While I like Sony Vegas a lot, so far it doesnīt support the native .mov file that the 5dMarkII produces. FCP seems to work, not sure about Premire. But since the camera wonīt hit the streets before end of November and will not be in the hands of most before the beginning of the new year, Sony has plenty of time to work it out....
For Mac users, iMovie 08 imports HD videos (Full-HD AVCHD 1920X1080, HDV 1440X1080) and edits using .mov format so the software should be able to handle Canon .mov files just fine.
I just downloaded the 5D .mov file from dpreview, so I'm 100% certain now Apple iMovie 08 and iMovie 06HD can edit the file without any problem. Mac version of QuickTime played the video at 30fps just fine also.
Premiere Pro from Master Suite CS3 doesn't support automatic scene splitting on capture of HD video (1080i from Canon HV30), while Vegas 8 does the splitting just fine. Will try Premiere CS4 soon.
I am sure Canon in the near future will bundle software for video editing. This is what Canon does with their HD video 'handycams' as well, mostly Ulead or Pinnacle Studio software. I am sure quite a few 5DmkII owners will go through a steep learning curve and a confrontation with substantial investments in hardware and additional software. H264 editing is really power consuming (photoshop editing is nothing in comparison). Even quadcore computers with a 64bit operating system have a hard time with 1080 HD footage. Prepare for lot of waiting time or invest. Photography is EOSfun, with the new cameras video will become EOSfun as well but is a much more expensive and time consuming kind of EOSfun. I am afraid the 5DmkII will prove to be the cheapest element of all the components that you need for (semi-) professional video. Still lots of EOSfun
A good point - 5DII's video (& 21 MP) is another tug in the seemingly inevitable direction of more expensive processing hardware & software ... Steep learning curves & expensive equipment may curtail the DSLR video explosion somewhat.
Steep learning curves & expensive equipment may curtail the DSLR video explosion somewhat.
I believe not just somewhat, but imo considerably. It has been my experience since decades that video is a different discipline with high tresholds in comparison to photography. Demands are higher from the perspective of creativety, manpower, finance, hardware and editing software, etc. It's really a whole different discipline and a whole different kind of EOSfun.