Magic Bullet Looks Worth it?

I'm still learning Resolve, and not every project merits it, budget-wise. Red Giant has a %50 off sale on right now on MBL2 ($199). Should I be grabbing this?

I used it and hated it. I like Nattress "Levels And Curves" much better. But each editor will have the plug-in they like best. Some folks love MB, some don't. Some love Levels And Curves, some don't. Give "Moods" a good look, too. I use that also and get some nice results from it.

FX Factory (free version) lets you load up trial versions of Levels and Curves, and of Moods, if you want to take them for a test spin. I'd play with trial versions of each first, see which you personally are more comfortable with.

BenB wrote: I used it and hated it. I like Nattress "Levels And Curves" much better. But each editor will have the plug-in they like best. Some folks love MB, some don't. Some love Levels And Curves, some don't. Give "Moods" a good look, too. I use that also and get some nice results from it.

FX Factory (free version) lets you load up trial versions of Levels and Curves, and of Moods, if you want to take them for a test spin. I'd play with trial versions of each first, see which you personally are more comfortable with.

An important thing to know about both the Nattress and the Yanobox plug-ins is that (while they are both great tools) they clamp the video levels at 100% all the time. See the examples below, first with Curves disabled and then with it enabled. You can clearly see the extra information that is being cut off by the plug-in.

I'm not sure if the same thing would be true of Looks but it's always worth checking this when looking at grading plug-ins of any sort, especially if you are doing more than just grading inside the box.

I like Magic Bullet Looks.

I think it has great presets, and great power and a very ease of use in making your own presets. It has colorista built in, so as long as Red Giant doesn't make Colorista compatible with FCP X (it's taking them much too long in my opinion, but what do I know?), it's a way of getting lots of Colorista in FCP X.
I think it has lots of 'components' that you are free to adjust and mix etc to make your own look and preset, and the way you can now switch every component in the chain on or of is very nice.

I also like a lot of the results, in that it holds a lot of sharpness even when doing some heavy looks.

What I don't like about it is the regular price (400 dollars is a bit expensive for what it is, in my opinion... I also got it at a promotion), and the render times. They are loooooooooong.
Haven't tried it with the 10.0.6 update, though.

MBL is great with FCPX; it really fills a gap in the program. The presets are pretty cool; but they should only be used as a starting point for getting a look (all the presets can be tweaked).

I also got it at a sale price; never regretted the purchase and I use it all the time. MBL and NeatVideo really round off FCPX in my opinion.

I used to use a old version called MagicBullet Editors in FCP Legacy, and got a lot of milage out of it- which is why I've been keeping my eye out for a sale.

Neatvideo- I had to purchase this for a job a few years ago and love it. Thankfully I haven't had to use it too much recently, but it's good to know I have it in my back pocket- still need to upgrade for FCPX!

Thanks for the opinions guys. I have 'til the 16th to make up my mind.