Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 workflow with FCP X/7/6


Does FCP X, or the former version FCP 6 and FCP 7 have native support for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 camera? If not, how can I import and edit GH4 footage in format of AVCHD, AVCHD Progressive, MOV or MP4 in Apple Final Cut Pro X/7/6? Go to find an answer in this post.

lumix gh4The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 camera is the world’s first DSLM with Cinema 4K video recording capability. One of its most prominent features is Cinema 4K (4096×2160 at 24fps) and QFHD 4K (3840×2160 at up to 30fps) recording in MOV and MP4 recording formats. More than that, the Lumix GH4 is capable of recording ultra high bitrate videos at 200Mbps or 100Mbps in MOV/MP4 format, and low bitrate Full HD footage in AVCHD and AVCHD Progressive format. All that and more make it possible for you to freely choose the recording format from AVCHD, AVCHD Progressive, MOV and MP4 at different frame rate according to the usage.

Due to the versatile video recording formats or some reason else, users sometimes have import issue while handling GH4 footage in FCP X or FCP 7/6. Is there a way to resolve Lumix DMC-GH4 import issue in FCP? Yes, there is. What you need is a third party converter program, such as HD Video Converter for Mac. Simply use it to transcode GH4 footage to Apple ProRes, and everything will be okay. Apple ProRes is the best suited editing codec for FCP X and FCP 6/7, so when loading them into FCP, you needn’t wait for a long time for the rendering process.

Download a free trial of HD Video Converter for Mac
try lumix gh4 video converter for mac

Lumix GH4 and FCP (X) workflow: convert GH4 video to ProRes for Final Cut Pro X/7/6

To do format conversion using HD Video Converter for Mac, follow these steps:
Step 1: Install and run HD Video Converter for Mac as the best Lumix GH4 Video Converter for Mac. As soon as the main interface pops up, click ‘Add File’ button to load source video files.
gh4 to fcpx

Step 2: Select output format for FCP X or FCP 7 and 6
In order to convert Lumix DMC-GH4 footage to Apple ProRes for FCP X or the former version FCP 6 and 7, from the Format Profile bar, navigate to ‘Final Cut Pro’ catalogue, and select ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as target format. Apple ProRes is the best suited editing codec for FCP X and FCP 6/7, so when loading them into FCP, you needn’t wait for a long time for the rendering process.

Important: If you’ve loaded a number of video clips to do batch conversion, please do remember ticking off ‘Apply to All’ option before you start.

Step 3: Custom video and audio settings (for advanced users)
Click ‘Settings’ button, the ‘Profile Settings’ window pops up, on which you are allowed to custom video and audio parameters like bit rate, frame rate, resolution, sample rate, and audio channels.

Step 4: Start transcoding Lumix DMC-GH4 shootings to ProRes 422
When ready, click ‘Convert’ button to convert GH4 files to Apple ProRes for editing with FCP X/7/6.

Tips: if you don’t want to wait around in front of your computer for the converting process, you can tick off ‘Shut down computer when conversion completed’ and go away to do other things.

Step 5: Click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the generated ProRes QuickTime files
When the conversion is finished, simply click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the exported ProRes files for using in Final Cut Pro X/7/6 with optimum performance.

Also read
Workflow guide for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 and iMovie
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 workflow with Final Cut Pro X
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