i'd been happily making videos with sony vegas 8. But some problems with computer...freezing...whatever. I was working on a laptop and would have just upgraded to a pc but the constant badgering made me go Mac. EVERYONE said YOU MUST GO MAC. IT'S SOOOOO MUCH BETTTTEEER. It's so much more intuitive. It's so much easier. They told me just he basic program it comes with is MAGIC! So on the 4th of July, i get a fancy mac. Yes it's shiny and big and beautiful ... but the basic editing program ...turns out doesn't have any special effects. What up wit dat? Then I'm told the old version of the basic program is what i need. So i get that. And frankly, not that impressed. Freezes up constantly. I've grown to loathe the spinny beach ball. So I think... maybe i need to upgrade to Final Cut Express. I'm now reading reviews and sounds like it's just more of the same. I'm kicking myself fo buying into the hype and not just upgrading my pc and staying with sony. I'm hoping for some comforting words here. Especially if there's anyone who has worked in Sony Vegas 8 and is now clam happy with FCP express. Tell me to go with FC express and my love for sony vegas 8 will fade. please.
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who knew: buyers remorse missing sony vegas 8
- Thread starter macqueen
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What kind of Mac did you get? How much ram do you have?
Final Cut Express is great, but you get what you pay for. It has some limitations ( many of them artificial ).
Final Cut Studio has alot more features and packages that are comparable with Vegas 8:
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/specs/
Good luck
( please don't forget to answer my questions about your system specs BTW )
I came from vegas 7 so I know what your situation is. I got Adobe Premiere for Mac, not FCP, but there are pros and cons. The pros are that the Premiere on Mac is faster and more powerful than Vegas on my PC, but this is mostly due to the hardware rather than the software. But honestly, there is one big con, and that's basically the fact that Vegas is awesome. I do miss it sometimes. It has a lot more in the way of track flexibility, whereas Premiere and FCP have a much more "constrained" feel to them. Not saying they can't so the same things, but it just seems that it takes me longer to do a lot of things now than it did w/ Vegas.
Looking back, I think I went for the mac more for the value for the money though. A similarly spec'd workstation for PC would have cost much more. If I get frustrated enough I could always install Vegas via bootcamp, which is another advantage Macs offer over PCs out of the box.
With the amount of money you spent on Premiere Pro and Vegas Pro, you could of bought Final Cut Studio. I suggest you take a look at Final Cut Express and Final Cut Studio. FCE only includes FCE and LiveType. LiveType is used for text animations like small title sequences and lower thirds. Final Cut Studio includes Final Cut Pro (editing), Motion (motion graphics and animations), Color (advanced color corrections), Soundtrack Pro (sound design and editing), Compressor (advanced compressing), Cinema Tools (the name says it), DVD Studio Pro (making DVD titles and menus), and LiveType (described above). You will be limited on the animation capabilities of LiveType and they will probably not suit your needs. Final Cut Studio sounds like the perfect solutions for you if it is in your budget. I would like to know your specs though because that would explain the spinning beach ball.
Regards,
David
Regards,
David
I'm in a similar situation since having moved to the MAC this year. I used Vegas 7 on the PC and loved it. I'm struggling to use FCE 4.0! It just seems so counter intuitive and nothing like any of the other Apple products. I enjoy iWork, Aperture and all the 3rd party software I've bought so far, but FCE is just another story.
In Vegas, it's just so easy and blindingly quick to basic editing. I'm not a pro... just a total amateur, but FCE just seems to go out of its way to make the basic stuff difficult. Want to cross fade clips in Vegas? Drag them into each other. Fade in or fade out? Drag the handles at each end of the clip. Transitions? Quick drag and drop. I'm struggling to do this stuff in FCE!
I've just bought Tom Wolsky's FCE 4 editing workshop book and I'm hoping this helps turn things around for me. I know FC and FCE are good software... but, so far, I just can't seem to let go of Vegas and it's pretty much the only reason I use Boot Camp and keep my 4 yr old P4 desktop around. Editing in Vegas is just *fun* where FCE makes me want to drive my head into the wall. With Vegas I just jumped right in and it all made sense (no prior training, books or instructions) where FCE I can barely make things out.
