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FCP will work great on a new iMAC, right?
I do pretty simple film/edit work. Weddings, events, etc.
Currently, DV is my format, but obviously over the next few years I will move into some form of HD. I am not really doing anything with Motion, and I do not have any need for anything terribly complex regarding software.I have read tons on this, but wanted to hear some thoughts from you guys.
My main question: For my work, will a new iMAC (2.8 or 3.06) be enough?
Secondly: Is a Mac Pro really all that necessary for editing a relatively simple wedding video?Notes – I would max out the RAM to 4GB on an iMAC.
I will use a Firewire 4/800 external drive for storage.It looks like I could get a 3.06ghz iMAC, w/ max RAM and a nice ext drive for about $2500 or less.
But a new Mac Pro with two 2.8ghz quad-core, w/ same RAM and drive as I mentioned before would be around $3300 or less, and of course that doesn’t include a monitor, another $500-$1000…So, is an extra $1200-$1500 really necessary to get the 8 cores and expandability (keeping the next few years of tech advances in mind)?
I guess the main points are:
processor speed (is iMAC’s 3.06ghz good enough?)
firewire bus/no SATA (iMAC is very limited in this right?)
expandability (for my work, do i really need to expand in the next 5 years with 10GB of extra RAM?)Thank you in advance for your input. And feel free to point out areas where I may sound ignorant, cause I am 🙂
Cheers
oh, currently i am borrowing someone’s old iMAC G5. it’s awful and on the verge of crashing at every turn. ugh. HELP!
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6 Replies
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I have a 4GB RAM iMac in my home studio… it is fine for most tasks.
Renderiing takes longer and you’ll need to learn how to work with RT presets, etc.
DV is fine… DVCPRO HD is fine… haven’t tried HDV.
Have not captured on system though (which is more demanding).
Richard M. Harrington, PMP
Author: Photoshop for Video, Understanding Adobe Photoshop, and ATS:iWork
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It will work and do what you need it to do for now. One of the biggest problems, if not the biggest problem, is you cant upgrade much. I have one that I use FCP all the time, and it is great for rough cuts, billing, email and running the office kind of stuff. But I also have the MacPro for capturing, Motion, encoding, and the all the heavy lifting kinda stuff.
If you look at the long term, you may get three good years out of the imac, that works out to about $833 per year. If you spend the extra 1500 you are looking at for the MacPro, even if you only get one more year out of it, it still only runs you $1000 for year. For an extra $170 a year, I think it is more than worth it. Next time around you will already have a monitor, so that drops out of the equation. And with the better machine you will find how easy Motion is to use and adds value to your productions so you can charge more! Donate your extra proceeds to charity and make the world a better place! Maybe not, but I think your return on investment is better with the MacPro. And it’s easy for me to spend YOUR money.
Of course you have to consider where you are going to be in four years and try to get something that fits into your workflow now and will still work for you then. As you move into more HD work you will incur lots of expenses. It would be nice to know your computer can handle whatever you through at it. You may want to get a capture card, and at least you’ll have the option.
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Richard,
Thanks for the reply…
What processor do you have in your iMAC?
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Glenn,
Thanks…I have considered those same things for a while now and still can’t really decide.
1. I don’t have the extra $1500 to spend
2. I have only been doing video/editing for a year now, and I think it might be wise to NOT go out and buy the absolute best of the best while I’m still learning…you know?Although it sure would be nice to have 8 processors flying me to outer space every day…ahhhh.
Thanks again…
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Not in front of it.. its one model back The larger screen version
Richard M. Harrington, PMP
Author: Photoshop for Video, Understanding Adobe Photoshop, and ATS:iWork
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Richard,
I don’t understand…
I was just asking what processor you have in the iMAC you mentioned with the 4GB RAM.
2.4ghz, 2.8ghz, 3.06ghz?
just curious.
mainly wondering if a new 3.06ghz iMAC w/ 4GB RAM could handle Motion and heavy rendering/coding as well as, say, a Quad-core 2.4ghz Mac Pro.
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