Final Cut Studio 3 or Creative Suite 4 Production Premium

[Graeme]

Your advice is sorrily needed.

I'll be doing the post-production on my own videos, so I'm looking into which software I should buy so I can practice using it in my series of shorts before I go do a bigger production.

I'm looking at either FCS3 or CS4PP, and I don't have the budget for both...
I would use it on my Mac Pro 2GHZ quad core with 9GB of ram (Leopard), Nvidea 7300GT.
Cameras would be:
A Roll - DSLR
B Roll - Small Pro-sumer Camcorder (Currently A Flip Ultra HD, but I'm looking at upgrading to something a bit better)

I'm asking because I have limited CS4 experience (1-month trail version just ran out on FCP) and have never used FCS (and I can't get a trail of that program).

Currently I see the pluses as this:
- FCP is designed by apple and from video tutorials look easier to use and understand with clearer process to doing things.
- CS4 has After Effects which everyone seems to be using and there seems to be more support (Video tutorials etc like Video Copilot)
- Both should be able to handle the files from the camera, I'm intrigued by "ProRes"
- I have a really old PC version of Adobe Software (Photoshop 7 era) which has an old AF, but I don't think it will do HD stuff (but its an option, I also have an old PC computer of that age as well).

Other Thoughts:
- Down the line I hope to get a better video camers, maybe a RED scarlet or something
- Initially I though 1080p and higher is what I needed, but as I learn more about video, 720p sounds like it will work well enough for most of my needs before I go 2k (aka likely could skip 1080p) as most of my work will go to web or DVD (and I'll premier the features here in town at a small local theater for Friends & Family of the production cast & crew)
- My movies will likely be more "action" then "docu/drama"
- Time is money, so I want a program that can fully use my computer's hardware/software to get things done fast
- I can green/screen a lot of shots and use Hi-Res photos I got from my world travels (I also travel so I can capture footage abroad to use in future movies with actors - yeah a bit cheesy but again I don't have discretionary income to pay for extra plane tickets).

So what's your experience / advice?

 

[sonnyboo]

I am a professional editor and 90% of what I do is in Adobe Creative Suite (CS3 and CS4). I have a huge bias for Adobe.

BUT - if you are on a MAC, then go with Final Cut Studio. Final Cut Pro is written by Apple for Apple. Final Cut Pro is used in professional editing situations far more often than Adobe Premiere.

This is one of the rare times where I think there is a clear cut answer to the question of which editing software to use. If you're on a MAC, then Final Cut Pro is the way to go.