MXF files are containers utilized by panasonic P2 formats and Sony XDCAM.However, eventhough they are both .MFX files they are completely different.
I have worked with P2 MXF files in Premiere and I love them….Premiere loves P2 MXF and they handle great. I have read that Premiere also handles XDCAM MXF files and XDCAM is listed in Premiere’s accepted format guide,but I cannot comment on how well they perform in Premiere since I still have yet to work with XDCAM…My guess is that’ll they’ll handle just as well.
Vegas also accepts XDCAM MXF files.
Since you are working on a moderate laptop, I suspect that working with HD might be a little painful…If this is the case, I have noticed that Vegas will operate more smoothly than Premiere on a substandard computer when working with HD files.
Your best bet is to just download a free trial of both Premiere and Vegas and see what you can and cannot do.
Good Luck!
*Note many programs will not yet accept XDCAM files recorded at 50Mbs. This shouldn’t be a problem since most XDCAM files are recorded at 35Mbs an lower.
BTW, for those that care….XDCAM at 50Mbs has been compared to Digital BetaCam….
