From Emily Price,
Your Guide to Camcorders.
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Apple currently sells two different video editing programs under the name Final Cut. Final Cut Express HD and Final Cut Pro HD. On the surface it can be hard to determine what the difference is between the two programs except the price tag. For the most part Final Cut Pro HD is meant for video professionals, where as Final Cut Express HD is designed for consumers who want to be able to do a little more with their video editing than they can with iMovie which comes included with any Macintosh computer. The two video editing programs have a dramatic difference in price. Here are the main differences between the two programs to help you decide which Final Cut may be right for you. Many of the differences like no batch capture and keyframing can be very frustrating for professional video editors, but not such a big deal for hobbyists. If the differences don’t seem too big for you then Final Cut Express is probably the right program for you.

HDV Video Only

Final Cut Express will only support HDV video. Final Cut Pro on the other hand will support all HD formats. If you are shooting on a HDV camera at 1080i or 720p, MiniDV, DVCAM, or DVCPRO camcorder then you will be supported under Final Cut Express. DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO50, SD and HD card camcorder users as well as those shooting at 24fps will have to use Final Cut Pro HD.

Keyframes

In Final Cut Express HD you can only keyframe motion effects, not filters. Among video editors this is one of the most complained about disadvantages of Final Cut Express over Final Cut Pro.

Video Capture and Timecode

Final Cut Express HD will not display your timecode, nor allow you to batch capture or export video. Professional video editors will often want to batch record all of their clips at once onto the computer, with Final Cut Express each clip will have to be imported separately which can be time consuming for someone doing a large volume of video work.

Color Correction

In Final Cut Express you can not correct color using the three way color corrector. You can also not adjust the luminance or chrominance of your video or thin or soften your colors using Final Cut pro Express.

After Effects

One main draw of Final Cut Pro is its ability to work with Adobe After Effects Plug-Ins, Final Cut Express HD does not support After Effects plug-ins.

Keyboard

With Final Cut Express you can not custom map your keyboard