[Kirk Hopkins]

Sony Vegas Pro could work different than the lower-end Movie Studio package, but I doubt it. The Movie Studio package doesn’t mess with the files imported from the camera. It does create a Sony file (like a thumbnail that the Sony software knows how to read) with a .sfk extension. I wouldn’t call it a render, but a more of a pointer to the original file. The sfk file is tiny. For example I have a 146MB clip has a 58KB sfk file.

I generally like to delete the original files when I’m done with a project (but not always). Unfortunately, when a project is completed and the original files are deleted, the sfk files stick around.

As far as speed goes. I find that version 9 is quicker at previewing HD footage than version 8 but it’s still not really time. SD footage (or crappy-vision as I like to call it) is real time unless you start adding effects and transitions. I think as time goes on, the editors will become smarter about dealing with AVCHD footage and will speed up the preview but it hasn’t happened yet today. I feel that the preview is slightly sluggish but not unusable. That may be why you’re talking about having to render (making the movie to see the final product). I usually don’t render anything until I “make movie”.

So far have recorded with 1080P at 30FPS (17 MBPS) on the camcorder. I can’t see dropping down for any reason. Why record at a lower setting? It’s not worth it to save a little space.

Project settings: Nothing special. I just pick new project and “finish”. I don’t even walk through and say “I’ll decide later”. Seems to work fine.

Upgrading to a quad core processor with more RAM may fix the speed issue but I love my MacBook Pro, so I don’t plan on testing out that theory until I can get a MacBook Pro with a quad core processor. I usually reboot into Windows to do my editing but sometimes I run Windows virtually while running the MacOS at which point Windows only gets 2GB of my 4GB of ram, and has to share the processor. It’s still usable, but a touch more sluggish.

Honestly, I doubt that I would get real time previews even with a quad core machine. I think the editors don’t know how to deal with AVCHD footage efficiently enough yet, but that’s my untested, unsupported, knee-jerk opinion.

I still wouldn’t go back to crappy-vision though, or to another editor at this point…Kirk.

Like you, I enjoy keeping the footage in it’s native format so all the Apple editing products are currently off my list. I’m not sure about AVID; used it once and hated it. I haven’t found anything else that works like the Sony software (wish it was available on the MacOS).

[Kirk Hopkins]

I believe that you can use the software the came if with Canon HF100 to edit, add transitions, and then dump the edited file back to the camera. The software however is not very user friendly. Don’t expect to do much else with it. Other than that software, I think you’re going to be out of luck. I haven’t found anything yet that allows me to save edited footage back to the camcorder unless you edit with ImageMixer. 🙁

After I attempted to use the ImageMixer software for editing I found very limited; I quickly went back to my old friend, Sony Vegas Movie Studio version 8. As you can see from previous posts, the Sony software didn’t do exactly what I wanted (1080p output).

Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum version 9 just came out (8-1-2008). Here’s the family comparison:
https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/moviestudiope/compare

I’ve used Sony’s software since December of 2004 and love it. It’s very intuitive. Version 9 allows you to save in 1080p in a couple different formats. Here are the 2 options that look the most promising so far:
WMV in 1080-30P with 5.1 Surround sound
MPG in 1080-24P (MPEG 2)

A short test film that I created looks wonderful. I haven’t dumped any edited footage out to the web yet, but plan to have something soon.

My plan is to buy a 500GB or 1TB external hard drive (for $100-$180) to store my movies on until Blu-ray discs drop down in price. Who knows, maybe we’ll just be playing our movies from solid state drives some day. Oh wait, that’s what the Canon HF100 does. I’m gonna need more than 8GB though. I’ve seen someone say that “AVCHD is more of a suggestion than a standard” and believe that statement to be true. Because of that factor I think you’ll be hard-pressed to do what you’re looking for (save the edited movie back out to the camcorder). I think there are good alternatives though (WMV and MPG).

In conclusion, I’m very happy with the Canon HF100 and Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum version 9 and plan to continue to use this duo to create vacation videos, short films, & other projects for the foreseeable future…Kirk.

[Kirk Hopkins]

AVCHD (and probably HD in general) appears to be half-cooked. I downloaded a trial version of Sony Movie Studio Platinum Version 8 and it worked with my Canon Vixia HF100 files! Then I purchased the software. Next I got a reply from Sony saying that it wouldn’t work (not even in Vegas Pro). Hmmmm. Seems to me that it worked.

Looks like I can’t output in 1080p though. 🙁

I can generate a 720p file which has a .m2t extension. Renaming it to .mpg allows me to play the generated file.

I’d say if you wanna do HD editing, you’ll find out you’re on the bleeding edge.

[Kirk Hopkins]

Does Sony Vegas Movie Studio 8 allow you to use .m2ts files from a Canon Vixia HF100?

I haven’t tried Vegas yet, I’m hoping Movie Studio will work. $100 vs $500.

I’m using a MacBook Pro so I can use Windows via Boot Camp or the Mac OS. I was hoping to switch to an Apple product but the Apple editors (iMovie 08, Final Cut Express, & Final Cut Pro 6) convert the files (which takes a while) to Quicktime .mov and other formats. The files become huge. That’s crazy. I would switch to one of the Final Cut’s if it weren’t for that.

The Pixela ImageMixer software that comes with the camcorder is NOT something I recommend using. It’s just not at par with other editors on the market these days.