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The world of Apple Final Cut Studio 3 continues to grow at a phenomenal rate, with more than a million users and over 200 partners offering compatible plug-ins, control surfaces, I/O devices, and integrated systems. Apple has designed Final Cut Studio 3 to offer powerful new features, a wide range of enhancements requested by the worldwide community, and dramatically improved performance at an affordable price.
Final Cut Studio 3 delivers a complete end-to-end post-production workflow that can be used for independent projects, Hollywood productions and corporate training videos alike. Final Cut Pro's open timeline supports mixed format video from DV, SD, HDV, XDCAM HD, DVCPRO HD, uncompressed HD, as well as native AVC-Intra support. The suite features an interface that veteran Final Cut users will feel at home in. Users new to the software will appreciate its intuitiveness and contextual help menus.
| Video System | NTSC, PAL, HD |
| Video Formats | DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, DVCPRO HD, HDV, XDCAM HD, IMX, P2, AVC-Intra, AVCHD, XDCAM EX, Uncompressed 8-bit and 10-bit HD (4:2:2 YUV) via PCI card, Uncompressed 8-bit and 10-bit SD (4:2:2 YUV) via FireWire or PCI card |
| Audio Formats | 48 kHz, 16-bit |
| Supported Codecs | ProRes 4444, ProRes 422 (HQ), ProRes 422, ProRes 422 (Proxy), ProRes 422 (LT), ProRes Apple Intermediate Codec, OfflineRT Photo-JPEG Codec |
| Supported File Types |
Video: QuickTime Audio: AIFF, WAV Image: PSD, BMP, JPEG, PICT, PNG, SGI, TARGA, TIFF |
| Number of Video Tracks | 99 |
| Number of Audio Tracks | 99 |
| Film Editing Support |
Yes, Cinema Tools 4.5 included Support for 35mm 3-perf, 35mm 4-perf and 16mm-20 |
| Edit Decision List (EDL) Support | Yes |
| Deck Control | FireWire, RS-422, RS-232 |
| DVD Authoring | DVD and Blu-ray authoring support via DVD Studio Pro 4 |
| System Requirements |
Minimum Requirements for Installation Computer: Mac computer with an Intel processor Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5.6 Memory: 1 GB Hard Drive: 4 GB for applications; Additional 46 GB for optional templates, content and tutorials (9 GB for DVD Studio Pro 4 content, 7 GB for Motion 4 templates and tutorial media, 22 GB for Soundtrack Pro 3 audio content, 8 GB for LiveFonts and LiveType animated elements and templates Graphics: AGP or PCI Express Quartz Extreme graphics card; Final Cut Studio is not compatible with Intel graphics processors Display: 1280 x 800 Software: QuickTime 7.6 or Later Hardware: DVD-ROM drive for installation Color Requirements Computer: Mac Pro, 17" MacBook Pro, 24" iMac with Intel Core Duo, 2.5 GHz Power Mac G5 Quad-Core Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon X1600; ATI Radeon X1600; nVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT, 7600 GT, 7300 GT, 6800 Ultra DDL, 6800 GT DDL, 6600; nVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 Display: 1680 x 1050 Hardware: 3-button mouse 4K and 2K DPX Files: 512MB of VRAM 32-Bit Rendering: 256MB of VRAM DVD Studio Pro Requirements Computer: PowerPC G5 or Intel Core Duo for HD DVD playback Hardware: SuperDrive or other DVD recorder for burning; Double-layer recorder required for double-layer burning; External hard drive or Internet transfer required for delivery of HD projects to replicator; DLT drive, external hard drive or Internet transfer required for delivery of SD projects to replicator Soundtrack Pro Requirements Hardware: Audio interface with 6-channel sound output required for 5.1 surround monitoring; Audio interface with multiple inputs required for multitrack recording Recommended Configurations Memory: 2 GB for compressed HD and uncompressed SD editing; 4 GB for uncompressed HD Motion Recommendations Graphics: ATI Radeon X1900 XT, X850 XT, X800 XT, X1600; nVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT, 6800 Ultra DDL, 6800 GT DDL; nVIDIA Quadro FX 4500; 256 MB VRAM for 32-bit rendering Color Recommendations Graphics: ATI Radeon X1900 XT Display: Dual displays with 1920 x 1200 resolution |
| Qualified Hardware | FireWire camcorders and decks; Mac OS X-compatible analog and SDI capture hardware |
REVIEW SNAPSHOT®
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Most Liked Positive Review
Wish I had taken the leap sooner!
After the purchase of a Canon 5DMll I decided to try my ability to make videos.
Primarily a photographer, I am seeing the advantage of video in my projects. Wedding projects simply sell b...Read complete review
After the purchase of a Canon 5DMll I decided to try my ability to make videos.
