Backup camcorder using Final Cut Pro or iMovie

Question

I have a Canon Vixia HF11 HD camcorder, Synology DS213 NAS, MacBook Air, iMovie '11 and Final Cut Pro 10.0.9.

I just backed up my camcorder using Final Cut Pro and ran into a couple problems:

• The backup came out to 50gb total (the CANON.fcarch was only 25gb)
• The backup included render files and original media (i.e. .mov files of each clip)
• The backup can only be saved to my MBA's hard drive (i.e. can't save to my NAS)

My questions are, using Final Cut Pro or iMovie, is there a way to:

1. Only backup the camcorder's compressed AVCHD video (i.e. just the .fcarch file) without transcoding/rendering everything out to .mov files?
2. Backup the camcorder directly to a network drive (i.e. my NAS) instead of my MBA's SSD?

Answer 1

Firstly, it's well worth upgrading your FCPX to the latest (2018: 10.4.3) it should remain compatible, costs you no extra, and is a massive improvement. Don't do this mid-project; allow yourself time to adjust.

1: Yes, FCP can archive a connected camera. It produces the .fcparch file (which is actually a bundle containing all the original video files on your camera). Basically, the .fcarch file is a clone of the video parts of the card from your camera, is roughly the same size, and the FCP X Import window can read it just like a connected camera. See "Create and Manage Camera Archives" in FCP X help.

2: If you want to backup your AVCHD camera to a NAS, just directly copy the PRIVATE folder you see at the root level of the camera card into its own folder on your NAS, which you could name after the card's number / reel number to distinguish it from all the other PRIVATE folders.