Final Cut Express 4 - 1st Impressions - Review

Last week Apple released Final Cut Express 4.   I wanted a better video editing program instead of IMovie, so I went ahead and purchesed.   I have always enjoyed timeline based editing instead of even editing.   Years ago I was using the original Final Cut Pro, and I have been using Adobe Premiere CS2 recently.

So far, I have been really enjoying  the new Final Cut Express 4.   I have access to three video camera, and I tested pulling video from all three

• Canon GL1 DV - Worked Perfect
• Sony HDR-SR1 AVCHD Hard Drive Camera- Worked perfect using Log and Transfer
• Sony DCR-SR-82 Hard Drive Camera - Would not pull video, but was able to get video using IMovie ‘08 and importing into Final Cut Express 4. 

I installed this on my Macbook w/2.2 GHZ Core 2 Duo and 2 GB of ram.   It ran smoothly over this hardware.   Rendering ran fast compared to what I have done with other programs and OS Platforms.

Functionality was pretty easy.   I was able to add titles, multiple layers of video, edit audio, and add transitions with ease.   I believe this was well worth the $199.95.