Import Canon Rebel T3i/EOS 600D H.264 QuickTime MOV to FCP X and Avid


Summary: If you intend to import and edit Canon Rebel T3i / EOS 600D video files in FCP X and Avid Media Composer, you are suggested to transcode Rebel T3i H.264 QuickTime MOV to Apple ProRes or DNxHD, the friendliest format of FCP X and Avid apps. This post guides you through the process of converting Canon EOS 600D MOV files for editing with FCP X and Avid.

canon t3iThe Canon Rebel T3i (also known as the Canon EOS 600D) is a fantastic camera for still photos and a great DSLR for video quality/clarity. We believe that the main reason people chose the T3i/600D was for its 1080p recording ability. Indeed the Canon Rebel T3i records footage in H.264 QuickTime MOV format, and is capable of capturing 1080p footage in 24p, 25p and 30p, and 720p video files in 50p and 60p. If you shoot with Canon Rebel T3i, you may have problems when importing its H.264 MOV footage to FCP X and Avid Media Composer for post production. That’s because the H.264 is a highly compressed file format that is suitable for capture and delivery, but not well for editing. If you intend to import and edit Canon Rebel T3i / EOS 600D video files in FCP X and Avid, you are suggested to transcode H.264 QuickTime MOV to Apple ProRes or DNxHD, the friendliest format of FCP X and Avid apps. To process format shifting, third party software is required. Considering the ease of use, perfect video and audio synchronization, and lossless output quality, the Video Converter for Mac is highly recommended.

Download a free trial of Canon Rebel T3i MOV Converter for Mac
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How to convert Canon T3i/600D H.264 MOV to ProRes/DNxHD for FCP/Avid?

Follow these steps:
Step 1: Install and run Video Converter for Mac as the best Canon Rebel T3i MOV Converter for Mac. As soon as the main interface pops up, click ‘Add File’ button to load Canon T3i video files.

Step 2: Select output format for FCP X or Avid
In order to transcode Canon H.264 QuickTime MOV files to ProRes for FCP X or the former version FCP 6 and 7, from the Format 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.

For the purpose of converting Canon T3i/600D MOV to DNxHD for Avid MC, from the Format bar, move to ‘Avid Media Composer’ catalogue, and select ‘Avid DNxHD (*.mov)’ as target format.

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 Canon Rebel T3i/EOS 600D shootings
When ready, click ‘Convert’ button to convert Canon Rebel T3i/EOS 600D MOV files to Apple ProRes/DNxHD for editing with FCP X/Avid MC. By the way, if you don’t want to wait around in front of your computer for the converting process, you can tick off ‘Shut down computer after conversion’ and go away to do other things.

Step 5: Click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the generated QuickTime files
When the conversion is done, simply click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the exported ProRes files or DNxHD files for using within Final Cut Pro X or Avid Media Composer.

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