Well, I'm a PC NLE on Sony Vegas. But since I bought this honkin IMAC behind me, I figured I'd get something to do basic video on it. I was going to get Adobe Premiere Elements, but then I thought about FCE.

I wouldn't spend the money on Final Cut Pro, besides I've spent 7 years figuring out Vegas. lol.

I essentially want an editor on my mac so on the chance I throw a video in there, I can fiddle with it.

Any opinions.?

FCP Express is EOL, take a look at iMovie to see if it will work for your basic edits. Coming from Vegas I found the iMovie/FCP X interface easy to learn. Don't know about Premiere Elements.

Your iMac comes with iMovie built in so you can use that right away. However, it's basically a single track editor. Most people, when they want to branch out into compositing multiple video tracks move up to FCE, FCP, or Premier.

FCE is a cut down version of FCP and, as mentioned is End of Life'd. You may however be able to get a good deal out of it and climb the learning curve for a while. But recognize that all your projects can't be opened once you move on to FCP-X.

FCP-X is intended to replace both FCE and FCP. For $299, if sits at the same retail price point as FCE and I don't know why you would not just move to it. You're making the switch at a time when you can get in at the beginning of the FCP-X phase. All your projects should move forward from here. If money is the issue, then get started with iMovie and save up till you can afford it. Seems like a no-brainer to me. YMMV

I'll look into it, that was very helpful. Being in bed with PCs for 17 years, it's been interesting getting acquainted with macs.

Second thought; After looking at the tutorials, mulitcam looks complicated. With Vegas and Excalibur, I can sync and multicam edit with buttons. Hmmmm..... Thinking

If I were you, I'd try to find a second hand retail package of Final Cut Studio 2 or 3. Does a lot more than FCE. I would not venture into FCX yet, as easy multicam editing is not possible, choosing your exact location for your files is a pain in the neck, rendering is slow, and so on.

If you want Final Cut Studio 2, I could leave you my set of dDVD's in the original packaging. Just let me know.