converted AVCHD video not playing correctly in Final Cut Express 4

Was looking at earlier posts and topics to see if there's someone with similar issue to what I'm experiencing, but don't seem to see anything.
Here's my equipment: Panasonic AG-HMC150P camera, 32 GB Class 10 SDHC card, 27" i7 iMac with Final Cut Express 4.

My problem:

My company just purchased the Panasonic AG-HMC150 I shot some test video with it set to record at 720p30. When I open FCE and go to Log and Transfer I can preview the clips fine and they look great. But when I add them to the bin after they are encoded (using Apple Intermediate Codec at 720p30 mode and "all rates" or 30 fps selected for frame rate) it captures them at 59.94 fps instead of 30 and the video plays about twice as fast as it should (fast motion) while audio plays at correct rate (30fps) Do I have to use 720 /60P on the camera in order to get it the right speed? What am I doing wrong here? Figure since the preview looks fine, that it's an issue with Final Cut Express, not the camera. I saw someone write on one support page that they thought it was a quicktime codec like "DV1 codec" which needed to be unistalled from OS, but I'm hesitant to go and remove codecs on a whim. I already uninstalled Perian. Any helpful advice here? Would appreciate it.

Looks like a lot of people are using 3rd party programs to convert MTS files to play nice with Apple. Might go this route if no other option. If so, any software suggestions? I hear Toast, VoltaicHD, Pavtube MTS Video Converter mentioned among others. Looking for quickest conversion and highest quality possible.

I've never used FCE, but is there a preference setting within the log and transfer window that says "remove duplicate frames"? Uncheck that. The prefs should be located within this gear icon near the middle of the l&t window.



www.strypesinpost.com

You can transcode MTS to FCE AIC.