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Final Cut Express 4.0

Amazing!!!

Written by MS from Escondido

16/11/2007

What a fantastic upgrade for Final Cut Express. Support for AVC HD and multiple formats in the timeline along with the new video effects are great new additions to Final Cut Express, and at only $199! I will say, its a shame that not all the effects are compatible with Intel graphics chips; but that doesn't mean Final Cut is bad, just that you have a poor graphics card. I still wish I could have had and NVidia GPU in my MacBook. At any rate, this looks like a great buy. Anyone who does any editing on a Mac whatsoever should get Final Cut Express 4!

1712 of 2457 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

I'm Not Sure About This...

Written by AS from Centennial

16/11/2007

I love Final Cut Express HD, but I am not sure if there are large benefits to upgrading to FCE 4. The changes seem very small, unlike the upgrade to the HD version. I will be very interested to hear what others think, especially those that upgrade from HD. **I will say that if you are thinking about learning FCE and don't own it already, it is an amazing program and well worth your time to learn. It is an exceptional value at $199 for a new user.

1839 of 2712 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Unbelievable!

Written by KB from Mechanicsburg

21/11/2007

If you have an AVCHD camcorder, this new version is a dream come true. Over the past year I had a DV cam and Final Cut Express HD (3.5) and honestly did very, very little editing. Not that 3.5 wasn't good, but the work of capturing tapes is tedious, particularly when you shoot a lot of video.

I bought a new Sony AVCHD Hard drive based cam last week and got Final Cut Express 4 today. Now I can shoot, import, edit and output in minutes (literally). Couldn't be faster or easier. I'm one of those who love iMovie '08 as a great whole-family solution and while the integration with it is great, Final Cut Express 4.0 is so fast and easy, I find it faster to just skip iMovie.

AVCHD and Final Cut Express 4 is a quantum leap in video production. The only two drawbacks are: 1) My MacBook Pro 2.33Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo w/ 2GB Ram slows down quite a bit when running 4.0. 2) Super effiecient AVCHD files bloat up to 10X their native size when imported to the necessary Apple Intermediate Codec.

Basically, you need some horsepower and lots of HD space.

I went from having to 'force myself' to plow through a project to not being able to stop playing. Great job Apple!

449 of 582 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Ok, so it's not perfect...

Written by RJ from Lincoln

31/12/2007

But I doubt apps like Final Cut Pro are, either. In all honesty, this app gives you one of the best insights into professional video editing at a VERY reasonable price. And most of the problems you get in this software can easily be worked around, just like in the real video editing world.
For instance, today I couldn't import an AVI file made on my PC (I couldn't import it into any Mac application - it was corrupted in my Mac's opinion) but my clunky old PC could play it and import it with no problems (since it made it). So I imported it into a program on my PC, converted it into WMV and with Flip4Mac which I bought the other day for £20 (A must have for those of you who work with PCs and WMVs), I imported my WMV and managed to create a pleasing video whilst having a great time doing it. I didn't want to stop.
This product, in my opinion, is perfect. Couldn't ask for anything more... other than maybe a stretch tool, as the Speed/duration tools can be a but imprecise if you don't want to do a lot of counting... and maybe Soundtrack, back? But for the price, you really can't complain and Garageband does the job.
On the whole, an excellent app that takes very little adjusting to to get a good result. A lot of features and options with little bloat, and the video tutorials on apple.com help a lot, too. This isn't software for the average Joe - that's why you have iMovie. This is for the guy who is pretty (or deadly) serious about video editing but either doesn't need FC Studio or can't afford it. Really,a must buy for anyone looking into serious Video editing and has a Mac that at least meets minimum requirements.

Oh, and Live Type is brilliant too. Unlike what it implies in the name, you can also animate objects other than text, making it almost like a mini Motion or After Effects. It just makes this sweet deal even sweeter.

459 of 622 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

No 24FPS

Written by MM from Burnaby

28/07/2009

FCE is great, only that you should know it doesn't support 24FPS.

It just doesn't.

295 of 367 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Go to an Apple shop 1st.

Written by AW from Stanford-le-Hope

11/08/2008

Before I parted with my cash I went into an Apple shop last Thursday and had one of the staff show me the basics and specific things that I wanted to achieve. I spent about 45 mins. with them and now (Monday) I am on my third short movie edit, it has been a breeze. This software has given me so much more freedom than iMovie ever did and now I can get my edits looking the way I want them to, really quickly. It's also bundled with Live Type which is great at creating animated titles, I think FCE4 its an absolute steel.

So my advise is... buy this if you want professional looking edits for a bargain, but get someone in an Apple shop to show you how to use it first, you won't regret it.

