Final Cut Pro, FCP for short, is one of the most popular video editing softwares for Mac users, mainly video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. At the beginning of 2011, Apple released a new version of Final Cut Pro, renamed to “Final Cut Pro X”. The new features of FCP X is much similar to iMovie (leading some users to call it “iMovie Pro”) and it supports importing videos, audios and images as clips in events. You may even full copy iMovie event folder for using in FCP X.

Final Cut Pro X supports importing directly from a large amount of popular camcorders or digital still cameras. But as for Canon XF footages, this becomes a bit tacky that you can not natively import and edit .mxf wrapped footage from the XF100, XF105, XF300 and XF305 cameras in FCP X flawlessly. A newbie may feel disappinted when the FCP X failed to import recordings from Canon XF105 or XF300 while experienced users will convert the Canon MXF to something Final Cut Pro X can edit natively, say Apple ProRes 422 encoded MOV format. Along with some help from the third-party software. Video Converter Varies, a recommended one is Pavtube MXF to ProRes Converter for Mac.

Specially designed for video zealots who use Mac OS (Compatible with Mac OS X Lion), this program helps you encode your clips with Apple ProRes 422 (FCP 6 or above is recommended), Apple ProRes 4444 (*.mov), Rewrap (*.mov), DV-PAL (*.MOV), Apple InterMedia Codec (*.mov), Avid DNxHD (*.mov), DVCPRO50-PAL/NTSC (*.mov), etc. Then you can import the output files in Final Cut Pro X directly without rendering, but you should make sure you select the right codec and parameters to encode. Below is how.

Guide -Transcode Canon XF MXF footage to Apple ProRes 422 for Final Cut Pro X under Mac OS X Lion

Step 1. Install and run this MXF to Final Cut Pro X Converter to your Mac Lion, add you video files.

Step 2. Click on “Format“, select “Final Cut Pro” category, then choose “Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)”.

Tips. The video and codecs are all from the FCP X you installed into your Mac, so the output quality is FCP X level.

Step 3. Start converting Canon mxf footage to FCP X ProRes by clicking “Convert”.

Some more helpful features of the app:

1. Settings- click to set video resolution(1920×1080/1440×1080/1280×720/720×480), bitrate（from 1Mbps to 20Mbps）, frame rate (24p/30p)

2. Editor (next to “Add” icon)- click to set deinterlace, denoise, mute, volume up, trim, crop, etc.

Load/Import converted Canon XF MXF footage to Final Cut Pro X

Step 1. Start up Final Cut Pro X, follow “File > Import > Files”.

Step 2. Browse to the converted .mov video in the “Import Files” window. Press “Open” at the right bottom.

Once the conversion completes, you can can import Canon MXF footage to Final Cut Pro X successfully and get down to video editing.

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