Suggestions for 5DMKII Video Editing?
 

Having, over the years, stepped up through the D10, D40, and D50 I am planning to buy 5DMKII in the very near future but, from the many threads I have read, I am a bit apprehensive about finding the best (read as user friendly) Video Editing/Conversion software for the unit. I'm afraid that contacts with Canon Support haven't been too much help.

While I have done some editing (titles, transitions, clipping, audio) in the past for my Canon XL2 with Ulead (now Corel), the output of the 5DMKII seems to be a "horse of a different color". Having used the old Ulead (not Vista Compatible) I am familiar with basic video editing procedures but am a bit confused at the myriad of content and wrapper choices that I have been reading about... they are "light years" ahead of what I am used to. I just want to to view the edited product on DVD, computer, and on my Pioneer HDTV with something less than a year's worth of labor.... I'm afraid my age and ignorance is showing.

Basically, I want to combine stills of NW wildlife and scenic with video to add some motion and atmosphere to my creations and to burn them in both BluRay and/or standard DVD's. I would welcome any suggestions that members might have on specific editing programs or combinations of programs that I could use that does not require a degree in cinematography to use. Having retired from flying I find that today's computers and programs operate at Mach 4 while my mind is sort of stuck at Mach 1!

I just received a new Velocity Micro PC (Vista 64Bit) computer that I had built for my photographic endeavors. With dual Intel I7 Processors, 9800GT Graphics, 8 GB RAM, (2) 750GB HD's and a 1TB Network Drive I should have the power I would need. I also use Photoshop CS4, DxOptics Pro, Lightroom, and some OnOne programs.

Thank you for any suggestions or observations you might be able to make.

Life would be so much easier for you if you had a Mac.

Imovie comes with the OS. Not sure how apple quicktime works on a PC but it is really powerful if you get a book on how to use it. However it is not an editor but it will let you produce what you want you need to do.

Just be sure to get QT pro, online from apple, $30.

Bill, the 5DMkII has been a challenge for a PC because the HD video bit rate is high and the MOV format isn't supported well in the PC environment, and most editing programs for PCs can't keep up (you don't get smooth playback on the timeline). Your new PC (very nice) may keep up, but probably not. There are several solutions but the most common is to transcode the 5DMkII files to a format the editor likes better. Cineform has just released a version of Neo Scene that works with the MkII and converts the files to their easy to use format, and I've been impressed with my initial experience with this program.

In terms of editors if you want to stay with Adobe to go along with Photoshop and Lightroom there are two choices, Premiere Elements 7 and Premiere Pro CS4. Elements runs well with Cineform Neo Scene; however Neo Scene is not yet compatible with CS4, although this is expected shortly. The other popular PC editor being used with 5DMkII video is Sony Vegas (also compatible with Neo Scene). All of these editors are available as trial downloads. Elements is a Mach 0.5 editor and could be an easy start.

Thanks Charles
 

I had read the thread on Cineform and found it interesting... I have been trying Elements on the computer with my older video files and it is smooth as glass... abet it is not the resolution that the MKII would be putting out.
Does Cineform pair with most editing software or is it better with one than the other?

What file would you choose to transcode to? (again, my ingorance) to get the best editing results and be able to burn Bly Ray/DVD... Does it all come in one package?.

Thanks again

If All Else Fails
 

Charles... Just read the Cineform web page(s) and got a lot of answers... "if all else fails, read....".... Looks as though Adobe or Vegas would work... Don't know about the new Corel program but will look into it a bit further... I'm sure that, when the MKII has been out for a while there will be a wealth of suggestions/opinions. Thanks again

Cineform Neo Scene has just announced support for 5D2 for $129 and it solves all the problems on Mac and PC.

Cineform - Thanks Mark
 

I read the Cineform Information and think I have a grasp of what it can do for me... I think I fall under the "Old dog.... new tricks" catagory. A lot of the gargon I as hearing about editing the 5DMKII output was/is a bit intimidating. Having used Ulead with the XL-2 in the past I was comfortable with the program... Things are changing a bit faster than this aging mind can comprehend.... Not being in the business commercially I find that the memory curve is a little steep. Thanks for the input.

I agree with just about every word there (excpet the Ulead and XL-2). I hate that you very nearly have to be an engineer to figure some of this stuff out.
I just want to concentrate on shooting and editing, not colour space, crushed blacks, transcoding, muxing, demuxing, converting to 29.97 and - agh... everything else.

Life would be dandy for me if Cineform just took the MOV files, made them something I can edit in Vegas or Premier and be happy.

Cineform did everything right for me before, except for a tiny (!) problem with the audio missing. I'm assuming that is fixed. I'll give a detailed review here when I try it tomorrow. I've had a glass too much of wine to do it tonight.

Hi all,

I'm brand new to the forum and this is my first post. I'm trying to find the best work flow with 5Dmkll that will provide the most pristine output going to BluRay. I will be using a Mac Pro 3.2 with a Caldigit Raid 5 HDOne with FCP and/or Premier (I have both). My question is,
would there be any quality gain from capturing the HDMI live stream from the 5D with the AJA Ha5 (HDMI to SDI converter), then into the Kona Lhe via SDi, on into FCP as a ProRes 422 HQ? Unlike the Black Magic boards, the AJA stuff natively supports 1080P/30. Doesn't the HDMI out of the camera provide the best output?

It's not the cheapist solution however I'm going to pick up an EX3 at some point further utilizing the AJA card.

Thanks for the help,
Ted.

Deleted, accidental double post...