Monday, December 28, 2009

Canon 7D / Canon 5D + Pinnacle Studio v14 Review



While the vocal minority is using Final Cut Pro (FCP) for their video editing, hammering away at Canon 5D MkII and Canon 7D video footage, there's still the silent majority that uses PC. But what do we do when everyone's lingo is FCP this and QT that? Enter Pinnacle Studio 14 for your Canon 7D or Canon 5D MkII workflow.


THE GOOD:
1. It can edit Canon 7D and Canon 5D files natively. No need to convert using mpeg streamclip or Cineform Neoscene. I don't have to add another step to my workflow. (Don't get me wrong, you should use mpeg streamclip or Cineform Neoscene if you are making features. For my short films, I don't need to convert. This principle applies to either PC or Mac.)
2. Ease of use. I found it very easy to use and I didn't read the manual yet.
3. The green screen was unexpected but apparently it is included. I thought it was only a software feature and not the physical screen. It is included in the Ultimate Collection version.
4. Supports 24p. I have been shooting 7D on 24p only and Pinnacle Studio's ability to do so without creating additional project settings is good.
5. Feature rich. Good set of features like stabilization (for camera shake) and royalty-free music background generator.

THE BAD:
1. Rendering errors and issues at 1080p. I searched a bit and apparently other folks are crashing as well on prior versions. I seem to have no issues at 720p rendering though. I have not spent the time yet to isolate the problem, it may be some of the codecs I've loaded. Will investigate at some point in the future...after I stop shooting...which might be never.

SUMMARY:
If you are looking for a cheap PC video editing software with 24p support for your Canon 7D or Canon 5D video footage, you need to try this and see for yourself.

5 comments:

  1. I have been able to use this stable with the Canon 7D videos for the past year. I am however getting horrible issues with interlacing artifacts, regardless of whether I shoot at 1080 30p or 24p. I am quite saddened by this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. See this post for information about problems I have with Pinnacle Studio HD. http://tbone-tech.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. I know your expertise on this. I must say we should have an online discussion on this. Writing only comments will close the discussion straight away! And will restrict the benefits from this information. orlando wedding photography

    ReplyDelete
  4. I discovered your blog site on google and examine a number of of your early posts. Continue to maintain up the superb operate. I simply extra up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. In search of forward to reading more from you later on!… browse this site

    ReplyDelete
  5. Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. Big thanks for the useful info expired blogspot

    ReplyDelete