Primarily a photographer, I am seeing the advantage of video in my projects. Wedding projects simply sell better with DVD slideshows and video included. With a good assistant you can produce the photographs AND the video for the event.
We have several Bluegrass bands here in the mountains of North Carolina that I have recorded and applied Final Cut Studio with absolutely astounding results. The "WOW" response from clients is common.
When deciding to purchase FCS I had considered Final Cut Express. I talked with an Apple representative and told him, after he suggested Final Cut Express because of the cost, that I have used most of the other movie applications and don't want to be "underwhelmed" if I choose Express. This is one time I want to be overwhelmed!
I am happy to report that I am indeed overwhelmed by FCS but only because of the various abilities it gives me to control my output.
The user interface is intuitive but can be tricky to get around if you don't understand the basics of making movies. Fortunately B&H has teamed Final Cut Studio with FCS Basic Training's Class on Demand by Tom Wolsky. Tom does a good job of explaining the basic user interfaces and makes suggestions on how to optimize your system for better performance. I'm using a MacBook Pro and have had no problems using FCS.
Getting around in the color module is a bit tricky as it uses a different format than mac users are typically used to.
Final Cut Studio is a great tool and will expand your interest in movie making and will want you to dust off the camcorder that never gets used anymore. You may find yourself wanting to rework your old home movies.
B&H has put FCS in the hands of more users by lowering the price and made those users more adept by including the Class on Demand.
Thanks B&H. You are always a step ahead of the pack!
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Most Liked Negative Review
It's Almost As Good As They Claim
What can be done with a nonlinear editor represents considerable progress beyond older technology, but they ain't there yet. While FCP's capabilities make it usable and useful, it still has serious flaws, including ...Read complete review
What can be done with a nonlinear editor represents considerable progress beyond older technology, but they ain't there yet. While FCP's capabilities make it usable and useful, it still has serious flaws, including instability and poor integration. Things occasionally simply fail to work, such as round-tripping; and it is painfully obvious that these programs were all created separately by people who weren't talking to each other. Some functions, such as key-framing, will seem awkward and unintuitive 'til you have used them many, many times. Some features, such as Smoothcam in FCP7, create more distortion than they remove. In some of the programs in this suite, such as Compressor, the lack of feedback coupled with the delays in processing large files can leave you uncertain whether the program is still running. This is very poor programming practice, and Apple should know better. The documentation is on a par with the industry standard, and that is not saying much.
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Reviewed by 108 customers
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
Great for all your basic and advanced video editing needs.easy to install works great on my 2009 mac pro.also good for photo editing and color correction.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
I've been using Final Cut professionally since it first came out in 2002, and I've continually upgraded, up through Final Cut Studio 2. Initially I just held there, and didn't upgrade to Final Cut Studio 3, thinking I'd wait a while, perhaps until the next version came out, because I felt pretty satisfied with the features of FCS2. Well, then Final Cut X came out with all of its terrible, backwards features and awful reviews from professional users, so I immediately went searching for Final Cut Studio 3, hoping that it wasn't too late to find it. Thankfully, B&H still had it.
I really haven't noticed too many changes from Final Cut Studio 2, but the one that makes an obvious difference to me is the handling of HD footage shot on a digital SLR. I regularly use the Canon 5D mark ii to film b-roll, and FCS3 handles Apple Pro Res 422 footage beautifully.
I'm a little nervous that FCS3 is the end of Apple's tradition of excellence with this program given how wretched Final Cut X seems to be, but for now I'm just going to continue using FCS3 and hope for the best.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
I heard bad things about FCP X and knew FCP 7 frontwards and backwards and needed for a new job. This is best way I knew how to purchase FCP 7.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
I am so disappointed in this software, I purchased it for full price, [$] now today apple told me that Final cut studio is no longer going to be a product, so no more Final Cut Studio, buy at your own risk, the product is defective, allegedly and I am really irritated that I spent so much money on a product that was going to be dumped by Apple, wish I had my money back.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
Granted, I'm an amateur trying to turn my hobby into a professions, but as far as I'm concerned, this is the ultimate in editing software.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
If you need to edit any video professionally you need this. It has every thing you need.
Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
Final Cut Studio is a great package.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
I was involved in the Analog days of Video production and recently jumped head first into digital video editing. I am amazed at the production power now possible in this relatively inexpensive software suite. If you can imagine it - it is now possible. Amazing......
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
I recently began (paid) filmmaking work. When putting my studio together on a budget, really the only choice, was Final Cut Pro. It's extremely user friendly even for those of us who stayed invested in PC longer than the other hipsters who made their run on MAC.
I instantly began using most of the more advanced control in the system. The setup of the program is completely logical. Everything seems to be extremely streamlined and well thought out.
