Summary: If you shot with a Canon DSLRs like Rebel T5i / EOS 700D, you may find the highly compressed H.264 MOV files recorded by it are hard to edit smoothly in NLE applications like iMovie, FCE, Avid and FCP (X). In this situation, you will need to transcode the h.264 QuickTime files to a format that is well accepted by your editing programs.
User Question
“Hi all, what is the best workflow for editing Canon EOS 700D (also known as Canon Rebel T5i) movies in iMovie ’11? Do I need some other piece of software if I want to edit 700D movies? I’m currently working on Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks. Thanks for your help. Regards.”
Quick answer
Like its processor Canon Rebel T4i / EOS 650D, the Canon Rebel T5i / EOS 700D records footage in H.264 compressed MOV container. When importing EOS 700D H.264 footage to NLEs like iMovie, FCE, Avid and FCP (X) for editing, you will find it’s hard to edit smoothly. Why this happen? That’s because the H.264 format is a good format for capture and delivery, but not suitable for editing. To be able to edit Rebel T5i H.264 QuickTime footage in iMovie, FCE, Avid and FCP (X) smoothly, you are suggested to convert the H.264 video files to a format that is well compatible with the NLE programs you own. For instance, you can convert Rebel T5i files to AIC for editing within iMovie and FCE, transcode EOS 700D MOV to DNxHD for using in Avid MC, and also you can encode Canon MOV to Apple ProRes for post production with FCP (X). To do format conversion, third party software is required, considering the ease of use, excellent output quality, and perfect audio and video synchronization, we would recommend Video Converter for Mac.
Download a free trial of Canon EOS 700D Video Converter for Mac
Canon Rebel T5i / EOS 700D workflow with iMovie, FCE, Avid and FCP (X)
To be able to import Canon Rebel T5i / EOS 700D H.264 MOV to iMovie, FCE, Avid and FCP (X), you will need to convert T5i video files to your editing program readable formats. For instance, you will need to convert Rebel T5i / EOS 700D H.264 to AIC for using in iMovie and FCE, transcode Rebel T5i / EOS 700D MOV to Apple ProRes for Final Cut Pro and encode Rebel T5i / EOS 700D files to DNxHD for Avid systems. To do format conversion using HD Video Converter for Mac, follow these steps:
Step 1: Start up Video Converter for Mac as a Mac Canon 700D video Converter. Once the main interface pops up, click ‘Add File’ button to import H.264 MOV shootings captured by a Canon DSLR. You can load directly from Rebel T5i / EOS 700D camera or from a card reader, or from a folder on your HDD that contains your media data.
Step 2: Select output format for iMovie, FCE, Avid and FCP
In order to edit Rebel T5i / EOS 700D H.264 MOV files in iMovie and FCE, from the Format bar, choose ‘Apple InterMediateCodec (AIC) (*.mov) as output format from ‘iMovie and Final Cut Express’ catalogue.
For the purpose of importing and editing Rebel T5i / EOS 700D H.264 MOV video files in Avid, from the Format bar, choose ‘Avid DNxHD(*.mov)’ as output format from ‘Avid Media Composer’ column.
To be able to use Rebel T5i / EOS 700D footage in FCP 7/6 or FCP X, from the Format bar, choose ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as output format from ‘Final Cut Pro’ catalogue.
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 user)
If you are an advanced user and want to adjust video and audio settings like bit rate, frame rate, etc. in your own way, you can click ‘Setting’ button and go to ‘Profile Settings’ panel to do so, if not, simply skip this step.
Step 4: When ready, click the ‘Convert’ button to start converting Rebel T5i / EOS 700D MOV footage for using within iMovie 8’/9/11, FCE, Avid and FCP (X).
Tips: You can tick off ‘Showdown computer when conversion completed’ checkbox, and go away to do other things instead of waiting around in front of the computer for the entire conversion process.
Step 5: When the conversion finished, click ‘Open File’ button to find the generated MOV QuickTime files for using in iMovie, FCE, Avid, and FCP without rendering.
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