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IMac or MacBook Pro and FCP 7 or Adobe Premiere CC for Red Epic 4-6K footage
I’ll be purchasing a new computer to update my ancient 2006 dual-core MacBook Pro. I want to stay with Apple because I have a lot of other software unrelated to editing that is Mac-based.
I’ve done some extensive research and it seems that a MacPro seems to be the wrong computer for me at this time for numerous reasons (expense being one of them), but I’m trying to figure out if I should get a MacBook Pro or an IMac.
Having always edited on FCP 7, I would like to see if I can make a transition to Adobe Premiere using Creative Cloud because I’ve heard that editing Red footage is easier this way for a myriad of reasons. Also, I like that I can integrate other Adobe products quite seamlessly into Premiere and I don’t have to wait to render to see what my cuts are.
Right now I’ll mostly be editing 5-10 minute RED 4K projects, but I will also be using mixed footage too, if that even makes a difference. In about six months, I would like the ability to edit a full 90 minute Red 4K (or 6K) feature film. I’m assuming I’ll be doing this off-line because of the size, but I want to buy the best computer for this without having to spend a ton of money. (At least right now).
My main concern is that I want a strong, fast computer that I can build upon later. Portability is not a main issue, but I’ve heard different things that a MacBookPro could do about the same thing an IMac can do for these purposes. Any suggestions?
The more specific specs you can recommend, the better. I’m new to editing RED footage. I’m hoping to go to the Apple store in a few days. Oh, and I’d like to spend $4500- $5K tops.
Thanks!
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10 Replies
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[Grace Rowe] “My main concern is that I want a strong, fast computer that I can build upon later. Portability is not a main issue, but I’ve heard different things that a MacBookPro could do about the same thing an IMac can do for these purposes. Any suggestions?
The more specific specs you can recommend, the better. I’m new to editing RED footage. I’m hoping to go to the Apple store in a few days. Oh, and I’d like to spend $4500- $5K tops.”
If portability isn’t a factor then don’t even look at laptops. You pay more for less in order to get something thin and light to carry with you. You want a strong, fast Mac that gives you room to grow and your budget is enough for a Mac Pro so why not get a Mac Pro? The Apple stores only have a limited selection of computers so depending on your build-to-order specs you might have to order it online.
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My main concern is that I’ve spent the entire half of my day reading horror stories about crashing issues with Mac Pro and Adobe Premiere. I would stick with FCP but I have 7 and I heard FCP X is about the same as iMovie, which is not my game at all.
Apparently, RED footage drops right in to Premiere without any problems, but when coupled with the Mac Pro there seems to be lots of issues and not necessarily a faster output overall for lots of reasons.
Any one else have feelings about this? I’m really concerned with not screwing up my RED editing workflow.
And by the way, the Mac Pro is gorgeous. Just not 100 percent sure if it’s all up to date with AP.
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There were some general problems with previous versions of Mavericks if you had a new Mac Pro and were using PPro or Resolve (I think it was a GPU driver issue), but AFAIK the latest version of Mavericks fixed that problem.
I’ve read about problems with PPro 2014 and RED footage but I don’t think that problem exists with PPro 2013. Also, a big PPro update is coming soon and many people hope the RED problem gets addressed.
FCP X is much more feature filled than when it launched so it’s worth checking out and seeing if it fits into your workflow.
If you are looking for a stop gap machine for a couple years an iMac might work, but if you really think you’ll be working heavily with 4K and 6K then the extra power of the Mac Pro GPUs will most certainly be worth it since more and more software is using GPU acceleration.
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Since I don’t own Adobe Premiere as of yet, I’m not sure if I’m able to buy an older version. I think I remember that every time I tried to search for an older version to purchase it takes me to Adobe’s CC version only.
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The only version of Adobe that you can buy a perpetual license for is CS6 (which is a few years old now). Below is a link to buy it.
https://www.adobe.com/products/catalog/cs6._sl_id-contentfilter_sl_catalog_sl_software_sl_creativesuite6.html?promoid=KFPMZIf you sign up for Adobe Creative Cloud (their subscription plan) you get access to all the CS 6 apps, all the CC 2013 apps and all the CC 2014 apps.
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That’s great to know, thanks! Then you suggest I get a Mac Pro and load Premiere v.6 until they can fix the glitches. This has worked, you’ve heard? You can tell I’m pretty nervous. I need a new computer a.s.a.p. and I feel like when if I go to Apple and ask these questions they’ll probably just push FCP X on me.
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I suggest you do not rely on hearsay regarding FCPX. It’s very powerful editing tool.
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Personally I’d give PPro 7 (Adobe CC 2013) a shot first as it is much improved over PPro 6 and, AFAIK, doesn’t have the RED issues that CC 2014 does
I do think that the Mac Pro is the way to go since your budget can afford it and you are looking for something with room to grow that can handle 4K and 6K.
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If you aren’t going encode to ProRes get a PC, you could spend under $2k on a top of the range Intel i7 with plenty of RAM, storage and a GPU or 2.
edit/ this would obviously involve using Adobe CC.
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New iMacs coming in a couple of weeks. Rumored to be 5k. Wait for that and then use trial versions of premiere pro 2014.1 also coming in a few weeks) and Final Cut Pro X — which is supposed to handle 4k well.
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