Canon MXF import plugin is finally available

If you own a Canon XF305/300/105/100 or C300 you'll be pleased. You can finally, after eight looong months import the footage into FCP X.

Download:
usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products...0#DriversAndSoftware (Select OS X 10.7)

Note the plugin installer requires OS X Lion!
The plugin obviously not! I use it with Snow Leopard using this trick from discussions.apple.com/thread/3131953?start=180&tstart=0


To install the plugin on Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.8 you have to temporarily change your system version number to Lion 10.7.2!
1. Go to HD:/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist
2. Copy the file to the Desktop
3. Open the original with a text editor and change the string value of 'ProductVersion' and 'ProductUserVisibleVersion' to '10.7.2'.
4. Save & Overwrite.
5. Install the plugin
6. Move back the original SystemVersion.plist from the Desktop

I hope Canon will fix this installer issue.

The imported files are in native format as promised by Apple. QuickTime player 7 reports them as Apple XDCAM HD422 format

Usage:
Backup the card with Canons XF Utility

In FCP X use "Import From Camera" > "Open Archive"...
and navigate to the backup folder
then use "Import All..."
or just selelect the clips you want and use "Import Selected..."

Works fine.

You can't set in and out points and must import the entire clip.

What's the official OS X requirement for FCP X 10.0.3?
The Appstore says 10.6.8

Canon says:

 1. Installation Requirements
The following software must be installed on the PC -
Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 
 
2. Supported OSes
Same as the support conditions of Final Cut Pro X
 
So if Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 requires 10.6.8 or higher this plugin installer shouldn't require Lion. What means "support conditions"?

Hello Macmacmac,
It doesn't work for me... When I open an archive, I can't browse my backup files (backed up with XF utility)
What I did is : open FCP X, import from camera and all the medias go to an "original medias" file... In that way I don't use anymore XF Utility... But I still wonder... Is that the good way to work? Any advice? Thanks!

I'm not sure if I understand your problem but XF Utility stores backups in folders named like this: "20111214140700" If you select such a folder all the clips appear in the FCP X import window and can be imported.

Your second method to import directly from the CF card works but you loose the original files with all the Metadata and there's no backup after you've erased the card. I don't know if this matters to you.

ok it works today... but it didn't yesterday.... feel better, thanks macmacmac!

Great!

Can anyone please confirm that the official OS X requirement for FCP X 10.0.3 is 10.6.8? I would like to contact Canon support if this is the case.

Just because the newest Xcode only runs on Lion doesn't mean they can't publish an installer that is compatible to Snow Leopard. This must be an unfortunate oversight by Canon.

www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/

Thanks a lot. I could have thought of the product page myself but I didn't.

So this post by non092 at discussions.apple.com/thread/3131953?start=180&tstart=0 is wrong.

It's definetely OS X v10.6.8 or OS X v10.7.2 or later (OS X v10.7.2 or later for broadcast monitoring).

Canon must change their installer in order to make the following true:
XF plugin Supported OSes: Same as the support conditions of Final Cut Pro X

Seems like I've read you have to trick the installer into thinking you're on Lion, but nowhere does Canon state that it's plugin needs Lion. Nor does Apple state anywhere that 10.0.3 needs Lion.

BenB wrote: Seems like I've read you have to trick the installer into thinking you're on Lion

Yes this works fine, I've done it and the plugin runs fine under Snow Leopard

BenB wrote: But nowhere does Canon state that it's plugin needs Lion.

It only appears when you select OS X 10.7 at usa.canon.com/cusa/professional/products...0#DriversAndSoftware

It's just the damned installer that requires Lion. An unfortunate oversight and I've already reported this to Canon.

Hello All,
With this plugin, do we still need xf utility to backup our medias or can we rely on fcpX to store our medias in the "orginal medias" folder?
Thanks

The XF plugin puts QuickTime movies into the Original Media folder as shown in the attachment below. Those files are full quality MPEG2 without any transcoding but if you make a copy of the card either by copying the entire folder structure or using the XF Utility you keep all the MXF format metadata.

Who knows whats possible in future XF utility versions? You can for instance right now remove all picture profiles and reset the footage. Something you can't do with the QuickTime movies. Or you can look up what picture profile settings a certain clip has. Or what the shutter speed, arperture or gain was used.

I will still backup my cards using the XF utility but it's of course no longer neccessary if all you want is cutting your footage.

again, thank you very much for your help!

I just discovered a manual for the XF plugin for FCP X:
Applications > Canon Utilities > Canon XF Plugin for Final Cut Pro X > Manual

You can import only part of a clip: Click and drag inside the thumbnail of the desired clip to select the portion of the clip you want to import and click the Import Selected button.

The readme file is from May 2011 by the way!

Yes, you can select a range of a clip in the Import From Camera window and only import that section. Works on any format in that window. Has since 10.0.0. And an orange range line shows up showing what section(s) of clips have been imported.

BenB wrote: Yes, you can select a range of a clip in the Import From Camera window and only import that section. Works on any format in that window. Has since 10.0.0.

Had no chance to discover that earlier with my XF300

I did as instructed, but no matter what I do to change it, I can not get read/write permission on a system folder/document. Can you suggest a workaround of your excellent work around?

What's not mentioned in the steps above is that you have to enter your administrator password in order to be able to make changes. I do not remember exactly but in one of the warning dialogs there is a button that allows this.

It's also possible that you have to be logged in as an administrator right away. I was.

I thought I was the administrator, but have never needed the verification. I have a password, of course, but I don't know where the permissions are located. I guess I'll just have to do some looking around. Unfortunately, I'm not a tech person, so it's hit and miss. I can see the permissions, but I can't change them. Alas. thanks anyway.