editing d7000 .mov files on final cut express?

[talk_show_host]

Hi everyone

New to the forum and in need of some relatively urgent help.

I'm currently shooting video on a nikon d7000 (specifically 1080p at 24fps) and then editing on final cut express. From previous research around the net, it seems like I should be incurring all manner of problems/crashing while uploading and editing the files. I've also read that I must transcode via a program such as mpegstreamclip in order to avoid crashing etc. and to get the best from my footage.

However I've had no problems thus far except for some really slow render times. So, would transcoding the files reduce render times or significantly benefit the quality of my video? If so, would you recommend mpegstreamclip?

Any help would be much appreciated - especially any explanations regarding the art of successfully getting footage into and out of the computer - as I'm new to shooting video on dslr's and editing generally.

[Midnight Blue]

However I've had no problems thus far except for some really slow render times. So, would transcoding the files reduce render times or significantly benefit the quality of my video?

The general rule of thumb is the more often you render your image the more degraded it will get, so following that logic if you "transcode" the footage it will follow the same rule of thumb. I don't see how transcoding would significantly reduce rendering times and definetly won't inprove the image. Getting a great big powerful computer will help to reduce rendering times.

If you are not having any trouble with your work flow then I would recommend not changing anything. "If it aint broke don't fix it" springs to mind.

[talk_show_host]

Thanks for the advice. I think I might just have to wait for render times on this occassion. Having tried to get my head around this 'transcoding' thing (sorry if thats the wrong term) I've understood that the video files I've recorded in camera have a h.264 codec - which is apparently not necessarily the best footage to edit with as it's heavily compressed?
I think my original question should instead have been then - are there any significant downsides to editing with video encoded as h.264, and if so, should I compress/decompress this into a better format for editing in? If I should, then can you (or anyone else) advise me on which codec would be best?
I understand your point regarding computer speed. I'm editing on a 2 year old macbook pro with an intel core 2 duo and 4gb ram. On the limited number of things I've edited on it it's always seemed fast enough though I appreciate it's dated now in comparison. I'm running my scratchdisks of a 1tb hd too.
Just seem to be hitting a brick wall while trying to get my head around codecs/inputting/outputting video etc. as there's a lot of terminology and I'm not necessarily sure what or where to apply it to at times.
I should add that I'm only recently starting to pursue shooting/editing on a day to day level and seeing as I'm largely self taught I think I've confused/skipped vital lessons along the way. So I don't really have a work flow as of yet, rather I'm trying to establish one. So any advice/info links would be fantastic! Thanks again for your response.