Another great contribution from great Contributing Member, Mike Greenberg of KonspiracyStudios.com:

The Sony PMW-EX1 is a solid reply to Panasonic’s HVX200. I love tapeless, but for some folks think it’s a bit confusing. Like the P2 workflow, there are a few adjustments when using the EX1. In fact, the EX1 requires a new mindset. Don’t be fooled by conventional tactics; you can’t just search the card for a file and hit Command-I.

Below are steps to get your system up to date, and a few “gotcha’s” you might encounter.

First, download Final Cut 6.0.2.

Second, create a Login with Sony ServicesPLUS and download the XDCam Transfer Plug-in for FCP. (This page also has SxS Drivers for Windows users who want to use the card drive on their laptop - like, if you wanted to store media in the field and reuse a card.)

Third, import the media. Here, you have a couple options, and the size of the project will likely dictate which works best for you. You can either:

• Import media directly off the card, via a card reader or the USB output on the camera, or
• Use Sony’s Clip Browser Software to edit metadata and transfer the media to a hard drive for later importation. (Clip Browser is not the most versatile app, but it does help prevent corruption of footage.)

Fourth, now that you are done floundering around the web and downloading add-ons, open up FCP and do the following:

• File > Import > Sony XDCAM
  
• File > Add Source . . . (i.e. the folder that contains the BPAV folder)
  
• Your clips will import automatically. Metadata should also carry over. Before you do anything else, take an overview of the preferences page (pictured below). Specify a Cache location and a destination folder where your QuickTime movies will be created. This is your “Capture Scratch” so you should put it in the project folder. NOTE: You can add handles (which are useful with subclips), and set naming conventions.
• With your Import Settings defined and clips added to the App, you can create subclips in order to avoid importing ALL the media. Simply mark an IN and OUT, then hit the little plus symbol. You can also mark clips and indicate a status (e.g. “Good”, “KEEP”, “No Good”). Your clip’s information is located under the Information tab.
  
  
• When you are ready, hit the Import button at the bottom or - if you don’t want to import the entire media - hold down SHIFT and the button changes to “Import All Subclips.”
• It will take a few minutes to convert the files into a QT format for FCP, and to import them into the project you selected.

Voila!

Please comment with any questions or areas that I have forgotten to address. Happy Editing!

Lightly edited by rich