Panasonic AG-HPX600 Review: Manage HPX600 P2 MXF files on Final Cut Pro (X) effortlessly

Summary:  How to solve Final Cut Pro (X) importing Panasonic AG-HPX600 P2 MXF footage without rendering on Mac via P2 MXF to FCP X Converter for Mac?

The AG-HPX600 is the first model to offer expandability to Panasonic’s new AVC-ULTRA Series of professional codecs. Accommodating a variety of interchangeable lenses, this 2/3-type shoulder-type model has a compact body with the industry’s lightest2 weight of 3 kg (6.6 lb).

Its newly developed MOS sensor attains high F12 sensitivity (at 60 Hz) and low noise with an S/N of 59 dB. AVC-lntra100/50, DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO5O, DVCPRO and the DV format are equipped as standard recording codecs. Over and above these basic specifications, the AG-HPX600 offers optional compatibility with AVC-ULTRA codecs and other essential functions. AG-HPX600 enables the configuration of a low-cost, easy-to-use image acquisition system for news gathering, image production and other applications.

Panasonic AG-HPX600 shoots to P2 cards, with an SD card port available, in AVC-Intra at 4:2:2, 10-bit recording. Panasonic says that an upgrade by 2013 will allow the HPX600 to record in a new format called AVC-ULTRA, still at 4:2:2 and 10-bit, but offering a lower bit-rate or “master quality.” There’s also Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB ports and functionality available. The camera will carry a suggested retail price of $16,000 without a lens, and around $18,000 with a color LCD known as the AG-CVF10.

MXF is a special HD video format which has been put to use in many high-end camcorders such as Panasonic P2 HD series or Cannon XF series. Files are saved onto the P2 memory card in MXF format allowing direct data transfer to broadcasting and production system. However, those files in MXF format have proved to be not so well-suited when they are about to be edited in Apple editing tools. Neither Final Cut Pro (X) nor Final Cut Express allows native input of the *.mxf video clips or directly editing them.

To edit Panasonic AG-HPX600 P2 MXF footage with Final Cut Pro (X), you have to transcode P2 MXF to FCP (X) natively supported video format like Apple ProRes MOV.

The following guide shows how to convert Panasonic AG-HPX600 P2 MXF to Apple ProRes Codec on order to import P2 MXF files to Final Cut Pro (X) for post-production.

Preparation:

Get Pavtube P2 MXF Converter for Mac, which performs well on Mac OS X Leopard, Snow Leopard and even Lion.

Step 1. Run the P2 MXF to FCP X Compressor for Mac. Click “Add Video” or “Add from folder” button to load MXF source files. (Note: Before conversion, you need to transfer MXF files from your Camcorder to Mac Hard Drive, then click the “add” button to browse to import MXF videos)

MXF file structure on Panasonic’s P2 card

Note:

If you are loading Panasonic P2 MXF files to Pavtube MXF converter for Mac to Final Cut Express to do format conversion, please make sure you have the entire MXF file structure as it saved on your camcorder’s P2 card. As the above screenshot of MXF file structure on Panasonic’s P2 card showing, .MXF clips are all saved in ‘VIDEO’ folder, while audio files are all stored in ‘AUDIO’ folder, so if you only have some loose .MXF clips, your files will have image only without audio.

Step 2. Choose the best output format.

Click “Format > Final Cut Pro > Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)”. The format is developed by Apple and is natively supported by FCP (X). ProRes encoded .mov video can be instantly imported to FCP without rendering.

Tip: If you want to convert Panasonic AG-HPX600 P2 MXF to iMovie or Final Cut Express, only need to change the “Step 2” options, choose “Format > iMovie and Final Cut Express > Apple InterMediateCodec (AIC) (*.mov)” as the best output format for importing P2 MXF to iMovie/FCE for editing on Mac, or just choose “QuickTime Movie Format”.

Step 3. Convert AG-HPX600 P2 MXF to ProRes MOV on Mac.

Click “Convert” button to start converting Panasonic AG-HPX600 P2 MXF to FCP (X) friendly Apple ProRes 422 MOV.

When conversion complete you can click “Open” to find final .mov videos. Then you can directly import the mov files to FCP (X), saving time from rendering the files for more compatible with FCP (X).

                  $29

Pavtube MXF Converter for Mac is an easy-to-use and intuitive Mac tool for camcorder users. It is good at converting MXF recordings shot by Panasonic P2 camcorders, Canon XF series cameras to formats compatible with your video editing software like iMovie, Final Cut Pro (X), Final Cut Express, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere, and more.

Simple editing functions:

This MXF Converter tool provides users with several simple editing functions, including “Crop”, “Watermark”, “Effect” and “Audio Replace”:

– The “Crop” facility helps you cut off black edges and unwanted parts from the image;

– The “Watermark” facility allows you to add different watermark to the source file, such as text, image and video;

– The “Effect” function enables you to adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation, as well as add special effects to your source file;

– The “Audio Replace” function allows you to replace the original audio track in your source MXF file with your specified.

Learn more to convert P2 MXF on Mac, go to MXF Column.

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