Pros of Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro X is the replacement application for their industry standard Final Cut Pro 7.  Final Cut Pro X is a complete departure from previous versions of Final Cut, it is a new piece of software built from the ground up and is not backward compatible with previous versions of Final Cut.

It’s initial release was almost universally panned by professional video editors the world over.  As the product has matured many of it’s missing features have been created by third party developers as plugins.

Pros

  • It’s an Apple product that runs on Macintosh computers and is a highly respected/stable company.
  • They based the software and editing paradigm off of their IMovie software .
  • It’s now a semi-pro app and might be easier to learn as a novice.
  • There are lots of third party plug-ins that can help with functions that were eliminated in Final Cut Pro X.

Cons

  • This professional grade product became a semi-pro product.
  • It no longer works with external audio editors natively.
  • It lost the ability to work with external color correction natively.
  • It lost native OMF audio support.
  • It is not compatible with previous versions of Final Cut .

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premier Pro is Adobe’s top of the line video editing platform.  It is a very robust professional system.   Since the release of the disappointing Final Cut Pro X the Adobe Premier Pro system has moved into the position of being one of the two industry standard editing platforms.  (The other being Avid).  The Adobe system has the advantage of easy integration with the entire Adobe suite of professional products including, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects and Speed Grade.

Pros

  • It will import Final Cut Pro 7 Documents
  • It integrates with all the Adobe Creative Suite products which include but are not limited to After Affects, Photoshop, Illustrator and Speed Grade.
  • It is a professional application that supports external audio editors.
  • It supports external color correction.
  • It provides OMF audio support.
  • It has Native Format Support for many video codecs.
  • It provides closed captioning creation and editing.
  • It supports DSLR cameras.

Cons

  • It’s a medium priced product.
  • Some of the new releases can have glitches.
  • You have to buy a subscription instead of a flat purchase price.
  • There is a steep learning curve.

Avid Media Composer

The Avid Media Composer is one of the industries oldest and strongest video editing platforms.  It has many different configurations and is especially strong in multiple suite facilities and news rooms where multiple editors may be collaborating on the same project.   It is a fully professional industry leading platform with a very deep user base.

Pros

  • It supports 4K and other high resolutions natively.
  • It has a full feature video editor.
  • It supports all the professional audio standards and easily integrates with Pro Tools.
  • It supports external color correction and has a high quality built in color correction.
  • It has OMF audio support.
  • It will edit 3D footage.
  • It has a strong user base and is used in many production facilities.
  • It is compatible with both Mac and Windows.
  • It will import Final Cut Pro 7 Documents.
  • It supports DSLR cameras.
  • Software is solid with few glitches.
  • It offers two different pricing structures (Subscription or Flat Price Options)

Cons

  • It’s expensive.  (Subscription or Flat Price Options)
  • It has a steep learning curve.

As a working editor the above thoughts are my opinions and other editors may have differing thoughts but I hope this is helpful information if you are exploring various editing platforms.