Considering an FCS2 Upgrade to FC3, Thoughts? at DVinfo.net

Brandon Paschal · March 14th, 2010, 09:10 PM

All,

I know FCS3 has been out a while, but I honestly was comfortable with my FCS2 workflow. I have recently moved toward the world of HDSLR video - and I was hopeful you might advise as to if it would be worth my while to upgrade - and what major benefits you all might've realized since its release.

I tend to be a bit leery of upgrades (especially in the midst of projects), so I thought I'd check with the experts.

Thanks in advance --- Brandon

Aaron Fowler · March 14th, 2010, 11:25 PM

Firstly, never upgrade mid project unless absolutely necessary! There's a chance that nothing will go wrong. There's a chance everything will go wrong! Are you willing to take a risk?

Secondly, if it's not broken, don't fix it. If you're comfortable with your current workflow then why change it? I'm not saying "don't upgrade"... I'm just saying "is it worth upgrading for you?"

I'm not an expert... I'm just in the same position as yourself... I think the biggest benefit you'll get out of FCS3 is the new Apple Prores codecs (specifically Prores LT) for transcoding your EOS H.264 files. If it's worth it for you to upgrade then go ahead. Personally, I'm waiting for something better from Apple.

Robert Lane · March 15th, 2010, 01:16 AM

Brandon,

If you do some searching around the forum you'll see that by and large most people don't need to upgrade to FCS "3" (technically Apple didn't give this latest version a number because it is a mid-life service-pack, not a full-on update to the suite). It's widely expected that Apple will sometime this year release the "real" FCS3 package but until they do I'd hang on and save your $$$ for more useful things. Like training. Or more suite plug-ins.

Chris Korrow · March 15th, 2010, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Fowler

Firstly, never upgrade mid project unless absolutely necessary! There's a chance that nothing will go wrong. There's a chance everything will go wrong! Are you willing to take a risk?

Secondly, if it's not broken, don't fix it. If you're comfortable with your current workflow then why change it? I'm not saying "don't upgrade"... I'm just saying "is it worth upgrading for you?"

The only problems I've had, has just been a matter of getting the proper OS Quicktime & FCP versions so that they "play nice" together when upgrading, & it has actually come about when upgrading quicktime & not FCP. But it is safe to say, that if I was in the mists of something important, I wouldn't upgrade.

That being said, seems to be the consensus (even from friends not on this forum), that 7 is not a MAJOR upgrade from 6, but that 8 is expected to be a considerable overhaul (ie utilizing multi cores and able to use more ram etc).

I'm still working with 5, I need some pro res & would like to work with color also, so I can't wait. If I had 6, I'd wait for 8.

Brandon Paschal · March 16th, 2010, 06:46 PM

Robert/Chris ...

I appreciate the thoughts. I was not sure if there was any definitive benefit from the current upgrade from a ProRes standpoint - especially given this new excursion into the HDSLR workflow. Again, I do appreciate the thoughts and will elect to hold off unless I hear of any more compelling position.

Thanks!

March 14th, 2010, 09:10 PM	#1
Brandon Paschal Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 77	Considering an FCS2 Upgrade to FC3, Thoughts? All, I know FCS3 has been out a while, but I honestly was comfortable with my FCS2 workflow. I have recently moved toward the world of HDSLR video - and I was hopeful you might advise as to if it would be worth my while to upgrade - and what major benefits you all might've realized since its release. I tend to be a bit leery of upgrades (especially in the midst of projects), so I thought I'd check with the experts. Thanks in advance --- Brandon __________________ p-films.com. Canon T2i f2.8 17-55, f1.4 50mm, Cool Lights LEDs

March 14th, 2010, 11:25 PM	#2
Aaron Fowler Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 129	Firstly, never upgrade mid project unless absolutely necessary! There's a chance that nothing will go wrong. There's a chance *everything* will go wrong! Are you willing to take a risk? Secondly, if it's not broken, don't fix it. If you're comfortable with your current workflow then why change it? I'm not saying "don't upgrade"... I'm just saying "is it worth upgrading for you?" I'm not an expert... I'm just in the same position as yourself... I think the biggest benefit you'll get out of FCS3 is the new Apple Prores codecs (specifically Prores LT) for transcoding your EOS H.264 files. If it's worth it for you to upgrade then go ahead. Personally, I'm waiting for something better from Apple. __________________ Aaron Fowler PMW-EX1 / EOS 60D / EOS 550D / FCS2 / CS4 PP Last edited by Aaron Fowler; March 14th, 2010 at 11:27 PM. Reason: Typographical error

March 16th, 2010, 06:46 PM	#5
Brandon Paschal Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 77	Robert/Chris ... I appreciate the thoughts. I was not sure if there was any definitive benefit from the current upgrade from a ProRes standpoint - especially given this new excursion into the HDSLR workflow. Again, I do appreciate the thoughts and will elect to hold off unless I hear of any more compelling position. Thanks! __________________ p-films.com. Canon T2i f2.8 17-55, f1.4 50mm, Cool Lights LEDs

March 15th, 2010, 01:16 AM	#3
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,823 Images: 15	Brandon, If you do some searching around the forum you'll see that by and large most people don't need to upgrade to FCS "3" (technically Apple didn't give this latest version a number because it is a mid-life service-pack, not a full-on update to the suite). It's widely expected that Apple will sometime this year release the "real" FCS3 package but until they do I'd hang on and save your $$$ for more useful things. Like training. Or more suite plug-ins.