is fcp easier to use than vegas (money not an issue)

[Jayson Corcoran]

If money wasnt an issue what would you use ?

At the moment I have a very high spec pc together with some decent laptops (windows based) but I really want to edit to a decent level.

At the moment I use a quad core pc with 4gb ram and edit with Rocio Creator and use a Canon XH-A1 for footage.

I am TOTALLY new to this kind of work but already I can see that the roxio package is limited, even with my zero knowledge.

Now, ive read Vegas is good for the pc which seems fine but then I read that it isnt as easy to use as FCP.

Now ive no problem buying a mac and FCP if it is indeed easier to use and can do everything I need it to do.

My work will start as fottage clips for my business but im really getting into this and would like to do it as a hobby too (my job is stressfull, this may give me a few years extra life if it eases my stress levels :)

Money isnt an issue, id rather spend now on the right gear than waste money on other products only to find I need to spend again on the right gear later.

I would appreciate your wisdom...

[Pete Cofrancesco]

if you like tinkering you could try OSX86 with your existing hardware

I've used fcp for many years its far from easy but offers what I need, never used Vegas so I can't compare.

[Jason Boyette]

I would download the free 30 day trial of Vegas and try it for yourself!

Sony Creative Software - Vegas video - ACID & Sound Forge audio editing

I use both almost everyday, and they both are amazing, it just depends on what you are doing. In my opinion Vegas is easier from the get go, FCP takes a little longer but after a few weeks it starts to make sense. But you have a quality PC right now, so I would lean toward giving Vegas a shot!

Hope this helps.

[Michael Wisniewski]

I honestly can't say one is better or easier than the other. They both have issues that will drive you up a wall. But, FCP is fast becoming an industry standard, so if you're looking for editing jobs, FCP is a "must know" skill nowadays.

[Stick Tully]

If you can afford it grab a mac pro and fcp, i use premiere at work and it gives me more headaches than my 'homework'. If your using a system as a relaxing hobbie and moneys no object get yourself a beefy mac pro so you can enjoy the editing time.

saying that, i've not tried vegas so cant really comment.. i just love fcp.. and my mac pro.

best of luck

[Jayson Corcoran]

Thanks,
I now only need to buy a mac and fcp.
I have been far from happy with apple of late though so we will see if that can be resolved.

[Sherif Choudhry]

Vegas is a very easy to use programme - editing is drag and drop - cuts/fades are easy - multiple layers of sound and video - some plug-in support but nowhere near whats available for FCP - multiple formats on timeline and its way cheap in comparison.

But FCP is being used for some real critical and intensive work - I know Vegas can point to some studios/indie movies but FCP was used for "No Country for Old men" and a host of hollywood movies - so its what I would call near-mission-critical, but AVID users might laugh at me :-)

Vegas is nowhere near being mission-critical, it has bugs, jpegs can stop it dead sometimes, it renders really slowly, most serious users dont use the native mt2, but use Cineform (like I do) for capture.

I did a 1 hour show using the RED magic bullet looks plug-in and 4 audio plug-ins - over 10 hr render ) not because of Vegas but the RED plug-in needs a good GPU, but without RED it was around 5 hours, using a 2 pass VBR for BEST quality render to DVD. Vegas just kept on crashing so I had to chop my show up into 4 bits and render each separately to detect the bug and finish the job. Not good. And thats not the 1st time its crashed. But there are thousands of happy Vegas users.

So dont get me wrong, I really LIKE Vegas, its interface is so easy to use - but the problem is SONY and its future - Sony isnt treating it like a professional s/w and being rigorous about testing - so it will never be a threat to FCP and is a consumer product.

So, if you are doing serious paid jobs with clients depending on you, go for FCP.

[Daniel Alexander]

I agree with Sherif. Sony Vegas was all i knew until i started doing more serious work and found i couldn't cope with the long render times, inacurate scopes and unpredictable rendered outputs. By far vegas is an easier program but since using FCP i haven't looked back, like anything, if you use it long enough it becomes second nature.

[Sherif Choudhry]

I've just come back from a nice day out with the family and guess what, the render for a simple 25 minute interview has just DISAPPEARED off the screen. No error message, no microsoft send error report, Vegas has just disappeared. This is just [expletive].

No amount of excellent user-interface can make up for reliability. aaagh.

[Dean Sensui]

If someone sat me down in front of both systems today I'd say that FCP is a lot easier to use than Vegas.

... because I've never used Vegas. :-)

Something to consider: FCP is a suite of software that includes an editing system plus separate programs to handle title effects, visual effects design, color correction and grading, audio editing, video/audio compression and encoding, and DVD authoring.

All the programs have their quirks but they all do a great job for what they're intended to do. Color, the application to handle color correction and grading, used to be a standalone application that Silicon Color sold for $5,000 to $25,000. Now it comes free with the $1,200 editing suite.