How to Convert Sony PMW-F5/PMW-F55 XAVC to FCP

Ever since Sony launched the new CineAlta cinema camera PMW-F5 and PMW-F55, many filmmakers have been deeply attracted. These two cameras are now at the top of the top-notch professional camcorders. One of the key feature of these two cameras are that they record superb footages of XAVC 4K and 180 fps XAVC 2K/HD. However, XAVC on the other hand could temporarily be a potential problem for filmmakers to consider while buying a new camera, since few of the editing systems can accept XAVC files right now, which means to conduct post production to the XAVC footages will be a tricky problem for PMW-F5/PMW-F55 owners.

For example, it's good news that Sony released an import plugin "PDZK-LT2 vs1.10." for Final Cut Pro X (the latest version), but that doen't mean you can thus edit the XAVC videos in FCP X as good as editing the ProRes 422 MOV, just because XAVC is not the default supported format of FCP, and some tests hit that by using the plugin, the video quality will more or less be degraded. Moreover, it you are using FCP 7/6 or even older version, you cannot open the XAVC files.

So how can we make it possible to edit PMW-F5 XAVC in FCP X without quality loss? How can we import PMW-F55 XAVC to FCP 7/6 to edit? Or open XAVC in other editor? Well, the easiest way is to convert XAVC to a more commonly used format, such as converting XAVC to ProRes 422 MOV for FCP, of course, by lossless conversion. To convert XAVC to FCP with the original quality kept, you need a smart Mac XAVC Converter to help. Check the guides below to see how to do that:

Import F5/F55 footages to the converter

Before converting the PMW-F55/PMW-F5 to FCP, you need to download the XAVC files from your camcorder to your Mac. Download and install the converter, and then load the files onto the main interface of the program by simple drag and drop. You can add and convert multiple files at one time.

Select FCP most compatible output format

To convert PMW-F55/PMW-F5 to FCP, better choose ProRes 422 MOV as the output format. hit Profile > Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422 and then the output format will be set. With the latest converting technology used, the original video quality will be preserved perfectly. You can also customize the detailed out video parameters by clicking "Settings" button.

Convert PMW-F5/PMW-F55 to FCP

Last but not least, preview the output video to confirm whether the video plays well as the original. Thereafter, press the big "START" button to begin the conversion. According to the size of the XAVC file and the computer performance, the conversion will last for a while.