FCP user? Think three times before getting an NXCAM

Adam Welz · April 12th, 2010, 01:00 AM

"I think it's worth pointing out that you shouldn't trim clips at the log and transfer stage, when dragging the playhead back and forth on a clip (either straight off the sdhc card/memory stick, or from hard drive copy of the card) FCP crashes. It's a known bug. Best just to transcode all the clips you need first, then trim them in the browser or timeline.

I'm guessing that's what happened with Adam. Tried to trim a clip or two, and then it crashes."

That's exactly what happened -- but to me this is a huge limitation! I had to get a few ten sec bits out to a news channel last week, and did not have time to transcode whole 20 min clips -- and the machine kept crashing.

And contrary to what others have said, you can't shoot live action by constantly stopping and starting record operations just to get short clips, because you will miss important stuff. You often have to roll the cam uninterrupted for 20 min or an hour -- and when you're getting shot at (as I was) you should not have to worry about clip duration because FCP is not up to the job -- you should be worrying about your personal safety.

If you need to have workarounds to avoid being bitten by bugs -- known or unknown -- a product is not suitable for professional use. Simple. Apple should have worked these issues out in FCP out a long time ago.

Adam

Scott Cassie · April 12th, 2010, 04:19 AM

Totally agree with you there, Adam.

The log & transfer has been that way with AVCHD since Final Cut studio 2/Final Cut Pro 6. I was happy with the added features in Final Cut Studio 3/Final Cut Pro 7, but disappointed that the bug in log & transfer was still there. The biggest thing for me is the fact that transcoding all of the footage means I'm wasting a ton of hard drive space, especially when using the Pro Res flavours. Yes, you could then trim the clips, go into media manager and effectively delete your unused material, but at the expense of more time and hassle.

I divide my wedding edits into sections/folders. I set the first folder as the logging bin, go in to log & transfer and pick the clips that go into that folder & transcode. Then repeat the step for each section/folder. But using media manager after that would then mean having to organise everything into the folders again, but in a much more time consuming manner. So for now, not really an option as it slows down my current workflow.

With Adobe announcing 64-bit with it's new Premiere, Apple have got to be working on something, and soon. Looking on forums I've seen a few videographers say they would jump ship just for the extra speed of the new Premiere. I'm happy to wait, for now.

Ron Evans · April 12th, 2010, 07:15 AM

Try Edius Pro 5.5. No transcoding, runs native files of all the professional formats in realtime. You will need to run under Windows but will run on a MAC. If you just need AVCHD and do not need XDCAmHD, EX, P2 etc or multicam then Edius Neo 2.5 will also work just fine.

Ron Evans

Adam Welz · April 13th, 2010, 01:09 PM

Hi All

I've done a simple summary of these (serious) issues, and presented a few workarounds, on my blog. Anyone planning to shoot on the NXCAM and use FCP should read it.

Ingesting AVCHD footage: Problems with Final Cut Pro’s Log and Transfer tool Adam Welz's NXCAM Blog

Your comments and additions welcome!

Adam

April 12th, 2010, 01:00 AM	#16
Adam Welz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New York, USA Posts: 111	"I think it's worth pointing out that you shouldn't trim clips at the log and transfer stage, when dragging the playhead back and forth on a clip (either straight off the sdhc card/memory stick, or from hard drive copy of the card) FCP crashes. It's a known bug. Best just to transcode all the clips you need first, then trim them in the browser or timeline. I'm guessing that's what happened with Adam. Tried to trim a clip or two, and then it crashes." That's exactly what happened -- but to me this is a huge limitation! I had to get a few ten sec bits out to a news channel last week, and did not have time to transcode whole 20 min clips -- and the machine kept crashing. And contrary to what others have said, you can't shoot live action by constantly stopping and starting record operations just to get short clips, because you will miss important stuff. You often have to roll the cam uninterrupted for 20 min or an hour -- and when you're getting shot at (as I was) you should not have to worry about clip duration because FCP is not up to the job -- you should be worrying about your personal safety. If you need to have workarounds to avoid being bitten by bugs -- known or unknown -- a product is not suitable for professional use. Simple. Apple should have worked these issues out in FCP out a long time ago. Adam Last edited by Adam Welz; April 12th, 2010 at 01:47 AM. Reason: grammar

April 12th, 2010, 04:19 AM	#17
Scott Cassie Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Peterhead, Scotland Posts: 35	Totally agree with you there, Adam. The log & transfer has been that way with AVCHD since Final Cut studio 2/Final Cut Pro 6. I was happy with the added features in Final Cut Studio 3/Final Cut Pro 7, but disappointed that the bug in log & transfer was still there. The biggest thing for me is the fact that transcoding all of the footage means I'm wasting a ton of hard drive space, especially when using the Pro Res flavours. Yes, you could then trim the clips, go into media manager and effectively delete your unused material, but at the expense of more time and hassle. I divide my wedding edits into sections/folders. I set the first folder as the logging bin, go in to log & transfer and pick the clips that go into that folder & transcode. Then repeat the step for each section/folder. But using media manager after that would then mean having to organise everything into the folders again, but in a much more time consuming manner. So for now, not really an option as it slows down my current workflow. With Adobe announcing 64-bit with it's new Premiere, Apple have got to be working on something, and soon. Looking on forums I've seen a few videographers say they would jump ship just for the extra speed of the new Premiere. I'm happy to wait, for now.

April 12th, 2010, 07:15 AM	#18
Ron Evans Inner Circle Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,220	Try Edius Pro 5.5. No transcoding, runs native files of all the professional formats in realtime. You will need to run under Windows but will run on a MAC. If you just need AVCHD and do not need XDCAmHD, EX, P2 etc or multicam then Edius Neo 2.5 will also work just fine. Ron Evans

April 13th, 2010, 01:09 PM	#19
Adam Welz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: New York, USA Posts: 111	Hi All I've done a simple summary of these (serious) issues, and presented a few workarounds, on my blog. Anyone planning to shoot on the NXCAM and use FCP should read it. Ingesting AVCHD footage: Problems with Final Cut Pro’s Log and Transfer tool Adam Welz's NXCAM Blog Your comments and additions welcome! Adam