Wayne
In Vegas, it's just so easy and blindingly quick to basic editing. I'm not a pro... just a total amateur, but FCE just seems to go out of its way to make the basic stuff difficult. Want to cross fade clips in Vegas? Drag them into each other. Fade in or fade out? Drag the handles at each end of the clip. Transitions? Quick drag and drop. I'm struggling to do this stuff in FCE!
I've just bought Tom Wolsky's FCE 4 editing workshop book and I'm hoping this helps turn things around for me. I know FC and FCE are good software... but, so far, I just can't seem to let go of Vegas and it's pretty much the only reason I use Boot Camp and keep my 4 yr old P4 desktop around. Editing in Vegas is just *fun* where FCE makes me want to drive my head into the wall. With Vegas I just jumped right in and it all made sense (no prior training, books or instructions) where FCE I can barely make things out.
Wayne
To cross-dissolve in FCE just drag-in-drop the cross-dissolve filter onto the two clips or right-click on the edit point. To fade in/out you can either use the cross-dissolve filter or use the opacity "rubber bands" on the clip in the timeline. I haven't used Vegas much but from what I remember it is pretty different UI experience compared to Premiere (at least older versions), FCP, and Avid.
Lethal
Editing software and computers that are used to run them are merely tools. Use the tools that work best for you. If you don't have the funds for the those tools, learn to use the ones you already have before dissing them.
-DH
-DH
You're right to an extent. It's not that the UI is dramatically different, but I think the way the developers approached the same functionality is. FCP / FCE, Premiere and Avid all started as video NLE's where Vegas up until version 4.0 or so was originally a multi-track audio only recording and editing suite. It very much retains that DAW feel.
I used to have a small project recording studio, so I'm right at home on DAW's like Cubase and Logic, so Vegas just feels like a natural extension of that.
I don't think anyone, especially me, is 'dissing' any of these applications. FCP didn't become the near standard it is today because it's crap. I was simply pointing out how fluid Vegas is. When all the major NLE's come from the same basic roots they are all more or less copying each other (I say this from an ignorance perspective) where I think Vegas had the ability to take a fresh look at how to do some of those functions because they weren't initially expected to follow along the same path.
I'm going to keep working at it.
Wayne
sl1200mk2,
-DH is completely right. How long have you used FCE? I bet it isn't nearly as much as you've been using Vegas. You have had much more experience in Vegas and expect a seamless transfer to a different application? I'm sorry but that's not what you're going to get. Like any other professional application, FCE will take several weeks to get used to from Vegas. A professional application isn't supposed to be extremely easy-to-use like iPhoto or iMovie where the user does practically nothing. They are supposed to be more user controlled to produce a more custom result as opposed to something that looks the same as all of your other projects. FCE and FCP have so many controls that to learn how each one affects the video and how much you should alter one would take a few years for a beginner. For someone who has came from Vegas then you should be familiar with key frames, compositing video, blend modes, and a few filters. It is severely wrong to think that you can jump right into FCE and be at the level of editing you were at in Vegas instantly! You should learn more about FCE and then if you still want to complain I would expect to hear back from you in a couple months. If you want something for a total amateur, then I suggest you use iMovie and look into upgrading to iMovie '09.
David
The hardest part of switching from one NLE to another is bringing along your own expectations. For the thousands of Avid editors that have switched to FCP over the last several years, the best advice they ever received was to forget everything the learned about Avid and learn FCP from the ground up.
Vegas is not FCP and FCP is not Vegas. Same is true when comparing any two NLEs.
-DH
Vegas is not FCP and FCP is not Vegas. Same is true when comparing any two NLEs.
-DH
Like I said... I bought a 3rd party book and along with Apple's docs I plan to get more out of it, but thank you for the input. I never planned to jump in and be at the same level I was with zero learning curve, but I thought it'd be an easier transition. Right or wrong, like the OP, I was (by others) built up to think this was 'the' app to use, well probably FCP, but FCE has it's roots so I started there and it's been a harder transition than expected. Sometimes you expect one thing but get another.