Please spend your time going through the explore FCP book that comes along with the program. It gives a wonderful overview of the buttons and the setup. It even does a amazing job of teaching you how to customize the views to your personal preferences.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
Does everything the users wanted to do with it at a Great price through B&H!
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
Reliable, effective, and comprehensive. As a free lance media producer, I use the FCP extensively daily. It's so easy to use. Anyone who has used FCP knows what I'm talking about. The price is going down, and the quality is going up. Who can ask for anything more.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
Hands down the best Editing software out there.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
Yes I give this suite 3 stars because I gave only 1 and half stars to the previous version I ran on my Mac. As one post so aptly put it...to an editor time is everything!!! I do a fair amount of PSA's and Documentaries. There are some tings Apple should just be embarrassed about. For instance, when you are in Motion laying in type, there is no preview of how a different type will look if you are not satisfied with the present one...are you kidding me. In Motion you have previews of how the transitions look...In FC7, you don't!! In fact there are no previews of anything! And don;t take the time to add bunch of nice simple cross-fades to your project if you are in FC7 if you intend to import your project into Motion...they won't be exported to Motion and will be lost!!! Yeah I know..."embarrassing" right? And working with Key- Frames in Motion is no where as simple as it is in FC7. And the time-line in Motion can be so irritating at times you want to pull your hair out!! You can lay down an image and it will extended far past the end of the footage you are working with. Which means if you want to make it shorter you have to drag the whole clip way past where it should be just so you find the end of it to edit. How mice would it be to have the same Pen Tool you have in FC7 to drop Key Frames right in the time-line. And since Motion does not import Transitions from FCP7,why are there no transitions present in Motion? I find it amazing at how different the interfaces are between the two editors. And why they are not integrated is beyond me! To export and save and work and then save again, just so you can have some nice simple text or shape effects is beyond me. And using Boris which looks like its 10 years old is again 'embarrassing' at the very least!! Sure I want to have to highlight in order change anything every single time...in a type editor no doubt!!And while the good stuff like the new Pro-Res Codecs are a welcome sight, working with 24p is still a pain when it comes to render times in HD.The share function is good, but could be a whole lot better. And the anti-shake function in FCP7 is all but useless. This editor while very popular is still far from being the efficient tool it needs to be. Its sad that some compare $49 program like IMovie to a[$]plus program, but rightfully so, they do.I have been using FCP7 now for a few months which included no less than 60 commercials/projects and i am still not as impressed as I was with Vegas Pro some 9 years ago. With an aging interface, a steep learning curve, (B&H throws in a guide which was very helpful) and almost $900 poorer, I would strongly think bout dropping your dime on this one before the supposedly "All New" FCP8!There are many more little thing that really irritate me about FCP7 (seriously...many more), I just hope the the hype about FCP8 is everything anyone should expect...including an upgrade price, cause I just bought my editor this year!!!
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
I looked around for a while for Final Cut Studio 3 software and was very impressed with the B&H price. The software is tried and true and although I am an Avid trained editor when it came to setting up my own business I couldn't beat the value that Final Cut offers.
The interface is easy to use and very functional. The only part of Final Cut Editing that lacks is in trimming. I feel that Avid does a better job of handling the trim function.
I am also a little bit disappointed in how it handles tapeless formats. There is a lot more converting and prep work required than on the later generation Avids.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
I have been going back and forth about purchasing FCP for over a year now, and I finally found the deal I was looking for. I'm a beginning professional videographer, just graduated from school 1 yr ago. I've been piecing my equipment together for over 4 yrs now, and finally I have the bare bones to start a side business for weddings and parties etc. Great product, I've used AVID before, more powerful....but way more complicated, particularly since most of what I do doesn't require half the bells and whistles of AVID. FCP is exactly what I needed
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
I love FCP. Having all of these tools available in one bundle is amazing. I am yet to find a function that Final Cut Studio can't handle. If you are looking for professional videos, it all starts here.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
We use this for a medium-sized church. The quality and versatility are unparalleled at this price point.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
This product has made our video ministry 100x better and more productive from that of Vegas Pro 9. We use this product to produce our television ministry sermons and our weekly announcements etc. It is easy to work with, the user interface is stellar and intuitive. Things that arent so great about it is that it does not like .mp3 or windows format videos. There are plugins for that though.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
I've loved this product before, but I still love the newest version. It has some cool new features such as being able to work simultaneously in compressor and final cut. That has been really helpful.
I do miss LiveType, though. I'm not sure why this isn't included in the latest version.
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Comments about Apple Final Cut Studio 3:
Final Cut Studio is fast using the new MacBook Pro with the i7 (Sandy Bridge) processor. FCS provides a lot of flexibility in editing video.
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