my hands on Motion without having FCP.

But I'd say for what you want FCE should be good enough.
 
everyone here says that you lose a lot of features with FCE this is simply not true. you can still do advanced things like green-screen(chroma key filter) its just not in a dedicated piece of software, you can still do compositing just not to a king-kong degree. and the price diffrence is huge! around here (the U.S) the cheapest i can get FCS2 for is around $700 and i just dont have that kind of cash on me!!! I own a event photography company, we make DVDs of people's corperate events, fundraisers and weddings. we use final cut express for all our video stuff and all our photos go through Aperture and Photoshop CS3, i went to consult with the guys at the apple store and they said if we only did a tiny bit of green screen and no advanced compositing FCE was the best option for the company. we bought three copies and never looked back, you can still color correction without color. and we use iDVD for authoring DVDs. if you learn iDVD you can really change the templates to suit any needs. although when we get the money i would like at least one of our computers to have DVD studio pro or a similar application(anyone know of any standalone solutions?)


I know I wrote alot, but i hate it when people spend more money then they need to, like when the salesman at ritz camera in my mall sold this 80 year old woman a nikon D200!

long story short=if you are just starting out try out iMovie first and see how far that gets you, then try Express and if you really NEED, not want NEED Motion and Shake and Color and DVD studio pro then i can condone spending the cash on studio

hope that helps:D
 
I don't know if the audio quality matters to you and I haven't checked the specs of FCE vs. FCP, but you might find that the audio resolution (sample rate) capability of FCE vs. FCP is less (e.g. something like 96Khz vs. 192 Khz).

Typically, this is one of the differences that the expanded versions of suites like FCP give one; also in terms of audio, the interface (i.e. the 'box' that provides inputs for devices such as guitars and midi keyboards outputs to computer) plays a part in the resolution/sample rate of audio going into the program.

While it may be possible to shoe horn other programs to provide the features you want, you may want to just invest in the 'pro' versions of things that are meant to take care of the job.

Good luck with everything,

GVDV
 
First post here, but I am thinking of getting one or other of these.

Alican said:
I can't think why anyone would want to edit native HDV, but people obviously do. For me the cons (against native HDV) outweigh the pros, so I prefer the intermediate codec workflow
Click to expand...

I have read that the AIC dramatically increases file sizes for HDV footage (maybe 2x native). Is this correct?

I don't like spending money when there is no NEED (as chriscorbin points out) and FCE probably would be enough for me, but I really want the DVD Studio Pro app too as I output everything to DVD at the moment. I want to get away from space-hogging PCM audio and also would like to add optional subs and soundtracks, which isn't available in iDVD. Is there a standalone option for DVD authoring?

Also, how well would FCS2 run on a MBP? I will probably be getting one early next year (gives me time to save and also waiting for a Penryn model).
 
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