IMovie 09 versus FCE 4 for editing Canon 25f HDV footage

Question

I have two Canon HDV cams. I film 25f (I'm in PAL land). I have used iMovie 06 with no problems for DV editing via this old PowerBook, but for HDV I need more guts so am about to buy an iMac.
I have just purchased Steve Mullen's excellent "The Ins And Outs Of iMovie 09" and note with disquiet his comments to the effect that later versions of iMovie 09, and a new iMac comes with version 8.0.3., will treat Canon 25f (and 24f) as if it were interlaced footage. As a consequence those who require the best possible edit, say to produce a BD, will have to avoid all but the most rudimentary special effects.
I gather that this is in part (or wholly) down to Apple's presumption that those using iMovie 09 aren't bothered about " quality hard copy portable media" and simply wish to flit home movies around the internet or watch them on their " Macs".
Given that this negates the visual quality provided by HD in its various guises, does FCE 4 avoid these limitaions of iMovie 09?
Ron

Answer 1

Thanks but not an answer to my question!
I appreciate that picture quality is determined by the camera, the lens, whether DV/HDV/FullHD/Progressive/Interlaced etc and not least by the cameraman/woman's skills.
In addition, unless I've got something very wrong, the NLE system will, to a variable extent, via compression/expansion of the original source material during the editing process, degrade the final edited images so that they will never be exactly the same as those input to tape, smart card, hard disc whatever at the filming stage.
I would like to know whether such "image degradation" is the same whether one uses iMovie 09 or FCE.
(I think I am right in saying that FCP provides the least "image degradation" of all the Apple NLE systems.)
Ron
ps there is nothing particularly complicated in filming birds. Long lenses are a must, as is a good tripod (my recently purchased Geman video head costs as much as FCP) and good knowledge of the subject matter i.e. birds and how they are likely to behave. Problems include camera movement, wind is a nightmare, over/under exposure, and focussing difficulties.Everything bar white balance is manual on my XLH1. Birds as well have a habit of not keeping still.
Editing for me ought to be straightforward. No fancy FX but a need for good dissolves cutaways and the like. A high proportion of my clips are about 10 secs. in duration.