Well, Nigel, I am considering Cineform for the first time because of the fact that it does offer the possibility of a raw, uncompressed editing codec, which is not possible through ProRes.
After all, why go though all the money and hassle of shooting Canon Raw to then compress the file downwards anyway if, in fact, there is the ability not to.
By using Cineform in a raw format while editing, I could theoretically avoid having to make permanent color grading decisions until after the complete edit is done, thus allowing me greater flexibility creatively. Whereas if I use ProRes I would be forced to make decisions of color balance, highlight and shadow detail, etc... at the very beginning of the raw transcoding process, which would then be baked into the ProRes files, and therefore the film, for the rest of its life.
I was just hoping to get a little more info from users here on the Cineform codec, in general, as I have never used it.
How is it wot work with in FCP7? Is it as smooth as ProRes? Does it have any drawbacks?
What about editing in Cineform Raw? Does it require more computing power for the uncompressed files? More resources? Ram? CPU? And if so, how much?
Do people find Cineform Raw worth while, however? Or is it overkill? Too much storage space? Too much hardware power to use effectively?
Is Cineform 444 or 422 just as good? and a fraction the size?
And if you are compressing to Cineform 444 or 422 should you just stay with ProRes at that point?
Or is Cineform Raw one of the best ways to go if you're going to bother shooting Raw footage in the first place?
So, if anyone has any further insights to my questions I would greatly appreciate the information. Anything that will help me understand the full potential of shooting Canon Raw would be fantastic.
Thanks so much.