New question - FCP 7 worth learning at this point? Or should I just jump to Premiere?

Hi Stephanie,
I'll keep working with FC for a while, but at this stage i wouldn't recommend nobody start learning FCP.
Little by little i will migrate to PP that is the most natural route for people having worked with FCP, most of all after the last CS6 release.
Some people say that the new PP CS6 is FCP.8.
Have a look here: http://forums.creativecow.net/finalcutprox
You will find many interesting insights regarding FCPX and PP.
rafael

http://www.nagavideo.com

I have to agree with Rafael's answer but with one caveat.

I would say it depends on what you want to do and the environment in which you work.

If you are buying the software, for you, to run in your own business then to invest in FCP7 now, as Rafael says, is really pretty pointless. The two main non FCP options as alternatives are Avid and PP. There are loads of posts here discussing the relative merits of each.

If, however, you are a freelancer and are looking to pick up work then there may be a point to learning FCP7. Obviously it would depend on what the edit houses/potential employers in your area are using but the likely contenders will be Avid and FCP7. Possibly not so much Adobe yet but that will likely change fairly soon if CS6 lives up to its promise.
But those still running FCP7 will likely be looking to change at some point soonish so I wouldn't buy FCP7 to learn unless I knew I could make it pay in freelance gigs in the next year or so and needed it to pick up that work.

I wouldn't totally write off FCPX - its not for me either at this stage but I am keeping an eye on it, it would be foolish to dismiss it totally.

It is a time of flux but over here many businesses are sticking with what they have and know just now, so there may be a year or 2 in the old FCP7 dog yet.
I am UK based and in my particular work environment Avid dominates totally and those that have switched from FCP have switched to Avid. However some are waiting for all the dust to settle so there is still FCP7 work out there but it is diminishing.

best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv

I think the merits of Avid over Adobe will depend on your workflow.

Its hard to give a definitive list covering all pros and cons but from my perspective broadly:

Avid is, in my opinion, the best cutting tool. Its totally solid and used by just about every high end broadcaster and film cuttng room in the world. If that kind of compatibility and a good collaborative workflow is important to you then Avid is the best choice.
Avid now works with third party hardware and media composer on a Kona card for example seems very good indeed.

However if you need tight integration with AE or other Adobe products or want to be able to open old FCP projects or work on something more familiar to FCP7 users, work in H264 more easily then PP is going to tick more boxes for you and be possibly the better option. Broadcast monitoring is, I understand, not quite yet up to par but its early days and I am sure will pretty quickly improve as third parties develop drivers.

So each has merits and I think your work environment and workflow will be the bigeest factor in shaping your choice.

best wishes
Neil
http://www.patience.tv