AVCHD Cameras? Can I Import and Edit in Final Cut Pro?

[Larry Silverberg]

I need to buy a small HD Camera. Will the Canon AVCHD cameras work with my Mac and Final Cut?

Thanks!

[Benjamin Hill]

You can, but it's not quick and easy. I tried it once as a favor for someone with an AVCHD cam, and the import process (file transfer via USB) is real time, if I recall; so that makes the "tapeless" aspect less attractive. Also, it had to transcode to ProRes or AIC as well. I would be more inclined to an HV-30 or something like that because HDV in Final Cut Pro is very established and much more straightforward- just like the DV workflow everyone is familiar with.

[Noah Kadner]

Greatly depends on the model but in general there is AVCHD support for some cameras after FCP 6.02 or so.

Noah

[Marcelo Lima]

I am on the same boat as you.. I just bought an AVCHD canon camera and try to use FCP to edit.. For now, this format is complicate... I only could import the video using iMOVIE HD 08 and it re-compress to APPLE PRO-RES.. Well, the quality is very good, the speed is quite good... (the edit speed is very good too) (the AVCHD native format is very heave and demand a lot of power of processor)...
Its only exist a few software who edit in native mts format (and non for MAC as far as i know..) But the new adobe premiere will come with AVCHD support and i think is the trend for the next generation...

One thing i can tell you, it worth wait and bet on this format.. That's my opinion. The image quality is very good (my camera records up to 24 Mbits in 1980x1080). I have an HDV camera and when i capture to finalcut, i use the APPLE PRO-RES codec, so the file will be very similar, and the conversion from usb (avchd to pro-res) is faster than real time video (according of few tests..)

ps: You can log and transfer using apple final cut pro but i couldnt do this, but here in our forum, a lots of people could do this...

[Robert Rogoz]

From Macword.com:
"Version 6.0.1 supports the increasingly popular AVCHD format, but not natively. Therefore, you must transcode to either Apple Intermediate Codec or ProRes 422 via the Log And Transfer interface, and that output takes up as much as ten times more space than native AVCHD files. The good news is that once you transcode your video into these formats, editing and rendering are much faster than in native HDV. But there are also some significant limitations to how you can use the AVCHD codec. AVCHD is supported only with a Mac Pro and from AVCHD camcorders that AVCHD camcorders that record to a built-in hard drive. DVD-based AVCHD camcorders are not supported in Mac OS X 10.4 or earlier, Apple says. The cameras on the Mac 1080HD Web site, for example, are confirmed by Apple to work as long as you are using the proper Mac hardware. Macworld has not tested this in-house yet, but has verified with independent sources that this feature works as advertised. We will post the results of our own testing as soon as we can"
here is the source: Macworld | Final Cut Pro 6.0.1

My question is if you can capture the footage through ProResHQ?

[Marcelo Lima]

Originally Posted by Robert Rogoz

From Macword.com:


My question is if you can capture the footage through ProResHQ?

You can open MTS (or M2TS) video file through Toast Titanium and convert to ProRes.. IN HDV you can capture on the fly to Apple Pro Res instead of HDV MPEG2 HD....

[Charles Dasher]

I just got and Sr 11 to use as a water cam. I will e mixing with EX1 footage. Any one have info on what difference using PRO RES codec versus the Apple Intermediate codec makes? The file size is slightly smaller with AIC versus ProRes

[Hans Ledel]

Originally Posted by Robert Rogoz

From Macword.com:
...... AVCHD is supported only with a Mac Pro and from AVCHD camcorders that AVCHD camcorders that record to a built-in hard drive. DVD-based AVCHD camcorders are not supported in Mac OS X 10.4 or earlier, Apple says. The cameras on the Mac 1080HD Web site, for example, are confirmed by Apple to work as long as you are using the proper Mac hardware. Macworld has not tested this in-house yet, but has verified with independent sources that this feature works as advertised. We will post the results of our own testing as soon as we can"
here is the source: Macworld | Final Cut Pro 6.0.1

My question is if you can capture the footage through ProResHQ?

You don´t need a Mac Pro. You need a "Intel" Mac.
I have a iMac Intel Core Duo and I can convert to AIC from my Sony SR11

[Tim Dashwood]

Originally Posted by Hans Ledel

You don´t need a Mac Pro. You need a "Intel" Mac.
I have a iMac Intel Core Duo and I can convert to AIC from my Sony SR11

I'm curious what happens if you try to log & transfer AVCHD with a G4 or G5? Is it just incredibly slow or is it not permitted by the application?