HMC150 + FCP: Worth it? at DVinfo.net

Blake Cavett · February 25th, 2009, 03:29 PM

After a friend let me borrow his Panasonic, I'm ready to bite the bullet and buy one.

However, I edit on a Mac (FCP) and it seems that there's a compatibility issue between FCP and the AVCHD. This concerns me since 1) I'm slow and 2) ignorant about these things.

Granted I know people don't post on here that things are going smoothly... usually the posts are about requiring assistance.

Am I reading too much into this?

Scott Hayes · February 25th, 2009, 04:37 PM

i got mine today, and transcoding to Pro Res in FCP is seamless. My advice, get yourself
a cheap esata card, and use Esata drives, and you're good to go. Hopefully
FCP 3 will be out this year and we can edit AVCHD natively, but for now, no worries.
the camera itself is wonderful.

Tom Alexander · February 25th, 2009, 07:35 PM

Theres a lot of people using the HMC150 with FCP. So yes, you are reading too much into it (which is good for you....)

Buy the HMC!

Jordan Berry · February 26th, 2009, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Hayes

i got mine today, and transcoding to Pro Res in FCP is seamless. My advice, get yourself
a cheap esata card, and use Esata drives, and you're good to go. Hopefully
FCP 3 will be out this year and we can edit AVCHD natively, but for now, no worries.
the camera itself is wonderful.

I have never head of a representative of Apple ever saying that they would support AVCHD in FCP3. That is an assumption we make... because it makes sense. But as we know Apple doesn't always do what makes sense to their users (FW in Macbook Pro, Bluray support).

The more I think about it the more I want to switch to Adobe.

Dom Stevenson · February 26th, 2009, 01:46 PM

"The more I think about it the more I want to switch to Adobe."

I'm sticking with Apple, having invested a great deal of time and money. But if i was jumping in first time, i'd definitely be taking the Adobe package very seriously.

I really like the look of this Panny. As someone who wanted to buy the HVX but couldn't stomach buying into the P2 racket, i'm very tempted to put my XHA1 on Ebay and go solid state.

BTW, Anyone seen any comparison's between the HMC and the Canon? I'm talking video clips, not the specs that i'm aware of.

Barry Green · February 26th, 2009, 01:46 PM

To the OP: was it version 6.0.5 of FCP? If not, recognize that there was no PH-mode support in 6.0.4 or earlier. If you're using 6.0.5 or later, you can use the Log & Transfer window to convert the AVCHD footage into ProRes for editing.

It was reported at IBC 2008 that Apple said they would be adding native AVCHD support to the next version of FCP. I don't know if they meant 6.0.5 and what we already have, or if they plan on supporting the codec directly in a (supposed) FCS3. The only thing you can directly count on for now is that they do have ProRes/L&T support right now.

Blake Cavett · February 26th, 2009, 02:57 PM

I will soon be making the switch to an Intel Mac... install FCS... then upgrade it to FCS2.

If FCP 6.0.5 handles the AVCHD, then it's no sweat, correct?

Jordan Berry · February 26th, 2009, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dom Stevenson

"The more I think about it the more I want to switch to Adobe."

I'm sticking with Apple, having invested a great deal of time and money. But if i was jumping in first time, i'd definitely be taking the Adobe package very seriously.

I really like the look of this Panny. As someone who wanted to buy the HVX but couldn't stomach buying into the P2 racket, i'm very tempted to put my XHA1 on Ebay and go solid state.

BTW, Anyone seen any comparison's between the HMC and the Canon? I'm talking video clips, not the specs that i'm aware of.

http://jordban.com/hmc-150_low_light.mov

A very NON-technical test of the HMC-150 and the Canon XH-A1 in Low Light.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blake Cavett

I will soon be making the switch to an Intel Mac... install FCS... then upgrade it to FCS2.

If FCP 6.0.5 handles the AVCHD, then it's no sweat, correct?

It will transcode it into ProRes or AIC and then "handle" it. But it won't handle it natively.

February 25th, 2009, 03:29 PM	#1
Blake Cavett Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Madison Posts: 330	HMC150 + FCP: Worth it? After a friend let me borrow his Panasonic, I'm ready to bite the bullet and buy one. However, I edit on a Mac (FCP) and it seems that there's a compatibility issue between FCP and the AVCHD. This concerns me since 1) I'm slow and 2) ignorant about these things. Granted I know people don't post on here that things are going smoothly... usually the posts are about requiring assistance. Am I reading too much into this?

February 25th, 2009, 04:37 PM	#2
Scott Hayes Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Lexington, KY Posts: 692	absolutley not i got mine today, and transcoding to Pro Res in FCP is seamless. My advice, get yourself a cheap esata card, and use Esata drives, and you're good to go. Hopefully FCP 3 will be out this year and we can edit AVCHD natively, but for now, no worries. the camera itself is wonderful.

February 25th, 2009, 07:35 PM	#3
Tom Alexander Regular Crew Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ontario, Ca. Posts: 121	Theres a lot of people using the HMC150 with FCP. So yes, you are reading too much into it (which is good for you....) Buy the HMC!

February 26th, 2009, 01:46 PM	#5
Dom Stevenson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: London UK Posts: 430	"The more I think about it the more I want to switch to Adobe." I'm sticking with Apple, having invested a great deal of time and money. But if i was jumping in first time, i'd definitely be taking the Adobe package very seriously. I really like the look of this Panny. As someone who wanted to buy the HVX but couldn't stomach buying into the P2 racket, i'm very tempted to put my XHA1 on Ebay and go solid state. BTW, Anyone seen any comparison's between the HMC and the Canon? I'm talking video clips, not the specs that i'm aware of.

February 26th, 2009, 01:46 PM	#6
Barry Green Barry Wan Kenobi Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,863	To the OP: was it version 6.0.5 of FCP? If not, recognize that there was no PH-mode support in 6.0.4 or earlier. If you're using 6.0.5 or later, you can use the Log & Transfer window to convert the AVCHD footage into ProRes for editing. It was reported at IBC 2008 that Apple said they would be adding native AVCHD support to the next version of FCP. I don't know if they meant 6.0.5 and what we already have, or if they plan on supporting the codec directly in a (supposed) FCS3. The only thing you can directly count on for now is that they do have ProRes/L&T support right now.

February 26th, 2009, 02:57 PM	#7
Blake Cavett Major Player Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Madison Posts: 330	I will soon be making the switch to an Intel Mac... install FCS... then upgrade it to FCS2. If FCP 6.0.5 handles the AVCHD, then it's no sweat, correct?