FCP, which version?
 

I may be buying a new Mac Pro, and using the following cameras
Canon 5d II, 1D IV, and Sony Ex1r.
I will be new to FCP is there a version you would suggest I start on, I am an Adobe Premier Pro CS4 user now on the PC.

I may look to pick up an older version, hopefully save on an upgrade price rather than full version.
Does Apple give you any good discount when you buy a new Mac Pro?

Thanks for any information.
Denny

See my reply in your earlier post about switching to a Mac.

Your best bet is to buy a copy of the latest full version, FCS3. FCS2 is fine for what you want to do but old now and will be even more outdated by the time FCS4 (or whatever it will be called) comes out. Also, used/registered software is never a good idea imho. There is no discount for FCS when you buy a mac.

Apple is not known for discounts on new computers, you can get a refurbished computer from Apple for a very modest discount. Used Macs command a decent price as the computers are well built and usually last a long time. Older versions of FCP might work out but you have to make sure it isn't too old and doesn't recognize your camera files!

Why are used copies never a good idea? I just bought Final Cut Pro 4 from someone on Craigslist for $100, now I am going to buy Final Cut Studio 3 upgrade. Yes I do know they could keep the SN and then still upgrade. I am extremely certain the person in my case has never upgraded from Final Cut Pro 4.

Well, because you never know for sure if someone else is running the same license, if they upgrade before you than I would expect your license to be rejected by apple's servers.

That is my way of thinking, I know some just get out of the business, or change editing software.
I for one have Sony Vegas, and is no longer even installed on my computers.

I do not want to do anything illegal, but if I could save some cash, that would be great.

Selling the software is legal as long as the seller is selling all the original disks and manuals that came with the original purchase. At least that's how I understand it. There is software that requires a yearly fee to keep the SN# valid but FCP isn't one of them. Some programs will not upgrade if the versions are too far apart, FCP might be one of them. Be careful and don't waste your money on an upgrade experiment.

I bought FCS 2 retail from someone on the forum here, with all the manuals, and serial.
He sold everything (also camera's if I'm not mistaken). Upgrade to FCS 3 went without problems, and now I saved 300 euros AND I also had the big manuals Apple used to ship with FCS 2.

Just look at from who you're buying on which site. This site is a pretty respectable place, for instance.

Hi Denny,

I started with FCP 4 and surrendered the discs to upgrade to FCP 5 and before I used the upgrade FCP 6 came along. The result is I now have an unopened packet FCP 5 discs (article no. MA411Z/A) with serial number and receipts plus some discs that have been opened. If any of this is of interest let me know privately as they are of no use to me..

Email sent

Be very careful. You can't upgrade from an upgrade unless you had the original disks loaded in the computer already or the serial number available. Upgrade serial #s are different from master serial #s.

I agree, if I were to sell my Adobe Creative Suite CS4, would have to include all the disks (or license #) starting with Photoshop 7, each upgrade was based on the previous version. I also can not sell that original full version I purchased, if so makes my upgrades not legal. (per Adobe)

When I did an upgrade on a computer at work for Photoshop, I had to have the older version of Photoshop installed on the system.

For FCP, luckily, you can also just type in the serial of the retail version you're upgrading from.
(handy, because I wanted a fresh clean install of FCS 3)

If you buy from the Apple store, show them a business card. They will have you fill out a form and then you get a 5% business discount. Software and hardware.