I'm a first time director making my first real short film. I will be moving up from iMovie to FCE for this project. I am trying to find out if there are plugins that I can use in FCE to convert my 60i NTSC footage to 24p. I believe that FCP can do this but I'm not sure about Express.

Or would I be better off using a 3rd party app like DV Filmmaker?

For a third option, I'm shooting with a Panasonic GS400. This cam has a Pro-Cinema mode which is a 30fps Frame mode with film-like gamma settings. Should I just shoot in this mode and do nothing in post? Most people do not recommend this because if the footage is poor you are stuck with it.

Thanks for any help.

The Nattress film effects filters are good for this, they don't cost too much, and I'm pretty sure they work in FCE.