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Final Cut Express - worth $99

P

plutnicki

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 7, 2003
152
0
Well, with this morning's Apple Store update, they're offering Final Cut Express for $99 (normally $299).

One of the things I'll be doing with my new PowerBook (new 15" or no new 15") is creating DVDs from some of the home movies I've taken over the years. I had planned to just use iMovie (have used it a bit) for this. Is Final Cut Express that much better for me to just pony up the extra $100 for it. It is fairly easy to use?

Thanks,

...Jim
 
Without a doubt yes. For $99 you can't go wrong. I'm currently using it to edit 2 1/2 hours of footage I took during a trip to Romania... I also purchased Final Cut Express For Dummies (which according to Amazon/B&N reviews, it was the best book for somebody new to this type of program) and it was an excellent 3-4 hour skim through and I feel I know how to use the program quite well now.

iMovie pretty much just allows you to cut footage and sequence it together... you can add an effect here and there too...

Some of the things Final Cut Express allows you to do which I like are:

It has more effects by far.
You can composite video (i.e. do blue screen type stuff)
You don't actually have to keep all the video on your hard drive (this is a must if you don't have a ton of free space but have a ton of video to edit at once).
Overall I just feel that I'm doing a more professional job.

Basically, if you've ever had an inkling to make a real movie, get Final Cut Express... you'll feel good. You'll feel like you're making home movies with iMovie and real movies with FCE.
 
Doesn't apply for people who bought at educational prices.

If you just bought a computer, like me, and qualified for a $100 educational discount, you are out of luck. Which is really a bummer, because I would have purchased it for $100.
 
And if you were a premier user, such as I was looking time ago, you can send in your premier cd and get FCE for free!

I had been debating between FCP and FCE for a long time, and now, apple has made my decision for me! can't go wrong with free. So now I can properly save up for FCP vs throwing it on a credit card.. :D

too bad that they are not offering this as a walk in the store offer....
 
yeah thats a great deal :p i use it a lot now. especially if you want to go into Pro, although you can just go straight to Pro and skip learning Express
 
Originally posted by couch potato
yeah thats a great deal :p i use it a lot now. especially if you want to go into Pro, although you can just go straight to Pro and skip learning Express
Click to expand...

-couch potato

You could, but then, if you knew FCX, you'd know everything you need to. All you would have to learn would be the extras involved.
 
Can someone explain where this price is? I went to the Apple Store to see if there was a loophole. (if you can buy FCE for $99, you can upgrade to FCP for only $699. That means you could get FCP for a total of $799 rather than $999.) But I couldn't find FCE for $99. Something I'm missing?
 
Originally posted by LimeLite
Can someone explain where this price is? I went to the Apple Store to see if there was a loophole. (if you can buy FCE for $99, you can upgrade to FCP for only $699. That means you could get FCP for a total of $799 rather than $999.) But I couldn't find FCE for $99. Something I'm missing?
Click to expand...

Buy any new mac and get FCE for $99. It's in the middle of the page under "Another great offer..."

http://www.apple.com/finalcut/offer/
 
Thanks all

I ordered FCE with my new PowerBook. Thanks for the advice!

...Jim
 
Well yesterday I called Apple and had them add the Final Cut Express promo to my existing G5 order. Surprisingly it shipped last night already. So if anybody has an open order it's not to late to jump on this deal.
 
It's a great deal, one I'll take when I order my G5.
I have Premiere 5, but it's an education version, so it probably won't work for the trade in. It's ok, $99 for a good piece of software I'll use all the time is just fine.
 
Originally posted by Dahl
It's a great deal, one I'll take when I order my G5.
I have Premiere 5, but it's an education version, so it probably won't work for the trade in. It's ok, $99 for a good piece of software I'll use all the time is just fine.
Click to expand...

I was told that it would work, the only version that would not is the LE version.

Has anyone sent theirs in? are you sending the case and all? I was thinking of just sending the CD because that is all it request, I wish to 1. save on shipping by not sending the packaging and 2. keep the packaging for memorabilia.
 
Originally posted by zim
Has anyone sent theirs in? are you sending the case and all? I was thinking of just sending the CD because that is all it request, I wish to 1. save on shipping by not sending the packaging and 2. keep the packaging for memorabilia.
Click to expand...

I sent in the CD only, although I put it in a slim jewel case, to be nice.

What I'm wondering is this: How old can the version you send in be? The CD I sent in is version 5 but I also have a version 4 CD. Both are full versions, not upgrade CDs, so if I can send in v. 4 I will.
 
I did not see anything regarding as to how old of a version you had, so I would assume that yes you could get a second copy. The only thing that I would look into is if there is a one per person clause.
 
They won't take the LE version or upgrade disks. They also specify to send in the install "CD". On Ebay I found a very old version on floppies, but I want to stick to the letter of the law.

There isn't a "1 to a customer" clause--just a "1 per premiere disk" clause. So if you have 2 versions of premiere I presume you could get 2 copies of FCE.

Here's a tip in case somebody didn't think of it yet: Buy an older version of Premiere on Ebay and trade that in. The only iffy thing is "what if it's misrepresented?" If it's an upgrade and they don't say so, if it's pirated, etc then you've got troubles. I got Premiere 4 for $55, btw.
 
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