[Patrick Simpson]

Some great thoughts.

I probably won’t be monitoring because my primary delivery right now is web. But having the expresscard slot for esata sure would be nice, otherwise I’m editing w/ a FW800 drive.

Most of my acquisition will be solid state from a DSLR, so having multiple FW buses isn’t crucial. Then again, it’s always nice to have the option for expandability w/ the expresscard slot.

[Patrick Simpson]

Just wondering, what lens is used on the above sample shots from the T2i?

[Patrick Simpson]

I just ran across the brand indisystem. The price of their rigs don’t shock me the way other brands do. They have a mattebox w/ flags for $400. https://indisystem.com/products/indimatte_pro

That said, I really can’t vouch for their quality having never used one. Oh, and it’s unclear whether the matte box will work with a DSLR or just 35mm adapters. Still, worth a look. Their rail systems seem reasonably priced, too.

[Patrick Simpson]

Is Transcend a cheap brand?

[Patrick Simpson]

I believe the new 60D has a 30min record limit on an 8gb card. You should double check though.

20″ intel iMac, 2.66 GHz, 4GB ram
View my reel – http://www.youtube.com/patrickdsimpson

[Patrick Simpson]

FWIW, I went to the Apple store and their 13″ Macbook Pros don’t have Final Cut Pro or Express installed on them.

I did open iMovie on the 13″ and I did get on a 15″ and reposition the Final Cut windows mimic a 13″ screen. Honestly, it looked more useable than I was expecting. That said, I’m probably going with a 15″.

20″ intel iMac, 2.66 GHz, 4GB ram
View my reel – http://www.youtube.com/patrickdsimpson

[Patrick Simpson]

For now all I have is Final Cut Express which limits me to Apple Intermediate Codec, probably 2 streams tops. But at some point I’ll likely use FCP w/ ProRes or Avid editing native H.264 using AMA.

I’d be looking at a 2.4 GHz 13″ macbook pro. Or if I jump to the 15″ I’ll go for the 2.4 intel i5 most likely.

My main concern is the screen size, though and I’m really interested in hearing from people who’ve edited HD on a 13″ and/or 15″ screen.

[Patrick Simpson]

The other idea is to do a walk-through video of the home with the realtor in the video showing off the home. This would add the dimension of having someone talking about the house.

This could mean a quicker shoot and less editing. Of course, it would also call for a wireless lav.

[Patrick Simpson]

I’ve been thinking about doing real estate video myself, but I’ve been wary of the potential pitfalls. Here’s a model I’ve come up with:

First, it seems like only higher-end homes would justify the price of a making a video; and the homes would have to be in my region (maybe no more than 30 minutes away?)

My idea was to buy a Canon Rebel T2i, basic tripod, and maybe a low-end or homemade camera stabilization system.

Then, I would only shoot short, cookie-cutter videos which I could become very fast at. And, no VO (adding VO would add a lot of time to the production).

So, the realtor would get high-quality, 1080p, web-ready videos.

I’d thought of charging $150-$200 per video (maybe I’m dreaming there, but again, only higher-end real estate). So, even if it takes me 8 hours to shoot and edit a video (which I’d hopefully whittle down quite a bit) I’d be making $18-$25 an hour. Not too bad I guess. Does anybody see problems with this model?

[Patrick Simpson]

That’s a great question; I wonder if someone has tried this. It’s a funny thought, actually, editing with FCE costing $150 and a broadcast HD monitor costing thousands. Make no mistake, I’ll be using FCP just as soon as I can, but now that a high quality HD DSLR camera costs less than $1,000, there will be more and more people (like myself) looking to shoot great HD on a VERY tight budget, just buying the $900 camera will be a stretch. I’ll be lucky to get a decent tripod or another lens.

I may just stick with shooting 30p and publishing only on the web anyway.

20″ intel iMac, 2.66 GHz, 4GB ram
View my reel – http://www.youtube.com/patrickdsimpson