Mac / Final Cut combo recomendation request

[John BKNY]

Hello Videohelperson,

I currently use Final Cut Express on a 2008 MacBook, and I'd like to upgrade, but can't afford a new Mac and new Final Cut 7. It looks like Final Cut Studio 2 (with FCP6) is available on eBay for a very reasonable price. I think I've read that FCP6 requires no later than OSX 10.6. Can you recommend a cost efficient Mac, maybe an iMac that I can also look for used that will play well with FCS2?

Thank you for your time and expertise!

John

[smrpix]

FCP 7 and Express are EOL. Forget about them -- Apple has. Final Cut Pro X ($300) is what they are pushing to the annoyance of many pro users. It's awesomely capable if you don't have to work with others.

Buy the most expensive Mac you can afford. --Seriously.

If budget is a consideration you may want to consider switching platforms. (I'm not anti-Mac, but it certainly costs more. Older OS versions are also not supported and you may find yourself having other problems interfacing with the modern world on older machines.)

[budwzr]

Technology on the PC side has outpaced Apple so rapidly, that Apple has decided to stick with handheld gizmos, which is fine, but the down side a lot of Mac users were swept out the back door after investing a ton of money in FCP and related products.

[JimmyS]

Technology on the PC side has outpaced Apple so rapidly, that Apple has decided to stick with handheld gizmos, which is fine, but the down side a lot of Mac users were swept out the back door after investing a ton of money in FCP and related products.

Pay no attention the mac hater. It knows absolutely nothing about Apple or its products except for what its macophobic brain can imagine. All current Macs use the latest intel technology except for the Mac Pro line which is to be upgraded this spring.

FCP X requires a Mac with OS 10.6.8 or later with a Core 2 Duo or later Processor. It is now much more "consumer" friendly as it works natively with most current camera formats, where FCP 7 requires conversion to ProRes for editing. A free trial is availble.

[smrpix]

It's awesomely capable if you don't have to work with others.

This isn't snippy by the way. If you're a self-contained shop and don't need to farm out audio or graphics, the thing's a wonder.

[JimmyS]

It's awesomely capable if you don't have to work with others.

This isn't snippy by the way. If you're a self-contained shop and don't need to farm out audio or graphics, the thing's a wonder.

More and more of the pros who dismissed it originally are giving it another look as Apple continuously adds the missing pieces to it.

http://www.moviemaker.com/editing/article/we_make_movies_better_giving_fcpx_another_chance_20121203/

[smrpix]

Yes. That article confirms what I've been saying. It's pretty awesome as a stand-alone.

The issues arise when you work in an environment where pieces of the job --audio mixing, visual FX are shared among different artists and platforms --in other words, a professional television or motion picture environment. That's why the pros are complaining.

I have no doubt solutions will be forthcoming in the next few years that make the innovative parts of FCPX more useful. I also suspect Apple is trying to lead a revolution in motion-based rather than frame-based production, which will put themselves at the front of the pack.

Ain't there yet.

[budwzr]

When a company discontinues a product, that means the product likely didn't have a code base capable of moving forward. In PC terms that would mean not "robust" enough to migrate, or scale, forward.

Total redesign is prima facie evidence of failure. Yet they admit not of any such thing.

And the final coup de tat is this is clearly a move to cut off any upgrade pricing to current FCP owners.