Summary: The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III Digital Camera offers the ability to shoot in the high-quality XAVC S format, AVCHD ver. 2.0 format, as well as the web-friendly MP4 format. If you intend to import Sony RX100 III 60p footage to iMovie for basic editing, you will need to transcode RX100 III 60p AVCHD or XAVC S video to Apple InterMediate Codec before you start. This guide tells you how to do format conversion.
Being the newest member of RX100-series, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III Digital Camera is most notably characterized by its incorporation of faster lens, an electronic viewfinder, and enhanced feature set for recording Full HD movies.
Compared to its predecessors, one of the most marker improvements of the RX100 III is its enhanced video-recording capabilities. The RX100 III offers the ability to shoot in the high-quality XAVC S format with full-pixel readout and 50Mbps recording. Plus, recording can also be done in the AVCHD ver. 2.0 format, as well as the web-friendly MP4 format. Additionally, dual recording is also possible, permitting the simultaneous recording in both XAVC S and MP4 or AVCHD and MP4 in order to gain both a high-quality format and a sharing format of the same footage.
Sony RX100 III Movie Recording Modes
XAVC S format:
1920 x 1080; 60p, 30p, 24p (50Mbps)
1280 x 720; 120p (50Mbps)
AVCHD format:
1920 x 1080; 60p (28Mbps)
1920 x 1080; 60i, 24p (24/17Mbps)
MP4 format:
1440 x 1080; 30p (12Mbps)
640 x 480; 30p (3Mbps)
If you intend to import Sony RX100 III 60p footage to iMovie for basic editing, you will need to transcode RX100 III 60p AVCHD or XAVC S video to Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC) before you start. To do format conversion, third party software like HD Video Converter for Mac is required, which works well as a Sony RX100 III Video Converter for Mac.
As the name implies, the HD Video Converter for Mac is a converter program designed for transcoding HD media, including camera and camcorder videos files to whatever format you need with best video and audio synchronization. It supported camera brands include Canon, Sony, JVC, Nikon, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Pentax, Red, Blackmagic, Sanyo, and so on. With this little tool, you are able to create editable files for NLEs like iMovie, Final Cut Express, FCP X, FCP 6/7, Avid MC, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro CS 6, Sony Vegas, etc. and export playable files for iOS devices, Android devices, HD Media Players, Game consoles and more.
Download a free trial of HD Video Converter for Mac
How can I import Sony RX100 III 60p XAVC S/AVCHD files to iMovie for editing?
To be able to make iMovie work with Sony RX100 III footage, follow these steps:
1. Install and run HD Video Converter for Mac as a Sony RX100 III Video Converter for Mac. When its main interface appears, click ‘Add File’ to load your RX100 III files to the program.
2. Select output format for iMovie
To create editable files for iMovie, from the Format bar, choose ‘Apple InterMediateCodec (AIC) (*.mov) as output format from ‘iMovie and Final Cut Express’ column. Note that the AIC codec is also accepted by Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro (HD 4.5 through 5), but rarely used in Final Cut Pro as of Version 6 since it now uses the ProRes codecs instead of the Apple Intermediate Codec.
3. Click ‘Settings’ button and go to ‘Profile Settings’ window to custom video and audio settings. (for advanced users)
4. When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start transcoding Sony RX100 III media to AIC – the best suited editing format for using within Apple iMovie.
5. When the conversion process is done, click on ‘Open Folder’ button to get the generated AIC QuickTime files and open them in iMovie to create your own masterpieces.
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