227 of 234 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Put in effort to get the rewards

Written by FD

13/07/2009

Having changed from PC to Mac a few months ago, I had to decide which NLE software package I would use to edit my (mostly windsurf action / road trips) videos. On the PC I used Adobe Premiere Elements, which I found very user-friendly and provided sufficient possibilities for the stuff I was doing. Of course, this package is not available for Mac (only the Pro version, which I considered too expensive and probably too complex). Putting Windows on my Mac was no option for me, as you lose the possibility to share media in between different programs.

A lot of reviews of the FCE software were quite negative, which made me doubt to actually buy it, but as some reviewers recommended, I bought a proper training book (Diana Weyand, Apple Pro Training Series) when I decided to get FCE.

After I finished the book and it's exercises my conclusions is: What a great NLE software package is FCE! It offers so many more options and control over your editing and yes, it's not as intuitive as some other Apple programs, but this is professional grade stuff.

I highly recommend this to anyone who's made editing into a serious hobby / professionals on a budget and DO get some sort of training right at the start to avoid any frustrations.

236 of 256 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

You get what you pay for!

Written by RK from Poughkeepsie

22/01/2008

Don't get me wrong. This is a great editing program and the perfect step up from iMovie. The $100 price drop makes it even more accessible to the masses. But beware that this version of final cut does not come with Soundtrack, the audio editing software packaged with prior versions. Aside from the addition of support for AVCHD and a few more filters, there is nothing that this version offers that final cut express 3.5 does not. If you don't desperately need these features, my advise is to find an older version of final cut express that will cost the same but still has soundtrack. It is a better buy.

287 of 361 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Not for beginners.

Written by DA from Ogden

17/01/2008

I've read several reviews from wankers who thought they could just jump from Windows Movie maker or iMovie into a semi-professional editing suite. Sorry to say, this has a much steeper learning curve, and is on par with the complicated nature of programs like Adobe Premiere Pro. If you're just doing home movies, stick to Premiere elements or iMovie. If you plan to take on any Final Cut product, plan on investing some time to get familiar with it, and check out a book. Don't give the product a bad review because you're incompetent.

For the product itsself, some great features but here's where it's lacking:

-no more Soundtrack for audio editing, just some dumbed down audio editor.

-Lack of Livetype depth. Some animations, but not as many as there should be.

-Poor, poor integration with hard-drive based cameras. If you have a camera that uses a hard drive instead of MiniDV, then RUN to a different product- support for HD cameras is bad or non-existent.

244 of 287 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Thank god !...

Written by KC from Edinburgh

15/02/2008

I finally took the step in moving to FCE4. If any of you out there were like me & stuck with the total abomination known as iMovie (it's buggy as fook, hate it !), then just take the big step & buy this bad boy.

It's a great way of getting on the professional editing ladder & for the price (still in shock to be honest), it's great value for money too.
And don't worry about it being tricky to use. It's not. If you can do iMovie, you can do this. I watched the tutorials via the Apple website (very basic), & within one day, I had already tried out, & succeeded in making a short movie.

It truly is a piece of pi55 to work & you'll be editing away like a good 'un in no time. Granted there's no Soundtrack, but who cares. I've already got this app & still prefer to use Garageband.

So to tie off, have a look at the Overview / Tutorials on the Apple site & judge for yourself. Honestly, it's the best money you'll spend on this type of software. You'll NEVER want to touch that joke iMovie again..ever ! (more so iMovie 8, what were Apple thinking ?).

297 of 394 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Great little program!

Written by CP from Round Lake Beach

1/12/2007

I've been using Final Cut Pro for four years and love it. With my business growing and the need to expand while spending as little money as possible, FPE seemed like a decent choice to add more editing suites for rough cuts without the over head of a $1,300 license. I'm glad I gave it a try. The tapeless ingest works great. EVEN AVCHD! Plug it in and go. But the best part... I can hand the job off to an editor have them do a rough cut or off-line edit, transfer the files over to FCP for the final edit, then send it back to show the editor what I want in the future. The files are interchangeable between pro and express!!! Of Course many of the high-end features aren't available in FCE, but if you're teaching someone to edit like a pro or just learning yourself this is a great start.

283 of 375 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Many Issues

Written by MP from Columbus

27/11/2007

1. Forget about having FCHD4 import your AVCHD files from the SD card reader (as iMovie 08 does). This turkey actually makes you connect your camcorder to the computer with a FireWire cable and capture the files old school style. Who engineered that? Isn't that the whole point of using AVCHD and SD cards for video.

