Video software for Apple

[theplummeter 14]

I just inherited a MacBook Pro that is about four months old from a family member and am trying to figure out what to run for video software. In addition to never using Apple before I have never run any of their software.

I like the Sony stuff but that isn't an option for Apple so I'm left with Adobe(not sure which suite or the cost), Final Cut Pro ($299), iMovie ($20), or something else I don't know about yet.

The computer is the Core i7 model with 8gb of ram. I don't do professional video, just some editing for the dropzone for tandem or student videos.

I'm open to any suggestions, especially from anyone running a similar setup.

[Superfletch 1]

Well, the Sony stuff is an option. If you REALLY like Sony then just install bootcamp on it and Windows and use Sony. In a lot of cases, a mac running windows is a better option than most PC Compatible laptops. Otherwise Adobe Premiere is available for the mac.

Personally, I use iMovie 9.0.9 for tandem videos (haven't messed with iMovie 10 yet). Final cut is very powerful but it's not really suitable for a quick tandem video workflow, or at least that's been my case.

Gary "Superfletch" Fletcher
D-26145; USPA Coach, IAD/I, AFF/I
Videographer/Photographer

[DSE 3]

I do run Bootcamp, and as Fletch mentions...it's a powerful option. No Apple-compatible software can touch what you can do with the Sony apps. Not by a far cry when it comes to speed.

Otherwise, iMovie, FCPX, and Premiere are your options for budget software. iMovie is pretty powerful, so is Premiere yet Premiere has a steep learning curve.
FCPX is quite similar to Sony Vegas, but it's a lot slower due to the number of clicks, menus, and methods.

[faulknerwn 36]

We use iMovie for all of our tandem videos here. Works awesome - is easy to use to make great intros and such - and for tandem videos its 2-3 minutes of human interaction and from there on out its just how much memory and CPU have to finish it up. I love it..

[theplummeter 14]

Thanks for the replies so far. I don't have a license for Windows other than what is already in use in my house or I would bootcamp and install Sony.

For those of you who have used iMovie is it a linear editor like Sony or more like Windows Movie Maker?

[DSE 3]

iMovie is more like Windows Media Maker than it is like Vegas or FCP.

They're all NLE's tho.

[theplummeter 14]

I ended up spending the $15 for iMovie. I figure if I hate it that's the least expensive way to discover that I am incompatible with Apple, and given the similarities between iMovie and Final Cut Pro it should be a good indication of whether it's worth spending the money on that or finding a way to run Windows on bootcamp with Sony.

[DSE 3]

It'll frustrate you at first, coming from a real editing application, but the output is very similar, even if twice as slow to achieve.
it works, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters.