Still worth upgrading to FCS 2 now?

[superspiffy]

I have FCS 1 and it has served me well. I film birthdays and shows but also make my own movies as a hobby. I can pretty much do everything I need to do now but I'm always looking at ways to cut my time and have things easier for me, if that means upgrading.

Other than FCP and DVDSP4, I really don't use Soundtrack Pro (except for built in sound loops) and Motion. I can imagine learning Motion in the future for creating DVD menus and interesting video transitions. And I'm also especially craving for smooth cam. Color also sounds interesting, but I'm still not sure how what it can do for me. To my knowledge, isn't it like a super revamp version of FCP's built in color correction? So what can it do that the built in color corrector can't?

And is it still worth shelling out the $500 upgrading to FCS 2 now that it's been out for a long time or should I shell out for FCS 3? What are the chances that it's coming out next year?

 

[LethalWolfe]

Color also sounds interesting, but I'm still not sure how what it can do for me. To my knowledge, isn't it like a super revamp version of FCP's built in color correction? So what can it do that the built in color corrector can't?

Before Apple purchased it Color was called Final Touch and was $25k app targeting film post-production. So, yes, Color can do much more than FCP's 3-way but it has a steep learning curve and a lot of bugs. One of the biggest advantages of Color over the FCP 3-way, IMO, is that it lets you do complex grades in a relatively organized manor where as if you tried the same thing in FCP you'd end up w/a dozen or so filters stacked on a single clip (and quite possible multiple layers of the same clip stacked in the timeline) which quickly turns into a nightmare trying to keep everything straight.

And is it still worth shelling out the $500 upgrading to FCS 2 now that it's been out for a long time or should I shell out for FCS 3? What are the chances that it's coming out next year?

FCS 3 will most likely be announced at NAB, ship sometime in June/July, have a major update a month or so later, and then be 'safe' to upgrade to, IMO.


Lethal

 

[superspiffy]

I'm scared that if I don't upgrade to FCS 2 now, that I'll miss the window of opportunity and I won't be able to upgrade to FCS 3 anymore and I'd have to pay for the entire program in full price again. Has apple historically allowed 2 program revisions before the upgrade cutoff?

 

[-DH]

Has apple historically allowed 2 program revisions before the upgrade cutoff?

No need to be afraid. Historically there has been NO upgrade cutoff. Currently, owners of FCS 1 can upgrade to FCS 2 for $499.00. Owners of ANY other version of FCP (all the way back to FCP 1.0) have to pay $699.00. The $200.00 difference actually works out as a huge savings for the older version owners, since they didn't pay for the subsequent upgrades for every version in between.

The only versions that typically cannot be upgraded are academic versions.

-DH