I narrowed my decision down to Sapphire or FX Factory (or... maybe CoreMelt), but today Boris is selling its complete package for one-half off, $1,000.

All these packages have their fans, and the reviewers have hardly a bad word about any of them, so it's hard to tell which package is best -- and I realize the answer to that will always be subjective. So here's the question:

If you could only have ONE FX package, and price was not a factor, which would it be?

Boris? FxFactory? Nattress? Sheffield? CoreMelt?

Although Boris has a built-in 3D Titler tool that comes with FCP natively the rest of the Boris offerings are not as well implemented as the others you're looking at.

I'd put my vote in for either FxFactory Pro or CoreMelt V2 Complete.

pepsi & coke...ford & chevy

I have CMG and Nattress which are fairly inexpensive and include some pretty useful FX. I also have several of the Trapcode bundles which are spectacular (though some are AE only)
I think Sapphire is nice but a bit pricey for what you get. A lot of the FX are easily duplicated by other apps. I used their stuff on a friend's system and had time to check it out pretty thoroughly. Boris is an industry standard which I have not used but everyone loves. At that price, it's almost a no brainer! Can't speak for FXfactory or Coremelt but have heard (and seen) really good things.

As all of these are good products, the decision is tough. Just depends what you think will be useful for your style and workflow!

Although Boris has a built-in 3D Titler tool that comes with FCP natively the rest of the Boris offerings are not as well implemented as the others you're looking at.

I'd put my vote in for either FxFactory Pro or CoreMelt V2 Complete.

pepsi & coke...ford & chevy

I have CMG and Nattress which are fairly inexpensive and include some pretty useful FX. I also have several of the Trapcode bundles which are spectacular (though some are AE only)
I think Sapphire is nice but a bit pricey for what you get. A lot of the FX are easily duplicated by other apps. I used their stuff on a friend's system and had time to check it out pretty thoroughly. Boris is an industry standard which I have not used but everyone loves. At that price, it's almost a no brainer! Can't speak for FXfactory or Coremelt but have heard (and seen) really good things.

As all of these are good products, the decision is tough. Just depends what you think will be useful for your style and workflow!

Thanks for your feedback, guys! Since it's a toss-up, let me limit the scope of the question:

Which package would you recommend for a writer-director-editor-type who wants the most professional-looking effects and filters, but who isn't a techie?

Red Giant all the way!
Just to mix things up I would go for the MagBullitSuite 2009. Or if your budget allows it, get the Red Giant Mega Bundle now. They are offering 30% off our entire online store.The sale runs through Sunday, April 18, 2009 at 11:59 PM PST (California).