Wayne
It is hard to forget everything, reading books and Apple docs will help but it still will be hard to switch. FCP is the app to use, IMO. The transition will be harder for some than for others. I didn't say you expected to jump and be at the same level, because you didn't say that, I said you can't expect that.
David
David
By chance I came upon this thread.. I was in the same boat 15 months ago. I too spent a good 2 months debating which way to go. I decided on a Mac Pro. I spent about 2500 on the machine along with 4gb of ram and two 1 TB drives. The ram as I recall was big bucks.. got it aftermarket. Long story short.. I used it for 29 days and shipped it back to Amazon.. What a mistake. I called Dell and bought a refurbished XPS720 w/4GB ram, 2 raptors, 1 for the scratch disk, 1 for the OS, and 2 1TB and still had money left over.. I bought Sony vegas 8.0 and never looked back. I bought into the marketing thing.. Don't get me wrong, the build of the mac pro was nothing short of spectacular. The drives slid in on rails, the ram plugged onto a board that slide into a bay.. No wires anywhere. Beautiful workmanship. As for using it.. I got so frustrated with the file system and storing pictures in lightroom, not to mention imovie. I upgraded to FC express and was unimpressed. I'll stick with windows and vegas.
Hey, OP...
I'm in the same exact boat right now.
Switched to Mac, and loving it... but I miss using Sony Vegas like crazy.
I tried iMovie '08 and it was a horrible experience, tried FCE and ran into some encoding/rendering issues, so the closest thing I picked up was iMovie HD 6...
So far so good, but it's missing a lot of effects that I took for granted in Vegas:
Adding custom text/pictures, being able to change it's position, transitions, etc... The ease of transitions between regions, compositing, superimposing... ::sigh::
I found some plugins for iMovie HD 6, which might seem to help me out in those areas which is gonna cost about an extra $30.
Either that... or install boot camp and get Vegas back on the macbook.
Anyone use CrossOver?
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
I'm in the same exact boat right now.
Switched to Mac, and loving it... but I miss using Sony Vegas like crazy.
I tried iMovie '08 and it was a horrible experience, tried FCE and ran into some encoding/rendering issues, so the closest thing I picked up was iMovie HD 6...
So far so good, but it's missing a lot of effects that I took for granted in Vegas:
Adding custom text/pictures, being able to change it's position, transitions, etc... The ease of transitions between regions, compositing, superimposing... ::sigh::
I found some plugins for iMovie HD 6, which might seem to help me out in those areas which is gonna cost about an extra $30.
Either that... or install boot camp and get Vegas back on the macbook.
Anyone use CrossOver?
http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/
FCE: worth it?
I've moved on from PC to Mac, I was really glad because I'd finally get to use final cut, I knew that you got pro and express but I didn't mind settling for express because I guessed that it would be easier to use, I wouldn't need any training, and it would be an easier transtion. But from what I've heard FCP is the best, but FCE isn't that good. Would get FCP but it's too far out my price range. I didn't like vegas because compared to premiere, avid and most of all final cut it didn't produce proffesional looking videos. How good is FCE compared with other softwares?
I've moved on from PC to Mac, I was really glad because I'd finally get to use final cut, I knew that you got pro and express but I didn't mind settling for express because I guessed that it would be easier to use, I wouldn't need any training, and it would be an easier transtion. But from what I've heard FCP is the best, but FCE isn't that good. Would get FCP but it's too far out my price range. I didn't like vegas because compared to premiere, avid and most of all final cut it didn't produce proffesional looking videos. How good is FCE compared with other softwares?
Final Cut Studio > Avid Xpress Studio >> Adobe Premiere Pro >= Final Cut Express >>>Sony Vegas Pro
At least from my experience.
It don't get it why you all think it's so hard to learn. OK I had spare time to learn it, but I'm 16 years old and didn't read the manual neither did follow trainings. Within 3 to 4 months I knew everything (and it's only a hobby for me, so no pressure, or haste). But I could cut right away. Just needed some help. I got that help from here: http://www.youtube.com/appleshakeguru
But I don't think fcp is so hard. The rest is harder, but I'm learning that slowly, you just need to be patient.
But I don't think fcp is so hard. The rest is harder, but I'm learning that slowly, you just need to be patient.