Thread: Best format for editing T3i footage in Final Cut Pro X?

Hi I just recently bought a Canon Rebel T3i for my video services I offer. It's a major upgrade from what I had before. The thing is, these video files come out so huge that I can barely work with them in Final Cut before my Mac starts to bog down in speed substantially. Here's a rundown of what I have hardware-wise and my video format info.

I have a late 2010 Macbook Pro edition with 2.66GHz Intel Core i7 processor and 8GB of RAM.

My video file info from Quicktime Inspector is:

Format: H.264, 1920 x 1080, Millions
Linear PCM, 16 bit little-endian signed integer, 2 channels, 48000 Hz

FPS: 29.97
Data Rate: 45.45 Mbit/s

I do have Compressor with Final Cut and I know that Final Cut also optimizes media when it is imported into the program but I usually stop it from doing that as its just simply too time consuming. I really need a fix here. Any help? I appreciate it. Thank you.

On the website Canon U.S.A. : Consumer & Home Office : EOS Rebel T3i 18-55mm IS II Kit I read this about the Rebel T3i: Three Recording Sizes
Full HD Video is captured at 1920 x 1080 resolution at 30p (29.97), 24p (23.976) or 25p frames per second, for up to 4GB per clip. Videos are saved as .MOV files and can be viewed in Full HD with HDMI output. Other recording sizes include HD at 1280 x 720 (50p/60p (59.94) fps) or SD/VGA at 640 x 480 (30p (29.97) and 25p fps). Did you try to import the .MOV files using ProRes422? The files will be larger, because they will be decompressed on import. When you chose the option 'create proxy medio' FCPX will create a small version to work with, while in the background the same edits are made with the larger material. A question: does your MacBook pro meet the standards for FCPX? See Apple - Final Cut Pro X - System Requirements and Tech Specs . When it still is to slow you could consider to set your camera to another recording size. Good luck! Jan de Bloois, The Netherlands, Welkom bij Videohobby | Videohobby | Jan de Bloois