2. Typical of most recent Apple software where 1.0 translates to "paid beta", I have to delete the FCHD4 preferences file every time I launch the application or it won't launch. Amazing.

3. Worst of all, the two features above ("real" AVCHD support and new-version-stability) are how I convinced my self to upgrade to the meager bundle of new features in FCHD4. Given the $100 price and the failure to deliver on Apple's part, this is easily my worst software purchase this year.

Beware!

302 of 421 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Not for amateurs

Written by SB from Orlando

13/02/2009

I normally don't take time to write reviews, but after reading all of the negative reviews I felt I had to defend Final Cut.

First of all, this software is not for amateurs. It is professional software. If you want something simple and easy to use, use iMovie. If you want complete control over your video and audio, an incredible amount of effects and filters, and a huge list of features that will help you create quality, professional looking video, and you have the patience and intelligence to learn something new, then get Final Cut.

At first it is overwhelming, but stick with it. Once you get used to it, it all makes sense. Just because it's made by Apple doesn't mean any idiot can use it. I had to resist the urge to go back to iMovie, and forced myself to do all my projects in Final Cut. After awhile I was so glad I stuck with it, because I have so much more control over my video. It makes manages video clips and scenes so much easier, and though it's certainly more time consuming, your final product is much better looking than in iMovie.

So please don't listen to these fools who don't have the competence to learn something new and tried it for a few hours then gave up. Give it a chance, and you'll be glad you did.

187 of 198 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Great Tool-DVD authoring missing

Written by TB from Rome

31/01/2008

FCE is a great tool, but I also want to present my work on a DVD player. Menu's in iDVD really look bad, because I cannot make custom menus, cannot have more than 5 menu items, the templates are lame, cannot have custom shape for video background, and it goes on and on...
Why is there no DVD StudioExpress ? Until that time I rather use the full FinalCutPro- even if I have to rent a Mac. Apple has great tools- but we also want to present our work in the best possible way- and the first thing you see on a TV is the DVD-menu.

What good is a great tool to make great video if the presentation looks bad ?

299 of 430 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Final cut express 4

Written by PM from conwy

22/11/2007

Quick delivery and easy install ,I use FCP5 at work and it seems very easy to switch between the two.
I like the way it can read I-Movie EDLS.You will need an Intel mac for the newer AVCHD camera format.Runs fine on a dual 2.0 G5 with 1 gig ram.Guess it has less in the way of livetypes as the install size is smaller than FCP5 .No printed manuals , but all are included as PDFs.
I think it's good value for what you get.
Loads of FCP books available.Be creative !

301 of 451 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Buy Adobe instead

Written by PL from Tukwila

3/06/2008

While the editing abilities of Final Cut Express are okay, many of your projects will be destroyed due to FCE's badly designed file management system. It will not only put different parts of your project into different folders, making them very hard to find and rename into something useful, but should you rename or move even one file then Final Cut will throw a computer version of a temper tantrum and corrupt your project file, forcing you to start over again from scratch. And forget about archiving. I have worked on several projects using Final Cut and not once was I able to archive a project then open it again to do more work. Final Cut works on the premise that all video and editing will remain on your computer for all time, untouched, and that you will never need to archive anything in order to open up space for another project. It doesn't matter how good the editing features are when the file management part of the program is so badly made that projects self-destruct.

I'm demanding my money back and using it to buy Adobe video software, _they_ know the importance of archiving and user-friendly file management.

300 of 453 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

This is a DOWNGRADE, no an Upgrade; worst in years from Apple

Written by BC from Meridian

8/01/2008

This "upgrade" is a downgrade. $100 less than FCE 3.5, sure, but it has $200+ less software content than FCE 3.0

FCE 4 deletes SoundTrack off your hard disk from the FCE 3.5 install, has less stuff in LiveType than FCE v3.5,

Stick with FCE 3.5, or install this on a separate box / hard disk (which defeats the purpose of an upgrade).

Bad move, Apple. An 'upgrade' is to increase productivity, not drastically diminish it.

I give this "downgrade" a 0.00001 star.

203 of 260 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

A Definite Disappointment

Written by DB from Wichita Falls

12/05/2008

Having been a fan of Express since version 2.0, I have to say that 4.0 is definitely a downgrade from version 3.5. It is great for what it does but the loss of several functions and menu items from 3.5 is at best inconvenient. I guess Apple has accomplished what it probably wanted to do and that is make Express less an alternative for Final Cut Pro. In any case, I will be moving to Final Cut Studio 2.
I will say that Express 4.0 is a good choice if you have not used any previous versions and want to go beyond a program like iMovie.

215 of 300 people found this useful