Any Vegas users try Final Cut Pro?

RealityStudio wrote on 1/5/2021, 3:38 PM

Was curious if anyone here is familiar with both Vegas Pro and Final Cut Pro and how they compare to each other as far as ease of use. I've used Vegas since version 4 and I've accepted that it's performance will always be slow but the tradeoff was worth it for how fast I can edit in it compared to other editors like Premiere Pro and Davinci which I find just too cumbersome to edit in for what I do. I've never used Final Cut Pro as I don't have a Mac, but the new M1 based Macs are really tempting me since every video I watch on them shows amazing performance even on a cheap little laptop.

So any thoughts from users that have used both as to how easy Final Cut Pro is to edit in compared to Vegas Pro? Does Final Cut Pro work more like Premiere Pro and/or Davinci or is it it's own style? I've tried to do research on this elsewhere but it's hard to find people that have actually used Vegas Pro for many years and hence hard to get proper comparison information.

Comments

fr0sty wrote on 1/5/2021, 3:56 PM

Final Cut is very limiting. It doesn't accept anywhere as near as many formats natively, its color tools leave a lot to be desired, and in general, it seems to try to hold your hand through too much preset based stuff vs. giving you fine grain control over what you are trying to do. Ditto for output formats (ProRes or H264/HEVC only) unless you pay extra for compressor.

set wrote on 1/5/2021, 4:21 PM

I had a chance to try FCP X many years ago - but I forgot what version that time. Be prepared with 'always auto ripple-all track mode' timeline workflow, because, in short, the way I still remember that time, there is no Video Tracks 'interface' pictured on their timeline - but you might need to go for 'Main Video track' then goes up adding 'Secondary Video Track' above the main. The 'Secondary Track' will always 'attached' to 'Main track' below.

For me that time - it's very frustrating on doing editing there.

RealityStudio wrote on 1/5/2021, 4:21 PM

Thanks for the info! The only format I use is H264 for input and output, although I may switch to H265 for input in the future since I mostly film with a Sony A7S3. The only reason I don't use H265 currently to record in is because it's timeline performance is unusable in Vegas Pro at the moment, hence I'm sticking with H264 for now. So I think I'm ok on formats since H264/265 are the only ones I'm interested in anyways.

Didn't realize it had limits on color grading although I may be ok there as well since I mostly just use presets on Filmconvert, and I know Filmconvert has a Final Cut Version.

Any idea of how basic editing compares? What I love on Vegas is how fast anything can be done right on the timeline, was curious how it compares there.

RogerS wrote on 1/5/2021, 4:39 PM

Final Cut X is excellent and with its compound clips and non track-based approach faster for moving things around than Vegas. You move blank space like a clip, even. The paradigm is really different and I struggled for weeks until it made sense. Many people hate it.

For color correction it"s a bit limited but there are plugins.

It also wanted to proxy everything which slows down editing until it's done.

Automatic audio sync of two sources works well in FCP but for more you want PluralEyes.

I came back to Vegas as it runs on PCs and a track based approach is very clear to me.

alifftudm95 wrote on 1/6/2021, 8:11 AM

Never use FCPX, but I got few FCPX editors seeing me editing with VEGAS and they said that VEGAS work & behave almost the same as FCPX

Im pretty sure VEGAS editors can easily migrate to FCPX rather then other NLE

rraud wrote on 1/6/2021, 12:01 PM

FCP has always had very basic audio capabilities (but I doubt that matters to anyone).

TheRhino wrote on 1/14/2021, 9:59 PM

FCPX is hugely popular (again) but the $1,000 M1 MacBook Air can NEVER be internally upgraded past 8 GB of RAM & 256 GB of storage space, so it's not a good place to start if you are already an experienced editor... You MUST choose the upgrades at the time of order, so the 16 GB / 1TB model costs $1,600... You can't expect to edit on the tiny 13" screen, I think the M1 only supports ONE external display, so you need a TB3 adapter to connect another... BTW, the new more capable Mac Pros START at $6,000...

That said, Apple is always targeting the NEXT generation to expand their loyal base, FCPX is attractively priced at only $300, and newbies are satisfied with how well it runs on the new M1... As an educator I see young adults producing some awesome creative end-products with nothing more than an iPhone, $1000 M1 MacBook & basic $300 FCPX with some mostly free add-ons... I also do part-time paid editing & love the sheer number of FCPX add-ons that make animated text, simulated Zoom call boxes, working with still pictures, etc. stupid easy.

However, since 95% of my paid work is mostly tedious sound & color editing from archival film & video footage, I stick to Vegas because the Vegas workflow is much faster for what I do... Vegas runs on all of my Windows 10 workstations but I have an older Mac Pro for projects that require FCP collaboration... IMO it is easy-enough for an experienced Vegas editor to switch from Vegas to FCPX once you make the commitment to Apple OS & pricier hardware... IMO if you are willing to pay & play by Apple's rules, i.e. Apple hardware, Apple OS, pay for quality FCPX add-ons (especially for sound & color), use Apple approved source video, etc. there is no limit to how far FCPX can take you or an entire production team...

Mohammed_Anis wrote on 1/14/2021, 11:19 PM

A little trivia: Final Cut is actually the reason why VEGAS (and Resolve) has the unified color space dashboard.

Now, as an editor, Final Cut is competent, although some people have DETESTED some of its workflow, like the magnetic timeline for example.

The main problem with FCPX for me isn't necessarily the software, but the workstations its usually paired with. Apple makes the software affordable but while simultaneously introducing updates and features that sometimes demand hardware specs you have to wait for in the coming year, even if you had the buck.