I've been away from video for a while, due to other work issues. However, I hope to get my existing footage sorted and catalogued this winter. But due partly to ignorance, I've given myself a problem or two.

1. My editing needs are simple, and don't warrant a 'professional' level NLE - nor can I justify the cost of one.

2. Because I didn't know any better, at least until recently, my XF100 files are not backed up in their exact original CF card format, so the Canon XF utility can't read them.

3. I have purchased MXF Converter for Mac, which has allowed me to convert some files for internet use (I was asked to film some award presentations which needed quick uploading).

While the MXF converter has done a reasonable job for this purpose - set for producing 720x480 files - I'd like to convert files to retain their original size and quality, so that I can use them in iMovie, or something better, in the future. Most of my footage is wildlife, either filmed in daylight at 60i, or at night in 'infra-red' mode.

There are so many options in the converter, that I don't know what to choose. Disc space isn't a problem - all I want is to trim useful clips, rename them, and save them in the best quality possible.

Can anyone help, please.

My Nikon D800s produce .mov files, my Canon XH A1 produces M2T files when attached to a Sony CF card recorder, or .mpeg when copied directly from tapes. But at least those could all be read by the early versions of Premiere elements that I used to use on a PC.

Thanks
Annie

Hi Annie,
Take a look at:
Free MXF Converter for Windows & Mac- convert any MXF files for free (http://www.freemxfconverter.com/)

Hi Robin

Thanks for the suggestion. But just looking at that web page gives me the same question as before. There are so many different formats for saving the converted file, presumably for different purposes, that I still don't know which to go for.

For example, I saved some video from a DSLR at highest quality in iMovie - it gave pro-res as highest quality, and the saved file was .mov format. I saved a converted MXF file as .mov in aiseesoft MXF converter, was given a choice of mpg or h264, the resulting files (I tried it both ways) were both .mov but vastly different sizes.

So, I'm still confused. (not to mention that I'm having difficulty getting my head around where iMovie puts files, finds files, and other problems of changing from PC to Mac)

Thanks
Annie

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/nature-watching-in-europe/id830579850?mt=8

Change MXF to mpg see if you can fool Elements.
This trick works in Elements 12.

Annie,
If Ann Bens's great suggestion doesn't work for some reason, you could try a very simple program written back in the days when there was no plugin for Canon FX. This free, neat little program simply re-wraps your original files from MXF to MOV, making them usable for iMovie, adobe and just about everything else, while keeping the original size and quality. You can get it here:

http://pika.dk/XfcpX/XfcpX2Installer.mpkg.zip

Annie, maybe I'm missing something but since you seem to be on a Mac, you could use Compressor, I do believe. If you go the Apple App store online and buy Compressor. I just dumped an MXF file into it, not the full folder but just the MXF file, and it offered me a conversion from mxf to a lot of different formats, including Pro res which would give you mov files. Just to be clear, I don't use FCPX, I just bought compressor for some Prores conversions that Premiere couldn't do.

Maybe someone else can fact check this, to make sure I'm not missing something but for the price, this might be your best bet? I think I paid $50 for it.

Compressor does just as you say Al, converting a Canon 720p60 mxf file to ProRes 422HQ very quickly and with a data rate of 216 mb/s.